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NASA Astronaut Will Set New U.S. Record; Venezuelan Avatar Anchors.

COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, lovely people. Terrific Tuesday to you.

I`m still here in Houston after watching a great NCAA men`s national championship basketball game last night. It has been awesome. Running into

some of you while I`ve been here. Thanks for all the love.

All right. Let`s get this show started, shall we?

Let`s start among the stars with some news from outer space, as it`s looking likely that we`ll be seeing some history being made. NASA`s Frank

Rubio on track to become the first American astronaut to spend a full year in space. Rubio traveled to the International Space Station back on

September 21st, thinking it would be just a six-month mission.

He was expected to land back on Earth this spring, but the Russian spacecraft that carried Rubio and two of his Russian colleagues actually

had a coolant leak in December. Russia`s space agency later announced that it wouldn`t have been safe for the spacecraft to bring all the astronauts
 

coolant [ˋkulənt] n.【机】冷却剂

home. This means Rubio has to stay even longer in space. NASA announced the early is he can return to earth now will be on September 27th and that

would mean he`d be logging at least 371 days in orbit.
 

log [lɔg] v. 航行；飞行（一定距离，时数）

Rubio`s tour of duty would be historic as it would surpass the previous American record which is 355 days set just last year. The world record

still belongs to a Russian cosmonaut who logged 437 continuous days in orbit aboard Russia`s Mir space station back in 1994 and `95.

Now, this is all really a unique situation particularly because even though the U.S. and Russia have intense geopolitical tensions here on Earth, both

superpowers are working hand in hand when it comes to space exploration.

Our Michael Holmes has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A collaboration in space when relations between Russia and the U.S. on earth are at their worst in

decades. NASA and Russia`s space agency Roscosmos say they`ve signed a long-sought seat-swapping agreement which would allow astronauts and
 

Roscosmos 俄罗斯航天太空活动国有公司

(have) long-sought 长久以来一直寻求; desired or wished for

cosmonauts to exchange places on missions.

NASA says the first of these cross flights is expected when U.S. astronaut Frank Rubio blasts off to the International Space Station on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
 

blast off 起飞；升空

And cosmonaut Anna Kikina joins the fifth SpaceX crew Dragon launch the same month.

Historic rivals space exploration has always been a point of highs and lows for Russia in the U.S., both trying to outdo each other in the 1960s space

race. The Soviet Union sending the first man into outer space, the U.S. landing the first crew on the moon. But in recent decades, space has been

more of a joint effort between the two nations, especially after the creation of the ISS, which is operated by NASA, Roscosmos and several other

space agencies.

Both the U.S. and Russia have hitched rides with each other. Russian cosmonauts flew on the U.S. space shuttle before the fleet was replied in
 

hitch a ride 搭便車

2011. After that, American astronauts traveled to the ISS on Soyuz spacecraft, until NASA resumed its own launches in 2020 by partnering with

the commercial space company SpaceX.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: When Arkansas, home of the Yellowjackets, we are currently standing on what was the home football

field for the Wynne high school.

Look at this -- this is one of the light structures that were supposed to illuminate this field. You can see some of the broken lights here below us.

But what`s most astounding to this meteorologist is just the true force of this powerful twister that tore this path of devastation. Hard to get the

perspective but I`ll show you an aerial what you`re looking at is the peeled back artificial turf that was sucked up by the powerful updraft of
 

updraft [ˋʌp͵dræft] n. 向上之排气

this tornado.

There it is still in place in the distance and then look at what`s behind me here, like a skin of an orange being peeled back. This is what`s left

leaving the rock exposed below it and behind me, Wynne Yellowjackets proudly displayed on the water tower. This area has received significant to

catastrophic damage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Ten-second trivia: in which of these countries would you find the world`s tallest waterfall?

Venezuela, Canada, Peru or Zimbabwe?

Located in the South American country of Venezuela, the 3,200-foot Angel Falls is the tallest fall of them all.
 

Venezuela [͵vɛnəˋzwilə] n. 委内瑞拉

Now, some people don`t go chasing waterfalls. They stick to the rivers and lakes that they`re used to. But in Venezuela, some things just aren`t what

they used to be like news anchors. Venezuelans are seeing increased fake news and widespread misinformation about their country through avatars,
 

avatar [ˋævə͵tɑr] n.（术语）指在虚拟现实中互动地呈现一个人

fake anchors made of artificial intelligence reporting the news.

Though the avatars may have been created as a faster way to communicate information these fake videos are now being used to hide real problems

going on inside Venezuela and many see it as propaganda.
 

propaganda [͵prɑpəˋgændə] n. 宣传，宣传活动（或计划，方法）

Stefano Pozzebon is on the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: This isn`t actually a real person. Take a closer look. This fake avatar was created using artificial intelligence

to look like a real human. In recent months, videos like these have been shared across Venezuelan social media and even on state-run television to

spread misinformation about the country.
 

misinformation [͵mɪsɪnfəˋmeʃən] n. 误报；错误的消息

FAKE AVATAR: Media from different countries had described the event organized by Venezuela as a total and unexpected success.

POZZEBON: This year, Venezuelans have been taken to the street to demand better living conditions. The country`s minimum wage is less than ten

dollars a month. And last year, inflation was over 200 percent.

But this artificial news clips have been trying to make the country look more prosperous.

Marivi Marvin Vasquez (ph), the executive director at ProBox, a Venezuelan- based organization that monitors for online misinformation, says that these A.I.-generated people have been created and spread with a specific purpose.

MARIVI MARVIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PROBOX: To sell to the international community a different reality about the country, of success, happiness and

stability that really doesn`t exist.

FAKE AVATAR: So how true is it that Venezuela is such a poor country? Has the media exaggerated things in that place?
 

exaggerate [ɪgˋzædʒə͵ret] v. 夸张，夸大；对……言过其实

POZZEBON: And it`s not just social media. The Venezuelan government itself is helping to spread these videos on social media and even on state-run

television.

Even Nicolas Maduro, the country`s embattled president, has shared the videos.
 

embattled [ɪmˋbæt!d] adj. 准备战斗的; 处境艰难的

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (translated): They are all artificial intelligence. They do not exist. They are robots created by artificial

intelligence. I am robot.

POZZEBON: These fake videos are often in English with Spanish subtitles and are shared on social media which is often a trusty source of news for

many Venezuelans, because the government imposes strict controls on the country`s traditional media.

CRISTINA TARDAGUILA, SENIOR PROGRAM DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR JOURNALISTS: You go from completely lack of reliable information in the

traditional media, in your region, and then you go towards the other end. So, you`re suddenly like eating, drinking, smelling everything that is on

your WhatsApp or your telegram or your social media.

FAKE AVATAR: Start by selecting an A.I. avatar.

FAKE AVATAR: Like me.

FAKE AVATAR: Or me.

FAKE AVATAR: Or me.

POZZEBON: These A.I. avatars are advertised as a way for companies to create easy to make instructional videos for example. The company behind
 

instructional [ɪnˋstrʌkʃən!] adj. 教学的；教学用的；教育的

the technology says that it`s not intended to spread false narratives. When asked for comment, the company told CNN that it has since banned House of

News from using it`s A.I. software. YouTube has also removed the channel from its platform.

It`s still unclear who originally created these videos, as well as if the Venezuelan government was involved. The government did not respond to CNN`s

request for comment.

FAKE AVATAR: Hey there. I`m Matt and I can --

POZZEBON: If you`re unsure about whether or not a video that you`re watching is done by one of these fake avatars, pay close attention to their

speech and mouth movement.

FAKE AVATAR: Has a dozen pavilions that occupy 23 hectares.
 

pavilion [pəˋvɪljən] n.（公园、花园中的）亭子，凉亭；阁；（博览会的）展示馆

POZZEBON: Do their words align with the movements of their mouth. Do this movement feel awkward or constricted.
 

constricted [kənˋstrɪktɪd] adj. 狭隘的；受限制的

FAKE AVATAR: Security will be in charge of guards from the general directory.
 

directory [dəˋrɛktərɪ] n. 董事会；理事会

POZZEBON: If that is the case, you`re watching a digital avatar. It`s not a real person.

FAKE AVATAR: In Venezuela, it is estimated that 8 million people will mobilize in the next vacation.

POZZEBON: When your friend and your own government are sharing this misinformation, it demands a lot more vigilance to see through the lies and
 

vigilance [ˋvɪdʒələns] n. 警戒；警觉；警惕（性）

find the truth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: All right. We started this show way up high in the sky in space but now we`re taking you way down underwater for today`s 10 out of 10.

Scientists filmed the deepest fish on record. They released this footage of a young snailfish swimming deep in the trenches off of Japan at a depth of
 

snailfish [ˈsnel͵fɪʃ] n. 蜗牛鱼; 狮子鱼科

trench [trɛntʃ] n. 海沟

more than 27,000 feet. That`s almost as deep as the 29,000-foot Mount Everest is high, and this fish is about 2,000 feet deeper than the previous

record.

Marine biologists said that younger deep sea snail fish like this one often stay as deep as possible to avoid being eaten by bigger predators swimming

above.

Now some other fish are swimming down solo because they dropped out of school. Hey, yo, dad jokes for you.

Let`s finish this strong with my favorite part of the show. I want to give a special shout out to Park Middle School in Lincoln, Nebraska. We see you

representing the Corn Husker State.

Thanks for subscribing and commenting on our CNN 10 YouTube Channel, and thanks for all the love. Many blessings y`all. Go out and make it an

awesome day.

I`m Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.

END