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- A.cope with some errors with human assistance
- B.improve factory environments
- C.make decisions on their own
- D.stimulate human creativity
- A.human brains can spot minor errors in a controlled factory environment
- B.human brains are better than robots at focusing on relevant information
- C.robots are expected to imitate human brain in internal structure
- D.robots are able to gain 98 percent of the information
- A.devices
- B.experts
- C.programs
- D.creatures
- A.control subway trains
- B.perform delicate brain surgery
- C.communicate with human beings verbally
- D.respond independently to a changing world
- 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 a
- 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 h
- 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
- Human beings initially demonstrated their ingenuity 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 unpleasant work
- D.the elite's cunning tackling of dangerous and boring work
- A.his parents should be criticized
- B.modern civilization is responsible for it
- C.the criminal himself should bear the blame
- D.moral standards should be improved in the society
- A.people in small towns stick to old discipline and standards
- B.people tend to excuse criminals for their illegal behaviors
- C.disadvantaged people are engaged in criminal activities
- D.today's society lacks sympathy for people in difficulty
- A.more self-discipline is required in schools and families
- B.more role models should be set for people to follow
- C.more regulations should be introduced in the society
- D.more people should accept the value of accountability
- A.have become a thing of the past
- B.take on different forms nowadays
- C.shouldn' t be advocated in modern times
- D.are beneficial to the stability of the family
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Passage Four
- A wise man once said that the only thing necessary for triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. So, as a police officer I have some urgent things to say to good people.
- Days after days my men and I struggle to hold back a tidal wave of crime. Something has gone terribly wrong with our once-proud American way of life. It has happened in the area of values. A key ingredient is disappearing, and I think I know what it is: a
- Accountability isn't hard to define. It means that every person is responsible for his or her actions and liable for their consequences. Of the many values that hold civilization together - honesty, kindness, and so on - accountability may be the most
- Fortunately, there are still communities — smaller towns, usually — where schools maintain discipline and where parents hold up standards that proclaim:“In this family certain things are not tolerated — they simply are not do
- I don't believe it. Many others in equally disadvantaged circumstances choose not to engage in criminal activities. If we free the criminal, even partly, from accountability, we become a society of endless excuses where no one accepts responsibil
- A.it's only natural for virtue to defeat evil
- B.good people needn't do anything in face of evil
- C.evil will prevail if good men do nothing about it
- D.it's desirable for good men to keep away from evil
- A.being responsible for one's own action
- B.being honest and kind to others
- C.being trusted by other people
- D.being aware of dangers
- A.more and more families enjoy eating out
- B.families prepare healthier food nowadays
- C.the dining room table has become unnecessary
- D.family members share more meals than some have suggested
- A.the decrease of shared meals
- B.the shrinking of modern kitchens
- C.consumers' tendency of being more economical
- D.parents' greater tolerance to children's eating habits
- A.it has become a trend that men spend more time cooking than women
- B.the time men spend on cooking drops sharply compared with that in 1961
- C.it will take 40 years before men spend more time at the stove than women
- D.the average woman spends less time on cooking than decades ago
- A.future technology will enable cars to drive themselves
- B.people will be glad to give up all control to their cars
- C.all cars will be equipped with failsafe systems
- D.no car will ever break down on the roads
- According to research by Prof. Jonathan Gershuny, who runs the Centre for Time Research at Oxford, men now spend more than half an hour a day cooking, up from just 12 minutes a day in 1961. Prof. Gershuny said: "The man in the kitch
- Anne Murphy, general manager at Birds Eye, said: "The evening meal is still clearly central to family life and with some saying family time is on the increase and the appearance of a more frugal consumer, we think the return to tradition will continue as
- However, Prof. Gershuny pointed out that the family meal was now rarely eaten by all of its members around a table -with many "family meals" in fact taken on the sofa in the sitting room, and shared by completely different members of the family. &nbs
- A.the development of sexual equality campaign
- B.the improvement of cooks' economic status
- C.the change of women's view on cooking
- D.the popularity of female chefs
- A.will disappear gradually
- B.need further improvement
- C.kill rather than protect people in low-speed collisions
- D.have been standard equipment of all European cars for years
- A.the author's car is as expensive as his brother's
- B.the author's car fulfills more functions than his brother's
- C.not much has changed in the way people drive cars
- D.improved performance of cars helps to reduce traffic accidents
- A.by giving a warning in advance
- B.by easing up on the throttle
- C.by braking automatically
- D.by not starting the engine
- A.to show the necessity to improve farming methods
- B.to persuade farmers to adopt new farming techniques
- C.to inform people of the side effect of intensive cultivation
- D.to intensify people's awareness of land erosion in the US
- Airbags aren't the be-all and end-all in safety. In fact, considering the recent news about people occasionally being killed by their airbags in low-speed collisions, they obviously still need some development. But they aren't going away, and in f
- Better than systems to minimize injury in the event of an accident, however, are systems that minimize the likelihood of an accident happening in the first place. Future cars may be able to eliminate many of the major causes of accidents, including drunk-
- A.the power source of his brother's car
- B.his oldest brother's car magazines
- C.his ride in his oldest brother's car
- D.other small boys' desire for cars
- A.soil deterioration is becoming a serious problem
- B.climate change reduces the area of the croplands
- C.customers have to pay more for agricultural products
- D.high productivity comes along with damaging forces of nature
- Agriculture is the number one industry in the United States and agricultural products are the country's leading export. American farmers manage to feed not only the total population of the United States, but also millions of other people throughout th
- Each field is covered by a limited amount of topsoil, the upper layer of earth which is richest in the nutrient and minerals necessary for growing crops. Ever since the first farmers arrived in the Midwest almost 200 years ago, cultivation and,
- A.the Midwest is the most prosperous in the US
- B.the Midwest is the most fertile in the world
- C.the Midwest is expecting a good harvest
- D.the Midwest is within reach of prosperity
- A.They live a tranquil but industrious life
- B.They work very hard and learn new skills.
- C.They work longer hours during week days.
- D.They have to compete with farmers in other countries.
- A.American farmers feed almost three quarters of the world population
- B.75 percent of corn and soybeans in the world market come from the US
- C.American agricultural exports have a share of 75% in the global market
- D.corn and soybeans take up about three quarters of American agricultural exports
