Themostcomplexobjectknowntohum

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更新 2022-09-03
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The most complex object known to humanity is the human brain — and not only is it complex, but it is one of the few natural phenomena that science has no consciousness of. To try to replicate (复制) something that is so poorly understood may therefore seem like pride. But you have to start somewhere, and International Business Machines (IBM) and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland, propose to start by replicating “in silico”, one of the brain’s building blocks.
In a partnership announced, the two organizations said they would be working together to build a simulation (模拟) of a structure known as a neo-cortical（新大脑皮质的）column on a type of IBM supercomputer that is currently used to study the molecular functioning of genes. If that works, they plan to use more powerful computers to link such simulated columns together into something that mimics（模仿) a brain.
In a real brain, a neo-cortical column is a cylindrical（圆柱形的）element about a third of a millimeter in diameter and three millimeters long. It is these columns, arranged side by side like the cells of a honeycomb, which make up the famous “grey matter” that has become shorthand for human intelligence. The Blue Gene/L supercomputer that will be used for the simulation consists of enough independent processors for each to be programmed to mimic an individual nerve cell in a column.
The EPFL’s contribution to the Blue Brain Project will be to create a digital description of how the columns behave. The database from its Brain Mind Institute will provide the raw material for the simulation. Biologists and computer scientists will then connect the artificial nerve cells up in a way that mimics nature. They will do so by assigning electrical properties（电能）to them, and telling them how to communicate with each other and how they should modify their connections with one another depending on their activity.
That will be no mean feat. Even a single nerve cell is complicated, not least because each one has about 10,000 connections with others. And nerve cells come in great variety—relying, for example, on different chemical transmitters to carry messages across those connections. Eventually, however, a digital representation of an entire column Should occur.
Assuming that the growth of computing power continues to follow Moore’s Law, the leader of IBM’s side thinks it should be practical to mimic an entire human brain in silico this way in ten to fifteen years. Such an artificial brain would, of course, be a powerful research tool. It would allow neurological experiments that currently take days in a “web lab” to be conducted in seconds. The researchers hope that their simulated brain will reveal the secrets of how certain psychiatric and neurological, disorders develop. But that is probably not the real reason for doing it. The most interesting question, surely, is whether such an artificial brain will be intelligent, or conscious, or both.
In a real brain, a neo-cortical column ____________.

A．looks like the cells of a honeycomb

B．is a simulation of a structure

C．is the famous grey matter

D．contains a large number of nerve cells

What does the underlined sentence “That will be no mean feat” in Paragraph 5 indicate?

A．It is rather difficult to connect the artificial nerve ceils up.

B．The function of chemical transmitters is hard to understand.

C．A digital representation of an entire column is time-consuming.

D．A single nerve cell is complicated to identify across connection

The fundamental purpose of doing the research is probably ____________.

A．to simulate an entire human brain in silico

B．to tell us how some certain disorders emerge

C．to discover how the artificial brain would work

D．to examine whether Moores Law is still functioning

What type of writing is this passage?

A．A science fiction

B．A research report

C．An official document

D．A computer advertisement

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Foreign drivers will have to pay on-the-spot fines of up to ￡900 for breaking the traffic law to be carried our next month.
If they do not have enough cash or a working credit card, their vehicles will clamped（扣留）until they pay—and they will face an additional fee of &80 for getting back their vehicles .
The law will also apply to British citizens. The fines will be described officially as “deposits” when the traffic law take effect, because the money would be returned if the driver went to court and was found not guilty, In practice, very few foreign drives are likely to return to Britain to deal with their cases.
Foreign drivers are seldom charged because police cannot take action against them if they fail to appear in court. Instead, officers often only give warnings.
Three million foreign-registered(注册) vehicles enter Britain each year . Polish vehicles make up 36 percent, French vehicles 10 percent and German vehicles 9 percent.
Foreign vehicles are 30 percent more likely to be in a crash(相撞) than British-registered vehicles .The number of crashes caused by foreign vehicles rose by 47 percent between 2003 and 2008. There were almost 400 deaths and serious injuries and 3,000 slight injuries from accidents caused by foreign vehicles in 2008.
The new law is partly intended to settle the problem of foreign lorry drivers ignoring limits on weight and hours at the wheel. Foreign lorries are three times more likely to be in a crash than British lorries. Recent spot checks found that three quarters of Lorries that failed safety tests were registered overseas.
The standard deposit for a careless driving offence —such as driving too close to the vehicle in front or reading a map at the wheel—will be ￡300. Deposits for speeding offences and using mobile phones will be ￡60. Foreign drivers will not get points as punishment added to their licenses(执照), while British drivers will.
1. The first paragraph serves as a(n)_________.
A. explanation    B. introduction    C. comment        D. background.
2. The foreign drivers who break the traffic law and do not pay on the spot are likely to be fined up to_________.
A. ￡60        B. ￡300        C. ￡900           D. ￡980
3. We can learn from the passage that_________.
A. many foreign drivers have been fined by Britain police
B. 300,000 German vehicles enter Britain every year
C. 25 percent of foreign vehicles entering Britain have failed safety tests
D. British drivers will be punished with points and fines for breaking the traffic law
4. The new traffic law mainly plans to_________.
A. limit the number of foreign vehicles entering Britain
B. increase the British movement’s additional income
C. lower the rate of traffic accidents and injuries
D. get foreign drives to appear in count

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We spent a day in the country and picked a lot of flowers. Our car was full of flowers inside! On the way home we had to stop at traffic lights, and there my wife saw the bookshelf.
It stood outside a furniture shop. “Buy it,” she said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof-rack(车顶架). I’ve always wanted one like that.”
What could I do? Ten minutes later I was twenty dollars poorer, and the bookshelf was tied on to the roof rack. It was tall and narrow, quite heavy too.
As it was getting darker, I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed more polite than usual that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.
After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake(超车)?”
Just at that time a police car did overtake. The two officers(警官)inside looked at us seriously when they went past. But then, with a kind smile they asked us to follow their car through the busy traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me．
“Right, sir,” he said. “Do you need any more help now?”
I didn’t quite understand. “Thanks, officer,” I said. “You’ve been very kind. I live just down the road.”
He was looking at our things: first at the flowers, then at the bookshelf. “Well, well,” he said and laughed. “It’s a bookshelf you’ve got there! We thought it was——er, something else.”
My wife began to laugh. Suddenly I understood why the police drove here. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a bookshelf, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could.
1. From the story we know that_________.
A. the writer was poor and didn’t buy the bookshelf for his wife
B. the writer’s wife didn’t like the bookshelf at all
C. the writer was always glad to buy something for his wife
D. the writer was not very glad to buy the bookshelf for his wife
2. What made the writer think that carrying furniture was “a good idea”?
A. He could drive slowly and it was safe．
B. Other drivers would let him go first．
C. His wife could use a new bookshelf．
D. He could save a lot of money and time．
3. Why were the police and other drivers so kind to the writer?
A. Because they thought the writer liked studying very much and needed
a bookshelf．
B. Because they didn’t think it was polite to overtake a car with a
bookshelf on it．
C. Because they thought somebody in the writer’s family had died and he
needed help．
D. Because they thought it was dangerous to carry a bookshelf on a car．
4. Why did the writer’s wife begin to laugh?
A. Because now she knew what mistake the police had made．
B. Because at last her husband understood why the police had driven to
the church．
C. Because the officer was always looking at the flowers and the
bookshelf．
D. Because the police had helped them a lot．

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Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a whole lot of antique（古董）shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth—so I decided that my approach must be wrong.
I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said. “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that. It’s nothing.”
Everything was going according to the plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I am sorry. I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “You must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, ‘Would you mend this chair for me?’” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you. Shall we say for a fiver?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.
1. We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer     .
A. was rather impolite
B. was warmly received
C. asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair
D. asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair
2. The underlined word “approach” in the second paragraph means      .
A. plan for dealing with things          B. decision to sell tings
C. idea of repairing things            D. way of doing things
3. The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper      .
A. changed his mind                     B. accepted the offer
C. saw the writer’s purpose               D. decided to help the write
4. How much did the writer want to pay for the repair at first?
A. ￡ 5.       B. ￡ 7.             C. ￡ 20.        D. ￡ 27.

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Rising above the names
I was shopping in the supermarket when I heard a young voice. “Mom, come here! There’s this lady here of my size!” The mother rushed to her son; then she turned to me to apologize. I smiled and told her, “It’s okay.” Then talked to the boy, “Hi, I’m Darry Kramer. How are you?” He studied me from head to toe, and asked, “Are you a little mommy?” “Yes, I have a son,” I answered. “Why are you so little?” he asked. “It’s the way I was born,” I said. “Some people are little. Some are tall. I’m just not going to grow any bigger.” After I answered his other questions, I shook the boy’s hand and left.
My life as a little person is filled with stories like that. I enjoy talking to children and explaining why I look different from their parents.
It takes only one glance to see my uniqueness. I stand three feet nine inches tall. I was born an achondroplasia dwarf (侏儒). Despite this, I did all the things other kids did when I was growing up.
I didn’t realize how short I was until I started school. Some kids picked on me, calling me names. Then I knew. I began to hate the first day of school each year. New students would always stare at me as I struggled to climb the school bus stairs.
But I learned to smile and accept the fact that I was going to be noticed my whole life. I decided to make my uniqueness an advantage rather than a disadvantage. What I lacked in height, I made up for in personality.
I’m 47 now, and the stares have not diminished as I’ve grown older. People are amazed when they see me driving. I try to keep a good attitude. When people are rude, I remind myself, “Look what else I have – a great family, nice friends.”
It’s the children’s questions that make my life special. I enjoy answering their questions. My hope is that I will encourage them to accept their peers (a person of the same age, class, position, etc.), whatever size and shape they come in, and treat them with respect.
1. Why did the mother apologize to the author?
A. Because the boy ran into the author.
B. Because the boy laughed at the author.
C. Because they boy said the author was fatter than him.
D. Because the mother thought the boy’s words had hurt the author.
2. When did the author realize that she was too short?
A. When she grew up.
B. When she was 47 years old.
C. When she began to go to school.
D. When she met the boy in the supermarket.
3. Which of the following word can best replace the underlined word “diminished”?
A. gained B. increased C. decreased D. accepted
4. How does the author feel about people’s stares?
A. Angry. B. Calm. C. Painful. D. Discouraged.

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第二部分阅读理解(共20小题。每小题2分，满分40分)
“ Fire! Fire!” What terrible words to hear when one wakes up in a strange house in the middle of the night! It was a large, old, wooden house and my room was on the top floor. I jumped out of bed, opened the door and stepped outside the house. There was full of thick smoke.
I began to run, but as I was still only half-awake, instead of going towards the stairs I went in the opposite direction. The smoke grew thicker and I could see fire all around. The floor became hot under my bare feet. I found an open    door and ran into a room to get to the window. But before I could reach it, one of my feet caught in something soft and I fell down. The thing I had fallen over felt like a bundle of clothes, and I picked it up to protect my face from the smoke and heat. Just then the floor gave way under me and I crashed to the floor below with pieces of burning wood all around me.
I saw a doorway in fire, then I put the bundle over my face and ran. My feet burned me terrible, but I got through. As I reached the cold air outside, my bundle of clothes gave a thin cry, I nearly dropped it in my surprise. Then I was in a crowd gathered in the street. A woman in a night-dress and a borrowed man’s coat screamed as she saw me and came running madly.
She was the Mayor’s wife, and I had saved her baby.
1. The author saved the baby _____.
A. because he was very brave.
B. because he liked the baby very much.
C. but he just happened to save it.
D. because it was the Mayor’s baby.
2. He ran in the wrong direction because he _______.
A. was a stranger there                      B. could see nothing
C. was not completely awake                 D. Both A and C
3. He put the bundle over his face and ran in order to ______.
A. save the baby   B. call for help   C. protect his face    D. run quickly
4. From which group of words can we learn the fire took place out of people’s surprise?
A. old and wooden house, a bundle      B. crashed to, fell down
C. terrible, half-awake                        D. bare feet, a borrowed man’s coat

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