Question

Microsoft has developed a new smart phone app that interprets eye signals and translates them into letters, allowing people with motor neurone disease to communicate with others from a phone.

The GazeSpeak app combines a smartphone’s camera with artificial intelligence to recognize eye movements in real time and convert(改变) them into letters, words and sentences.

For people suffering from ALS（渐冻症）, also known as motor neurone disease, eye movement can be the only way they are able to communicate.

“Current eye-tracking input systems for people with ALS or other motor impairments are expensive, not robust under sunlight, and require frequent re-calibration and substantial, relatively immobile setups,” said Xiaoyi Zhang, a researcher at Microsoft who developed the technology.

“To mitigate the drawbacks…we created GazeSpeak, an eye-gesture communication system that runs on a smartphone, and is designed to be low-cost, robust, portable and easy to learn.”

The app is used by the listener by pointing their smartphone at the speaker. A chart that can be stuck to the back of the smartphone is then used by the speaker to determine which eye movements to make in order to communicate.

The sticker shows four grids(方格) of letters, which each correspond to a different eye movement. By looking up, down, left or right, the speaker selects which grids the letters they want belong to. The artificial intelligence algorithm（程序） is then able to predict the word or sentence they are trying to say.

1.What does the underlined word “mitigate” in paragraph 5 probably mean?

A. ignore    B. destroy

C. increase    D. reduce

2.The passage mainly tells us ________ .

A. The advantages of Gaze Speak over the Current eye-tracking input systems.

B. Smartphone App helps ALS suffers speak with their eyes movement.

C. The sticker plays an important role in Gaze Speak.

D. The writer is making an advertisement for Gaze Speaker.

3.What’s the writer’s attitude towards the invention of Gaze Speaker?

A. doubtful    B. negative

C. favorable    D. unclear

Answer

1. D

2. B

3. D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，微软公司开发出了一个手机APP可以把眼部信号转换成字母单词，让患有运动神经元疾病的人与别人交流。文章对这个软件做了详细介绍。

1.词义猜测题。根据第四段“Current eye-tracking input systems for people with ALS or other motor impairments are expensive, not robust under sunlight, and require frequent re-calibration (重新校对) and substantial, relatively immobile setups,”可知现在的眼动追踪系统有很多的缺点，为了尽量减少这些缺点，人们创造出了GazeSpeak.“mitigate”意为“减少”与reduce同义，故D项正确。

2.主旨大意题。本文是一篇说明文，微软公司开发出了一个手机APP可以把眼部信号转换成字母单词，让患有运动神经元疾病的人与别人交流。文章对这个软件做了详细介绍。故B项正确。

3.态度观点题。在本文中作者客观地介绍了微软公司开发出了一个手机APP可以把眼部信号转换成字母单词，让患有运动神经元疾病的人与别人交流。并没有发表个人观点，所以他的态度并不明确。故D项正确。