2016职称英语理工A牛津同义-理工A 整理版直接打印即可.doc

microscopicmess353affectionate androidscomputers are now powerful enough to allow the age of humanoid robots to dawn1. and it wont be long before we will see realistic cyber companions, complete with skin, dexterity, and intelligence. they will be programmed to tend to your every need.will we ever want to marry robots? artificial intelligence researcher david levy has published a book claiming human-robot relationships will become popular in the next few decades.and if you want to go ahead and tie the knot with your special electronic friend，levy said that such marriages will be socially acceptable by around 2050.will humans really be able to form deep emotional attachments to machines? it will, in fact, be relatively easy to form these strong attachments because the human mind loves to anthropomorphize: to give human attributes to other creatureseven objects.for example, researchers in san diego recently put a small humanoid robot in with a toddler playgroup for several months.the bot knew each child because it was programmed with face and voice recognition，and it giggled when tickled. the children ended up treating it as a fellow toddler. when it lay down because its batteries were flat，the kids even covered it with a blanket.in a few decades, when humanoid robots with plastic skin look and feel very real, will people want to form relationships with them? what if the bots could hold a conversation? and be programmed to be the perfect companionssoul mates, even?maybe your generation could resist, but eventually there will be a generation of people who grow up with humanoid robots as a normal part of life. and like those toddlers in the experiment, they will be very accepting of them.the next question, then, is whether there is anything wrong with having an emotional relationship with a machine. even today there are people who form deep attachments to their pets and use them as substitutes for friends or even children. few consider that unethical.but a sophisticated robot will probably be even more attractive.for those who always seem to end up marrying the wrong man or woman, a robotic mr. or ms. right could be mighty tempting. as the father of artificial intelligence, marvin minsky, put it when asked about the ethics of lonely older people forming close relationships with robots: “if a robot had all the virtues of a person and was smarter and more understanding, why would the elderly bother talking to other grumpy old people?”a robot could be programmed to be as dumb or smart, as independent or subservient, as an owner desired. and thats the big disadvantage. having the perfect robot partner will damage the ability to form equally deep human-human relationships. people will always seem imperfect in comparison. when youre behaving badly, a good friend will tell you. however, few owners will program their robots to point out their flaws.people in relationships have to learn to adapt to each other: to enjoy their common interests and to deal with their differences. it makes us richer, stronger, and wiser. a robot companion will be perfect at the start. however, there will be nothing to move the relationship to grow to greater heights.ants have big impact on environment as “ecosystem engineers”research by the university of exeter1 has revealed that ants have a big impact on their local environment as a result of their activity as “ecosystem engineers” and predators. the study, published in the journal of animal ecology, found that ants have two distinct effects on their local environment.firstly, through moving of soil by nest building2 activity and by collecting food they affect the level of nutrients in the soil. this can indirectly impact the local populations of many animal groups, from decomposers to species much higher up the food chain.secondly, they prey on a wide range of other animals, including larger prey which can be attacked by vast numbers of ant workers.dirk sanders, an author of the study from the universitys centre for ecology and conservation, said: “ants are very effective predators which thrive in huge numbers. theyre also very territorial and very aggressive, defending their resources and territory against other predators. all of this means they have a strong influence on their surrounding area. ”in this research, we studied for the first time how big this impact is and the subtleties of it. what we found is that despite being predators, their presence can also lead to an increase in density and diversity of other animal groups4. they genuinely play a key role in the local environment, having a big influence on the grassland food web,” sanders said.the study, carried out in germany, studied the impact of the presence of different combinations and densities of black garden ants and common red ants, both species which can be found across europe, including in the uk. it found that a low density of ants in an area increased the diversity and density of other animals in the local area, particularly the density of herbivores and decomposers. at higher densities ants had no or the opposite effect, showing that predation is counteracting the positive influence.dr frank van veen, another author on the study, said: “what we find is that the impact of ants on soil nutrient levels has a positive effect on animal groups at low levels, but as the number of ants increases, their predatory impacts have the bigger effect thereby counteracting the positive influence via ecosystem engineering. “ants are important components of ecosystems not only because they constitute a great part of the animal biomass5 but also because they act as ecosystem engineers. ant biodiversity6 is incredibly high and these organisms are highly responsive to human impact, which obviously reduces its richness. however, it is not clear how such disturbance damages the maintenance of ant services to the ecosystem7. ants are important in below ground processes8 through the alteration of the physical and chemical environment and through their effects on plants, microorganisms, and other soil organisms.1 .why are ants compared to ecosystem engineers?abecause they build their own nests.bbecause they collect food.cbecause their activity affects the environment.dbecause they are predators.2. as predators, antsaprey on small as well as large animals.bcollect nutritious food from the soilccollect food as decomposers.dprey on species much higher up the food chain.3. dir sanders study centered on how antsacan manage to thrive in huge numbers.bdefend their resources and territory against other predators.cattack those invading animals for survival.dproduce such a big impact on the environment.4. what does paragraph 6 tell us?aants bring about a negative influence to an area when their population is small.bants bring about a positive influence to an area when their population is small.cants predation counteracts the positive influence they may have on an area.dat higher density, ants produce a positive influence on an area.5. what still remains unclear about ants, according to the last paragraph?awhat roles do ants play in the ecosystem in which they live?bhow do ants affect the animal diversity in a given ecosystem?chow do human activities affect ants influence on a given ecosystem?dhow do ants alter the physical and chemical environment?a memory drug?its difficult to imagine many things that people woulcl welcome more. than a memory - enhancing drug.a memory enhancer could help eliminate forgetting associated with aging and disease. furthermore,such a drug could help people remember past experiences more clearly and help us acquire new information more easily for school and at work. as scientists learn more about memory,we are closing in on this tantalizing goal. some of the most exciting evidence comes from research that has built on earlier findings linking ltp and memory to identify a gene that improves memory in mice.the gene makes a protein that assists the nmda3 receptor,which plays an important role long-term memory by helping to initiate ltp. mice bred to have extra copies of this gene showed more activity in their nmda receptors,more ltp,and improved performance on several different memory tasks - learning a spatial layout.recognizing familiar objects,and recalling a fear-inducing shock.if these basic insights about genes,ltp,and the synaptic basis of memory can be translated to people - and that remains to be seen - they could pave the way for memory-enhancing treatments.like steroids for bulking up the muscles,these drugs would bulk up memory. as exciting as this may sound,it also raises troubling issues. consider the potential educational implications of memory-enhancing drugs. if memory enhancers were available, children who used them might be able to acquire and retain extraordinary amounts of information, allowing them to progress far more rapidly in school than they could otherwise. how well could the brain handle such an onslaught of information? what happens to children who dont have access to the latest memory enhancers? are they left behind in school - and as a result handicapped later in life ?what are the potential implications of memory-enhancing drugs for the workplace? imagine that you are applying for a job that requires a good memory,such as a manager at a technology company or a sales position that requires remembering customers names as well as the attributes of different products and services. would you take a memory-enhancing drug to increase your chances of landing the position? would people who felt uncomfortable taking such a drug find themselves cut out of lucrative career opportunities?memory drugs might also help take the sting out of disturbing memories that we wish we could forget but cant. the 2004 hit movie eternal sunshine of the spotless mind told the story of a young man seeking just such freedom from the painful memories of a romantic breakup. as you will see in the section on persistence later in the chapter, emotionally arousing events often create intrusive memories,and researchers have already muted emotional memories with drugs that blockthe action of key hormones. should emergency workers who must confront horrifying accident scenes that can burden them with persisting memories be provided with such drugs? should such drugs be given to rape victims who cant forget the trauma? memory drugs might provide some relief to such individuals. but could they also interfere with an individuals ability to assimilate and come to terms with a difficult experience?we may find ourselves struggling with these kinds of questions in the not-too-distant future.batteries built by viruseswhat do chicken pox, the common cold, the flu, and aids have in common? theyre all disease caused by viruses, tiny microorganisms that can pass from person to person. its no wonder that when most people think about viruses, finding ways to steer clear of viruses is whats on peoples minds.not everyone runs from the tiny disease carriers, though. in cambridge, massachusetts, scientists have discovered that some viruses can be helpful in an unusual way. they are putting viruses to work, teaching them to build some of the worlds smallest rechargeable batteries.viruses and batteries may seem like an unusual pair, but theyre not so strange for engineer angela belcher, who first came up with5 the idea. at the massachusetts institute of technology (mit) in cambridge, she and her collaborators bring together different areas of science in new ways. in the case of the virus-built batteries, the scientists combine what they know about biology, technology and production techniques.belchers team includes paula hammond, who helps put together the tiny batteries, and yet-ming chiang, an expert on how to store energy in the form of a battery. “were working on things we traditionally dont associate with nature,” says hammond.many batteries are already pretty small. you can hold a, c and d batteries in your hand. the coin-like batteries that power watches are often smaller than a penny. however, every year, new electronic devices like personal music players or cell phones get smaller than the year before. as these devices shrink, ordinary batteries wont be small enough to fit inside.the ideal battery will store a lot of energy in a small package. right now. belchers model battery, a metallic disk completely built by viruses, looks like a regular watch battery. but inside, its components are very small so tiny you can only see them with a powerful microscope.how small are these battery parts? to get some idea of the size, pluck one hair from your head. place your hair on a piece of white paper and try to see how wide your hair is pretty thin, right? although the width of each persons hair is a bit different, you could probably fit about 10 of these virus-built battery parts, side to side, across one hair. these microbatteries may change the way we look at viruses.1.according to the first paragraph，people try to a.kill microorganisms related to chicken pox，the flu，etc. b.keep themselves away from viruses because they are invisible. c.stay away from viruses because they are causes of various diseases. d.cure themselves of virus-related diseases by taking medicines. 2.what is belchers team doing at present? a.it is finding ways to get rid of viruses. b.it is mass-producing microbatteries. c.it is making batteries with viruses. d.it is analyzing virus genes. 3.what expression below is opposite in meaning to the word shrink appearing in paragraph 5 ? a.broaden. b.spread. c.extend. d.expand. 4.which of the following is true of belchers battery mentioned in paragraph 6? a.it is made of metal. b.it is a kind of watch battery. c.it can only be seen with a microscope. d.it is a metallic disk with viruses inside it. 5.how tiny is one battery part? a.its width is one tonth of a hair. b.it equals the width of a hair. c.it is as thin as a piece of paper. d.its width is too tiny to measure. bill gates: unleashing your creativityive always been an optimist and i suppose it is rooted in my belief that the power of creativity and intelligence can make the world a better place.for as long as i can remember, ive loved learning new things and solving problems.so when i sat down at a computer for the first time in seventh grade, i was hooked.it was a clunky old teletype machine and it could barely do anything compared to the computers we have today.but it changed my life.when my friend paul allen and i started microsoft 30 years ago, we had a vision of a computer on every desk and in every home ,which probably sounded a little too optimistic at a time when most computers were the size of refrigerators.but we believed that personal computers wouldchange the world. and they have.and after 30 years, im still as inspired by computers as i was back in seventh grade.i believe that computers are the most incredible tool we can use to feed our curiosity and inventiveness - to help us solve problems that even the smartest people couldnt solve on their own.computers have transformed how we learn, giving kids everywhere a window into all of the worlds knowledge. theyre helping us build communities around the things we care about and to stay close to the people who are important to us, no matter where they are. like my friend warren buffett,i feel particularly lucky to do something every day that i love to do. he calls it tap-dancing to work. my job at microsoft is as challenging as ever, but what makes me tap-danceing to work is when we show people something new, like a computer that can recognize your handwriting or your speech, or one that can store a lifetimes worth of photos, and they say, i didnt know you could do that with a pc!but for all the cool things that a person can do with a pc, there are lots of other ways we can put our creativity and intelligence to work to improve our world. there are still far too many people in the world whose most basic needs go unmet.every year, for example, millions ofpeople die from diseases that are easy to prevent or treat in the developed world.i believe that my own good fortune brings with it a responsibility to give back to the world. my wife, melinda, and i have committed to improving health and education in a way that can help as many people as possible.as a father, i believe that the death of a child in africa is no less poignant or tragic than the death of a child anywhere else, and that it doesnt take much to make an immense difference in these childrens lives.im still very much an optimist, and i believe tbat progress on even the worlds toughest problems is possible - and its happening every day. were seeing new drugs for deadly diseases, new diagnostic tools, and new attention paid to the health problems in the deveioping world.im excited by the possibilities i see for medicine, for education and, of course, for technology,and i believe that through our natural inventiveness, creativity and willingness to solve tough problems, were going to make some amazing achievements in all these areas in my lifetime.climate change poses major risks for unprepared citiesa new examination of urban policies has been carried out recently by patricia romero lankao. she is a sociologist specializing in climate change and urban development. she warns that many of the worlds fast-growing urban areas, especially in developing countries, will likely1 suffer from the impacts of changing climate. her work also concludes that most cities are failing to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. these gases are