blog 1- term 2020

  “But how can it dream?”   “You’ve made a positronic brain pattern remarkably like that of a human brain. Human brains must dream to reorganize, to get rid, periodically, of knots and snarls. Perhaps so must this robot, and for the same reason. Have you asked him what he has dreamed?”   “No, I sent for you as soon as he said he had dreamed. I would deal with this matter no further on my own, after that.”   “Ah!” A very small smile passed over Calvin’s face. “There are limits beyond which your folly will not carry you. I am glad of that. In fact, I am relieved. And now let us together see what we can find out.” She said, sharply, “Elvex.”   The robot’s head turned toward her smoothly. “Yes, Dr. Calvin?”   “How do you know you have dreamed?”   “It is at night, when it is dark, Dr. Calvin,” said Elvex, “and there is suddenly light, although I can see no cause for the appearance of light. I see things that have no connection with what...

“Robot Dreams”                Isaac Asimov                 “Last night I dreamed,” said LVX-1, calmly.   Susan Calvin said nothing, but her lined face, old with wisdom and experience, seemed to undergo a microscopic twitch.   “Did you hear that?” said Linda Rash, nervously. “It’s as I told you.” She was small, dark-haired, and young. Her right hand opened and closed, over and over.   Calvin nodded. She said, quietly, “Elvex, you will not move nor speak nor hear us until I say your name again.”    There was no answer. The robot sat as though it were cast out of one piece of metal, and it would stay so until it heard its name again.   Calvin said, “What is your computer entry code, Dr. Rash? Or enter it yourself if that will make you more comfortable. I want to inspect the positronic brain pattern.”   Linda’s hands fumbled, for a moment, at the keys. She...

 AS or LIKE? If there is no verb, just a noun , you will use a preposition .  Use like for the meaning similar to , and use as to refer to the role of a person or thing . Compare these examples: You look like your sister. (You look similar to your sister.) It is a comparison. As your sister, I’d like to give you some advice. (This might be said by a woman speaking to her brother; she is his sister, so as , not like , is correct.) You sound like a teacher! (This might be said to a student who is explaining a grammar point to another student. It only makes sense if the person referred to is not really a teacher.) It’s up to her, as the teacher, to design the curriculum. (She is the teacher.)

 A) Explain the reference to 1962 and the book Hidden Figures. B) Explain the main idea of the article. Use your own words.   To live up to the hype, quantum computers must repair their error problems  The devices will reach their potential only if they can fix their glitches By Emily Conover June 22nd 2020 Astronaut John Glenn was wary about trusting a computer. It was 1962 early in the computer age, and a room-sized machine had calculated the flight path for his upcoming orbit of Earth — the first for an American. But Glenn wasn’t willing to entrust his life to a newfangled machine that might make a mistake. The astronaut requested that mathematician Katherine Johnson double-check the computer’s numbers, as recounted in the book Hidden Figures . “If she says they’re good,” Glenn reportedly said, “then I’m ready to go.” Johnson determined that the computer, an IBM 7090, was correct, and Gle...

 Read the article and translate the first part (the introduction in bold type) 10 Incredible Real-Life Mad Scientists  adapted from bestcollegereviews.org By the time we reach college age, most of us are aware that real scientists are nothing like their movie counterparts. There's a lot less wild hair, while bad German accents and screams of "it lives!" are few and far between. However, not so long ago, the line between real life and fiction was much more blurred. Right into the 20th century, great scientists were conducting vital, world-changing research while also, in some cases, presenting more than their fair share of oddness and peculiarity. Here, we give you ten real-life scientists who could give Victor Frankenstein a run for his money in the eccentricity stakes. 10. Francis Crick (1916-2004) Along with James D. Watson, Francis Crick will forever be remembered as one of the discoverers of the very structure of DNA. The duo met while workin...

Rare 'ring of fire' annular solar eclipse to cast shadow over Africa and Asia Event will be visible across a narrow band from Congo-Brazzaville to southern China Sunday’s annular eclipse coincides with northern hemisphere’s summer solstice, when Earth’s north pole is tilted most directly toward the sun. Photograph: Ferdinandh Cabrera/AFP via Getty Images Skywatchers along a narrow band from west Africa to the Arabian peninsula, India and southern China will witness the most dramatic “ring of fire” solar eclipse in years on Sunday. Annular eclipses occur when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, but not quite close enough to our planet to completely obscure the sun’s light. They occur every year or two, and can only been seen from a narrow pathway across the planet. Sunday’s eclipse coincide’s with the northern hemisphere’s longest day of the year, the summer solstice, when Earth’s north pole is ti...