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每日英語跟讀 Ep.806: About Technology - The Age of Quantum AI

The age of Quantum AI is upon us. AI needs processing power that current computers can’t provide but quantum computers could pick up the slack.

量子人工智慧的時代來臨。人工智慧（AI）需要當前計算機（電腦）無法提供的處理能力，而量子電腦可以彌補不足之處。

Google announced that it had built the world’s first real quantum processor, the 53-qubit Sycamore chip. It seems that IBM took it a little bit personally, maybe because Big Blue’s Summit is the world’s fastest calculating machine, for now.

谷歌（Google）已宣布研發出全球首座真正的量子處理器，即53量子位元的「Sycamore」晶片。但國際商業機器公司（IBM）對此頗有微詞，因為IBM的超級電腦「Summit」現在還是全球最快的計算機。

Quantum computing and AI aren’t just two parallel research fields that happen to meet somewhere. They’re more like a match made in heaven.

量子運算與人工智慧不僅是平行卻碰巧有交集的兩個研究領域。它們更像是天生一對。

Big Data is the nexus between AI and quantum computers. The former needs data and lots of it to learn and improve its intelligence. The latter are well-equipped to deal with huge swaths of data in a time-efficient manner.

大數據是人工智慧與量子電腦的連接點。前者（人工智慧）需要透過大數據學習及改進。後者（量子電腦）能夠高效處理大數據。

Financial modeling, weather forecasting, chemical simulations, and quantum cryptography are just a few examples of the areas that quantum AI would revolutionize.

財政模型化、天氣預報、化學模擬、量子密碼學都只是量子人工智慧即將革新的其中一些領域。

Next Article:

Evolution of circuits for machine learning 機器學習電路的進化

Artificial intelligence （AI） has allowed computers to solve problems that were previously thought to be beyond their capabilities. There is therefore great interest in developing specialized circuits that can complete AI calculations faster and with lower energy consumption than current devices.

人工智慧（AI）讓電腦能夠解決此前被認為超出計算機能力範圍的問題。人們因此相當關注專門電路的開發，以實現比現有裝置更快速、能源消耗更低的人工智慧計算。

Writing in Nature, Tao Chen et al. demonstrate an unconventional electrical circuit in silicon that can be evolved in situ to carry out basic machine-learning operations.

陳滔（譯音）等人刊登在《自然》的研究，演示一種在矽材料上的非常規電路，它能直接執行基本的機器學習運算。

Previous work by some of the current authors produced isolated charge puddles from a collection of gold nanoparticles that were randomly deposited on a silicon surface, with insulating molecules between them. These puddles are at the heart of Chen and colleagues’ circuit design.

該研究的其中一些作者先前在矽材料的表面隨機堆積奈米黃金顆粒，並用絕緣分子隔開這些電荷坑。金奈米電荷坑是陳博士團隊的電路設計核心。

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1354193 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1349153

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.805: About Sports - Sharapova－inspirational and a great fighter

Maria Sharapova’s fellow players praised her fighting spirit following the Russian’s announcement of her retirement from tennis on Wednesday.

在俄羅斯網球好手瑪麗亞．莎拉波娃週三（2月26日）宣布退休後，其他選手對她的奮戰精神表達讚賞。

The injury-plagued Sharapova, renowned for her never-say-die approach to the sport, won five Grand Slam titles.

被傷痛折磨的莎拉波娃曾拿下5座大滿貫賽冠軍，她對於網球從不氣餒的態度，讓她廣為人知。

"The willpower and the willingness to overcome all the obstacles she had, especially with injuries and surgeries, come back to the court and play on her desired level," said World number one Novak Djokovic.

男子網球世界球王諾瓦克．喬科維奇說：「她的意志力、想要克服所有困難的渴望，尤其是在傷痛纏身、手術不斷的情況下，（令她）重回球場，打出她期望的實力。」

Twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who knows the challenges of returning to competition since her career was stalled after a knife attack, commended Sharapova for always demanding more of her body than it would allow.

曾遭遇刀刃攻擊而一度暫停打球、深知重回賽場將面臨什麼挑戰的兩屆溫布頓冠軍佩特拉．科薇妥娃，稱讚莎拉波娃總是鞭策自己的身體，超過應該有的程度。

"Even if she didn’t play well she was still believing in her game and still being aggressive and believing in her shots, which I’m really admiring."

「就算她打得不好，她還是對自己的比賽有信心，持續保持幹勁、相信每一次回擊，這點我很欽佩。」

Next Article:

Cape Town restaurant wins Guinness world milkshake record 開普敦餐廳贏得金氏世界奶昔紀錄

Guinness World Records has named a South African restaurant as the official titleholder for ’Most Varieties of Milkshakes Commercially Available’.

金氏世界紀錄稱一間南非餐廳為「最多種市售奶昔」的頭銜保持者。

With a total 207 varieties on its menu, Gibson’s Gourmet Burgers and Ribs has a milkshake to satisfy every sugarholic.

菜單上共207種品項，「吉普森的美味漢堡與肋排」餐廳有奶昔滿足每一位糖類愛好者。

Located in Cape Town’s bustling Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Gibson’s offers an array of exotic combinations from nutella and mascarpone to Oreo cheesecake, while catering for more staid palates too.

位於開普敦繁華的維多利亞．阿爾弗雷德碼頭廣場，吉普森提供了一系列奇妙組合，從能多益榛果醬、馬斯卡彭起司到奧利奧起司蛋糕，同時也提供傳統口味。

First-time visitor Marcell Brown said he saw a Facebook advertisement about the Guinness world record and decided to have a look for himself.

初次造訪者馬榭．布朗說，他看到臉書上的金氏世界紀錄廣告，決定親自來看看。

"I’m going to come here as soon as possible again to try out every single milkshake as far as I can," he said.

他說：「我要儘快再來，盡我所能嚐試每一款奶昔。」

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1356620; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1352176

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.804:「After ‘Parasite,’ Are Subtitles Still a 1-Inch Barrier for Americans?

Last month, when Bong Joon Ho, the South Korean director of the film “Parasite,” accepted the Golden Globe for best foreign language film, he teased American moviegoers that a whole world of wonderful cinema awaited them beyond Hollywood.

上個月，南韓《寄生上流》一片導演奉俊昊領取金球獎最佳外語片獎時，挑逗美國電影迷，好萊塢之外，有一整個世界的精彩電影在等著他們。

“Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films,” Bong said during his acceptance speech.

他得獎感言說：「一旦你克服一英寸高的字幕障礙，就會被引往許多很棒的電影。」

In the United States, foreign language films with subtitles rarely gain the traction that “Parasite” has. It won over both audiences and critics and raked in more than $35 million on its way to winning four Academy Awards , capping a glittering awards season with a best picture Oscar. It was the first film not in English to take home the top prize in the Academy’s 92-year history.

在美國，帶有字幕的外語電影很少像《寄生上流》那樣受到歡迎。它叫好又叫座，並在攻下4項奧斯卡金像獎的途中，賺進超過3500萬美元的收入，以奧斯卡最佳影片獎為它光輝的獲獎季畫下句點，是該學院92年歷史裡第一部拿下這最高獎項的非英語電影。

It was a seismic night for fans of foreign films in the United States, where moviegoers have historically preferred their popular films in English. And it left some wondering: Are those 1-inch-tall subtitles still a barrier?

對美國的外片迷來說，這是個震撼的夜晚。當地影迷向來較喜歡通俗的英語電影。這讓一些人納悶：「那一英寸高的字幕仍是一道障礙嗎？」

Even before “Parasite,” a thriller about the class divide in South Korea, took off, there were signs that things had begun to shift for subtitled entertainment in the United States. The film joined a small group of subtitled films that have broken through to mainstream success in Hollywood over the last two decades, like “Roma” (2018), “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006), “Amelie” (2001) and “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” (2000), a Chinese drama that earned $128 million, making it the highest grossing foreign language film in the United States.

甚至在這部關於南韓階級分化的驚悚片《寄生上流》走紅前，即有跡象顯示對有字幕的娛樂節目來說，情況開始轉變了。這部電影加入了過去20年間取得突破，並在好萊塢打入主流獲得成功的少數字幕電影的行列，這些電影包括《羅馬》（2018年）、《羊男的迷宮》（2006年）、《艾蜜莉的異想世界》（2001年），以及華語電影《臥虎藏龍》（2000年），該片以1.28億美元拿下美國票房收入最高外語片榮銜。

Over the same period, as streaming services have replaced network and cable television, subtitles have also gained a stronger toehold on smaller screens, from cellphones to TV sets.

同一時期，隨著串流服務取代電視網和有線電視，字幕在手機、電視等小屏幕上腳步也站得更稳了。

Researchers credit the shift in part to two factors. The first is a 2016 rule from the Federal Communications Commission that made it mandatory for a TV show that has been captioned for broadcast to also be captioned when it is posted online or on a streaming service such at Netflix or Hulu. The second factor, they say, is Netflix itself. It is the most popular streaming platform in the United States, with more than 60 million paid subscribers, and much of its original content is in languages other than English.

研究員將這種轉變部分歸功於兩個因素。第一個是2016年聯邦通訊傳播委員會的一項規定，即為了播出而附上字幕的電視節目，在網路或串流平台如Netflix或Hulu上發佈時，亦須附上字幕。他們並說第二項原因是Netflix本身。它是美國最受歡迎的串流媒體平台，擁有超過6000萬付費用戶，許多原創內容語言均非英語。

More than 50% of the audiences for the Netflix shows “Dark,” which is in German, and “3%”, which is in Portuguese, are international.

Netflix德語節目《闇》以及葡萄牙語節目《3%》，外國觀眾超過一半。

A Netflix spokeswoman pointed to “Narcos,” a series about drug dealers in Mexico and Colombia. It has scenes in both Spanish and English, and uses subtitles for the Spanish dialogue, but that hasn’t kept the show from being popular, she said.

Netflix的女發言人談到《毒梟》這部關於墨西哥和哥倫比亞毒販的連續劇時指出，片中有西班牙語和英語兩種場景，西班牙語對話部分配有字幕，但並不會影響它受歡迎的程度。

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/350337/web/

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Welcome to 15mins.today the home of English Shadowing. I'm your host Gavin and this is InTense Episode 38. Well guys we are looking at the definite article “the” and up till now we've looked at everything where you do not use it.

Today we're looking at exceptions, so in the previous episode we spoke about places and locations, now I mentioned in there “the office” which is an exception. Now there are a bunch of these and they are all related to one thing, just like your office where you go and work every day, there are certain places where we go specifically. Think about the airport, when you go to Japan usually you go to the same airport. Hospitals and places like that, they are very specific ones.

There are thousands of bus stops in Taipei city, but when you go to work or come back from work you usually use specific bus stops, and so for those we put “the,” for those things we use generally. So, if I want to differentiate that I use “a bus stop” as opposed to “the bus stop” what does that mean? It means, normally I use that particular one that would be “the” but today i used a random bus stop. So. let's look at our questions and answers, to look at some examples of these exceptions.

Did Jane go to the office today? Yes, she went to the office today.

Did Jane go to the office today? No, she did not go to the office today.

Did you go to the bank last week? Yes, I went to the bank last week.

Did you go to the bank last week? No, I did not go to the bank last week.

Did Peter go to the movies on Saturday? Yes, he went to the movies on Saturday.

Did Peter go to the movies on Saturday? No, he did not go to the movies on Saturday.

Did John and Susan visit the hospital on Friday? Yes, they visited the hospital on Friday.

Did John and Susan visit the hospital on Friday? No, they did not visit the hospital on Friday.

Will you go to the post office tomorrow? Yes, I will go to the post office tomorrow.

Will you go to the post office tomorrow? No, I will not go to the post office tomorrow.

Will Susan be going to the airport next year? Yes, she will be going to the airport next year.

Will Susan be going to the airport next year? No, she will not be going to the airport next year.

Is Brian on the way to the train station? Yes, he is on the way to the train station.

Is Brian on the way to the train station? No, he is not on the way to the train station.

Can we meet at the bus stop? Yes, we can meet at the bus stop.

Can we meet at the bus stop? No, we cannot meet at the bus stop.

Did Benson go to the doctor? Yes, he went to the doctor.

Did Benson go to the doctor? No, he did not go to the doctor.

Is Mary going to the dentist? Yes, she is going to the dentist.

Is Mary going to the dentist? No, she is not going to the dentist

Well there you go guys, these are the exceptions, tongue twister, exceptions for “the.” We use “the” in front of these things because they are specific to us, we usually go to the same doctor and dentist, post office, etc. We go to our bank, we just we don't go to any bank. We might go to any branch, but we go to our specific bank. So, that is when we do use “the” in front of locations or places. Hope that helps, keep practicing and catch you next time, bye!

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Summary:

Survey from JobKorea shows that 10.95 of people want to work in Samsung Electronics in Korea. They have remained the number 1 employer of choice from 2004 to 2016. Apart from salary, the survey participants also care about work environment, benefits and the image of the boss of the company.

原討論文章: https://www.15mins.today/blog/757-about-korea-for-college-students-samsung-electronics-remains

Vocabulary and Sample Sentences:

Survey n. v. – questionnaire/study ; v. to look at or observe

• More than 2000 people were surveyed in the customer satisfaction questionnaire.

• The customer satisfaction survey included 20 different questions for respondents to fill in.

Respondent n. – person who replies to something

• I got the survey results from 6000 respondents.

• We received email addresses from respondents who responded to the ad we placed in the newspaper.

Employer / Employee n. – person who is employing others (boss) and person who is being employed (worker)

• The image of the employer is important to Korean job seekers.

• Employees who do not work, do not get paid.

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每日英語跟讀Podcast，就在http://www.15mins.today/daily-shadowing

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