U.S. Relations With Cuba

U.S.-CUBA RELATIONS

At the height of the Cold War, and following the Cuban government's expropriation of U.S. properties and its move toward adoption of a one-party system of government, the United States imposed an embargo on Cuba in 1960 and broke diplomatic relations in 1961. On December 17, 2014, President Obama announced a new chapter in U.S.-Cuba relations. A major step in this process was reached on July 1, 2015, when President Obama announced the decision to re-establish diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, effective July 20 with the re-opening of embassies in both countries. President Obama’s trip to Cuba in March 2016 marked a historic milestone in the normalization process between the United States and Cuba.

U.S. policy toward Cuba is focused on supporting our values, such as freedom of speech and assembly and the ability to access information, through engagement. The U.S. government is reaching out to the Cuban people by fostering increased people-to-people exchanges, encouraging the development of telecommunications and the internet, and creating opportunities for U.S. businesses to support the growth of Cuba’s nascent private sector. Through the opening of embassies, the United States is now able to engage more broadly across all sectors of Cuban society, including the government, civil society, and the general public. The United States is committed to supporting safe, orderly, and legal migration from Cuba through the effective implementation of the 1994-95 U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords.

part of the article from

https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2886.htm

structure of lead:

Who and Where- U.S. and Cuba

When- 1960-2016 

Why- rebuild the relation over two countries

key words:

1.expropriation徵用

2.impose徵收

3.embargo封港;此指戰爭時對古巴封港

4.diplomatic外交的

5.milestone里程碑

6.normalization正常化

7.foster培育

8.nascent初期的

9.migration移民

10.implementation履行

How Google's AlphaGo Beat a Go World Champion

On March 19, 2016, the strongest Go player in the world, Lee Sedol, sits down for a game against Google DeepMind’s artificial-intelligence program, AlphaGo. They’re at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun district, and it’s a big deal: Most major South Korean television networks are carrying the game. In China, 60 million people are tuning in. For the English-speaking world, the American Go Association and DeepMind are running an English-language livestream on YouTube, and 100,000 people are watching. A few hundred members of the press are in adjacent rooms, watching the game alongside expert commentators.

The game room itself is spare: a table, two black leather chairs, some cameras. Three officials presiding over the match sit in the back. Across from Lee sits Aja Huang, one of AlphaGo’s lead programmers; and beside him is a computer monitor that displays AlphaGo’s move choices. Huang’s job is to physically place AlphaGo’s pieces on the board. AlphaGo itself is not any one machine—it’s a piece of distributed software supported by a team of more than 100 scientists.


Tonight, Lee Sedol is supported by one 33-year-old human brain and approximately 12 ounces of coffee.

Most people are betting on Lee to win.

* * *

At its core, the game of Go, which originated in China more than 2,500 years ago, is an abstract war simulation. Players start with a completely blank board and place black and white stones, one at a time, to surround territory. Once placed, stones do not move, and they’re removed only if they’re “killed”—that is, surrounded completely by the opponent’s stones. And so the game goes—black stone, white stone, black stone, white stone—until the board is covered in an intricate tapestry of black and white.

The rules of Go are simple and take only a few minutes to learn, but the possibilities are seemingly endless. The number of potential legal board positions is:

208,168,199,381,979,984,699,478,633,344,862,770,286,522,

453,884,530,548,425,639,456,820,927,419,612,738,015,378,

525,648,451,698,519,643,907,259,916,015,628,128,546,089,

888,314,427, 129,715,319,317,557,736,620,397,247,064,840,

935.



That number—which is greater than the number of atoms in the universe—was only determined in early 2016. Because there are so many directions any given game can move in, Go is a notoriously difficult game for computers to play. It has often been called the “Holy Grail” of artificial intelligence.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/03/the-invisible-opponent/475611/

structure of lead:

Who- AlphaGo and Lee Sedol

When- March 19, 2016

Where- Gwanghwamun, Seoul

What-compete Go

key words:

1.go 圍棋

2.artificial-intelligence人工智慧

3.tune in指收聽某頻道或是指觀賞欣賞

4.livestream現場直播

5.adjacent room相鄰房

6.commentator評論員

7.monitor監測器

8.distribute分配

9.bet賭注

10.core指核心或是事物的中心

11.simulation模擬

12.intricate錯綜複雜的

13.tapestry掛毯(我查不到12+13合起來的意思)

14.notoriously有名地

15.holy grail聖杯;指至高無上難以達成的目標

The debate over Brexit

Introduction


For decades, the United Kingdom has had an ambivalent and sometimes contentious relationship with the European Union. London has kept its distance from Brussels's authority by negotiating opt-outs from some of the EU's central policies, including the common euro currency and the border-free Schengen area. Even still, the EU's faltering response to recent crises has fueled a renewed euroscepticism. Advocates for a British exit, or Brexit, from the union argued that by reclaiming its national sovereignty, the UK would be better able to manage immigration, free itself from onerous regulations, and spark more dynamic growth.


The victory of the Leave campaign in a June 2016 referendum on the UK's future in the bloc led to tumult in financial markets and the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron. Now led by Prime Minister Theresa May, the UK must negotiate a new relationship with the EU. Depending on the outcome of that process, the UK may face the loss of preferential access to its largest trading partner, the disruption of its large financial sector, a protracted period of political uncertainty, and the breakup of the UK itself. Meanwhile, Brexit could accelerate nationalist movements across the continent, from Scotland to Hungary, with unpredictable consequences for the EU.

http://www.cfr.org/united-kingdom/debate-over-brexit/p37747?cid=ppc-Google_grant-brexit_backgrounder-061315&gclid=CNyMnovQstECFUUGKgodBOANXA

structure of the lead:

Who - The U.K. and EU

When - June 23th, 2016

Where - The U.K.

What - leave EU or not

key words:

1.Brexit英國脫歐盟 反義詞為Bremain

2.ambivalent矛盾的

3.contentious有爭議的

4.negotiate協商

5.opt - outs (to choose not to participate in something)

6.currency貨幣

7.Schengen area有簽訂申根條約的地區(持有一國通行證及可到其他簽約國家)

8.faltering徘徊

9.fuel激起

10.euroscepticism歐洲懷疑主義

11.advocate主張.

12.reclaim回收

13.sovereignty主權

14.spark激起

15.dynamic活力的;有生氣的

16.referendum公投

17.bloc為某種共同目的而採取一致行動的政治組織

18.tumult騷動

19.preferential優先制的;差別制的

20.protracted延長的

21.accelerate加速

THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE IN THE WORLD

When the bombs rain down, the Syrian Civil Defence rushes in. In a place where public services no longer function these unarmed volunteers risk their lives to help anyone in need - regardless of their religion or politics. Known as the White Helmets these volunteer rescue workers operate in the most dangerous place on earth.

As the conflict in Syria worsens, ordinary people are paying the highest price. More than 50 bombs and mortars a day land on some neighbourhoods in Syria. Many are rusty barrels filled with nails and explosives, rolled out the back of government helicopters -- bakeries and markets are the most commonly hit targets. When this happens the White Helmets rush in to search for life in the rubble - fully aware that more bombs may fall on the same site. These volunteers have saved 78,529 lives - and this number is growing daily

https://www.whitehelmets.org/en

parts of White helmets brief introduction on their website


structure of the lead:

Who - White Helmets

Where - Syria

Why - to rescue people suffer from the war

key words:

1.rush急奔

2.unarmed徒手

3.regardless of不管

4.conflict衝突

5.mortar追擊砲

6.neighbourhood = neighborhood社區

7.rusty生鏽的

8.barrel桶

9.target目標

10.rubble瓦礫

THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE IN THE WORLD

When the bombs rain down, the Syrian Civil Defence rushes in. In a place where public services no longer function these unarmed volunteers risk their lives to help anyone in need - regardless of their religion or politics. Known as the White Helmets these volunteer rescue workers operate in the most dangerous place on earth.

As the conflict in Syria worsens, ordinary people are paying the highest price. More than 50 bombs and mortars a day land on some neighbourhoods in Syria. Many are rusty barrels filled with nails and explosives, rolled out the back of government helicopters -- bakeries and markets are the most commonly hit targets. When this happens the White Helmets rush in to search for life in the rubble - fully aware that more bombs may fall on the same site. These volunteers have saved 78,529 lives - and this number is growing daily


https://www.whitehelmets.org/en


parts of White helmets brief introduction on their website



structure of the lead:

Who - White Helmets

Where - Syria

Why - to rescue people suffer from the war

key words:

1.rush急奔

2.unarmed徒手

3.regardless of不管

4.conflict衝突

5.mortar追擊砲

6.neighbourhood = neighborhood社區

7.rusty生鏽的

8.barrel桶

9.target目標

10.rubble瓦礫

SpaceX Rocket Landing 'Another Step Toward the Stars,' Elon Musk Says

The epic rocket landing SpaceX pulled off today (April 8) is a big step forward in humanity's march out into the cosmos, company founder and CEO Elon Musk said.

SpaceX managed to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a robotic "drone ship" in the Atlantic Ocean during the successful launch of the company's uncrewed Dragon cargo capsule toward the International Space Station from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this afternoon.

The first-of-its-kind touchdown is an important milestone in SpaceX's quest to develop completely reusable rockets, which Musk has said could revolutionize spaceflight by reducing launch costs by a factor of 100.

"I think it's another step toward the stars," Musk said during a post-launch press briefing today. "In order for us to really open up access to space, we've got to achieve full and rapid reusability. And to be able to do that for the primary rocket booster is going to [have] a huge impact on cost."

SpaceX has landed a Falcon 9 first stage once before, bringing the booster back on dry land at Cape Canaveral during a satellite launch this past December. But today's touchdown was the first successful drone-ship landing after four near-misses; similar attempts in January 2015, April 2015, January 2016 and March 2016 ended with the rocket hitting the drone ship but then toppling over and exploding on its deck

"The rocket landed instead of putting a hole in the ship or tipping over, so we're really excited about that," Musk said today.

parts of article from

http://www.space.com/32520-spacex-rocket-landing-step-to-stars-elon-musk.html

structure of the lead:

Who - Elon Musk

When - April 8th, 2016

Why - to shrink the launch cost

Where - landed on the Atlantic Ocean

key words:

1.drone無人的

2.quest尋求

3.revolutionize革命

Pre-COP22 (18-19 October 2016)

The Marrakesh pre-COP will be the last informal meeting before COP22. 
It will bring together almost 70 ministers from the key influential countries in international climate negotiations. The meeting will be co-chaired by Ms Ségolène Royal, COP21 President, and Salaheddine Mezouar, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and incoming COP22 President.The pre-COP will help sketch out the key issues linked to the entry into force of the Paris Agreement. Morocco hopes to build a consensus on the need to complete the work programme produced in Paris by 2018.
The Paris Agreement will enter into force on 4 November 2016. The logical consequence is that COP22 will see the opening of the first Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) during its second week.


parts of the Pre-COP22
http://www.cop21.gouv.fr/en/la-pre-cop22-18-19-octobre-2016/



key words:
1.minister部長
2.negotiation協商
3.consensus共識