Question

    FOR ALL the technological wonders of modern medicine, from gene-editing to fetal(胎儿的) surgery, health care—with its fax machines and clipboards(资料夹)—is often stubbornly old-fashioned. This outdated era is slowly drawing to a close as, slowly, the industry catches up with the artificial-intelligence (AI) revolution. And it should have happened earlier, argues Eric Topol, a heart doctor keen on digital medicine.

Dr Topol’s vision of medicine’s future is optimistic. He thinks AI will be particularly useful for repetitive tasks where errors arise easily, such as selecting images, examining heart traces for abnormal symptoms or recording doctors’ words into patient records. In short, AI is set to save time, lives and money.

Much of this is imaginary—but AI is already defeating people in a variety of narrow jobs for which it has been trained. Eventually it may be able to diagnose and treat a wider range of diseases. Even then, Dr Topol thinks, humans would watch over the rules, rather than being replaced by them.

The author’s fear is that AI will be used to deepen the assembly-line(流水线) culture of modern medicine. If it awards a “gift of time” on doctors, he argues that this additional benefit should be used to extend the time of consultations, rather than simply speeding through them more efficiently.

The Hippocratic Oath holds that there is an art to medicine as well as a science, and that “warmth, sympathy and understanding may be more important than the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug”. That is not just a cliché: the patients of sympathetic physicians have been shown to do better. As Dr Topol says, it is hard to imagine that a robot could really replace a human doctor. Yet as demand for health care goes beyond the supply of human carers, the future may involve consultations on smartphones and measurements monitored by chat robots. The considerately warmed stethoscope(听诊器), placed gently on a patient’s back, may become history.

1.According to the author, health care has been generally considered ____________.

A. to bring out many technological wonders

B. to boost the sales of fax machines and clipboards

C. to be out of date and fail to keep up with modern times

D. to constantly catch up with new technological progress

2.AI is set to save time, lives and money because it can ___________.

A. repeat doctors’ words and instructions

B. correct doctors’ errors and mistakes

C. select doctors according to patients’ demands

D. replace doctors’ tasks in certain fields

3.The underlined word “cliché” is closest in meaning to __________.

A. an idea so often used that becomes uninteresting

B. an idea so interesting that is often used

C. an effective rule that applies to medicine and doctors

D. a benefit to both doctors and patients

4.It can be inferred from the passage that _____________.

A. AI will completely replace the jobs of doctors

B. doctors’ sympathy and understanding should not be ignored

C. the application of AI will discourage the assembly-line culture

D. AI will bring warmth, sympathy and understanding to patients

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.A

4.B

【解析】

本文是医学类的短文，托波尔博士对医学未来的展望是乐观的。他认为人工智能将特别适用于容易出现错误的重复性任务，比如选择图像、检查心脏的异常症状或将医生的话记录到病人的记录中。简而言之，人工智能旨在节省时间、生命和金钱。最终人工智能会被用于诊断和治疗更广泛的疾病。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段health care—with its fax machines and clipboards(资料夹)—is often stubbornly old-fashioned.可知，医疗保健——有传真机和写字板——是过时的。故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据He thinks AI will be particularly useful for repetitive tasks where errors arise easily, such as selecting images, examining heart traces for abnormal symptoms or recording doctors’ words into patient records.可知，他认为人工智能可用于操作那些重复的、人工操作易产生误差的工作，诸如筛查图像、检查心脏异常迹象和抄写病历等。人工智能能够利用庞大的数据提出针对某种疾病或某位病患的优化诊疗方法，从而改进医院的工作流程。在某些领域能够代替人的工作。故选D。

3.词义猜测题。根据warmth, sympathy and understanding may be more important than the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug“温暖、同情、理解可能远超外科手术刀和药剂”。 根据the patients of sympathetic physicians have been shown to do better. 因为已经证实那些同情心的医生的病患往往恢复得更好。That is not just a cliché:此言绝非陈词滥调。故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据the patients of sympathetic physicians have been shown to do better.可知，医生的同情和理解不容忽视。故选B。