2013年英语四级阅读试题及答案24

　　The human brain contains 10 thousand million cells and each of these may have a

　　thousand connections. Such enormous numbers used to discourage us and cause us to dismiss the possibility of making a machine with humanlike ability, but now that we have grown used to moving forward at such a pace we can be less sure. Quite soon, in only 10 or 20 years perhaps, we will be able to assemble a machine as complex as the human brain, and if we can we will. It may then take us a long time to render it intelligent by loading in the right software (软件) or by altering the architecture but that too will happen.

　　I think it certain that in decades, not centuries, machines of silicon (硅) will

　　arise first to rival and then exceed their human ancestors. Once they exceed us they will be capable of their own design. In a real sense they will be able to reproduce themselves. Silicon will have ended carbon's long control. And we will no longer be able to claim ourselves to be the finest intelligence in the known universe.

　　As the intelligence of robots increases to match that of humans and as their cost declines through economies of scale we may use them to expand our frontiers, first on earth through their ability to withstand environments, harmful to ourselves. Thus, deserts may bloom and the ocean beds be mined. Further ahead, by a combination of the great wealth this new age will bring and the technology it will provide, the construction of a vast, man-created world in space, home to thousands or millions of people, will be within our power.

　　这是一篇说明文，介绍如何发展具有人工智能的机器。文章第一段介绍了人脑结构很复杂，而人们想设计出一台与人脑一样复杂的机器;第二段介绍了未来将由硅芯机器替代“碳”的时代;第三段是展望未来，科技发展将给社会带来深刻的变化。

　　16. In what way can we make a machine intelligent?

　　A) By making it work in such environments as deserts, oceans or space.

　　B) By working hard for 10 or 20 years.

　　C) By either properly programming it or changing its structure.

　　D )By reproducing it.

　　[答案及分析]：[C]。辨认事实题。问用什么方法可使机器具有人工智能。第一段中最后一句话说：“It may then take us...will happen(我们要花很长时间，通过给机器装上合适的软件或改变内部结构使机器具备智能)。”故C为正确答案;A、B、D的内容在文章中虽被提到，但与问题不符。

　　17. What does the writer think about machines with human-like ability?

　　A) He believes they will be useful to human beings.

　　B) He believes that they will control us in the future.

　　C) He is not quite sure in what way they may influence us. D) He doesn't consider the construction of such machines possible.

　　[答案及分析]：[A]。推断题。问作者如何看待具有像人一样的智能的机器。文章最后一段介绍了具有人工智能的机器可为人类做许多事情。由此可以推断出;人工智能机器对人类非常有用，故A为正确答案。

　　18. The word carbon( Line 4, Para. 2) stands for" _______"

　　A) intelligent robots B) a chemical element

　　C) an organic substance D) human beings

　　[答案及分析]：[D]。正误判断题。问文章中carbon(碳)指的是什么。在文章第二段中作者谈到;在未来几十年中，硅芯机器将与对的相遇并将超过对手(人类)，因而硅芯机器将结束碳的时代(即人类)。由此可看出文中carbon指的便是human beings。故答案D为正确的。

　　19. A robot can be used to expand our frontiers when _______. A) its intelligence and cost are beyond question

　　B) it is able to bear the rough environment

　　C) it is made as complex as the human brain

　　D) its architecture is different from that of the present ones

　　[答案及分析]：[A]。辨认事实题。问在什么情况下，人工智能机器可用于开发边远地区。在文章第三段开头，作者谈到As the intelligence of robots increases...to expand our frontiers,由此不难看出，intelligence和cost这两个因素制着机器人是否能用于开发边远地区。故A为正确答案。

　　20. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

　　A) after the installation of a great number of cells and connections, robots will

　　be capable of selfreproduction.

　　B) with the rapid development of technology, people have come to realize the possibility of making a machine with human-like ability.

　　C) once we make a machine as complex as the human brain, it will possess

　　intelligence

　　D) robots will have control of the vast, man-made world in space.

　　[答案及分析]：[B]。推论题。问根据文章可推论出下列哪项通读全文可知，作者认为随着科学技术的发展，人们可望生产出具有人工智能型的机器。在文章的第一段中提到了这个问题;在第二、三段中举例说明。因此B的信息与本文相符。