AlphatGo v.s. Lee Sedol

It was a result that sent (1)shockwaves through the Go community. AlphaGo, the computer created by DeepMind, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) arm of Google, (2)thrashed European Go champion Fan Hui 5-0 – the first time a computer program has beaten a professional player of the ancient Chinese game.

Played on a board with a 19x19 grid of black lines, Go is such a complex game that enthusiasts hoped it would be years, or perhaps decades, before machines would be able to (3)triumph over the best human players. 

But now that time scale is shortening and AlphaGo is scheduled to play the world’s top player, Lee Sedol, over five games in March.

Mr. Lee is a much stronger player than Mr. Fan and for now remains confident. “This is the first time that a computer has challenged a top human pro in an even game,” he said. “I have heard that Google DeepMind’s AI is surprisingly strong and getting stronger, but I am confident that I can win, at least this time.” It’s the “at least” that’s significant here. The parallels with chess are ominous. IBM’s Deep Blue lost 4-2 to Gary Kasparov the first time they played in Philadelphia in 1996, but triumphed 3.5-2.5 a year later in New York. Mr. Lee may not (4)succumb the first or even the second time, but in the end he or a successor will and another bastion will have fallen. 

Go is such a complicated game that until recently the programs could defeat only amateurs and the Google team had to use a new approach. It now looks ahead by playing out the rest of the game in its imagination, many times over. 

The program involves two neural networks, software that mimics the structure of the human brain. It was trained by observing millions of games of Go and evolved to predict expert moves 57 per cent of the time. The network was then set to play against itself, learning from its victories and losses as it carried out more than a million individual games over the course of a day.

This is only possible, of course, due to the huge improvements in computing power in recent decades. And the bottom line is that the machines are, or will soon be, able to defeat the best humans at most games. 

We in the chess community have had to deal with this for nearly two decades now, and the solution has been to accept that they will beat us in single combat but work around it. 

We know that as human beings we will make small mistakes, however well we play. Chess playing computers (“engines”) are uniquely well placed to exploit these and once they have a material advantage are almost totally unplayable. But we can console ourselves that they still don’t create that much themselves and rather than banging our heads against a brick wall, we can use them as superb training agents.

We use “engines” extensively in preparing for games – training in which the crucial element is that the human must lead the machine rather than following. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/go-chess-grandmaster-lee-sedol-prepares-to-play-computer-alphago-in-epic-showdown-a6842416.html

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-AlpthGo and Lee Sedol

WHEN- Mar 2016

WHAT- The competition with an AI robot

WHY- Proof the ability about people and AI robots

WHERE- Unknown

HOW- The AI robot win the four fifths of competitions

Keywords:

(1)   shockwave衝擊波

(2)   thrash鞭打

(3)   triumph勝利

(4)   succumb屈服於

Worst cold in Taiwan

TAIPEI -- Residents of many parts of Taiwan may have to endure what feel like below zero temperatures from Jan. 23 to 25 as the worst cold wave in 10 years sweeps the country, the Central Weather Bureau said Tuesday. 

The mercury is forecast to drop on Jan. 23, but the coldest temperatures are expected to be seen on Jan. 24 and 25, and "apparent temperatures" — the temperature the human body feels — could fall below zero, the bureau said.

On Jan. 23, the apparent temperature could reach lows of 6 degrees in New Taipei, 5 degrees in Taipei, 4 degrees in Taichung and Kaohsiung, 2 degrees in Tainan, 1 degree in Hsinchu County, and zero degrees in Hsinchu City and Miaoli County.

On Jan. 24, the apparent temperature could fall to a low of minus 1 degree in Hsinchu City and to a low of minus 1 to minus 2 degrees the following day in Hsinchu County, Hsinchu City and Miaoli County, bureau data showed.

Over those two days, apparent temperatures could dip to 2-3 degrees in Taipei, 3-4 degrees in New Taipei, 2 degrees in Taichung, 2-3 degrees in Kaohsiung and 1 degree in Tainan, all roughly 3-5 degrees lower than the actual recorded temperature.

The Central Weather Bureau said the apparent temperature factors in relative humidity and the effect of the wind, with the latter expected to be the main factor this weekend.

It said a wind speed of more than 36 kilometers per hour can push the apparent temperature 6 degrees below the actual temperature.

Even without humidity and wind speeds factored in, this weekend's cold front is expected to be the worst since 2005, when temperatures of 5.6 Celsius degrees in Taipei and 4.4 degrees in Chiayi were recorded on March 6 that year.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2016/01/20/456562/Worst-cold.htm

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-People live in Taipei

WHEN- Jan 30th 2015

WHAT- The lowest temperature

WHY- relative humidity and the effect of the wind

WHERE- Taipei

HOW- unknown

Keywords:

(1)   endure忍受

(2)   bureau局

(3)   minus減去

(4)   humidity濕度

Twelve nights

A new documentary about the plight of animals in Taiwan’s shelters has sparked a public discussion about the treatment of (1)stray dogs and cats on the island, (2)prompting the government to (3)amend its policies.

“Twelve Nights,” shot almost entirely inside a government-run animal shelter in southern Taiwan, follows the fate of several stray dogs, starting from their initial capture on the streets. After 12 days in the shelter, the animals are destroyed, have died of disease, or, if they are lucky, end up in the arms of a new owner.

Although the problem of street dogs isn’t a fresh one in Taiwan, the movie has attracted a throng of animal lovers. As of the beginning of this week, “Twelve Nights” had pulled in more 30 million New Taiwan dollars (US$1 million) since its release on Nov. 29, according to the film’s (4)distributor, a considerable amount for a documentary in Taiwan.

The film opens with a black-and-white puppy named Jumpy prancing happily in a (5)well-manicured neighborhood and other harmless-looking dogs wandering the streets.

The scene quickly changes. Animals — including a kitten and a basket full of puppies — are jerked and tossed around by workers as they are taken to the shelter.

 At the shelter, the camera pans across rows of rusty metal cages crowded with dogs, some of which try to gnaw their way out of confinement. Feeble dogs curl up in the corners, watching their peers being dragged around the shelter by their metal collars.

The film shows many dogs entering the shelter looking healthy but later falling ill or dying due to the rampant transmission of canine distemper and other diseases inside the 

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-stray digs

WHEN- Dec 13th 2013

WHAT- Recording twelve nights about stray dogs

WHY- stop suicide

WHERE- Taiwan

HOW- unknown

Keywords:

(1)   stray dog  流浪狗

(2)   prompt  提示

(3)   amend  修改

(4)   distributor  經銷商

(5)   well-manicured  精心修改

Beyond Beauty: Taiwan From Above’

Following its world premiere at the first Taoyuan Film Festival, the film went on to win the Golden Horse Award for best documentary and even inspired a Facebook post by President Ma Ying-jeou, announcing that the government would start work on 16 of the environmental problems highlighted by the film.

Combining extensive knowledge of Taiwan’s geography (drawn from a long stint at the National Highway Engineering Bureau) with 20 years’ experience as a professional aerial photographer, Chi spent about 400 hours’ flying time over three years to capture his images. The approximately $9 million project has an advantage over “Home” in focusing on one territory with its specific culture and ecosystem, thus avoiding the sort of sanctimonious tone that can come with generalizations. Via the sincere, approachable voiceover of masterful Taiwan New Wave screenwriter-helmer Wu Nien-jen (“A Borrowed Life”), the (1)narration, though often mournful, also evokes a Chinese-style poetic romanticism.

As the camera (2)swoops over the verdurous topography, its roads and tributaries intertwined like branches of a tree, Wu promises to show Taiwan as never seen before; quoting the title of Yasunari Kawabata’s novel, he proceeds to chronicle the island’s “beauty and sorrow.” However, after less than 10 minutes of aerial images that extol the exquisite beauty of Taiwan’s mountains and coastline, the rest of the docu rests heavily on the sorrowful side. Noting the frequency of supposedly “natural” disasters like floods and landslides, the film points a finger at numerous byproducts of unchecked economic expansion.

High mountains that occupy two-thirds of the land are (3)ravaged by heavy logging, roadworks, and over-harvesting of minerals and cash crops like tea and betel nut. Moving from land to water, things only get worse. Mud and stone deposits from construction projects pollute reservoirs and reduce their life expectancy. The building of breakwaters for farming has nearly cordoned off the coastline from the ocean. One-half of Taiwan’s (4)wetlands are disappearing, ruining her once-abundant biodiversity. Air pollution from factories is compounded by massive electricity use on a national scale, epitomized by the little-known fact that the world’s largest coal-fired power plant is located in Taichung.

All this environmental malpractice may not be unique to Taiwan, but the statistics will register strongly even for international auds, such as the 7.4 million tons of refuse produced yearly, or the 19 million tons of (5)cement mined yearly, of which half is exported purely for profit.

Viewed from such a high altitude, the degree of devastation looks especially grave, yet it’s hard to look away. Chi is expert at capturing images with powerful impact, such as condos perched precariously on a visibly eroded precipice, or canals with water as black as squid ink running through large residential areas, or a woodland’s bald patches after being razed for limestone and silica mining.

The last 15 minutes or so lighten up with the introduction of nature-conscious entrepreneurs who operate organic farms against all odds. The closing shots provide a change of scenery with truly wondrous vistas of Taiwan’s multi-hued landscape, but increasing the proportion of such positive material would actually strengthen the film’s argument for dealing with these crises pronto.

Considered Taiwan’s top aerial photographer, Chi, lensing in Cineflex Hidef,  immerses the viewer in a sense of perpetual fluidity. The score by Singapore’s Ricky Ho (“Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale”), which features three aboriginal songs written by “Warriors'” pastor-turned-lead-actor Lin Ching-tai, brim with uplifting spirituality, especially when sung by a choir that appears to have been airdropped onto an unnervingly tall mountain peak.

http://variety.com/2014/film/global/film-review-beyond-beauty-taiwan-from-above-1201050029/

Structure of the Lead：

WHO-Chi Po-lin

WHEN- Jan 1^st 2014

WHAT- Recording Taiwan’s beauty

WHY- Combining extensive knowledge of Taiwan’s geography

WHERE- Taiwan

HOW- unknown

Keywords:

(1)   narration  記敘文

(2)   swoop   落下

(3)   ravage  蹂躪

(4)   wetland  濕地

(5)   cement  水泥

A Day After the San Bernardino Shooting

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said at a news briefing Thursday that the couple had more than 1,600 bullets when they were killed in their SUV. Authorities discovered more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as 12 pipe bombs, and other tools, he said.

“There was obviously a mission here,” David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said at the news briefing. “We know that. We do not know why. We don’t know if this was the intended target or if there was something that (1)triggered him to do this immediately.”

Bowdich refused to speculate on a motive for the shooting, but said authorities had not ruled anything out, including terrorism or whether the attack at the Inland Regional Center was prompted by a workplace (2) dispute.

Speaking from the Oval Office, President Obama (3)echoed those comments, and added: “We’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

Farook was an environmental engineer who worked with the San Bernardino County Health Department. He had been attending a holiday party for the department at the Inland Regional Center on Wednesday, left after some sort of dispute, and returned with Malik at about 11 a.m. local time carrying weapons, Burguan said. All four guns were legally purchased, he said Thursday. Three pipe bombs (4)rigged together, discovered at the scene, failed to detonate, Burguan said.  

Bowdich said Farook, who was born in Illinois, had traveled overseas in recent years, and had visited Pakistan, from where his parents emigrated. He returned in July 2014 with Malik, who traveled on a Pakistani passport with a fiancee visa. The couple had a 6-month-old daughter. Farook’s colleagues told the Los Angeles Times he had visited Saudi Arabia and had returned with Malik.

On Wednesday night, Farhan Khan, who is married to Farook’s sister, expressed his (5)condolences to the victims, who have not yet been identified.

“I have no idea why he would do something like this,” Khan said. “I have absolutely no idea. I’m in shock myself.”

Police received word of the shooting at about 11 a.m. Wednesday. They secured the scene and evacuated the sprawling facility, which provides services for people with disabilities. The suspects fled in a dark-colored SUV, Burguan said Wednesday. On Thursday, he said police received a tip about Farook leaving the party. They then found he had rented a Ford Expedition, which marked the description of the vehicle the suspects were seen leaving in. That vehicle was due to be returned on Wednesday.

The information led about 300 local, county, state, and federal law enforcement officials to the nearby town of Redlands, where Farook and Malik rented a home. It’s unclear if they lived there, Burguan said. Officers and the couple exchanged fire. Farook and Malik fired up to 75 rounds at them, Burguan said. Officers fired 380 rounds at the suspects, killing them.

Two officers were wounded: One was shot in the left leg; the other received cuts; neither injury is life-threatening. News helicopter footage Wednesday showed the scene at a residential street, where dozens of heavily armed police officers had gathered. A dark-colored SUV was stopped in the middle of the street, its windows blown out.

The FBI is leading the investigation, Obama said, and is being assisted by local agencies. The Loma Linda Medical Center said of the five victims in its care, two are in critical condition and three in fair condition.

A suspect who was detained on Wednesday was released, Burguan said, after it was determined he had no connection to the shooting.

We will update this story as we learn more.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/12/a-shooter-in-san-bernardino/418497/

Structure of the Lead：

WHO- 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook and 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik

WHEN-Dec. 3rd 

WHAT- unknown

WHY- for ISIS terrorism

WHERE- at a social-services center in California 

HOW- shooting at 14 people

Keywords:

(1)   trigger 觸發

(2)   dispute  爭議

(3)   echo  回聲

(4)   rig  操縱

(5)   condolence  慰問