2000年6月大学英语六级考试真题试卷 - 阅读2
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:
In the 1950s, the pioneers of artificial intelligence (AI) predicted that, by the end of this century, computers would be conversing with us at work and robots would be performing our housework. But as useful as computers are, they're nowhere close to achieving anything remotely resembling these early aspirations f or humanlike behavior. Never mind something as complex as conversation: the most powerful computers struggle to reliably recognize the shape of an object, the most elementary of tasks for a ten-month-old kid.
A growing group of AI researchers think they know where the field went wrong . The problem, the scientists say, is that AI has been trying to separate the highest, most abstract levels of thought, like language and mathematics, and to duplicate them with logical, step-by-step programs. A new movement in AI, on the other hand, takes a closer look at the more roundabout way in which nature came up with intelligence. Many of these researchers study
adaptation instead of formal logic and conventional computer programs. Rather than digital computers and transistors, some want to work with brain cells and proteins . The results of these early efforts are as promising as they are peculiar, and the new nature-based AI movement is slowly but surely moving to the forefront of the field. Imitating the brain's neural (神经的） network is a huge step in the right direction, says computer scientist and biophysicist Michael Conrad, but it still misses an important aspect of natural intelligence. "People tend to treat the brain as if it were made up of color-coded transistors", he explains, "but it's not simply a clever network of switches. There
things going on inside the brain cells themselves." Specifically, Conrad believes that many of the brain's capabilities stem from the patternrecognition proficiency of the individual molecules that make up each brain cell. The best way to build and artificially intelligent device, he claims, would be to build it around the same sort of molecular skills. Right now, the option that conventional computers and software are fundamentally incapable of matching the processes that take place in the brain remains controversial. But if it proves true, then the efforts of Conrad and his fellow AI rebels could turn out to be the only game in town.
26.The author says that the powerful computers of today ______.
A) are capable of reliably recognizing the shape of an object
B) are close to exhibiting humanlike behavior
C) are not very different in their performance from those of the 50's
D) still cannot communicate with people in a human language
27.The new trend in artificial intelligence research stems from ______.
A) the shift of the focus of study on to the recognition of the shapes of objects
B) the belief that human intelligence cannot be duplicated with logical, step-by-step programs
C) the aspirations of scientists to duplicate the intelligence of a ten-month-old child
D) the efforts made by scientists in the study of the similarities between transistors and brain cells
28.Conrad and his group of AI researchers have been making enormous efforts to ______.
A) find a roundabout way to design powerful computers
B) build a computer using a clever network of switches
C) find out how intelligence developed in nature
D) separate the highest and most abstract levels of thought
29.What's the author's opinion about the new AI movement?
A) It has created a sensation among artificial intelligence researchers but will soon die out.
B) It's a breakthrough in duplicating human thought processes.
C) It's more like a peculiar game rather than a real scientific effort.
D) It may prove to be in the right direction though nobody is sure of its future prospects.
30.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase "the only game in town" (Line 3, Para. 4)?
A) The only approach to building an artificially intelligent computer.
B) The only way for them to win a prize in artificial intelligence research.
C) The only area worth studying in computer science.
D) The only game they would like to play in town.
本文为一篇关于人工智能研究开发的说明文。第一段通过五十年代人工智能先驱们的预言与当今现实脱节这一事实提出人工智能研究开发所面临的问题，第二段前2句论及这一问题的症结:try to separate the most abstract levels of thought and duplicate them with logical programs。从第三句开始进入全文的核心:崭新的人工智能研究设想:把人工智能的研究与天然智能的进化、人脑生物细胞蛋白质、人脑的神经系统研究结合起来。第三段论述了电脑-生物物理学家Conrad对自己这方面研究的评论、发现、启示和设想。最后一段为对这一全新的人工智能研究开发方法的评论与总结，其中自然隐含着作者的观点与态度。
26.答案为D 要点归纳题。根据题意确定答案在第一段第二、三句。注意选项A中“are capable of reliably recognizing ...”与短文中“struggle to reliably recognize...”（努力、竭力、试图）是不一致的，故不能选；更多的考生可能会误选C，但①在效能（performance）上，当天电脑与50年代的电脑相距是非常大的；②本文探讨的是人工智能，而非电脑的一般效能，故选题时要紧扣短文主题。
27.答案为B 要点推论题。人工智能研究开发为什么会开辟一条全新的途径，一定是研究中碰到了难以逾越的障碍，这就是传统研究方法上的误区，也即第二段之第一、二句。
28.答案为C 要点推论题。根据题意确定答案在第三段根据Conrad对自己研究的评述（says），研究中的发现（examples），假设（believe）与断言（claim），可归纳推断他们是在天然智能如何发展这一方面的研究中做了巨大的努力。
29.答案为B 作者观点态度推论题。如前所述，文章最后一段为作者对人工智能研究新方法的总结，其中隐含着作者的观点，另外短文第二段最后一句中“promising”、“surely”、第三段第一句中“a huge step in the right direction...”等都流露了作者的态度一作者对新的人工智能研究运动是非常肯定的。选项A中的“will soon die out”，C中的“like a game rather than”及D中“nobody is sure”等均含否定意念，不能作为答案。
30.答案为D 词语理解题。阅读中词语的理解也不能脱离短文主题:game 一词有游戏、竞赛方法规则、策略、计谋、方针对行动步骤等多种释义，D是短语的简单改写，不可能作为答案，B重点在获奖也与短文内容相运河甚远，也应排除。容易混淆的是选项C，只是C侧重研究领域，即范围，而本文主题讨论研究方法即途径。
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