Big data(数据) is a lot of sets of information that are put together so they can be used by a computer program. The computer program looks for different kinds of answers or patterns in the data. Big data can have different kinds of information from many sources, such as information that comes from schools, social media sites, companies, and governments. One set of data can have people’s names and addresses. Another set can have what they like, where they go to school, and how much time they spend on the computer.

________ The government uses it to understand how many people travel on buses or trains. This information is then used to make bus or train systems better. Some schools use big data to understand which children may need extra help in class. The teacher can then give certain students more help or support so those students can succeed in school. Companies use big data, too. It helps them understand who buys their products. For example, one company uses weather data to see when people eat the most ice cream.

________ Some hospitals use big data to predict if a baby who is born too early will get sick. The hospital can then take extra steps to take care of that baby so he or she does not get sick. Big data can also be used for bad reasons. It can be used to predict which kinds of people are likely to break the law or hurt others, even if they have not done anything wrong.

________ It is because the computer programs used to look at big data and understand it are written by people. People think a certain way. Because they think a certain way, they build a model of those ideas. These ideas are then used to look at the data. Sometimes, these ideas are helpful for people or businesses. Other times, bad ideas can cause problems for certain groups of people.

The following news is from China Daily (www. chinadaily. com) which covers different fields.

J. K. Rowling Publishes New Story Online The famous English writer J. K. Rowling said on Tuesday, “I’m producing a new story called The Ickabog which will be free to read online.” It’s the first children’s book by J. K. Rowling, since she finished Harry Potter in 2007.
China Sends Beidou Successfully China sent the last satellite of Beidou into space on Tuesday. The satellite is the 59th in the Beidou family. It marks the completion of Beidou, one of the networks around the world, along with the United States’ GPS, Russia’s GLONASS and the European Union’s Galileo.
Jeff Bezos Is Taking Action The world’s richest person Jeff Bezos, the boss of Amazon. com, announced on Monday that he would put in 10 million dollars to start a great project, which would support scientists, researchers and NGOs to help save the animals in danger and protect the natural world.
China and France Holds an Online Concert To deepen the friendship between the people of China and France, artists from both countries stepped onto the same stage and performed online on Monday. The online concert allows people to enjoy both traditional Chinese folk songs and French classics.
The Vaccines (疫苗) May Be Ready Many countries are developing the vaccines for COVID-19(新型冠状病毒肺炎) by different methods. Some are even going through the final step to decide how well the vaccine works and if it’s safe. With more than 160 possible vaccines under study, experts hope that vaccine may be ready by the end of 2020.