Pool Watch

    Swimmers can drown in busy swimming pools when lifeguards fail to notice that they are introuble. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents says that on average 15 people drown in British pools each year, but many more suffer major injury after getting into difficulties. Now a French company has developed an artificial intelligence system called Poseidon that sounds thealarm when it sees someone in danger of drowning.

    When a swimmer sinks towards the bottom of the pool, the new system sends an alarm signal to a poolside monitoring station and a lifeguard"s pager. In trials at a pool in Ancenis, it saved a life with in just a few months, says Alistair McQuade,a spokesman for its maker, Poseidon Technologies.

    Poseidon keeps watch through a network of underwater and overhead video cameras. AI software analyses the images to work out swimmers" trajectories. To do this reliably, it has to tell the difference between a swimmer and the shadow of someone being cast onto the bottom or side of the pool. "The underwater environment is a very dynamic one, with many shadows and reflections dancing around", says McQuade.

    The software does this by "projecting" a shape in its field of view onto an image of the far wall of the pool. It does the same with an image from another camera viewing the shape from a different angle. If the two projections are in the same position, the shape is identified as a shadow and is ignored. But if they are different, the shape is a swimmer and so the system follows its trajectory.

    To pick out potential drowning victims, anyone in the water who starts to descend slowly is added to the software"s "pre-alert" ¹list,says McQuade. Swimmers who then stay immobile on the pool bottom for 5 seconds or more are considered in danger of drowning. Poseidon double-checks that the image really is of a swimmer, not a shadow, by seeing whether it obscures the pool"s floor texture when viewed from overhead. If so, it alerts the lifeguard, showing the swimmer"s location ona poolside screen.

    The first full-scale Poseidon system will be officially opened next week at a pool in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. One man who is impressed with the idea is Travor Baylis, inventor of the clockwork radio. Baylis runs a company that installs swimming pools - and he was once an underwater escapologist with a circus. “I say full marks to them if this works and can save lives", he says. But he adds that any local authority spending ~30,000 - plus on a Poseidon system ought to be investing similar amounts in teaching children to swim.

词汇：

pager [ˈpeɪdʒə(r)] 携带式电子呼叫机

trajectory [trə"dʒektərɪ]轨迹

descend [dɪ"send]下降

immobile [ɪ"məʊbaɪl] 不移动的

texture ["tekstʃə(r)]特征，质地

clockwork [ˈklɔkˌwɜ:k] 时钟机构

escapologist [ˌeskəˈpɒlədʒɪst] 擅长从捆扎的绳索中脱身的杂技演员

注释：

1 pre-alert：预先警戒的。the software"s“pre -alert”list：软件的“预警”名单。pre-：是前缀，意思是先于；预先。又如：preadult：成年前的；precancerous：癌症前期的。alert：警戒的，警觉的。

What is required of AI software to save a life?

A:It must be able to swim B:It must keep walking round the pool C:It can distinguish between a swimmer and a shadow D:It can save a life within a few months

The phrase "save his skin" (Line 4, Paragraph 1) denotes

A:protect skin. B:use cosmetics. C:escape misery. D:save energy.

As the children become (financially) independent (of) the family, the emphasis (on) family financial security will shift from protection (to save) for the retirement years.

A:financially B:of C:on D:to save

Shoppers who carefully plan their visit to the grocery store can save money on their grocery bills. Shopping when not (61) , sticking to their grocery list, and (62) a few simple rules will cut down the grocery bill.
Shoppers should visit the grocery store on a full stomach by planning their trip (63) after a large meal. If that’s not (64) , they should find something (65) to eat on while preparing a grocery list. Most shoppers are less likely to buy extras when they are not troubled by (66) .
Although having a list and (67) to it is the most important factor in saving money, (68) must prepare lists wisely in order to (69) . A carefully planned list should (70) in season produce and any items on (71) or discounted through coupons. Many special buys are announced through the local newspapers, so buying the "grocery issue" is (72) the money you spend. (73) , it’s important to remember that many newer, more expensive products first offered through coupons may not (74) enough savings for shoppers to give up products they usually buy.
Now that the shopper has (75) the grocery list, it’s time to leave for the store. However, no preparations are complete without a pocket calculator or a piece of paper and a (76) to figure costs.
Once at the store, the shopper who wants to save money should follow a few more rules. The shopper should not stay (77) than necessary because bills go up each minute the shopper is in the store. So, (78) a time limit and a cost limit can hold down the (79) . Of course, the shopper should stick strictly to the (80) and not buy any extras. If the grocery list is a short one, shoppers can use the small hand-held basket instead of the roomy grocery cart.

A:leave B:sell C:save D:buy

Shoppers who carefully plan their visit to the grocery store can save money on their grocery bills. Shopping when not (61) , sticking to their grocery list, and (62) a few simple rules will cut down the grocery bill.
Shoppers should visit the grocery store on a full stomach by planning their trip (63) after a large meal. If that’s not (64) , they should find something (65) to eat on while preparing a grocery list. Most shoppers are less likely to buy extras when they are not troubled by (66) .
Although having a list and (67) to it is the most important factor in saving money, (68) must prepare lists wisely in order to (69) . A carefully planned list should (70) in season produce and any items on (71) or discounted through coupons. Many special buys are announced through the local newspapers, so buying the "grocery issue" is (72) the money you spend. (73) , it’s important to remember that many newer, more expensive products first offered through coupons may not (74) enough savings for shoppers to give up products they usually buy.
Now that the shopper has (75) the grocery list, it’s time to leave for the store. However, no preparations are complete without a pocket calculator or a piece of paper and a (76) to figure costs.
Once at the store, the shopper who wants to save money should follow a few more rules. The shopper should not stay (77) than necessary because bills go up each minute the shopper is in the store. So, (78) a time limit and a cost limit can hold down the (79) . Of course, the shopper should stick strictly to the (80) and not buy any extras. If the grocery list is a short one, shoppers can use the small hand-held basket instead of the roomy grocery cart.

A:leave B:sell C:save D:buy

第二篇 　　 Shopping at Second-hand Clothing Stores 　　When 33-year-old Pete Barth was in college, shopping at second-hand clothing stores was just something he did - "like changing the tires on his car." He looked at his budget, and decided he could save a lot of money by shopping for clothes at thrift shops. 　　"Even new clothes are fairly disposable (用后即丢掉的) and wear out after a couple of years," Barth said. "In thrift shops, you can find some great stuff whose quality is better than new clothes." 　　Since then, Barth, who works at a Goodwill thrift shop in the US state of Florida, has found that there are all kinds of reasons for shopping for second-hand clothing. Some people like him, shop to save money. Some shop for a crazy-looking shirt. And some hop as a means of conserving energy and helping the environment. 　　Pat Akins, an accountant at a Florida Salvation Army (SA) (救世军) thrift shop, said hat, for her, shopping at thrift shops is a way to help the environment. 　　"When my daughter was little, we looked at it as recycling," Akins said. "Also, why ay 30 dollars for a new coat when you can get another one for a lot less?" 　　Akins said that the SA has shops all over the US - "some as big as department stores." All of the clothes are donated (捐赠), and when they have a surplus (盈余), they’ll have "stuff a bag" specials, where customers can fill a grocery sack with clothes for only or 10 dollars. 　　Julia Slocum, 22, points out, however, that the huge amount of second-hand clothing in the US is the result of American wastefulness. 　　I’d say that second-hand stores are the result of our wasteful, materialistic culture," said Slocum, who works for a pro-conservation organization, the Center for a New American Dream. "Thrift shops prevent that waste from going to landfills (垃圾填埋场); they give clothing a second life, provide cheaper clothing for those who can’t afford to buy new ones and generate (生成) income for charities. They also provide a way for the wealthy and middle classes to shed (摆脱) some of the guilt for their level of consumption." When Barth was a college student, he often shopped at thrift shops

A:to save money. B:to save energy. C:to help the environment. D:to make friends with poor people.

{{B}}第二篇{{/B}}

A:to save money B:to save energy C:to help the environment D:to make friends with poor people

{{B}}第二篇{{/B}}

A:to save money B:to save energy C:to help the environment D:to make friends with poor people

第二篇 Shopping at Second-hand Clothing Stores 　　When 33-year-old Pete Barth was in college，shopping at second-hand clothing　stores was just something he did - “like changing the tires on his car.” He looked at his budget and decided he could save a lot of money by shopping for clothes at thrift shops. 　　“Even new clothes are fairly disposable (可丢掉的)and wear out after a couple of years，” Barth said. “In thrift shops，you can find some great stuff whose quality is better than new clothes.” 　　Since then，Barth，who works at a Goodwill thrift shop in the US state of Florida，has found that there are all kinds of reasons for shopping for second-hand clothing. Some people，like him，shop to save money. Some shop for a crazy-looking shirt. And some shop as a means of conserving energy and helping the environment. 　　Pat Akins，an accountant at a Florida Salvation Army (SA)(救世军)thrift shop，said that，for her，shopping at thrift shops is a way to help the environment. 　　“When my daughter was little，we looked at it as recycling，” Akins said. “Also，why pay 30 dollars for a new coat when you can get another one for a lot less?” 　　Akins said that the SA has shops all over the US - “some as big as department　stores.” All of the clothes are donated (捐赠)，and when they have a surplus (盈余)，they’ll have “stuff a bag” specials，where customers can fill a grocery sack With clothes for only 5 or 10 dollars. 　　Julia Slocum，22，points out，however，that the huge amount of second-hand clothing in the US is the result of American wastefulness. 　　I’d say that second-hand stores are the result of our wasteful，materialistic culture，“ said Slocum，who works for a pro-conservation organization，the Center for a New American Dream. ”Thrift shops prevent that waste from going to landfills (垃圾填埋场); they give clothing a second life，provide cheaper clothing for those who can’t afford new ones and generate (生成)income for charities. They also provide a way for the wealthy and middle classes to shed (摆脱)some of the guilt for their level of consumption.“ When Barth was a college student，he often shopped at thrift shops

A:to save money. B:to save energy. C:to help the environment. D:to make friends with poor people.