[单选题]PASSAGETWO(1)Sincethedawnofhumaningenuity,peoplehavedevisedevermorecunningtoolstocopewithworkthatisdangerous,boring,burdensome,orjustplainnasty.Thatcompulsionhasresultedinrobotics—thescienceofconferringvarioushumancapabilitiesonmachines.Andifscientistshaveyettocreatethemechanicalversionofsciencefiction,theyhavebeguntocomeclose.(2)Asaresult,themodernworldisincreasinglypopulatedbyintelligentgizmoswhosepresencewebarelynoticebutwhoseuniversalexistencehasremovedmuchhumanlabor.Ourfactorieshumtotherhythmofrobotassemblyarms.Ourbankingisdoneatautomatedtellerterminalsthatthankuswithmechanicalpolitenessforthetransaction.Oursubwaytrainsarecontrolledbytirelessrobot-drivers.Andthankstothecontinualminiaturizationofelectronicsandmicro-mechanics,therearealreadyrobotsystemsthatcanperformsomekindsofbrainandbonesurgerywithsubmillimeteraccuracy—fargreaterprecisionthanhighlyskilledphysicianscanachievewiththeirhandsalone.(3)Butifrobotsaretoreachthenextstageoflaborsavingutility,theywillhavetooperatewithlesshumansupervisionandbeabletomakeatleastafewdecisionsforthemselves—goalsthatposearealchallenge.“Whileweknowhowtotellarobottohandleaspecificerror,”saysDaveLavery,managerofaroboticsprogramatNASA,“wecan'tyetgivearobotenough‘commonsense’toreliablyinteractwithadynamicworld.”(4)Indeed,thequestfortrueartificialintelligencehasproducedverymixedresults.Despiteaspellofinitialoptimisminthe1960sand1970swhenitappearedthattransistorcircuitsandmicroprocessorsmightbeabletocopytheactionofthehumanbrainbytheyear2010,researcherslatelyhavebeguntoextendthatforecastbydecadesifnotcenturies.(5)Whattheyfound,inattemptingtomodelthought,isthatthehumanbrain'sroughlyonehundredbillionnervecellsaremuchmoretalented—andhumanperceptionfarmorecomplicated—thanpreviouslyimagined.Theyhavebuiltrobotsthatcanrecognizetheerrorofamachinepanelbyafractionofamillimeterinacontrolledfactoryenvironment.Butthehumanmindcanglimpsearapidlychangingsceneandimmediatelydisregardthe98percentthatisirrelevant,instantaneouslyfocusingonthemonkeyatthesideofawindingforestroadorthesinglesuspiciousfaceinabigcrowd.ThemostadvancedcomputersystemsonEarthcan'tapproachthatkindofability,andneuroscientistsstilldon'tknowquitehowwedoit.27.Theword“gizmos"(line1,paragraph2)mostprobablymeans
[单选题]Passage2(1)Ifyou’veeverwitnessedthemajestyofaCanadiangooseflockflyingintotheclouds,youknowthatthesenoblebirdsareaforcetobereckonedwith.Eachflockiscomprisedofcoupleswhomateforlife,aswellastheirgoslings.Together,theyareonelargefamily.Apart,theyareindividualswithquirksandpersonalities,justlikeus.Nooneknowsthismorethanmyfamily,whoraisedasillylittlegoosewenamedPeeperafterhewasabandonedasababy.(2)In2000,whenIwasaroundsevenyearsold,myparents,sister,brother,andIwerecomingbackfromaT-ballgame.Thatwasourusualweekendadventure,butunlikeeveryotherweekend,asurprisewaswaitingforusinourdriveway.There,wespottedtwoadultgeeseandasmallgosling.Theadultswerestartledbyourreturnandflewaway,buttheirbabywasstilltooyoungtoflyandcouldn’tfollow.Wearenostrangerstothewaysofwildlife,soweknewtoavoidphysicalcontactwiththeyounggoslingoutoffearthatitwouldimprintuponusandbelosttoitsfamilyforever.(3)Hourspassed,andnightfell.Withitcameadeepchillandafearofwatchfulpredators.Thetinylittlethingwaswanderingaroundouryard,unawareofwhatcouldhappen,anditwasclearthatthegoslingneededprotection,warmth,andsustenancetomakeittothemorning.Atthatpoint,weknewwehadtointervene,andwebroughthimontoourbackporch.(4)Weallprettymuchsleptwithoneeyeopentillmorningcame.Andthenanothermorning.Andstillanother.Eachmorning,wewouldtrytoscurrythegooseovertohisparents,whokeptcomingbacktoouryard.Hewouldn’tgotothem,though,andtheywouldn’tcomecloseenoughtoclaimhim.Wekeptthisupforfivedays,butnoluck.Bythen,theyounggoosehadclearlydecidedwewerehisnewfamily,sowehadtogivehimaname.MysisterJoannacalledthelittleguyPeeper,becausehewouldfollowusaroundtheyardmakingapeepingnoise,nonstop.WealsodecidedthatPeeperwasaboy.Idon’tknowwhy;itjustfeltright.(5)Daysturnedintoweeks,andweeksturnedintomonthsuntilalmostayearpassed.Wesettledintoaroutinefilledwithfeatheryhugsandcamaraderie.Peepersleptonourbackporcheachnightand,intypicalgoosefashion,useditasalatrine.Mydadwouldsprayoffallthegoosedroppingsdailywithahose.PartofthisritualincludedDadthrowingPeeperupintotheairsohecouldflyalooparoundthehouse,comingbackagainoncetheporchwasclean.(6)Oneevening,myunclewasover,andmydadwantedtoshowhimPeeper’sloop.Hethrewhimupintheair,butthistime,Peeperjustflewoff.Everyonewasvery,verysad.Itwasdark,andwewereworried.Welookedforhimfordays,callinghisname,buthedidn’tcomeback.Wehopedhefoundaflockandwentoffonhisnaturalway.(7)Again,daysturnedintoweeksandweeksturnedintomonths,thenyears.Imissedmylittlebuddy,andIwouldcallforhimeverytimeIsawaflockofCanadiangeeseflybyinV-formation.Twentyyearspassed,andPeeperbecameafondmemoryformyfamily.(8)Geeselivetobearound25yearsold,areveryloyal,andneverforgettheirfirsthome.Evenso,itcameasatotalshocktomewhen,in2019,anageingadultgoosemadehiswaybacktomyfamilyhome.Geeselovehouseswithlarge,greenlawnstoeaton;theflatterrainalsomakesiteasyforthemtoscoutforpredators.So,atfirst,Iassumeditwasjustanothergoose.Andyet,somethingaboutthelonemaleseemedoddlyfamiliartome.(9)Aftertwoweeksofthegoosecomingbackrepeatedly,itbecamecleartomethatthiswasn’tarandomgoose.HedidallofthesamethingsPeeperusedto,liketryingtocomeinthroughthefrontdoorandsleepinginourenclosedpoolarea.InadditiontomimickingPeeper’soldways,thisgoosealsorespondedtothenamePeeper.Muchtomyamazement,myoldbestfriendhadreturned,20yearslater.(10)WhydidPeeperreturn?It’shardtosay.Perhapshismatedied,leavinghimlonely.It’salsopossiblethatheisapproachinghistwilightyearsandknowsit,makinghimcravehisearlyhome.Thisbehaviouristypicalofgeese.Whateverthereason,Peepercontinuestolivewithme.It’sagoodthingIstayedinmychildhoodhome.(11)Hedoesn’tcomehomeeverysinglenightthewayhedidasababy.Somenightshemayseekoutthecomfortofhisownkindatthelakenearby.Geeseinthewildtypicallysleeponwater.Buthe’sherealot,makinghispresenceknownandgivingmejoy.(12)Thisexperiencehasbeenasmeaningfultomeasanythinginmylife.Ihopethatmychildren,someday,havetheopportunitytoconnectwithnatureandawildbeinginthissameway.Peoplecraveconnectionwiththenaturalworld.ThroughPeeper,Ihavelearnedsomuchaboutmyselfandaboutthenatureoflove.46.Theword“spotted”(Para.2)means____.
[单选题]PartIIIReadingComprehension(20%)Choosethebestanswerforeachquestionorunfinishedstatement.WhenIlivedinSpain,someSpanishfriendsofminedecidedtovisitEnglandbycar.Beforetheyleft,theyaskedmeforadviceabouthowtofindaccommodation(住所).Isuggestedthattheyshouldstayat‘bedandbreakfast’houses,becausethiskindofaccommodationgivesaforeignvisitoragoodchancetospeakEnglishwiththefamily.Myfriendslistenedtomyadvice,buttheycamebackwithsomefunnystories.“Wedidn’tstayatbedandbreakfasthouses,”theysaid,“becausewefoundthatmostfamilieswereawayonholiday.”Ithoughtthiswasstrange.FinallyIunderstoodwhathadhappened.MyfriendsspokelittleEnglish,andtheythought‘VACANCIES’meant‘holidays’,becausetheSpanishwordfor‘holidays’is‘vacaciones’.Sotheydidnotgotohousewherethesignoutsidesaid‘VACANCLES’,whichinEnglishmeanstherearefreerooms.Thenmyfriendswenttohousewherethesignsaid‘NOVACANCLES’,becausetheythoughtthismeantthepeoplewhoownedthehousewerenotawayonholiday.Buttheyfoundthatthesehouseswereallfull.Asaresult,theystayedathotels!Welaughedaboutthisandaboutmistakesmyfriendsmadeinreadingothersigns.InSpanish,theword‘DIVERSION’meansfun.InEnglish,itmeansthatworkmenarerepairingtheroad,andthatyoumusttakeadifferentroad.Whenmyfriendssawtheword‘DIVERSION’onaroadsign,theythoughttheyweregoingtohavefun.Instead,theroadendedinalargehold.Englishpeoplehaveproblemstoowhentheylearnforeignlanguages.OnceinParis,whensomeoneofferedmesomemorecoffee,Isaid“Thankyou”inFrench.ImeantthatIwouldlikesomemore.However,tomysurprise,thecoffeepotwastakenaway!LaterIfoundoutthat“Thankyou”inFrenchmeans“No,thankyou.”61.MySpanishfriendswantedadviceabout_____.
