Since the dawn of human ingenuity, people have devised ever more cunning tools to cope with work that is dangerous, boring, burdensome, or just plain nasty. That compulsion has resulted in robotics--the science of conferring various human capabilities on machines. And if scientists have yet to create the mechanical version of science fiction, they have begun to come close.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 automated teller terminals that thank us with mechanical politeness for the transaction. Our subway trains are controlled by tireless robo-drivers. And thanks to the continual miniaturization of electronics and micro-mechanics, there are already robot systems that can perform some kinds of brain and bone surgery with submillimeter accuracy--far greater precision that highly skilled physicians can achieve with their hands alone.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 handle a specific error," says Dave Lavery, manager of a robotics program at NASA, "we can’t yet give a robot enough ’common sense’ to reliably interact with a dynamic world. "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 brain by the year 2010, researchers lately have begun to extend that forecast by decades if not centuries.What they found, in attempting to model thought, is that the human brain’s roughly one hundred billion nerve cells are much more talented--and human perception far more complicated-than previously imagined. They have built robots that can recognize the error of a machine panel by a fraction of a millimeter in a controlled factory environment. But the human mind can glimpse a rapidly changing scene and immediately disregard the 98 percent that is irrelevant, instantaneously focusing on the monkey at the side of winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a big crowd. The most advanced computer system on Earth can’t approach that kind of ability, and neuroscientists still don’t know quite how we do it. Human ingenuity was initially demonstrated 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 dangerous work
D. the elite’s cunning tackling of dangerous and boring work
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Since the dawn of human ingenuity, people have devised ever more cunning tools to cope with work that is dangerous, boring, burdensome, or just plain nasty. That compulsion has resulted in robotics--the science of conferring various human capabilities on machines. And if scientists have yet to create the mechanical version of science fiction, they have begun to come close.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 automated teller terminals that thank us with mechanical politeness for the transaction. Our subway trains are controlled by tireless robo-drivers. And thanks to the continual miniaturization of electronics and micro-mechanics, there are already robot systems that can perform some kinds of brain and bone surgery with submillimeter accuracy--far greater precision that highly skilled physicians can achieve with their hands alone.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 handle a specific error," says Dave Lavery, manager of a robotics program at NASA, "we can’t yet give a robot enough ’common sense’ to reliably interact with a dynamic world. "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 brain by the year 2010, researchers lately have begun to extend that forecast by decades if not centuries.What they found, in attempting to model thought, is that the human brain’s roughly one hundred billion nerve cells are much more talented--and human perception far more complicated-than previously imagined. They have built robots that can recognize the error of a machine panel by a fraction of a millimeter in a controlled factory environment. But the human mind can glimpse a rapidly changing scene and immediately disregard the 98 percent that is irrelevant, instantaneously focusing on the monkey at the side of winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a big crowd. The most advanced computer system on Earth can’t approach that kind of ability, and neuroscientists still don’t know quite how we do it. The word "gizmos" (line 1, paragraph 2) most probably means ().
A. programs
B. experts
C. devices
D. creatures
阅读下面这篇短文,短文后有2项测试任务:(1)第23~26题要求从所给的6个选项中为第2~5段每段选择1个正确的小标题;(2)第27~30题要求从所给的6个选项中选择4个正确选项,分别完成每个句子。 Estee Lauder Died1 The child of Central European immigrants who created an international cosmetics (化妆品) empire and became one of the most influential women in US, has died on Saturday. Estee Lauder died at her home in Manhattan, New York City, a company spokeswoman said. She was 97.2 Born in Queens, New York in 1908, Lauder was the daughter of a Hungarian mother and a Czech father.3 Lauder began her business career by selling skincare products developed by her uncle John Schotz, a chemist; to beauty salons (美容院) and hotels. In 1930, she married Joseph Lauder who became her* partner. The company, which became known as Estee Lauder, took off after World War II.4 In 1953, the company introduced its first perfume (香水), Youth Dew, the first of a range of fragrances that has now grown to more than 70. They include: Aramis, a line of products for men, launched in 1964; and Clinique, a range of odourless (无嗅的) cosmetics, which followed in 1968.5 By the time she retired in 1995, Lauder was presiding over a multibillion-dollar enterprise, which now ranks number 349 in the Fortune 500 list of largest US companies. In 1998, she was the only woman to feature in Time magazine’s selection of the 20 most important business geniuses of the last century. There were two secrets to her success: her gift for selling things and her tireless energy and determination never to accept second best.6 Even after her retirement at the age of 89, Lauder remained closely involved. Beauty, Lauder believed, was the most important thing in life.7 She wrote in her 1985 autobiography, "Estee, a Success Story": "In a perfect world, we’d all be judged on the sweetness of our souls. But in our less than perfect world, the woman who-looks pretty has a distinct advantage and, usually, the last word." Lauder died______
Since the dawn of human ingenuity, people have devised ever more cunning tools to cope with work that is dangerous, boring, burdensome, or just plain nasty. That compulsion has resulted in robotics--the science of conferring various human capabilities on machines. And if scientists have yet to create the mechanical version of science fiction, they have begun to come close.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 automated teller terminals that thank us with mechanical politeness for the transaction. Our subway trains are controlled by tireless robo-drivers. And thanks to the continual miniaturization of electronics and micro-mechanics, there are already robot systems that can perform some kinds of brain and bone surgery with submillimeter accuracy--far greater precision that highly skilled physicians can achieve with their hands alone.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 handle a specific error," says Dave Lavery, manager of a robotics program at NASA, "we can’t yet give a robot enough ’common sense’ to reliably interact with a dynamic world. "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 brain by the year 2010, researchers lately have begun to extend that forecast by decades if not centuries.What they found, in attempting to model thought, is that the human brain’s roughly one hundred billion nerve cells are much more talented--and human perception far more complicated-than previously imagined. They have built robots that can recognize the error of a machine panel by a fraction of a millimeter in a controlled factory environment. But the human mind can glimpse a rapidly changing scene and immediately disregard the 98 percent that is irrelevant, instantaneously focusing on the monkey at the side of winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a big crowd. The most advanced computer system on Earth can’t approach that kind of ability, and neuroscientists still don’t know quite how we do it. Besides reducing human labor, robots can also ().
A. make a few decisions for themselves
B. deal with some errors with human intervention
C. improve factory environments
D. cultivate human creativity
阅读下面这篇短文,短文后有2项测试任务:(1)第23~26题要求从所给的6个选项中为第2~5段每段选择1个正确的小标题;(2)第27~30题要求从所给的6个选项中选择4个正确选项,分别完成每个句子。 Estee Lauder Died1 The child of Central European immigrants who created an international cosmetics (化妆品) empire and became one of the most influential women in US, has died on Saturday. Estee Lauder died at her home in Manhattan, New York City, a company spokeswoman said. She was 97.2 Born in Queens, New York in 1908, Lauder was the daughter of a Hungarian mother and a Czech father.3 Lauder began her business career by selling skincare products developed by her uncle John Schotz, a chemist; to beauty salons (美容院) and hotels. In 1930, she married Joseph Lauder who became her* partner. The company, which became known as Estee Lauder, took off after World War II.4 In 1953, the company introduced its first perfume (香水), Youth Dew, the first of a range of fragrances that has now grown to more than 70. They include: Aramis, a line of products for men, launched in 1964; and Clinique, a range of odourless (无嗅的) cosmetics, which followed in 1968.5 By the time she retired in 1995, Lauder was presiding over a multibillion-dollar enterprise, which now ranks number 349 in the Fortune 500 list of largest US companies. In 1998, she was the only woman to feature in Time magazine’s selection of the 20 most important business geniuses of the last century. There were two secrets to her success: her gift for selling things and her tireless energy and determination never to accept second best.6 Even after her retirement at the age of 89, Lauder remained closely involved. Beauty, Lauder believed, was the most important thing in life.7 She wrote in her 1985 autobiography, "Estee, a Success Story": "In a perfect world, we’d all be judged on the sweetness of our souls. But in our less than perfect world, the woman who-looks pretty has a distinct advantage and, usually, the last word." Lauder regarded beauty______A. at the age of 97