雅思阅读科学类3Word格式文档下载.docx

雅思阅读科学类3Word格式文档下载.docx

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【B】Thefieldwaslaunched,andtheterm‘artificialintelligence’coined,ataconferencein1956,byagroupofresearchersthatincludedMarvinMinsky,JohnMcCarthy,HerbertSimonandAlanNewell,allofwhomwentontobecomeleadingfiguresinthefield.Theexpressionprovidedanattractivebutinformativenameforaresearchprogrammethatencompassedsuchpreviouslydisparatefieldsasoperationsresearch,cybernetics,logicandcomputerscience.Thegoaltheysharedwasanattempttocaptureormimichumanabilitiesusingmachines.Thatsaid,differentgroupsofresearchersattackeddifferentproblems,fromspeechrecognitiontochessplaying,indifferentways;

AIunifiedthefieldinnameonly.Butitwasatermthatcapturedthepublicimagination.

【C】MostresearchersagreethatAIpeakedaround1985.Apublicrearedonscience-fictionmoviesandexcitedbythegrowingpowerofcomputershadhighexpectations.Foryears,AIresearchershadimpliedthatabreakthroughwasjustaroundthecorner.MarvinMinskysaidin1967thatwithinagenerationtheproblemofcreating‘artificialintelligence’wouldbesubstantiallysolved.Prototypesofmedical-diagnosisprogramsandspeechrecognitionsoftwareappearedtobemakingprogress.Itprovedtobeafalsedawn.Thinkingcomputersandhouseholdrobotsfailedtomaterialise,andabacklashensued.‘Therewasundueoptimismintheearly1980s,’saysDavidLeake,aresearcheratIndianaUniversity.‘Thenwhenpeoplerealisedthesewerehardproblems,therewasretrenchment.Bythelate1980s,thetermAIwasbeingavoidedbymanyresearchers,whooptedinsteadtoalignthemselveswithspecificsub-disciplinessuchasneuralnetworks,agenttechnology,case-basedreasoning,andsoon."

【D】Ironically,insomewaysAIwasavictimofitsownsuccess.Wheneveranapparentlymundaneproblemwassolved,suchasbuildingasystemthatcouldlandanaircraftunattended,theproblemwasdeemednottohavebeenAIinthefirstplace.‘Ifitworks,itcan’tbeAI,’asDrLeakecharacterisesit.Theeffectofrepeatedlymovingthegoal-postsinthiswaywasthatAIcametoreferto‘blue-sky’researchthatwasstillyearsawayfromcommercialisation.ResearchersjokedthatAIstoodfor‘almostimplemented’.Meanwhile,thetechnologiesthatmadeitontothemarket,suchasspeechrecognition,languagetranslationanddecision-supportsoftware,werenolongerregardedasAI.YetallthreeoncefellwellwithintheumbrellaofAIresearch.

【E】Butthetidemaynowbeturning,accordingtoDrLeake.HNCSoftwareofSanDiego,backedbyagovernmentagency,reckonthattheirnewapproachtoartificialintelligenceisthemostpowerfulandpromisingapproacheverdiscovered.HNCclaimthattheirsystem,basedonaclusterof30processors,couldbeusedtospotcamouflagedvehiclesonabattlefieldorextractavoicesignalfromanoisybackground—taskshumanscandowell,butcomputerscannot.‘Whetherornottheirtechnologylivesuptotheclaimsmadeforit,thefactthatHNCareemphasisingtheuseofAIisitselfaninterestingdevelopment,’saysDrLeake.

【F】AnotherfactorthatmayboosttheprospectsforAIinthenearfutureisthatinvestorsarenowlookingforfirmsusingclevertechnology,ratherthanjustacleverbusinessmodel,todifferentiatethemselves.Inparticular,theproblemofinformationoverload,exacerbatedbythegrowthofe-mailandtheexplosioninthenumberofwebpages,meansthereareplentyofopportunitiesfornewtechnologiestohelpfilterandcategoriseinformation—classicAIproblems.Thatmaymeanthatmoreartificialintelligencecompanieswillstarttoemergetomeetthischallenge.

【G】The1969film,2001:

ASpaceOdyssey,featuredanintelligentcomputercalledHAL9000.AswellasunderstandingandspeakingEnglish,HALcouldplaychessandevenlearnedtolipread.HALthusencapsulatedtheoptimismofthe1960sthatintelligentcomputerswouldbewidespreadby2001.But2001hasbeenandgone,andthereisstillnosignofaHAL-likecomputer.Individualsystemscanplaychessortranscribespeech,butageneraltheoryofmachineintelligencestillremainselusive.Itmaybe,however,thatthecomparisonwithHALnolongerseemsquitesoimportant,andAIcannowbejudgedbywhatitcando,ratherthanbyhowwellitmatchesuptoa30-year-oldscience-fictionfilm.‘Peoplearebeginningtorealisethatthereareimpressivethingsthatthesesystemscando.’saysDrLeakehopefully.

27howAImighthaveamilitaryimpact

28thefactthatAIbringstogetherarangeofseparateresearchareas

29thereasonwhyAIhasbecomeacommontopicofconversationagain

30howAIcouldhelpdealwithdifficultiesrelatedtotheamountofinformationavailableelectronically

31wheretheexpressionAIwasfirstused

12.What’ssofunny?

JohnMcCronereviewsrecentresearchonhumor

Inboxes14-20onyouranswersheet,write

TRUE 

ifthestatementagreeswiththeinformation

FALSE 

ifthestatementcontradictstheinformation

NOTGIVEN 

ifthereisnoinformationonthis

Thejokecomesovertheheadphones:

‘Whichsideofadoghasthemosthair?

Theleft.’No,notfunny.Tryagain.‘Whichsideofadoghasthemosthair?

Theoutside.’Hah!

Thepunchlineissillyyetfitting,temptingasmile,evenalaugh.Laughterhasalwaysstruckpeopleasdeeplymysterious,perhapspointless.ThewriterArthurKoestlerdubbedittheluxuryreflex:

‘uniqueinthatitservesnoapparentbiologicalpurpose.

Theoriesabouthumourhaveanancientpedigree.Platoexpressedtheideathathumorissimplyadelightedfeelingofsuperiorityoverothers.KantandFreudfeltthatjoke-tellingreliesonbuildingupapsychictensionwhichissafelypuncturedbytheludicrousnessofthepunchline.ButmostmodernhumortheoristshavesettledonsomeversionofAristotle’sbeliefthatjokesarebasedonareactiontoorresolutionofincongruity,whenthepunchlineiseitheranonsenseor,thoughappearingsilly,hasacleversecondmeaning.

GraemeRitchie,acomputationallinguistinEdinburgh,studiesthelinguisticstructureofjokesinordertounderstandnotonlyhumorbutlanguageunderstandingandreasoninginmachines.Hesaysthatwhilethereisnosingleformatforjokes,manyrevolvearoundasuddenandsurprisingconceptualshift.Acomedianwillpresentasituationfollowedbyanunexpectedinterpretationthatisalsoapt.

Soevenifapunchlinesoundssilly,thelistenercanseethereisacleversemanticfitandthatsuddenmental‘Aha!

’isthebuzzthatmakesuslaugh.Viewedfromthisangle,humorisjustaformofcreativeinsight,asuddenleaptoanewperspective.

However,thereisanothertypeoflaughter,thelaughterofsocialappeasementanditisimportanttounderstandthistoo.Playisacrucialpartofdevelopmentinmostyoungmammals.Ratsproduceultrasonicsqueakstopreventtheirscufflesturningnasty.Chimpanzeeshavea‘play-face’—agapingexpressionaccompaniedbyapanting‘ahah’noise.Inhumans,thesesignalshavemutatedintosmilesandlaughs.Researchersbelievesocialsituations,ratherthancognitiveeventssuchasjokes,triggertheseinstinctualmarkersofplayorappeasement.Peoplelaughonfairgroundridesorwhentickledtoflagaplaysituation,whethertheyfeelamusedornot.

Bothsocialandcognitivetypesoflaughtertapintothesameexpressivemachineryinourbrains,theemotionandmotorcircuitsthatproducesmilesandexcitedvocalisations.However,ifcognitivelaughteristheproductofmoregeneralthoughtprocesses,itshouldresultfrommoreexpansivebrainactivity.

PsychologistVinodGoelinvestigatedhumourusingthenewtechniqueof‘singleevent’functionalmagneticresonanceimaging（fMRI）.AnMRIscannerusesmagneticfieldsandradiowavestotrackthechangesinoxygenatedbloodthataccompanymentalactivity.Untilrecently,MRIscannersneededseveralminutesofactivityandsocouldnotbeusedtotrackrapidthoughtprocessessuchascomprehendingajoke.Newdevelopmentsnowallowhalf-second‘snapshots’ofallsortsofreasoningandproblem-solvingactivities.

AlthoughGoelfeltbeinginsideabrainscannerwashardlytheidealplaceforappreciatingajoke,hefoundevidencethatunderstandingajokeinvolvesawidespreadmentalshift.Hisscansshowedthatatthebeginningofajokethelistener’sprefrontalcortexlitup,particularlytherightprefrontalbelievedtobecriticalforproblemsolving.Buttherewasalsoactivityinthetemporallobesatthesideofthehead（consistentwithattemptstorousestoredknowledge）andinmanyotherbrainareas.Thenwhenthepunchlinearrived,anewareasprangtolife—theorbitalprefrontalcortex.Thispatchofbraintuckedbehindt