All That Is Hot新闻微阅读四篇

万宇婧

1

New school desks in Mexico

墨西哥学校用新式课桌防肥胖

Rows of sleek［ 造型优美的］ new school desks equipped with bike pedals［ 踏板］are allowing students in Mexico to power through their class work while crankingout some light exercise， burning off calories. For the students at a high schooljust outside the bustling city of Monterrey，the new bike desks offer benefits beyondexercise. “When we’re physically active， italso helps keep us focused，” said a 13-yearoldstudent. It’s actually incredible.” Theschool currently features 2 classrooms fullydecked out with the new desks， but the planis to gradually add them to all 21 classrooms.

Mexico has a desperately high obesity［肥胖］ rate， with more than a third ofits population dangerously overweight and more than 75% at a greater weightthan is considered healthy. And as children age， many pack on pounds. Anational study showed about 8% of children under 5 were overweight orobese， which rises to almost 19% for kids between 5～11 years old. Largeamounts of excess body weight during early years poses numerous dangersto children’s health， including increased risk of diabetes， high blood pressure，liver disease， bone and joint problems， fatigue and asthma. Most children do not outgrow weight problems acquired in early life， and obesity in adulthoodis known to contribute to strokes， heart disease， and dementia.

墨西哥的一些學校在教室里配备了装有自行车踏板的新式课桌，学生可以一边上课，一边“踩单车”燃烧卡路里。墨西哥蒙特雷市的一所高中启用了这款新式“自行车课桌”，它给学生带来的好处不仅仅是能锻炼身体。一名13岁的学生表示：“当我们的身体动起来时，我们也更能集中注意力。这太不可思议了。”目前，该校已经有2 间教室装配了这种新式课桌，学校计划将这种课桌推广到全部21 间教室。

墨西哥的肥胖率非常高，超过三分之一的人口超重，超过75% 的人体重超过健康标准。随着儿童年龄的增长，许多儿童的体重也在不断上升。一项全国性研究显示，墨西哥5 岁以下儿童中约8% 超重或肥胖，5～11 岁儿童的肥胖率更是几乎达到19%。童年时期超重会对其健康造成诸多危害，包括增加患糖尿病、高血压、肝病的风险以及增加出现骨骼和关节问题、疲劳和哮喘的概率。大多数儿童在成长过程中都无法摆脱在早年产生的体重问题，而成年后肥胖会导致中风、心脏病和痴呆等疾病。

Fill in the blanks：

The desks equipped with_____________may help students burn off calories.

2

Chinese drug-sniffing squirrels

中国首批“缉毒松鼠”上岗

The police dog brigade［ 大队］ in Chongqingnow has successfully trained a team of six drugsniffing［嗅；闻］ squirrels［松鼠］. In a compilation ofvideo clips released online by People’s Daily，the squirrels are seen scratching boxes andclambering over a variety of items. In someclips， the squirrels are seen darting betweenboxes and canisters of similar sizes and colors， before pausing to sniff them.According to The Paper that these squirrels are small and agile， and able tosearch through tiny spaces in warehouses and storage units that dogs cannotreach. “The squirrels have been trained to use their claws to scratch boxes inorder to alert their handlers if they detect drugs，” the Chongqing police said.The training program developed for the squirrels in Chongqing can also beused to train other animals to sniff out drugs.

重庆市警犬大队成功培训出了一批缉毒松鼠，共计6 只。在《人民日报》的一组视频片段中，这些缉毒松鼠在不同的物品上爬来爬去。其中一些片段中可以看到松鼠在大小和颜色相似的盒子和罐子之间来回走动，时不时停下来闻一闻。据《澎湃新闻》报道，和缉毒犬不同，松鼠体型较小、动作敏捷，适合搜索一些物流仓库、快递站内狗无法进入的狭小空间。重庆警方称：“经过训练，松鼠会在找到毒品后使用抓挠的方式告诉训导员，该处可能存在毒品。”重庆市警犬大队自主研发的松鼠训练系统可以被应用于训练其他动物嗅出毒品。

Fill in the blanks：

The drug-sniffing squirrels have been trained to sniff out__________in the nooks and crannies of warehouses and storage units.

3

Which jobs will be replaced by ChatGPT？

ChatGPT可能取代哪些职业？

ChatGPT， a chatbot developed byOpenAI， went viral with related topicsgenerating a lot of buzz. Chatbots andartificial intelligence［人工智能］ tools likeChatGPT that can almost instantlyproduce increasingly sophisticated［ 见多识广； 老练的］ written content are alreadybeing used to perform a variety of tasks.

ChatGPT can write computer code to program applications and software.It can check human coders’ language for errors and convert ideas from plain English into programming language. David Autor， an MIT economist whospecializes in labor， pointed to some mid-level white-collar jobs as functionsthat can be handled by AI， including work like writing human resourcesletters， producing advertising copy and drafting press releases. “Bots will bemuch more in the realm of people who do a mixture of intuitive and mundanetasks，” he said. “There is no question that software will make them cheaper.”

美国OpenAI 研发的聊天机器人程序ChatGPT 爆火，相关话题多次引发热议。类似ChatGPT 的聊天机器人和人工智能工具可以迅速生成越来越复杂的书面内容，并已被用于执行各种任务。

ChatGPT 能为应用程序和软件编写代码，能检查程序员编程语言的错误，还能将简单的想法从英语转化成程序语言。麻省理工学院经济学家大卫·奥特尔指出，人工智能可以接手一些中级白领的工作，例如撰写人力资源信函、广告样本和新闻稿。他说：“机器人最有可能介入那些凭直觉式的、单调的工作领域。毫无疑问，软件会使这些工作的成本降低。”

Fill in the blanks：

A variety of jobs may be replaced by_________， which is a chatbot developed by OpenAI.

4

A blue-ringed octopus in a hot pot restaurant

火锅店惊现剧毒章鱼

A consumer i n a hot potrestaurant found that one octopuslooked a little bit different. Hesuspected that it was a venomousblue-ringed octopus and then took aphoto and posted it on social mediafor confirmation. After the inquiry，his suspicion was immediately confirmed by the official account of Nature History， that it was a blue-ringedoctopus.

The blue-ringed octopus is one of the world’s most venomous marineanimals. They eat small crustaceans， including crabs， hermit crabs， shrimp，and other small sea animals. They can be identified by their yellowish skinand characteristic blue and black rings that change color dramatically whenthey are threatened. Blue-ringed octopuses spend most of their time hiding increvices.

The blue-ringed octopus， despite its small size， carries enough venomto kill 26 adult humans within minutes. Currently， no blue-ringed octopusantivenom is available. If you ever encounter this blue and yellow beauty，back away in a hurry. In fact， there have been no known deaths from its bitesince the 1960s. As long as you keep your hands to yourself， you should befine.

網友称在火锅店发现一只章鱼看起来不太一样，他怀疑是有毒的蓝环章鱼，于是拍照发布到社交媒体进行验证。经过询问，他的怀疑得到《博物》杂志官方微博回应——该章鱼确为蓝环章鱼。

蓝环章鱼是世界上最毒的海洋动物之一。蓝环章鱼食甲壳类动物，包括螃蟹、寄居蟹、虾和一些其他小型海洋生物。蓝环章鱼体表呈黄褐色，其最醒目的标志就是身体上的蓝黑色圆环。遇到危险的时候，圆环会迅速变色。蓝环章鱼大部分时间爱躲藏在石头缝隙处。

尽管体型相当小，一只蓝环章鱼所携带的毒素却足以在数分钟内杀死26名成年人，并且目前还没有研制出有效的抗毒素。如果你遇到了这种“美丽又危险”的生物，请尽快远离。事实上，20 世纪60 年代以来，还没有人因被它咬到而死亡。只要你不伸手触摸，你就不会有事。

Fill in the blanks：

The blue-ringed________is one of the most venomous marine animals on the planet.