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

On behalf of the workplace issues committee, I would like to remind you all about the importance of energy conservation. By reducing our energy usage in the office, we cannot only save thousands of dollars on electricity bills, but we can also help the environment. Moreover, being energy efficient will help boost our image in the community.
At last month’s meeting of the workplace issues committee, we came up with a list of simple measures that individual employees can take to help conserve energy. Please read the following ideas, and try to put them into practice!
...Switch off your computer and monitor when you take your lunch break.
...Do not use a screen saver on your computer.
...Leave the blinds open so that artificial lighting can be kept to a minimum.
...Dress appropriately for the conditions so as to reduce usage of heating and air conditioning.
...Take the stairs rather than the elevator whenever possible.
The list is an excellent start, but it is far from exhaustive. If you have any suggestions to add, please do so. Whether you are a senior manager or a junior office clerk, your input is equally valuable! You can post suggestions on the workplace issues web page on the company intranet. We will then discuss your suggestions at next month’s meeting of the workplace issues committee.
Kind regards,
Bethany Willets

What is NOT a suggestion made by the committee to each employee ？（）

A:Turning off computers whenever possible B:Reducing dependence on artificial light C:Installing a screen saver on their computer D:Using the stairs instead of the elevator

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

Today a pilot is totally dependent on what the air traffic controller on the ground tells him. He can’t see enough to be safe. Flight watch is an instrument intended to help him.
On a screen in front of the pilot, there will be a map of the (21) around the plane. The pilot’s own (22) level or height and his own plane at the center of the (23) will show up. On the map any other planes in the airspace will (24) as spots of light with "tails" showing the direction of their light. The flight watch map is (25) for the other planes are not shown at their true (26) , but at their distances away in flying time. This (27) the problem of fast planes being too far away to be seen (28) likely to make contact in seconds and (29) planes that are close enough to be seen but so slow that there’s no chance of (30) for, say, ten minutes.
The pilot will be able to see on the screen whether another plane’s course conflicts with (31) . The screen will show him the flight number of the other plane, so he can contact air traffic control and ask them about the other plane’s course. Then he can take (32) action if necessary. The screen will show him whether his action puts him (33) from yet another aircraft.
Technically, the (34) will be quite complex. Computers will be necessary on the ground and (35) each aircraft to enable Flight watch to collect data about the plane courses and to calculate the distances between planes. But such small computers are now quite cheap, simple and reliable.

27（）

A:space B:screen C:sky D:map

Today a pilot is totally dependent on what the air traffic controller on the ground tells him. He can’t see enough to be safe. Flight watch is an instrument intended to help him.
On a screen in front of the pilot, there will be a map of the (21) around the plane. The pilot’s own (22) level or height and his own plane at the center of the (23) will show up. On the map any other planes in the airspace will (24) as spots of light with "tails" showing the direction of their light. The flight watch map is (25) for the other planes are not shown at their true (26) , but at their distances away in flying time. This (27) the problem of fast planes being too far away to be seen (28) likely to make contact in seconds and (29) planes that are close enough to be seen but so slow that there’s no chance of (30) for, say, ten minutes.
The pilot will be able to see on the screen whether another plane’s course conflicts with (31) . The screen will show him the flight number of the other plane, so he can contact air traffic control and ask them about the other plane’s course. Then he can take (32) action if necessary. The screen will show him whether his action puts him (33) from yet another aircraft.
Technically, the (34) will be quite complex. Computers will be necessary on the ground and (35) each aircraft to enable Flight watch to collect data about the plane courses and to calculate the distances between planes. But such small computers are now quite cheap, simple and reliable.

21（）

A:space B:screen C:sky D:map

Today a pilot is totally dependent on what the air traffic controller on the ground tells him. He can’t see enough to be safe. Flight watch is an instrument intended to help him.
On a screen in front of the pilot, there will be a map of the (21) around the plane. The pilot’s own (22) level or height and his own plane at the center of the (23) will show up. On the map any other planes in the airspace will (24) as spots of light with "tails" showing the direction of their light. The flight watch map is (25) for the other planes are not shown at their true (26) , but at their distances away in flying time. This (27) the problem of fast planes being too far away to be seen (28) likely to make contact in seconds and (29) planes that are close enough to be seen but so slow that there’s no chance of (30) for, say, ten minutes.
The pilot will be able to see on the screen whether another plane’s course conflicts with (31) . The screen will show him the flight number of the other plane, so he can contact air traffic control and ask them about the other plane’s course. Then he can take (32) action if necessary. The screen will show him whether his action puts him (33) from yet another aircraft.
Technically, the (34) will be quite complex. Computers will be necessary on the ground and (35) each aircraft to enable Flight watch to collect data about the plane courses and to calculate the distances between planes. But such small computers are now quite cheap, simple and reliable.

34（）

A:plane B:screen C:system D:action

Swimmers can drown in busy swimming pools when lifeguards fail to notice that they are in trouble. A report 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 the alarm 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 (呼机). In trials at a pool in Ancenis, near Nantes, it saved a life within 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 (轨迹). 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.
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" (预先警戒) list, 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 (使模糊) the pool’s floor texture when viewed from overhead. If so, it alerts the lifeguard, showing the swimmer’s location on a 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 (时钟装置) radio. Baylis runs a company that installs swimming pools-and he was once an underwater escapologist (脱身杂技演员) with a circus (马戏团)."I say full marks to them if this works and can save lives," he says.
How does Poseidon save a life

A:It orders an underwater robot to rescue the drowning swimmer. B:It alerts the lifeguard. C:It displays the swimmer’s shadow on the screen. D:It watches the pool through dozens of overhead cameras.

在FoxPro中，要把当前屏幕画面存入内存变量PM中，应当使用的命令是( )。

A:RESTORE SCREEN FROM PN B:SAVE SCREEN TO PU C:SAVE ALL TO PU D:SESTORE FROM PU