Question

In February, 2015, a South Korean woman was sleeping on the floor when her robot vacuum ate her hair, forcing her to call for emergency help. It surely isn’t what Stephen Hawking warned us that intelligent devices “mean the end of the human race”. But it does highlight one of the unexpected dangers of inviting robots into our home.

There are many examples of intelligent technology going bad, but more often than not, they involve cheating rather than physical danger. Meanwhile, increasing evidence suggests that we, especially children, tend to tell our deepest, darkest secrets to human robots. So how do we protect ourselves from giving-away code?

Once you’ve invited a robot into your home, you need to manage your expectations. Movies and marketing may have told us to expect deep interaction with robots friends but we’ve still got a long way to go before they are as socially aware as described. Given the gulf between expectation and reality, it’s important to avoid being tricked.

The message is clear: as robots became increasingly connected to the internet, and able to respond to natural language, you need to especially cautious about figuring out who or what you are talking about.

We also need to think about how information is being stored and shared when it comes to robots that can record our every move. Some recording devices may have been designed for entertainment but can easily be adapted for more dangerous purposes. Take Nixie, the wearable camera that can fly off your wrist at a moment’s notice and take shots around you in the air. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how such technology could be taken advantage of.

If the technology around us is able to record and process speech, images and movement, or listen secretly to us, what will happen to that information? Where will it be stored? Who will have access?

So, what is the safest way to welcome robots into our homes, public spaces, and social lives? We should be cautiously optimistic that intelligent machines could become enriching companions, while acknowledging that we need to determine strict boundaries for robots. There should be someone to turn to should your robot commit a crime, steal your card... or try to eat your hair.

1.The hair-eating story in Paragraph 1 is intended to         .

A. introduce the topic of the discussion

B. show the poor quality of the product

C. appeal to us to take pity on the victim

D. warn us to keep far away from vacuum

2.According to the writer, it is wise to         .

A. put a cautious trust in robots

B. make robots more socially aware

C. have deep interaction with robots

D. tell our secrets to robots straightly.

3.The underlined word “gulf” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to         .

A. trust    B. distance

C. technology    D. advantage

4.The writer’s attitude to our complete trust in robots can best be described as         .

A. positive    B. objective

C. critical    D. pessimistic

Answer

1.A

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】试题这是一篇科技类说明文。文章主要讲述生活中的机器人很可能会给人们带来的危险，如果你在家里使用机器人，理应谨慎，不要期待值过高，要避免被欺骗。机器人与网络连接，因此要避免信息泄漏。最安全的方式就是，保持警惕，一旦遇到危险要立刻求助。

1.篇章结构题。第一段介绍了一个机器人伤害主人的故事，由最后一句“But it does highlight one of the unexpected dangers of inviting robots into our home.”它显示了机器人进入家庭的意外危险之一引出文章的话题可推断，第一段的目的是为了引出下文，介绍本文真正要讨论的话题。故选A。

2.细节理解题。根据文章倒数第一段中的“We should be cautiously optimistic that intelligent machines could become enriching companions, while acknowledging that we need to determine strict boundaries for robots.”可知, 我们不要盲目乐观，要确定机器人的严格界定，对机器人要谨慎。故选A。

3.词句猜测题。由上文内容可知，对于家里的机器人一定要谨慎对待，让机器人称为如同描述的那样很有很长的路要走，因此推断，考虑到这种期待与现实的差距，避免被欺骗是重要的。故画线词gulf的意思与B项“距离”意思相近。故选B。

4.观点态度题。由第四段和倒数两段的内容特别是最后一段的“We should be cautiously optimistic that intelligent machines could become enriching companions, while acknowledging that we need to determine strict boundaries for robots. ”可知，作者认为与机器人交流你需要特别谨慎，避免信息的泄漏，我们应该谨慎乐观地认为，智能机器可以成为丰富的伙伴，同时也承认我们需要为机器人确定严格的界限。因此推断作者对于过度信任我们应该谨慎乐观地认为，智能机器可以成为丰富的伙伴，同时也承认我们需要为机器人确定严格的界限。因此推断作者对于过度信任机器人的态度是批评的。positive 积极的 ；objective 反对的； critical批评的；pessimistic 悲观的。所以选C。