淘金高阶英语六级巅峰阅读 短句问答19: 人工智能

　　短句问答19: 人工智能

　　Some of the old worries about artificial intelligence were closely linked to the question of whether computers could think.The first massive electronic computers,capable of rapid calculation and little or no creative activity,were soon dubbed(取绰号) electronic brains .A reaction to this terminology quickly followed,computers were called high speed idiots ,an effort to protect human vanity.But not everyone realized the implications of the high-speed idiot tag.It has not been pointed out enough that even the human idiot is one of the most intelligent life forms on earth.If the early computers were even that intelligent,it was already a remarkable state of affairs.

　　One consequence of speculation about the possibility of computer thought was that we were forced to examine with new care the idea of thought in general.It soon became clear that we were not sure what we meant by such terms as thought and thinking.We tend to assume that human beings think,some more than others,though we often call people thoughtless or unthinking.Dreams cause a problem,partly because they usually happen outside our control.They are obviously some type of mental experience,but are they a type of thinking?And the question of nonhuman life forms adds further problems.Many of us would maintain that some of the higher animals-dogs,cats,apes,and so on-are capable of at least basic thought,but what about fish and insects?If thinking is demonstrated by evident electrical activity in the brain,then many species are capable of thought.Once we have formulated clear ideas on what thought is in biological creatures,it will be easier to discuss the question of thought in artifacts(人工制品).And what is true of thought is also true of the many other mental processes.One of the immense benefits of a research is that we are being forced to scrutinize,with new rigor,the working of the human mind.

　　It is already clear that machines have superior mental abilities to many life forms.No fern or oak tree can play chess as well as even the simplest digital computer,nor can frogs weld car bodies as well as robots.It seems that,viewed in terms of intellect ,the computer should be set well above plants and most animals.Only the higher animals can compete with computers with regard to intellect and even then with diminishing success.

　　参考译文

　　一直以来，关于人工智能的一些担忧与电脑是否会思考这个问题紧密相连。最初的大型电于计算机可以快速计算却没有或几乎没有创造能力，它们马上就被冠以 电脑 的绰号。很快就有了对这一术语的反应，计算机被称为 高速白痴 ，这无非是维护人类虚荣心所做的一种努力。但并不是每个人都能意识到 高速白痴 这个绰号的含义。即使是一个白痴的人也堪称世界上最智能的生命形式之一，这一点并未得到充分的指明。如果早期的计算机能达到这种智力水平，那早已经是件非常了不起的事情了。

　　关于计算机是否具有思考能力的推测迫使我们重新审视 思维 的普遍含义。很快我们就会清楚地意识到我们并不确定 思维 和 思考 这类术语的意思。我们往往认定人类会思考，一些人比其他人思考得多些，虽然我们常常会称某人毫无思想或者缺乏思考。梦的存在引出了一个问题，部分原固在于梦通常不受我们的控制。梦显然是某种精神上的体验，然而这能算是一种思考吗?非人类生物的存在则引出了更多的问题。很多人都认为一些较高等的动物，如狗、猫、猿等，至少有基本的思考能力，但鱼和昆虫呢?如果思考可以通过是脑的明显电波活动显现出来的话，那么很多物种都能思考。一旦我们明确地阐述出生物思维的含义，那么讨论人造物体的思维问题就会变得更容易。而关于思维的正确认识对于其他很多精神上的活动也同样正确。对此进行研究的其中一个最大的好处是我们将不得不更严格地、仔细地研究人类的思考方式。

　　机器比很多生物具有更强的思考能力，这早已是不争的事实。蕨类或橡树都无法下棋，即使最简单的电子计算机都比它们强，青蛙也不可能像机器人那样焊接车身。看来，如果以智力的标准衡量，计算机远远胜于植物和多数动物。只有较高等的动物可以在智力方面与计算机相比，即使如此，两者间的差距也是微乎其微的。

　　测试题

　　1.What did people think of the early computers?

　　2.According to the author,the early computers is__________________than human idiots.

　　3.As a result of speculating whether computer could think,we had to research more carefully to get_____________________.

　　4.Why do dreams cause the problem whether they are a type of thinking,according to the author?

　　5.What does the author want to illustrate by mentioning the fern and the oak tree?

　　答案详解

　　1.

　　第1段第2、3句。

　　解析：此题有关人们对早期电子计算机的看法。从第1段第2、3句所提到的计算机的两个绰号 electronic brains 和 high speed idiots 可推理得出：人们对于当时出现的计算机其实是持嘲讽和轻蔑态度的，认为它们虽然运转速度快，但是很笨。

　　2.

　　根据early computers查找到第1段最后一句。

　　解析：原文倒数第2句提到，即使是human idiot，也是最intelligent的生命形式。接着最后一句用if 假设 说明了早期的计算机并没有白痴的人聪明，由此可知题目应填入less intelligent。

　　3.

　　根据result of speculating查找到第2段第1句。

　　解析：题目中的前半部分是对原文主语的同义改写，主句中的had to research toget...相当于原文中的were forced to examine...，因此examine后面的宾语就是答案所在。

　　4.根据dreams cause a problem查找到第2段第4句。

　　解析：原文提到Dreams cause a problem后即明确解释原因：partly because they usually happen outside our control，答案可以照搬原文，也可以用介词beyond进行同义改写。

　　5.

　　末段前三句。

　　解析：末段第2句提到的内容是支持该段首句和第3句观点的具体例子。这两句话的观点是相同的，说的都是 机器比很多生物具有更强的思考能力 。由此可见。可照搬首句中that引导的主语从句作为答案，也可以结合第3句作同义改写。