2015年职称英语《理工类B级》考试新增教材

相关推荐

　　阅读理解

2015年职称英语《理工类B级》考试新增教材

　　第二十二篇 Real World Robots

　　When you think of a robot, do you envision a shiny, metallic device having the same general shape as a human being, performing humanlike functions, and responding to your questions in a monotone voice accentuated by high-pitched tones and beeps? This is the way many of us imagine a robot, but in the real world, a robot is not humanoid at all. Instead a robot often is a voiceless, box-shaped machine that efficiently carries out repetitive or dangerous functions usually performed by humans. Today’s robot is more than an automatic machine that performs one task again and again. A modern robot is programmed with varying degrees of artificial intelligence—that is, a robot contains a computer program that tells it how to perform tasks associated with human intelligence, such as reasoning, drawing conclusions, and learning from past experience.

　　A robot does not possess a human shape for the simple reason that a two-legged robot has great difficulty remaining balanced. A robot does, however, move from place to place on wheels and axles that roll and rotate. A robot even has limbs that swivel and move in combination with joints and motors. To find its way in its surroundings1, a robot utilizes various built-in sensors. Antennae attached to the robot’s base detect anything they bump into. If the robot starts to teeter as it moves on an incline, a gyroscope or a pendulum inside it senses the vertical differential. To determine its distance from an object and how quickly it will reach the object，the robot bounces beams of laser light and ultrasonic sound waves off obstructions in its path2. These and other sensors constantly feed information to the computer, which then analyzes the information and corrects or adjusts the robot’s actions. As science and technology advance, the robot too will progress in its functions and use of artificial-intelligence programs.

　　词汇：

　　envision v. 想象，预想

　　device n. 装置

　　accentuate v. 强调，重读

　　artificial intelligence n. 人工智能

　　limb n. 臂

　　antennae n. 天线

　　incline v. 倾斜

　　pendulum n. 钟摆

　　ultrasonic adj. 超声的

　　metallic adj. 金属的

　　monotone n. 单调的

　　humanoid adj. 像人的

　　axle n. 轮轴

　　rotate v. 旋转

　　swivel n. 旋转

　　teeter v. 摇晃

　　gyroscope n. 陀螺仪，回转仪

　　vertical n. 直立的

　　注释：

　　1.To find its way in its surroundings...：为了在周围找到路……

　　2.the robot bounces beams of laser light and ultrasonic sound waves off obstructions in its path：机器人发射激光束和超声波，反射到障碍物上(以此来探知路径)。

　　练习：

　　1.Another good title for this passage would be

　　A　Robots: Taking the Place of Humans.

　　B　Artificial Intelligence Programs.

　　C　Today’s Robots and How They Function.

　　D　Modern-Day Sensors.

　　2.Artificial intelligence is

　　A　the unnatural way in which robots move.

　　B　a voiceless, box-shaped machine that performs repetitive tasks.

　　C　sensors such as antennae and a gyroscope.

　　D　a computer program that imitates human intellectual processes.

　　3.The last paragraph suggests that future robots will be

　　A　more humanlike in behavior and actions.

　　B　more like automatic machines.

　　C　better able to move on inclines.

　　D　better equipped with laser light sensors.

　　4.The writer begins the passage by comparing

　　A　the shape of a human being with a box.

　　B　a modem robot with a fictional robot.

　　C　an imaginary machine with a human.

　　D　a computer program with artificial intelligence.

　　5.The word humanoid means

　　A　lacking human characteristics.

　　B　anything having the appearance of a humanoid.

　　C　being void or vacant.

　　D　having a human form or characteristics.

　　答案与题解：

　　1.C　从文中得知，文章主要介绍了机器人和它们的运行方式，因此选择C选项。

　　2.D　Artificial是“人工”的意思，intelligence是“智能”的意思。另外从文中得知，机器人使用artificial intelligence能够进行与人类类似的推理分析等活动，因此可知它是一种类似人类智能的计算机程序。

　　3.A　最后一段讲机器人的发展方向是更加智能，能够自己判断并修正行为，而不仅仅是完成重复性的工作。

　　4.B　文章开头的时候作者让读者描述他们脑海中的机器人概念，并随后介绍了实际的机器人是怎样的，因此选择B选项。

　　5.D　从humanoid的词根human可看出这个词是形容与人类有关的特征。另外根据文章对这个词的描述可以得出这个词是表示和人类类似的特征，不管是外形上，还是行为方式上。

　　补全短文

　　第九篇 Lightening Strikes

　　Three years ago a bolt of lightning all but destroyed Lyn Miller’s house in Aberdeen—with her two children inside. “There was a huge rainstorm,” she says, recalling the terrifying experience. “My brother and I were outside desperately working to stop floodwater from coming in the house. Suddenly I was thrown to the ground by an enormous bang. ____1____ The door was blocked by rubble, but we forced our way in and found the children, thankfully unharmed. Later I was told to be struck by lightning is a chance in a million.” In fact, it’s calculated at one chance in 600,000. Even so, Dr Mark Keys of AER Technology, an organisation that monitors the effects of lightning, thinks you should be sensible. “I wouldn’t go out in a storm—but then I’m quite a careful person.” He advises anyone who is unlucky enough to be caught in a storm to get down on the ground and curl up into a ball, making yourself as small as possible.

　　Lightning is one of nature’s most awesome displays of sheer power. ____2____ 250 years ago, Benjamin Franklin, the American scientist and statesman，proved that lightning is a form of electricity, but scientists still lack a complete understanding of how it works.

　　____3____ Positive electrical charges streaming upwards from trees or church spires may glow and make a buzzing noise, and people’s hair can stand on end. And if you fear lightning, you’ll be glad to know that a company in America has manufactured a hand-held lightning detector which can detect it up to 70 kms away, sound a warning tone and monitor the storm’s approach.

　　Nancy Wilder was playing golf at a club in Surrey when she was hit by a bolt of lightning. Mrs Wilder’s heart stopped beating, but she was resuscitated and, after a few days in hospital, where she was treated for bums to her head, hands and feet, she was pronounced fit again. Since that time，she has been a strictly fair weather golfer1. ____4____ The best place to be is inside a car!

　　The largest number of people to be struck by lightning at one time was in September 1995 when 17 players on a football pitch were hit simultaneously. The most extraordinary aspect of the strike was the fact that 11 of the victims—seven adults and four children—had burn patterns of tiny holes at 3 centimetre intervals on each toe and around the soles of their feet.

　　Harold Deal, a retired electrician from South Carolina, USA, was struck by lightning 26 years ago. He was apparently unhurt, but it later emerged that the strike had damaged the part of the brain which controls the sensation of temperature. ____5____

　　Animals are victims of lightning too2.Hundreds of cows and sheep are killed every year, largely because they go under trees. In East Anglia in 1918, 504 sheep were killed instantaneously by the same bolt of lightning that hit the ground and travelled through the entire flock. Lightning is also responsible for starting more than 10,000 forest fires each year world-wide.

　　词汇：

　　bolt n. (闪电)道

　　sheer adj. 绝对的

　　resuscitate v. 使复苏

　　flock n. 群

　　rubble n. 碎石

　　spire n. 尖顶，尖塔

　　instantaneously adv. 即刻，突如其来地

　　注释：

　　1.she has been a strictly fair weather golfer：她变成了一个只在晴朗天气才打高尔夫的人。

　　2.Animals are victims of lightning too：动物也会受到雷击的伤害。

　　练习：