[单选题]Directions:Thereare3passagesinthissection.Eachpassageisfollowedby5questionsorunfinishedstatements.ForeachofthemtherearefourchoicesmarkedA),B),C)andD).YoushoulddecideonthebestchoiceandmarkthecorrespondingletterontheAnswerSheet.Text1Engineeringstudentsaresupposedtobeexamplesofpracticality(实用性)andrationality(理性),butwhenitcomestomycollegeeducationIamanidealistandafool.InhighschoolIwantedtobeanelectricalengineerand,ofcourse,anysensiblestudentwithmyaimswouldhavechosenacollegewithalargeengineeringdepartment,famousreputationandlotsofgoodlabsandresearchequipment.Butthat’snotwhatIdid.Ichosetostudyengineeringatasmallliberal-arts(文科)universitythatdoesn’tevenofferamajorinelectricalengineering.Obviously,thiswasnotapracticalchoice;Icamehereformorenoblereasons.Iwantedabroadeducationthatwouldprovidemewithflexibilityandavaluesystemtoguidemeinmycareer.Iwantedtoopenmyeyesandexpandmyvisionbyinteractingwithpeoplewhoweren’tstudyingscienceorengineering.Myparents,teachersandotheradultspraisedmeforsuchawisechoice.TheytoldmeIwaswiseandmaturebeyondmy18years,andIbelievedthem.IheadedofftothecollegeandsureIwasgoingtohaveanadvantageoverthosestudentswhowenttobigengineering"factories"wheretheydidn’tcareifyouhadvaluesorwereflexible.Iwasgoingtobeacompleteengineer:technicalgeniusandsensitivehumanistallinone.NowI’mnotsosure.Somewherealongthewaymynobleideascrashedintoreality,asallnobleideasfinallydo.Afterthreeyearsofstrugglingtobalancemath,physicsandengineeringcourseswithliberal-artscourses,Ihavelearnedtherearereasonswhyfewengineeringstudentstrytoreconcileengineeringwithliberal-artscoursesincollege.Therealitythathasblockedmypathtobecomethetypicalsuccessfulstudentisthatengineeringandtheliberalartssimplydon’tmixaseasilyasIsupposedinhighschool.Individuallytheyshapeapersoninverydifferentways;togethertheythreatentoconfuse.Thestruggletoreconcilethetwofieldsofstudyisdifficult.1.Whydidtheauthorchoosetostudyengineeringatasmallliberal-artsuniversity?
[单选题]Engineeringstudentsaresupposedtobeexamplesofpracticality(实用性)andrationality(理性),butwhenitcomestomycollegeeducationIamanidealistandafool.InhighschoolIwantedtobeanelectricalengineerand,ofcourse,anysensiblestudentwithmyaimswouldhavechosenacollegewithalargeengineeringdepartment,famousreputationandlotsofgoodlabsandresearchequipment.Butthat’snotwhatIdid.Ichosetostudyengineeringatasmallliberal-arts(文科)universitythatdoesn’tevenofferamajorinelectricalengineering.Obviously,thiswasnotapracticalchoice;Icamehereformorenoblereasons.Iwantedabroadeducationthatwouldprovidemewithflexibilityandavaluesystemtoguidemeinmycareer.Iwantedtoopenmyeyesandexpandmyvisionbyinteractingwithpeoplewhoweren’tstudyingscienceorengineering.Myparents,teachersandotheradultspraisedmeforsuchawisechoice.TheytoldmeIwaswiseandmaturebeyondmy18years,andIbelievedthem.IheadedofftothecollegeandsureIwasgoingtohaveanadvantageoverthosestudentswhowenttobigengineering"factories"wheretheydidn’tcareifyouhadvaluesorwereflexible.Iwasgoingtobeacompleteengineer:technicalgeniusandsensitivehumanistallinone.NowI’mnotsosure.Somewherealongthewaymynobleideascrashedintoreality,asallnobleideasfinallydo.Afterthreeyearsofstrugglingtobalancemath,physicsandengineeringcourseswithliberal-artscourses,Ihavelearnedtherearereasonswhyfewengineeringstudentstrytoreconcileengineeringwithliberal-artscoursesincollege.Therealitythathasblockedmypathtobecomethetypicalsuccessfulstudentisthatengineeringandtheliberalartssimplydon’tmixaseasilyasIsupposedinhighschool.Individuallytheyshapeapersoninverydifferentways;togethertheythreatentoconfuse.Thestruggletoreconcilethetwofieldsofstudyisdifficult.2.Accordingtotheauthor,bycommunicatingwithpeoplewhostudyliberalarts,engineeringstudentscan___________.
[单选题]Engineeringstudentsaresupposedtobeexamplesofpracticality(实用性)andrationality(理性),butwhenitcomestomycollegeeducationIamanidealistandafool.InhighschoolIwantedtobeanelectricalengineerand,ofcourse,anysensiblestudentwithmyaimswouldhavechosenacollegewithalargeengineeringdepartment,famousreputationandlotsofgoodlabsandresearchequipment.Butthat’snotwhatIdid.Ichosetostudyengineeringatasmallliberal-arts(文科)universitythatdoesn’tevenofferamajorinelectricalengineering.Obviously,thiswasnotapracticalchoice;Icamehereformorenoblereasons.Iwantedabroadeducationthatwouldprovidemewithflexibilityandavaluesystemtoguidemeinmycareer.Iwantedtoopenmyeyesandexpandmyvisionbyinteractingwithpeoplewhoweren’tstudyingscienceorengineering.Myparents,teachersandotheradultspraisedmeforsuchawisechoice.TheytoldmeIwaswiseandmaturebeyondmy18years,andIbelievedthem.IheadedofftothecollegeandsureIwasgoingtohaveanadvantageoverthosestudentswhowenttobigengineering"factories"wheretheydidn’tcareifyouhadvaluesorwereflexible.Iwasgoingtobeacompleteengineer:technicalgeniusandsensitivehumanistallinone.NowI’mnotsosure.Somewherealongthewaymynobleideascrashedintoreality,asallnobleideasfinallydo.Afterthreeyearsofstrugglingtobalancemath,physicsandengineeringcourseswithliberal-artscourses,Ihavelearnedtherearereasonswhyfewengineeringstudentstrytoreconcileengineeringwithliberal-artscoursesincollege.Therealitythathasblockedmypathtobecomethetypicalsuccessfulstudentisthatengineeringandtheliberalartssimplydon’tmixaseasilyasIsupposedinhighschool.Individuallytheyshapeapersoninverydifferentways;togethertheythreatentoconfuse.Thestruggletoreconcilethetwofieldsofstudyisdifficult.3.Whichwordbelowcanreplacetheunderlinedword“reconcile”inparagraph4?
[单选题]Engineeringstudentsaresupposedtobeexamplesofpracticality(实用性)andrationality(理性),butwhenitcomestomycollegeeducationIamanidealistandafool.InhighschoolIwantedtobeanelectricalengineerand,ofcourse,anysensiblestudentwithmyaimswouldhavechosenacollegewithalargeengineeringdepartment,famousreputationandlotsofgoodlabsandresearchequipment.Butthat’snotwhatIdid.Ichosetostudyengineeringatasmallliberal-arts(文科)universitythatdoesn’tevenofferamajorinelectricalengineering.Obviously,thiswasnotapracticalchoice;Icamehereformorenoblereasons.Iwantedabroadeducationthatwouldprovidemewithflexibilityandavaluesystemtoguidemeinmycareer.Iwantedtoopenmyeyesandexpandmyvisionbyinteractingwithpeoplewhoweren’tstudyingscienceorengineering.Myparents,teachersandotheradultspraisedmeforsuchawisechoice.TheytoldmeIwaswiseandmaturebeyondmy18years,andIbelievedthem.IheadedofftothecollegeandsureIwasgoingtohaveanadvantageoverthosestudentswhowenttobigengineering"factories"wheretheydidn’tcareifyouhadvaluesorwereflexible.Iwasgoingtobeacompleteengineer:technicalgeniusandsensitivehumanistallinone.NowI’mnotsosure.Somewherealongthewaymynobleideascrashedintoreality,asallnobleideasfinallydo.Afterthreeyearsofstrugglingtobalancemath,physicsandengineeringcourseswithliberal-artscourses,Ihavelearnedtherearereasonswhyfewengineeringstudentstrytoreconcileengineeringwithliberal-artscoursesincollege.Therealitythathasblockedmypathtobecomethetypicalsuccessfulstudentisthatengineeringandtheliberalartssimplydon’tmixaseasilyasIsupposedinhighschool.Individuallytheyshapeapersoninverydifferentways;togethertheythreatentoconfuse.Thestruggletoreconcilethetwofieldsofstudyisdifficult.4.Theunderlinedsentenceinthe1stparagraphmeans___________.
[单选题]Engineeringstudentsaresupposedtobeexamplesofpracticality(实用性)andrationality(理性),butwhenitcomestomycollegeeducationIamanidealistandafool.InhighschoolIwantedtobeanelectricalengineerand,ofcourse,anysensiblestudentwithmyaimswouldhavechosenacollegewithalargeengineeringdepartment,famousreputationandlotsofgoodlabsandresearchequipment.Butthat’snotwhatIdid.Ichosetostudyengineeringatasmallliberal-arts(文科)universitythatdoesn’tevenofferamajorinelectricalengineering.Obviously,thiswasnotapracticalchoice;Icamehereformorenoblereasons.Iwantedabroadeducationthatwouldprovidemewithflexibilityandavaluesystemtoguidemeinmycareer.Iwantedtoopenmyeyesandexpandmyvisionbyinteractingwithpeoplewhoweren’tstudyingscienceorengineering.Myparents,teachersandotheradultspraisedmeforsuchawisechoice.TheytoldmeIwaswiseandmaturebeyondmy18years,andIbelievedthem.IheadedofftothecollegeandsureIwasgoingtohaveanadvantageoverthosestudentswhowenttobigengineering"factories"wheretheydidn’tcareifyouhadvaluesorwereflexible.Iwasgoingtobeacompleteengineer:technicalgeniusandsensitivehumanistallinone.NowI’mnotsosure.Somewherealongthewaymynobleideascrashedintoreality,asallnobleideasfinallydo.Afterthreeyearsofstrugglingtobalancemath,physicsandengineeringcourseswithliberal-artscourses,Ihavelearnedtherearereasonswhyfewengineeringstudentstrytoreconcileengineeringwithliberal-artscoursesincollege.Therealitythathasblockedmypathtobecomethetypicalsuccessfulstudentisthatengineeringandtheliberalartssimplydon’tmixaseasilyasIsupposedinhighschool.Individuallytheyshapeapersoninverydifferentways;togethertheythreatentoconfuse.Thestruggletoreconcilethetwofieldsofstudyisdifficult.5.Theauthorsuggestsinthispassagethat___________.
[判断题]IITrueorFalse.WomenareworsethanmenatturningnetworkstotheiradvantageINTHErarefiedworldofthecorporateboard,agoodnetworkmatters.Recruitmentofteninvolvesword-of-mouthrecommendations:gettingonashortlistiseasierifyouhavetherightconnections.Newresearchsuggestsmenusecontactsbetterthanwomen.MarieLalanneandPaulSeabrightoftheToulouseSchoolofEconomicsmeasuretheeffectofanetworkonremunerationusingadatabaseofboardmembersinEuropeandAmerica.Theyfindthatifyouweretocomparetwoexecutivedirectors,identicalineverywayexceptthatonehad200ex-colleaguesnowsittingonboardsandtheother400,thelatter,onaverage,wouldbepaid6%more.Fornon-executivesthegapis14%.Thereallyjuicyfindingconcernsthedifferencebetweenthesexes.Amongexecutive-boardmembers,womenearn17%lessthantheirmalecounterparts.Thereareplentyofplausibleexplanationsforthisdisparity,frominterruptionstowomen’scareerstoold-fashioneddiscrimination.Buttheauthorsfindthatthispaygapcanbefullyexplainedbytheeffectofexecutives’networks.Mencanleveragealargenetworkintomoreseniorpositionsoraseatonamorelucrativeboard;womendon’tseemtobeableto.Womencouldjusthaveweakerconnectionswithmembersoftheirnetworks.“Womenseemmoreinclinedtobuildandrelyononlyafewstrongrelationships,”saysMrSeabright.Menarebetteratdevelopingpassingacquaintancesintoanetwork,andbetteratmaintainingahighpersonalprofilethroughthesecontacts.Womenmay,ofcourse,alsobehurtbytheexistingdominanceofmenonboardsandamalepreferenceforfillingexecutivepositionswithothermen.Butatendencytothinkofothermenfirstwillbeamplifiediftalentedwomendon’tstayontheradar.Interestingly,thereisonlyamarginalpaydifferencebetweenmenandwomenwhenitcomestonon-executivedirectors,andnodifferenceintheeffectivenessoftheirnetworks.Itispossiblethatthisreflectspressurefor“genderquotas”oncorporateboards.Womenareabletofindtheirwayontoshortlistsforlower-paid,non-executivepositions.Butthat’snotwheretherealpowerlies.1.Bystudyingtheimpactofsocialconnectionsonpay,theyfoundthatmenincomparablepositionswerepaid17%morethanwomeninnon-executives.
[判断题]WomenareworsethanmenatturningnetworkstotheiradvantageINTHErarefiedworldofthecorporateboard,agoodnetworkmatters.Recruitmentofteninvolvesword-of-mouthrecommendations:gettingonashortlistiseasierifyouhavetherightconnections.Newresearchsuggestsmenusecontactsbetterthanwomen.MarieLalanneandPaulSeabrightoftheToulouseSchoolofEconomicsmeasuretheeffectofanetworkonremunerationusingadatabaseofboardmembersinEuropeandAmerica.Theyfindthatifyouweretocomparetwoexecutivedirectors,identicalineverywayexceptthatonehad200ex-colleaguesnowsittingonboardsandtheother400,thelatter,onaverage,wouldbepaid6%more.Fornon-executivesthegapis14%.Thereallyjuicyfindingconcernsthedifferencebetweenthesexes.Amongexecutive-boardmembers,womenearn17%lessthantheirmalecounterparts.Thereareplentyofplausibleexplanationsforthisdisparity,frominterruptionstowomen’scareerstoold-fashioneddiscrimination.Buttheauthorsfindthatthispaygapcanbefullyexplainedbytheeffectofexecutives’networks.Mencanleveragealargenetworkintomoreseniorpositionsoraseatonamorelucrativeboard;womendon’tseemtobeableto.Womencouldjusthaveweakerconnectionswithmembersoftheirnetworks.“Womenseemmoreinclinedtobuildandrelyononlyafewstrongrelationships,”saysMrSeabright.Menarebetteratdevelopingpassingacquaintancesintoanetwork,andbetteratmaintainingahighpersonalprofilethroughthesecontacts.Womenmay,ofcourse,alsobehurtbytheexistingdominanceofmenonboardsandamalepreferenceforfillingexecutivepositionswithothermen.Butatendencytothinkofothermenfirstwillbeamplifiediftalentedwomendon’tstayontheradar.Interestingly,thereisonlyamarginalpaydifferencebetweenmenandwomenwhenitcomestonon-executivedirectors,andnodifferenceintheeffectivenessoftheirnetworks.Itispossiblethatthisreflectspressurefor“genderquotas”oncorporateboards.Womenareabletofindtheirwayontoshortlistsforlower-paid,non-executivepositions.Butthat’snotwheretherealpowerlies.2.Comparedwithmen,womenarecompletelyunabletoleveragealargenetworkintomoreseniorpositionsoraseatonamorelucrativeboard.
[判断题]WomenareworsethanmenatturningnetworkstotheiradvantageINTHErarefiedworldofthecorporateboard,agoodnetworkmatters.Recruitmentofteninvolvesword-of-mouthrecommendations:gettingonashortlistiseasierifyouhavetherightconnections.Newresearchsuggestsmenusecontactsbetterthanwomen.MarieLalanneandPaulSeabrightoftheToulouseSchoolofEconomicsmeasuretheeffectofanetworkonremunerationusingadatabaseofboardmembersinEuropeandAmerica.Theyfindthatifyouweretocomparetwoexecutivedirectors,identicalineverywayexceptthatonehad200ex-colleaguesnowsittingonboardsandtheother400,thelatter,onaverage,wouldbepaid6%more.Fornon-executivesthegapis14%.Thereallyjuicyfindingconcernsthedifferencebetweenthesexes.Amongexecutive-boardmembers,womenearn17%lessthantheirmalecounterparts.Thereareplentyofplausibleexplanationsforthisdisparity,frominterruptionstowomen’scareerstoold-fashioneddiscrimination.Buttheauthorsfindthatthispaygapcanbefullyexplainedbytheeffectofexecutives’networks.Mencanleveragealargenetworkintomoreseniorpositionsoraseatonamorelucrativeboard;womendon’tseemtobeableto.Womencouldjusthaveweakerconnectionswithmembersoftheirnetworks.“Womenseemmoreinclinedtobuildandrelyononlyafewstrongrelationships,”saysMrSeabright.Menarebetteratdevelopingpassingacquaintancesintoanetwork,andbetteratmaintainingahighpersonalprofilethroughthesecontacts.Womenmay,ofcourse,alsobehurtbytheexistingdominanceofmenonboardsandamalepreferenceforfillingexecutivepositionswithothermen.Butatendencytothinkofothermenfirstwillbeamplifiediftalentedwomendon’tstayontheradar.Interestingly,thereisonlyamarginalpaydifferencebetweenmenandwomenwhenitcomestonon-executivedirectors,andnodifferenceintheeffectivenessoftheirnetworks.Itispossiblethatthisreflectspressurefor“genderquotas”oncorporateboards.Womenareabletofindtheirwayontoshortlistsforlower-paid,non-executivepositions.Butthat’snotwheretherealpowerlies.3.Althoughmenarebetteratbuildingpassingacquaintancesintoanetwork,theyarelessactiveinthesecontacts.
[判断题]WomenareworsethanmenatturningnetworkstotheiradvantageINTHErarefiedworldofthecorporateboard,agoodnetworkmatters.Recruitmentofteninvolvesword-of-mouthrecommendations:gettingonashortlistiseasierifyouhavetherightconnections.Newresearchsuggestsmenusecontactsbetterthanwomen.MarieLalanneandPaulSeabrightoftheToulouseSchoolofEconomicsmeasuretheeffectofanetworkonremunerationusingadatabaseofboardmembersinEuropeandAmerica.Theyfindthatifyouweretocomparetwoexecutivedirectors,identicalineverywayexceptthatonehad200ex-colleaguesnowsittingonboardsandtheother400,thelatter,onaverage,wouldbepaid6%more.Fornon-executivesthegapis14%.Thereallyjuicyfindingconcernsthedifferencebetweenthesexes.Amongexecutive-boardmembers,womenearn17%lessthantheirmalecounterparts.Thereareplentyofplausibleexplanationsforthisdisparity,frominterruptionstowomen’scareerstoold-fashioneddiscrimination.Buttheauthorsfindthatthispaygapcanbefullyexplainedbytheeffectofexecutives’networks.Mencanleveragealargenetworkintomoreseniorpositionsoraseatonamorelucrativeboard;womendon’tseemtobeableto.Womencouldjusthaveweakerconnectionswithmembersoftheirnetworks.“Womenseemmoreinclinedtobuildandrelyononlyafewstrongrelationships,”saysMrSeabright.Menarebetteratdevelopingpassingacquaintancesintoanetwork,andbetteratmaintainingahighpersonalprofilethroughthesecontacts.Womenmay,ofcourse,alsobehurtbytheexistingdominanceofmenonboardsandamalepreferenceforfillingexecutivepositionswithothermen.Butatendencytothinkofothermenfirstwillbeamplifiediftalentedwomendon’tstayontheradar.Interestingly,thereisonlyamarginalpaydifferencebetweenmenandwomenwhenitcomestonon-executivedirectors,andnodifferenceintheeffectivenessoftheirnetworks.Itispossiblethatthisreflectspressurefor“genderquotas”oncorporateboards.Womenareabletofindtheirwayontoshortlistsforlower-paid,non-executivepositions.Butthat’snotwheretherealpowerlies.4.Thestudyfoundthateventhoughwomencangetjobsbyacceptinglowerpayorenteringnon-executiveareas,thatisnottheresultoftheoptimalallocationofresources.
[判断题]WomenareworsethanmenatturningnetworkstotheiradvantageINTHErarefiedworldofthecorporateboard,agoodnetworkmatters.Recruitmentofteninvolvesword-of-mouthrecommendations:gettingonashortlistiseasierifyouhavetherightconnections.Newresearchsuggestsmenusecontactsbetterthanwomen.MarieLalanneandPaulSeabrightoftheToulouseSchoolofEconomicsmeasuretheeffectofanetworkonremunerationusingadatabaseofboardmembersinEuropeandAmerica.Theyfindthatifyouweretocomparetwoexecutivedirectors,identicalineverywayexceptthatonehad200ex-colleaguesnowsittingonboardsandtheother400,thelatter,onaverage,wouldbepaid6%more.Fornon-executivesthegapis14%.Thereallyjuicyfindingconcernsthedifferencebetweenthesexes.Amongexecutive-boardmembers,womenearn17%lessthantheirmalecounterparts.Thereareplentyofplausibleexplanationsforthisdisparity,frominterruptionstowomen’scareerstoold-fashioneddiscrimination.Buttheauthorsfindthatthispaygapcanbefullyexplainedbytheeffectofexecutives’networks.Mencanleveragealargenetworkintomoreseniorpositionsoraseatonamorelucrativeboard;womendon’tseemtobeableto.Womencouldjusthaveweakerconnectionswithmembersoftheirnetworks.“Womenseemmoreinclinedtobuildandrelyononlyafewstrongrelationships,”saysMrSeabright.Menarebetteratdevelopingpassingacquaintancesintoanetwork,andbetteratmaintainingahighpersonalprofilethroughthesecontacts.Womenmay,ofcourse,alsobehurtbytheexistingdominanceofmenonboardsandamalepreferenceforfillingexecutivepositionswithothermen.Butatendencytothinkofothermenfirstwillbeamplifiediftalentedwomendon’tstayontheradar.Interestingly,thereisonlyamarginalpaydifferencebetweenmenandwomenwhenitcomestonon-executivedirectors,andnodifferenceintheeffectivenessoftheirnetworks.Itispossiblethatthisreflectspressurefor“genderquotas”oncorporateboards.Womenareabletofindtheirwayontoshortlistsforlower-paid,non-executivepositions.Butthat’snotwheretherealpowerlies.5.Recentresearchshowsthatwomenarelessadeptatusingtheirinterpersonalrelationships.
[单选题]PassageOneQuestions46to50arebasedonthefollowingpassage.ProfessorAshokGoelofGeorgiaTechdevelopedanartificiallyintelligentteachingassistanttohelphandletheenormousnumberofstudentquestionsintheonlineclass,Knowledge-BasedArtificialIntelligence.ThisonlinecourseisacorerequirementofGeorgiaTech'sonlineMasterofScienceinComputerScienceprogram.ProfessorGoelalreadyhadeightteachingassistants,butthatwasn'tenoughtodealwiththeoverwhelmingnumberofdailyquestionsfromstudents.Manystudentsdropoutofonlinecoursesbecauseofthelackofteachingsupport.Whenstudentsfeelisolatedorconfusedandreachoutwithquestionsthatgounanswered,theirmotivationtocontinuebeginstofade.ProfessorGoeldecidedtodosomethingtoremedythissituationandhissolutionwastocreateavirtualassistantnamedJillWatson,whichisbasedontheIBMWatsonplatform.GoelandhisteamdevelopedseveralversionsofJillWatsonbeforereleasinghertotheonlineforums.Atfirst,thevirtualassistantwasn'ttoogreat.ButGoelandhisteamsourcedtheonlinediscussionforumtofindall40,000questionsthathadeverbeenaskedsincetheclasswaslaunched.ThentheybegantofeedJillwiththequestionsandanswers.Aftersomeadjustmentsandsufficienttime,Jillwasabletoanswerthestudents’questionscorrectly97%ofthetime.Thevirtualassistantbecamesoadvancedandrealisticthatthestudentsdidn'tknowshewasacomputer.Thestudents,whowerestudyingartificialintelligence,wereinteractingwiththevirtualassistantandcouldn'ttellitapartfromarealhumanbeing.Goeldidn'tinformthemaboutJill'strueidentityuntilApril26.Thestudentswereactuallyverypositiveabouttheexperience.ThegoalofProfessorGoel'svirtualassistantnextyearistotakeoveranswering40%ofallthequestionsposedbystudentsontheonlineforum.ThenameJillWatsonwill,ofcourse,changetosomethingelsenextsemester.ProfessorGoelhasamuchrosieroutlookonthefutureofartificialintelligencethan,say,ElonMusk,StephenHawking,BillGatesorSteveWozniak.1.WhatdowelearnaboutKnowledge-BasedArtificialIntelligence?
[单选题]PassageOneQuestions46to50arebasedonthefollowingpassage.ProfessorAshokGoelofGeorgiaTechdevelopedanartificiallyintelligentteachingassistanttohelphandletheenormousnumberofstudentquestionsintheonlineclass,Knowledge-BasedArtificialIntelligence.ThisonlinecourseisacorerequirementofGeorgiaTech'sonlineMasterofScienceinComputerScienceprogram.ProfessorGoelalreadyhadeightteachingassistants,butthatwasn'tenoughtodealwiththeoverwhelmingnumberofdailyquestionsfromstudents.Manystudentsdropoutofonlinecoursesbecauseofthelackofteachingsupport.Whenstudentsfeelisolatedorconfusedandreachoutwithquestionsthatgounanswered,theirmotivationtocontinuebeginstofade.ProfessorGoeldecidedtodosomethingtoremedythissituationandhissolutionwastocreateavirtualassistantnamedJillWatson,whichisbasedontheIBMWatsonplatform.GoelandhisteamdevelopedseveralversionsofJillWatsonbeforereleasinghertotheonlineforums.Atfirst,thevirtualassistantwasn'ttoogreat.ButGoelandhisteamsourcedtheonlinediscussionforumtofindall40,000questionsthathadeverbeenaskedsincetheclasswaslaunched.ThentheybegantofeedJillwiththequestionsandanswers.Aftersomeadjustmentsandsufficienttime,Jillwasabletoanswerthestudents’questionscorrectly97%ofthetime.Thevirtualassistantbecamesoadvancedandrealisticthatthestudentsdidn'tknowshewasacomputer.Thestudents,whowerestudyingartificialintelligence,wereinteractingwiththevirtualassistantandcouldn'ttellitapartfromarealhumanbeing.Goeldidn'tinformthemaboutJill'strueidentityuntilApril26.Thestudentswereactuallyverypositiveabouttheexperience.ThegoalofProfessorGoel'svirtualassistantnextyearistotakeoveranswering40%ofallthequestionsposedbystudentsontheonlineforum.ThenameJillWatsonwill,ofcourse,changetosomethingelsenextsemester.ProfessorGoelhasamuchrosieroutlookonthefutureofartificialintelligencethan,say,ElonMusk,StephenHawking,BillGatesorSteveWozniak.1. WhatdowelearnaboutKnowledge-BasedArtificialIntelligence?