1、【 精品教育资源文库 】 Unit 3 Computers .阅读理解 A While the world is still debating the safety of selfdriving cars, Dubai is preparing to launch an autonomous flying taxi. Starting in July, the worlds first passenger drone (无人机 ), the EHANG 184, will be available to passengers. The shuttle, released in Las Veg
2、as in January 2016, weighs 440 pounds and can fly at heights of up to 11,500 feet. The eggshaped vehicle has room for a single passenger weighing up to 220 pounds and a small suitcase. Though the flying taxi can reach speeds of up to 100 mph, it will typically operate at about 62 mph. Passengers can
3、 ask for the flying taxi to pick them up from appointed zones using a smartphone app. Passengers strap into the seat, select a destination on the touch screen, and enjoy the flight. To ensure the passengers safety, all flights are monitored remotely by a control room on the ground. In the unlikely e
4、vent that any of the components malfunction or disconnect, the drone will make an emergency landing to ensure the customers safety. Its also programmed to ensure its route wont affect that of another drone. While having no control over the remotely piloted vehicle may appear scary, the producer, Chi
5、nabased EHANG, says, “It is the safest, smartest and ecofriendly low altitude aut onomous flying vehicle.” Any drawback? The EHANG 184 has a battery life of 30 minutes and a flight range of just 31 miles. Also unknown is the cost of each ride. Though the flying taxi seems advanced, it is not the fir
6、st driverless transportation option available to Dubais residents. As part of its goal to have 25% of the public transportation automated by 2030, the authorities have built the worlds longest driverless metro and introduced serfnavigating shuttles. Officials recently also partnered a US company to
7、build supersonic speed pods to carry passengers between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. 篇章导读：本文是一篇科普说明文，介绍了一种迪拜正准备投入供公交出租使用的自动驾驶低空飞行器 EHANG 184。 1 What can we learn about the flying taxi? A A passenger can call for a flying taxi online. B It can carry a weight of 220 pounds at most. C A passenger can touch the
8、 screen to control it. D It usually flies at a speed of 100 miles an hour. 答案： A 细节理解题。根据第三段第一句可知，乘客可以使用智能手机中的软件从指定【 精品教育资源文库 】 地方乘坐 EHANG 184，故 A 项正确。 2 How can the shuttle guarantee the passengers safety in an equipment failure? A It lowers its flying speed. B It changes to another route. C It ge
9、ts help from the control room. D Its programmed to land autonomously. 答案： D 细节理解题。根据第四段第一句中的 “the drone will make an emergency landing to ensure the customers safety” 可知，当遇到紧急情 况时，该飞行器可以自动着陆，以保证乘客的安全。故 D 项正确。 3 What is the drawback of the EHANG 184? A Its too scary to ride in it. B It costs a lot to
10、 take a ride. C It runs out of power easily. D It only flies at a low altitude. 答案： C 细节理解题。根据第四段倒数第二句可知， EHANG 184 只能连续航行 30 分钟，故 C 项正确。 B 2017 北京高考 Hollywoods theory that machines with evil (邪恶的 ) minds will drive armies of killer robots is just silly. The real problem relates to the possibility t
11、hat artificial intelligence (AI) may become extremely good at achieving something other than what we really want. In 1960 a wellknown mathematician Norbert Wiener, who founded the field of cybernetics (控制论 ), put it this way： “If we use, to achieve our purposes, a mechanical agency with whose operat
12、ion we cannot effectively interfere (干预 ), we had better be quite sure that the purpose put into the machine is the purpose which we really desire.” A machine with a specific purpose has another quality, one that we usually associate with living things： a wish to preserve its own existence. For the
13、machine, this quality is not inborn, nor is it something introduced by humans; it is a logical consequence of the simple fact that the machine cannot achieve its original purpose if it is dead. So if we send out a robot with the single instruction of fetching coffee, it will have a strong desire to
14、secure success by disabling its own off switch or even killing anyone who might interfere with its task. If we are not careful, then, we could face a kind of global chess match against very determined, super intelligent machines whose objectives conflict with our own, with the real world as the ches
15、sboard. The possibility of entering into and losing such a match should concentrate the minds of computer scientists. Some researchers argue that we can seal the machines inside a kind of firewall, using them to answer difficult questions but never allowing 【 精品教育资源文库 】 them to affect the real worl
16、d. Unfortunately, that plan seems unlikely to work：we have yet to invent a firewall that is secure against ordinary humans, let alone super intelligent machines. Solving the safety problem well enough to move forward in AI seems to be possible but not easy. There are probably decades in which to pla
17、n for the arrival of super intelligent machines. But the problem should not be dismissed out of hand, as it has been by some AI researchers. Some argue that humans and machines can coexist as long as they work in teams yet that is not possible unless machines share the goals of humans. Others say we
18、 can just “switch them off” as if super intelligent machines are too stupid to think of that possibility. Still others think that super intelligent AI will never happen. On September 11, 1933, famous physicist Ernest Rutherford stated, with confidence, “Anyone who expects a source of power in the tr
19、ansformation of these atoms is talking moonshine.” However, on September 12, 1933, physicist Leo Szilard invented the neutroninduced (中子诱导 ) nuclear chain reaction. 篇章导读：本文是一篇议论文。文章讨论了人工智能随着科技的发展可能超出人类的控制以及人类应如何应对此类安全问题。 4 Paragraph 1 mainly tells us that artificial intelligence may _. A run out of
20、human control B satisfy humans real desires C command armies of killer robots D work faster than a mathematician 答案： A 细节理解题。由第一段第二句中的 “artificial intelligence(AI) may become extremely good at achieving something other than what we really want” 可知，人工智能可能会超出人类控制。故选 A。 5 Machines with specific purpose
21、s are associated with living things partly because they might be able to _. A prevent themselves from being destroyed B achieve their original goals independently C do anything successfully with given orders D beat humans in international chess matches 答案： A 细节理解题。由第二段第一句可知，机器人要保证自己的存在，即 A 项 “ 避免它们自
22、己被毁灭掉 ” 。 6 What does the author think of the safety problem of super intelligent machines? A It will disappear with the development of AI. B It will get worse with human interference. C It will be solved but with difficulty. D It will stay for a decade. 答案： C 推理判断题。由最后一段首句可知，作者认为，解决超级智能机器的安全问题【 精品
23、教育资源文库 】 是可能的，但并非易事。故选 C。 . 七选五 根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。 In our fast world of phones, fax machines and computers, the oldfashioned art of letter writing is at risk of disappearing altogether. _1_ There is the excitement of its arrival, the pleasure of seeing who it is from and, finally, the enjoyment of the contents. Letter writing has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. It probably began with the little notes I would write to my mother. My mother, also, always insisted I write my own thankyou letters for Christmas and birthday presents. _2_ When I left home
