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

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。

How does Poseidon save a life?

A:He plunges into the pool B:It alerts the lifeguard C:He cries for help D:It rushes to the pool

If there is one thing certain to get Brazilians on their feet, it is the Rio Carnival (狂欢节). Held in Rio de Janeiro, the country’s biggest city, the carnival began on February 20 when the mayor gave key of the city to Rei Momo-the Lord of Misrule (无序之皇).
On his orders, each year people turn the city into a paradise of dance and music. The following six days are so full of parades, street dancing, fantastic clothes and partying (聚会) that many people forget about eating and sleeping.
"It was the passion of the carnival that attracted me to Brazil and made me settle down in Rio," said Bob Nadkarni, a British man who has lived in the city for several years. For many Brazilians, the centrepiece of the carnival is samba (桑巴舞), a typical Brazilian dance. Every year, tens of thousands of visitors and locals show off their passion and energy in the streets, following the beat (节拍) of the Latin music.
The climax to this street party is the float (彩车) parade, in which floats decorated with tons of fresh flowers by various samba schools and local communities move through the city. On the top of each float stands the candidate for the Drum Queen, who is chosen at the end of the party.
While most people are free to enjoy the celebrations, Rio’s police officers have to keep a clear head. Following the murder of three officers in a gunfight early last week, the Brazilian Government has tightened security in Rio. The street fighting, robbery and sex crimes that accompany the carnival are very difficult to police.
Carnivals began in ancient Rome as a celebration at which people fed wild wolves, in honour of the city’s founder who was said to have been raised by a she-wolf. Brazil gave new life to this tradition and so, despite the troubles, the carnival will remain a symbol of the country’s culture.
According to the passage, Bob Nadkami is

A:a Brazilian who has come back from Britain. B:a British man who visits Rio for the carnival. C:a British man who has come to live in Brazil. D:a Brazilian who is attracted by the carnival.

If there is one thing certain to get Brazilians on their feet, it is the Rio Carnival (狂欢节). Held in Rio de Janeiro, the country’s biggest city, the carnival began on February 20 when the mayor gave key of the city to Rei Momo-the Lord of Misrule (无序之皇)
On his orders, each year people turn the city into a paradise of dance and music. The following six days are so fun of parades, street dancing, fantastic clothes and partying (聚会) that many people forget about eating and sleeping.
"It was the passion of the carnival that attracted me to Brazil and made me settle down in Rio. " said Bob Nadkarni, a British man who has lived in the city for several years. For many Brazilians, the centerpiece of the carnival is samba (桑巴舞) , a typical Brazilian dance. Every year, tens of thousands of visitors and locals show off their passion and energy in the streets, following the beat (节拍) of the Latin music.
The climax to this street party is the float(彩车) parade, in which floats decorated with tons of fresh flowers by various samba schools and local communities move through the city. On the top of each float stands the candidate for the Drum Queen, who is chosen at the end of the party.
While most people are free to enjoy the celebrations. Rio’s police officers have to keep a clear head. Following the murder of three officers in a gunfight early last week, the Brazilian Government has tightened security in Rio. The street fighting, robbery and sex crimes that accompany the carnival are very difficult to police.
Carnivals began in ancient Rome as a celebration at which people fed wild wolves, in honor of the city’s founder who was said to have been raised by a she-wolf. Brazil gave new life to this tradition and so despite the troubles, the carnival will remain a symbol of the country’s culture.
According to the passage, Bob Nadkami is ______.

A:a Brazilian who has come back from Britain B:a British man who visits Rio for the carnival C:a British man who has come to live in Brazil D:a Brazilian who is attracted by the carnival

If there is one thing certain to get Brazilians on their feet, it is the Rio Carnival (狂欢节). Held in Rio de Janeiro, the country’s biggest city, the carnival began on February 20 when the mayor gave key of the city to Rei Momo-the Lord of Misrule (无序之皇)
On his orders, each year people turn the city into a paradise of dance and music. The following six days are so fun of parades, street dancing, fantastic clothes and partying (聚会) that many people forget about eating and sleeping.
"It was the passion of the carnival that attracted me to Brazil and made me settle down in Rio. " said Bob Nadkarni, a British man who has lived in the city for several years. For many Brazilians, the centerpiece of the carnival is samba (桑巴舞) , a typical Brazilian dance. Every year, tens of thousands of visitors and locals show off their passion and energy in the streets, following the beat (节拍) of the Latin music.
The climax to this street party is the float(彩车) parade, in which floats decorated with tons of fresh flowers by various samba schools and local communities move through the city. On the top of each float stands the candidate for the Drum Queen, who is chosen at the end of the party.
While most people are free to enjoy the celebrations. Rio’s police officers have to keep a clear head. Following the murder of three officers in a gunfight early last week, the Brazilian Government has tightened security in Rio. The street fighting, robbery and sex crimes that accompany the carnival are very difficult to police.
Carnivals began in ancient Rome as a celebration at which people fed wild wolves, in honor of the city’s founder who was said to have been raised by a she-wolf. Brazil gave new life to this tradition and so despite the troubles, the carnival will remain a symbol of the country’s culture.
According to the passage, Bob Nadkami is ______.

A:a Brazilian who has come back from Britain B:a British man who visits Rio for the carnival C:a British man who has come to live in Brazil D:a Brazilian who is attracted by the carnival

{{B}}第二篇{{/B}}

According to the passage, Bob Nadkami is ______.

A:a Brazilian who has come back from Britain B:a British man who visits Rio for the carnival C:a British man who has come to live in Brazil D:a Brazilian who is attracted by the carnival

第二篇 Dancing in the Streets If there is one thing certain to get Brazilians on their feet，it is the Rio Carnival(狂欢节)．Held in Rio de Janeiro．the country’s biggest city．the carnival began on February 20 when the mayor gave key of the city to Rei Momo—the Lord of Misrule(无序之皇) On his orders，each year people turn the city into a paradise of dance and music．The following six days are so fun of parades，street dancing，fantastic clothes and partying(聚会)that many people forget about eating and sleeping “It was the passion of the carnival that attracted me to Brazil and made me settle down in Rio．”said Bob Nadkarni．a British man who has lived in the city for several years For many Brazilians．the centrepiece of the carnival is samba(桑巴舞)，a typical Brazilian dance．Every year,tens of thousands of visitors and locals show off their passion and energy iu the streets．following the beat(节拍)of the Latin music． The climax to this street party is the float(彩车)parade，in which floats decorated with tons of fresh flowers by various samba schools and local communities move through the city．On the top of each float stands the candidate for the Drum Queen，who is chosen at the end of the party． while most people are free to enjoy the celebrations。Rio’s police officers have to keep a clear head．Following the murder of three offlcers in a gunfight early last week，the Brazilian Government has tightened security in Rio．The street fighting，robbery and sex crimes that accompany the carnival are very difficult to police． Carnivals began in ancient Rome as a celebration at which people fed wild wolves，in honour of the city’s founder who was said to have been raised by a she—wolf．Brazil gave new life to this tradition and so．despite the troubles．the carnival will remain a symbol of the country’s culture According to the passage，Bob Nadkami is

A:a Brazilian who has come back from Britain． B:a British man who visits Rio for the carnival． C:a British man who has come to live in Brazil． D:a Brazilian who is attracted by the carnival．