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 than 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 a winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a big crowd. The most advanced computer systems on Earth can't approach that kind of ability, and neuroscientists still don't know quite how we do it.
1. 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
2. The word "gizmos" (line 1, paragraph 2) most probably means .
A. programs
B. experts
C. devices
D. creatures
3. According to the text, what is beyond man's ability now is to design a robot that can .
A. fulfill delicate tasks like performing brain surgery
B. interact with human beings verbally
C. have a little common sense
D. respond independently to a changing world
4. 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
5. The author uses the example of a monkey to argue that robots are .
A. expected to copy human brain in internal structure
B. able to perceive abnormalities immediately
C. far less able than human brain in focusing on relevant information
D. best used in a controlled environment
參考答案：CCDBC
German Chancellor ( 首相 ) Otto Von Bismarck may be most famous for his military and diplomatic talent, but his legacy ( 遺產(chǎn) ) includes many of today's social insurance programs. During the middle of the 19th century, Germany, along with other European nations, experienced an unprecedented rash of workplace deaths and accidents as a result of growing industrialization. Motivated in part by Christian compassion ( 憐憫 ) for the helpless as well as a practical political impulse to undercut the support of the socialist labor movement, Chancellor Bismarck created the world's first worker' s compensation law in 1884.
By 1908, the United States was the only industrial nation in the world that lacked workers' compensation insurance. America's injured workers could sue for damages in a court of law, but they still faced a number of tough legal barriers. For example, employees had to prove that their injuries directly resulted from employer negligence and that they themselves were ignorant about potential hazards in the workplace. The first state worker's compensation law in this country passed in 1911, and the program soon spread throughout the nation.
After World War II, benefit payments to American workers did not keep up with the cost of living. In fact, real benefit levels were lower in the 1970s than they were in the 1940s, and in most states the maximum benefit was below the poverty level for a family of four. In 1970, President Richard Nixon set up a national commission to study the problems of workers' compensation. Two years later, the commission issued 19 key recommendations, including one that called for increasing compensation benefit levels to 100 percent of the states' average weekly wages.
In fact, the average compensation benefit in America has climbed from 55 percent of the states' average weekly wages in 1972 to 97 percent today. But, as most studies show,
every 10 percent increase in compensation benefits results in a 5 percent increase in the numbers of workers who file for claims. And with so much more money floating in the workers' compensation system, it's not surprising that doctors, and lawyers have helped themselves to a large slice of the growing pie.
1. The world's first workers' compensation law was introduced by Bismarck .
A. for fear of losing the support of the socialist labor movement
B. out of religious and political considerations
C. to speed up the pace of industrialization
D. to make industrial production safer
2. We learn from the passage that the process of industrialization in Europe .
A. met growing resistance from laborers working at machines
B. resulted in the development of popular social insurance programs
C. was accompanied by an increased number of workshop accidents
D. required workers to be aware of the potential dangers at the workplace
3. One of the problems the American injured workers faced in getting compensation in the early 19th century was that .
A. they had to produce evidence that their employers were responsible for the accident
B. America's average compensation benefit was much lower than the cost of living
C. different states in the U. S. had totally different compensation programs
D. they had to have the courage to sue for damages in a court of law
4. After 1972, workers' compensation insurance in the U. S. became more favorable to workers so that .
A. the poverty level for a family of four went up drastically
B. more money was allocated to their compensation system
C. there were fewer legal barriers when they filed for claims
D. the number of workers suing for damages increased
5. The author ends the passage with the implication that .
A. compensation benefits in America are soaring to new heights
B. people from all walks of life can benefit from the compensations system
C. the workers are not the only ones to benefit from the compensation system
D. money floating in the compensation system is a huge drain on the U. S. economy
參考答案：BCADC
In the United States, it is not customary to telephone someone very in the morning. If you telephone him early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very important and requires immediate attention. The same meaning is attached to telephone calls made after 11:00 p.m.. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he assumes it's a matter of life and death. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.
In social life, time plays a very important part. In the U. S. A, guests tend to feel they
are not highly regarded if the invitation to a dinner party is extended only three or four days before the party date. But it is not true in all countries. In other areas of the world it may be considered foolish to make an appointment too far in advance because plans which are made for a date more than a week away tend to be forgotten. The meaning of time differs in different parts of the world. Thus, misunderstandings arise between people from cultures that treat time differently; promptness (準時) is valued highly in American life, for example. If people are not prompt, they may be regarded as impolite or not fully responsible. In the U. S. no one would think of keeping a business friend waiting for an hour; it would be too impolite. A person who is 5 minutes late is expected to make a short apology. If he is less than 5 minutes late, he will say a few words of explanation, though perhaps he will not complete the sentence.
1. The same meaning is attached to telephone calls made after 11:00 p.m." Here "attached" means .
A. taken
B. drawn
C. given
D. shown
2. Supposing one wants to make a telephone call at midnight, this would mean .
A. the matter is less important
B. the matter is somewhat important
C. the matter requires immediate attention
D. it is a matter of life and death
3. According to this passage, time plays an important role in .
A. everyday life
B. private life
C. communications
D. transmission
4. The best title for this passage is .
A. "The Voices of Time"
B. "The Saving of Time"
C. "The Importance of an Announcement"
D. "Time and Tide Wait for No Man"
5. According to the passage, the author of the article may agree with which of the follow statements?
A. It is appropriate to send your invitation cards three of four days before a dinner party date in the U. S..
B. It may be appropriate to send your invitation cards to your guests three or four days before a dinner party date in some cultures.
C. It is best for one to make telephone calls at night because it costs much less.
D. If one is less than 5 minutes late, he has to make a short apology.
參考答案：CDCAB
In recent years, railroads have been combining with each other, mergingintosuper systems, causing heightened concerns about monopoly. As recently as 1995, the top four railroads accounted for under 70 percent of the total ton-miles moved by rails. Next year, after a series of mergers is completed, just four railroads will control well over 90 percent of all the freight moved by major rail carriers.
Supporters of the new super systems argue that these mergers will allow for substantial
cost reductions and better coordinated service. Any threat of monopoly, they argue, is removed by fierce competition from trucks. But many shippers complain that for heavy bulk commodities traveling long distances, such as coal, chemicals, and grain, trucking is too costly and the railroads therefore have them by the throat.
The vast consolidation within the rail industry means that most shippers are served by only one rail company. Railroads typically charge such "captive" shippers 20 to 30 percent more than they do when another railroad is competing for the business. Shippers who feel they are being overcharged have the right to appeal to the federal government's Surface Transportation Board for rate relief, but the process is expensive, time consuming, and will work only in truly extreme cases.
Railroads justify rate discrimination against captive shippers on the grounds that in the long run it reduces everyone's cost. If railroads charged all customers the same average rate, they argue, shippers who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost of keeping up the line. It's theory to which many economists subscribe, but in practice it often leaves railroads in the position of determining which companies will flourish and which will fail. "Do we really want railroads to be the arbiters of who wins and who loses in the marketplace?" asks Martin Bercovici, a Washington lawyer who frequently represents shipper.
Many captive shippers also worry they will soon be his with a round of huge rate increases. The railroad industry as a whole, despite its brightening fortuning fortunes, still does not earn enough to cover the cost of the capital it must invest to keep up with its surging traffic. Yet railroads continue to borrow billions to acquire one another, with Wall Street cheering them on. Consider the 2 billion bid by Norfolk Southern and CSX to acquire Conrail this year. Conrail's net railway operating income in 1996 was just million, less than half of the carrying costs of the transaction. Who's going to pay for the rest of the bill? Many captive shippers fear that they will, as Norfolk Southern and CSX increase their grip on the market.
1. According to those who support mergers railway monopoly is unlikely because .
A. cost reduction is based on competition
B. services call for cross-trade coordination
C. outside competitors will continue to exist
D. shippers will have the railway by the throat
2、What is many captive shippers' attitude towards the consolidation in the rail industry?
A. A.Indifferent.
B. Supportive.
C. Indignant.
D. Apprehensive.
3、It can be inferred from paragraph 3 that .
A. shippers will be charged less without a rival railroad
B. there will soon be only one railroad company nationwide
C. overcharged shippers are unlikely to appeal for rate relief
D. a government board ensures fair play in railway business
4. The word "arbiters" (line 6, paragraph 4)most probably refers to those .
A. who work as coordinators
B. who function as judges
C. who supervise transactions
D. who determine the price
5. According to the text, the cost increase in the rail industry is mainly caused by .
A. the continuing acquisition
B. the growing traffic
C. the cheering Wall Street
D. the shrinking market
參考答案：CDCBA
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 than 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 a winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a big crowd. The most advanced computer systems on Earth can't approach that kind of ability, and neuroscientists still don't know quite how we do it.
1. 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
2. The word "gizmos" (line 1, paragraph 2) most probably means .
A. programs
B. experts
C. devices
D. creatures
3. According to the text, what is beyond man's ability now is to design a robot that can .
A. fulfill delicate tasks like performing brain surgery
B. interact with human beings verbally
C. have a little common sense
D. respond independently to a changing world
4. 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
5. The author uses the example of a monkey to argue that robots are .
A. expected to copy human brain in internal structure
B. able to perceive abnormalities immediately
C. far less able than human brain in focusing on relevant information
D. best used in a controlled environment
參考答案：CCDBC
German Chancellor ( 首相 ) Otto Von Bismarck may be most famous for his military and diplomatic talent, but his legacy ( 遺產(chǎn) ) includes many of today's social insurance programs. During the middle of the 19th century, Germany, along with other European nations, experienced an unprecedented rash of workplace deaths and accidents as a result of growing industrialization. Motivated in part by Christian compassion ( 憐憫 ) for the helpless as well as a practical political impulse to undercut the support of the socialist labor movement, Chancellor Bismarck created the world's first worker' s compensation law in 1884.
By 1908, the United States was the only industrial nation in the world that lacked workers' compensation insurance. America's injured workers could sue for damages in a court of law, but they still faced a number of tough legal barriers. For example, employees had to prove that their injuries directly resulted from employer negligence and that they themselves were ignorant about potential hazards in the workplace. The first state worker's compensation law in this country passed in 1911, and the program soon spread throughout the nation.
After World War II, benefit payments to American workers did not keep up with the cost of living. In fact, real benefit levels were lower in the 1970s than they were in the 1940s, and in most states the maximum benefit was below the poverty level for a family of four. In 1970, President Richard Nixon set up a national commission to study the problems of workers' compensation. Two years later, the commission issued 19 key recommendations, including one that called for increasing compensation benefit levels to 100 percent of the states' average weekly wages.
In fact, the average compensation benefit in America has climbed from 55 percent of the states' average weekly wages in 1972 to 97 percent today. But, as most studies show,
every 10 percent increase in compensation benefits results in a 5 percent increase in the numbers of workers who file for claims. And with so much more money floating in the workers' compensation system, it's not surprising that doctors, and lawyers have helped themselves to a large slice of the growing pie.
1. The world's first workers' compensation law was introduced by Bismarck .
A. for fear of losing the support of the socialist labor movement
B. out of religious and political considerations
C. to speed up the pace of industrialization
D. to make industrial production safer
2. We learn from the passage that the process of industrialization in Europe .
A. met growing resistance from laborers working at machines
B. resulted in the development of popular social insurance programs
C. was accompanied by an increased number of workshop accidents
D. required workers to be aware of the potential dangers at the workplace
3. One of the problems the American injured workers faced in getting compensation in the early 19th century was that .
A. they had to produce evidence that their employers were responsible for the accident
B. America's average compensation benefit was much lower than the cost of living
C. different states in the U. S. had totally different compensation programs
D. they had to have the courage to sue for damages in a court of law
4. After 1972, workers' compensation insurance in the U. S. became more favorable to workers so that .
A. the poverty level for a family of four went up drastically
B. more money was allocated to their compensation system
C. there were fewer legal barriers when they filed for claims
D. the number of workers suing for damages increased
5. The author ends the passage with the implication that .
A. compensation benefits in America are soaring to new heights
B. people from all walks of life can benefit from the compensations system
C. the workers are not the only ones to benefit from the compensation system
D. money floating in the compensation system is a huge drain on the U. S. economy
參考答案：BCADC
In the United States, it is not customary to telephone someone very in the morning. If you telephone him early in the day, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call shows that the matter is very important and requires immediate attention. The same meaning is attached to telephone calls made after 11:00 p.m.. If someone receives a call during sleeping hours, he assumes it's a matter of life and death. The time chosen for the call communicates its importance.
In social life, time plays a very important part. In the U. S. A, guests tend to feel they
are not highly regarded if the invitation to a dinner party is extended only three or four days before the party date. But it is not true in all countries. In other areas of the world it may be considered foolish to make an appointment too far in advance because plans which are made for a date more than a week away tend to be forgotten. The meaning of time differs in different parts of the world. Thus, misunderstandings arise between people from cultures that treat time differently; promptness (準時) is valued highly in American life, for example. If people are not prompt, they may be regarded as impolite or not fully responsible. In the U. S. no one would think of keeping a business friend waiting for an hour; it would be too impolite. A person who is 5 minutes late is expected to make a short apology. If he is less than 5 minutes late, he will say a few words of explanation, though perhaps he will not complete the sentence.
1. The same meaning is attached to telephone calls made after 11:00 p.m." Here "attached" means .
A. taken
B. drawn
C. given
D. shown
2. Supposing one wants to make a telephone call at midnight, this would mean .
A. the matter is less important
B. the matter is somewhat important
C. the matter requires immediate attention
D. it is a matter of life and death
3. According to this passage, time plays an important role in .
A. everyday life
B. private life
C. communications
D. transmission
4. The best title for this passage is .
A. "The Voices of Time"
B. "The Saving of Time"
C. "The Importance of an Announcement"
D. "Time and Tide Wait for No Man"
5. According to the passage, the author of the article may agree with which of the follow statements?
A. It is appropriate to send your invitation cards three of four days before a dinner party date in the U. S..
B. It may be appropriate to send your invitation cards to your guests three or four days before a dinner party date in some cultures.
C. It is best for one to make telephone calls at night because it costs much less.
D. If one is less than 5 minutes late, he has to make a short apology.
參考答案：CDCAB
In recent years, railroads have been combining with each other, mergingintosuper systems, causing heightened concerns about monopoly. As recently as 1995, the top four railroads accounted for under 70 percent of the total ton-miles moved by rails. Next year, after a series of mergers is completed, just four railroads will control well over 90 percent of all the freight moved by major rail carriers.
Supporters of the new super systems argue that these mergers will allow for substantial
cost reductions and better coordinated service. Any threat of monopoly, they argue, is removed by fierce competition from trucks. But many shippers complain that for heavy bulk commodities traveling long distances, such as coal, chemicals, and grain, trucking is too costly and the railroads therefore have them by the throat.
The vast consolidation within the rail industry means that most shippers are served by only one rail company. Railroads typically charge such "captive" shippers 20 to 30 percent more than they do when another railroad is competing for the business. Shippers who feel they are being overcharged have the right to appeal to the federal government's Surface Transportation Board for rate relief, but the process is expensive, time consuming, and will work only in truly extreme cases.
Railroads justify rate discrimination against captive shippers on the grounds that in the long run it reduces everyone's cost. If railroads charged all customers the same average rate, they argue, shippers who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms of transportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost of keeping up the line. It's theory to which many economists subscribe, but in practice it often leaves railroads in the position of determining which companies will flourish and which will fail. "Do we really want railroads to be the arbiters of who wins and who loses in the marketplace?" asks Martin Bercovici, a Washington lawyer who frequently represents shipper.
Many captive shippers also worry they will soon be his with a round of huge rate increases. The railroad industry as a whole, despite its brightening fortuning fortunes, still does not earn enough to cover the cost of the capital it must invest to keep up with its surging traffic. Yet railroads continue to borrow billions to acquire one another, with Wall Street cheering them on. Consider the 2 billion bid by Norfolk Southern and CSX to acquire Conrail this year. Conrail's net railway operating income in 1996 was just million, less than half of the carrying costs of the transaction. Who's going to pay for the rest of the bill? Many captive shippers fear that they will, as Norfolk Southern and CSX increase their grip on the market.
1. According to those who support mergers railway monopoly is unlikely because .
A. cost reduction is based on competition
B. services call for cross-trade coordination
C. outside competitors will continue to exist
D. shippers will have the railway by the throat
2、What is many captive shippers' attitude towards the consolidation in the rail industry?
A. A.Indifferent.
B. Supportive.
C. Indignant.
D. Apprehensive.
3、It can be inferred from paragraph 3 that .
A. shippers will be charged less without a rival railroad
B. there will soon be only one railroad company nationwide
C. overcharged shippers are unlikely to appeal for rate relief
D. a government board ensures fair play in railway business
4. The word "arbiters" (line 6, paragraph 4)most probably refers to those .
A. who work as coordinators
B. who function as judges
C. who supervise transactions
D. who determine the price
5. According to the text, the cost increase in the rail industry is mainly caused by .
A. the continuing acquisition
B. the growing traffic
C. the cheering Wall Street
D. the shrinking market
參考答案：CDCBA