考研英语真题阅读理解试题及名师解析(十一)
Since the dawn of human ingenuity, people have devised ever more cunning tools to cope with work that is dangerous, boring, burdensome, or just plain nasty. That compulsion has resulted in robotics—the science of conferring various human capabilities on machines. And if scientists have yet to create the mechanical version of science fiction, they have begun to come close。
As a result, the modern world is increasingly populated by intelligent gizmos whose presence we barely notice but whose universal existence has removed much human labor. Our factories hum to the rhythm of robot assembly arms. Our banking is done at automated teller terminals that thank us with mechanical politeness for the transaction. Our subway trains are controlled by tireless robot-drivers. And thanks to the continual miniaturization of electronics and micro-mechanics, there are already robot systems that can perform some kinds of brain and bone surgery with submillimeter accuracy—far greater precision than highly skilled physicians can achieve with their hands alone。
But if robots are to reach the next stage of laborsaving utility, they will have to operate with less human supervision and be able to make at least a few decisions for themselves—goals that pose a real challenge. “While we know how to tell a robot to handle a specific error,” says Dave Lavery, manager of a robotics program at NASA, “we can't yet give a robot enough ‘common sense’ to reliably interact with a dynamic world。”
Indeed the quest for true artificial intelligence has produced very mixed results. Despite a spell of initial optimism in the 1960s and 1970s when it appeared that transistor circuits and microprocessors might be able to copy the action of the human brain by the year 2010, researchers lately have begun to extend that forecast by decades if not centuries。
What they found, in attempting to model thought, is that the human brain's roughly one hundred billion nerve cells are much more talented—and human perception far more complicated—than previously imagined. They have built robots that can recognize the error of a machine panel by a fraction of a millimeter in a controlled factory environment. But the human mind can glimpse a rapidly changing scene and immediately disregard the 98 percent that is irrelevant, instantaneously focusing on the monkey at the side of a winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a big crowd. The most advanced computer systems on Earth can't approach that kind of ability, and neuroscientists still don't know quite how we do it。
26. Human ingenuity was initially demonstrated in
[A]the use of machines to produce science fiction。
[B]the wide use of machines in manufacturing industry。
[C]the invention of tools for difficult and dangerous work.
[D]the elite's cunning tackling of dangerous and boring work.
27. The word “gizmos" (line 1, paragraph 2) most probably means
[A]programs. [B]experts. [C]devices. [D]creatures。
28. According to the text, what is beyond man's ability now is to design a robot that can
[A]fulfill delicate tasks like performing brain surgery。
[B]interact with human beings verbally。
[C]have a little common sense。
[D]respond independently to a changing world。
29. Besides reducing human labor, robots can also
[A]make a few decisions for themselves。
[B]deal with some errors with human intervention。
[C]improve factory environments。
[D]cultivate human creativity。
30. The author uses the example of a monkey to argue that robots are
[A]expected to copy human brain in internal structure。
[B]able to perceive abnormalities immediately。
[C]far less able than human brain in focusing on relevant information。
[D]best used in a controlled environment。
名师解析
26. Human ingenuity was initially demonstrated in 人类的创造性最初表现在
[A]the use of machines to produce science fiction. 用机器来创作科幻小说。
[B]the wide use of machines in manufacturing industry. 制造业对机器的广泛使用。
[C]the invention of tools for difficult and dangerous work。
发明工具以处理困难和危险的工作。
[D]the elite’s cunning tackling of dangerous and boring work。
精英人士对危险和枯燥的工作的巧妙的处理。
【答案】 C
【考点】 事实细节题。
【分析】 通过“Human ingenuity”和“initially”可以定位到第一段开始。“从人类产生智慧初期至今，人们一直在设计越来越巧妙的工具来应付那些危险的、枯燥的、繁重的或者直接就是肮脏的工作。”由于讲的是人类最初的创造力，因此可以排除[A]、[B]、[D]。
27. The word “gizmos" (Line 1, Paragraph 2) most probably means
单词“gizmos”(第二段第一行)最有可能的意思是
[A]programs. 程序。 [B]experts. 专家。
[C]devices. 设备。 [D]creatures. 生物。
【答案】 C
【考点】 词义题。
【分析】 本题虽然考查的是词义，但是显然不是希望考生通过储备更大的词汇来回答，而是希望考生能够利用文中出现的细节来推断这个单词的意思。第二段第一句的意思说“由此引起的结果是，现代世界已经充斥着越来越多的智能____，尽管我们几乎都注意不到它们，但它们的普遍存在却节省了许多人类劳力。”然后作者提及到了“工厂机械手”、“自动柜员机”以及“机器人驾驶员”等等。由此我们可以认定这些设施都是对“gizmo”的例举和解释。而这几样东西具有一个共同的特征，即它们都是“工具”。相比四个选项，只有[C]最合适。
28. According to the text, what is beyond man's ability now is to design a robot that can
根据本文，现在超越人类能力范围的是设计一种能________的机器人。
[A] fulfill delicate tasks like performing brain surgery。
完成诸如脑手术这样的精细的工作。
[B] interact with human beings verbally。
与人类进行口头交流。
[C] have a little common sense。
有一些常识。
[D] respond independently to a changing world。
对一个变化的世界独立应付。
【答案】 D
【考点】 事实细节题。
【分析】 根据“超越人类能力”这个关键信息，我们可以定位到第三段中“Dave Lavery”的第二句话，即“we can’t yet give a robot enough‘common sense’to reliably interact with a dynamic world”。因为该句中的“dynamic”就是“动态的、变化的”意思，因此我们可以判定答案[D]是正确的。[A]文中已经提及。[B]的例子就是“自动柜员机”。[C]可以在第三段最后一句“我们不能给他足够的常识”中找到被排除的依据。
29. Besides reducing human labor, robots can also
除了减少人类劳动，机器人还能够
[A]make a few decisions for themselves。为自己做几个决策。
[B]deal with some errors with human intervention。通过人类干预处理一些错误。
[C]improve factory environments. 改善工厂环境。
[D]cultivate human creativity。培养人的创造性。
【答案】 B
【考点】 事实细节题。
【分析】 本题要求考生寻找机器人还能够从事什么工作，这就需要对四个选项进行比较。寻找答案。[A]提到机器人能够为自己做几个决策，通过“decision”这个单词可以定位到第三段第一句话“但是如果机器人要进入节省劳力的下一个阶段，他们必须能够在更少的人工监控下运行，并且至少能够独立地做一些决定”，这句话表明，目前机器人还不能独立做一些决定。[B]的意思符合第三段第三句，“虽然我们知道如何让机器人去纠正一个特定的错误”。至于[C]，文中提到机器人是受环境控制的，而不是反之。[D]的说法也反了。
30. The author uses the example of a monkey to argue that robots are
作者使用猴子的例子，为的是说机器人
[A] expected to copy human brain in internal structure。
被期望复制人脑内部结构。
[B] able to perceive abnormalities immediately。
能够立即觉察到不正常情况。
[C] far less able than human brain in focusing on relevant information。
在聚焦相关信息方面远远不如人类。
[D] best used in a controlled environment。
最适合在受控环境下使用。
【答案】 C
【考点】 作者意图题。