2015年职称英语理工新增内容

理工A补全短文新增文章：

+第十三篇 Affectionate Androids

Computers are now powerful enough to allow the age of humanoid robots to dawn1. And it won’t be long before we will see realistic cyber companions, complete with skin, dexterity, and intelligence. They will be programmed to tend to your every need.

Will we ever want to marry robots? Artificial intelligence researcher David Levy has published a book claiming human-robot relationships will become popular in the next few decades. ____1____

Will humans really be able to form deep emotional attachments to machines? It will, in fact, be relatively easy to form these strong attachments because the human mind loves to anthropomorphize: to give human attributes to other creatures—even objects.

For example, researchers in San Diego recently put a small humanoid robot in with a toddler playgroup for several months. ____2____ The children ended up treating it as a fellow toddler. When it lay down because its batteries were flat，the kids even covered it with a blanket.

In a few decades, when humanoid robots with plastic skin look and feel very real, will people want to form relationships with them? What if the bots could hold a conversation? And be programmed to be the perfect companions—soul mates, even? ____3____ And like those toddlers in the experiment, they will be very accepting of them.

The next question, then, is whether there is anything wrong with having an emotional relationship with a machine. Even today there are people who form deep attachments to their pets and use them as substitutes for friends or even children. Few consider that unethical.

____4____ For those who always seem to end up marrying the wrong man or woman, a robotic Mr. or Ms. Right could be mighty tempting. As the father of artificial intelligence, Marvin Minsky, put it when asked about the ethics of lonely older people forming close relationships with robots: “If a robot had all the virtues of a person and was smarter and more understanding, why would the elderly bother talking to other grumpy old people?”

A robot could be programmed to be as dumb or smart, as independent or subservient, as an owner desired. And that’s the big disadvantage. Having the pe rfect robot partner will damage the ability to form equally deep human-human relationships. People will always seem imperfect in comparison. When you’re behaving badly, a good friend will tell you. ____5____

People in relationships have to learn to adapt to each other: to enjoy their common interests and to deal with their differences. It makes us richer, stronger, and wiser. A robot companion will be perfect at the start. However, there will be nothing to move the relationship to grow to greater heights.

词汇：

affectionate adj. 深情的dexterity n. 灵巧，敏捷anthropomorphize v. 赋于人性，人格化grumpy adj. 脾气暴躁的cyber adj. 计算机的tend v. 照料bot n. 机器人subservient adj. 屈从的，奉承的

注释：

1．Computers are now powerful enough to allow the age of humanoid robots to dawn：计算机技术已经足够成熟，能够支持人形机器人的诞生和普及，进入人形机器人的时代。

练习：

A It’s easier to have a robot companion instead of a human friend.

B But a sophisticated robot will probably be even more attractive.

C And if you want to go ahead and tie the knot with your special electronic friend，Levy said that such marriages will be socially acceptable by around 2050.

D However, few owners will program their robots to point out their flaws.

E Maybe your generation could resist, but eventually there will be a generation of people who grow up with humanoid robots as a normal part of life.

F The bot knew each child because it was programmed with face and voice recognition，and it giggled when tickled.

答案与题解：

1．C前文讲到David在书中认为人与机器人的关系在几十年后将变得普遍，因此接下来应该继续讲这种普遍性是怎样的。

2．F前文讲在圣地亚哥的一个实验，研究人员将机器人放在儿童游乐园里，要填的句子应该是介绍这个机器人。3．E前文提了几个问题，是关于我们对人与机器人关系的看法，而后文讲“他们”会乐于接受，因此要填的句子应该是两类人的对比。E项讲我们这一代人可能会反对，但下一代人就不一定了，符合意思。

4．B前文讲有人和宠物发展深厚关系，后面讲的是与机器人发展深厚关系的吸引人之处，因此这里应该讲机器人做伴侣的好处。

5．D前文讲好朋友会在你犯错的时候指出来，这里应该是表示对比——机器人不会这么做。

理工B阅读理解新增文章

*第二十二篇 Real World Robots

When you think of a robot, do you envision a shiny, metallic device having the same general shape as a human being, performing humanlike functions, and responding to your questions in a monotone voice accentuated by high-pitched tones and beeps? This is the way many of us imagine a robot, but in the real world, a robot is not humanoid at all. Instead a robot often is a voiceless, box-shaped machine that efficiently carries out repetitive or dangerous functions usually performed by humans. Today’s robot is more than an automatic machine that performs one task again and again. A modern robot is programmed with varying degrees of artificial intelligence—that is, a robot contains a computer program that tells it how to perform tasks associated with human intelligence, such as reasoning, drawing conclusions, and learning from past experience.

A robot does not possess a human shape for the simple reason that a two-legged robot has great difficulty remaining balanced. A robot does, however, move from place to place on wheels and axles that roll and rotate.

A robot even has limbs that swivel and move in combination with joints and motors. To find its way in its surroundings1, a robot utilizes various built-in sensors. Antennae a ttached to the robot’s base detect anything they bump into. If the robot starts to teeter as it moves on an incline, a gyroscope or a pendulum inside it senses the vertical differential. T o determine its distance from an object and how quickly it will reach the object，the robot bounces beams of laser light and ultrasonic sound waves off obstructions in its path2. These and other sensors constantly feed information to the computer, which then analyzes the information and corrects or adjusts the robot’s actio ns. As science and technology advance, the robot too will progress in its functions and use of artificial-intelligence programs.

词汇：

envision v. 想象，预想device n. 装置accentuate v. 强调，重读artificial intelligence n. 人工智能limb n. 臂antennae n. 天线incline v. 倾斜pendulum n. 钟摆ultrasonic adj. 超声的metallic adj. 金属的monotone n. 单调的humanoid adj. 像人的axle n. 轮轴rotate v. 旋转swivel n. 旋转teeter v. 摇晃gyroscope n. 陀螺仪，回转仪vertical n. 直立的

注释：

1．To find its way in its surroundings...：为了在周围找到路……

2．the robot bounces beams of laser light and ultrasonic sound waves off obstructions in its path：机器人发射激光束和超声波，反射到障碍物上（以此来探知路径）。

练习：

1．Another good title for this passage would be

A Robots: Taking the Place of Humans.

B Artificial Intelligence Programs.

C Today’s Robots and How They Function.

D Modern-Day Sensors.

2．Artificial intelligence is

A the unnatural way in which robots move.

B a voiceless, box-shaped machine that performs repetitive tasks.

C sensors such as antennae and a gyroscope.

D a computer program that imitates human intellectual processes.

3．The last paragraph suggests that future robots will be

A more humanlike in behavior and actions.

B more like automatic machines.

C better able to move on inclines.

D better equipped with laser light sensors.

4．The writer begins the passage by comparing

A the shape of a human being with a box.

B a modem robot with a fictional robot.

C an imaginary machine with a human.

D a computer program with artificial intelligence.

5．The word humanoid means

A lacking human characteristics.

B anything having the appearance of a humanoid.

C being void or vacant.

D having a human form or characteristics.

答案与题解：

1．C从文中得知，文章主要介绍了机器人和它们的运行方式，因此选择C选项。

2．D Artificial是“人工”的意思，intelligence是“智能”的意思。另外从文中得知，机器人使用artificial intelligence 能够进行与人类类似的推理分析等活动，因此可知它是一种类似人类智能的计算机程序。

3．A最后一段讲机器人的发展方向是更加智能，能够自己判断并修正行为，而不仅仅是完成重复性的工作。4．B文章开头的时候作者让读者描述他们脑海中的机器人概念，并随后介绍了实际的机器人是怎样的，因此选择B选项。

5．D从humanoid的词根human可看出这个词是形容与人类有关的特征。另外根据文章对这个词的描述可以得出这个词是表示和人类类似的特征，不管是外形上，还是行为方式上。

理工B补全短文新增文章：

*第九篇 Lightening Strikes

Three years ago a bolt of lightning all but destroyed Lyn Miller’s house in Aberdeen—with her two children inside. “There was a huge rainstorm,” she says, recalling the terrifying experience. “My brother and I were outside desperately working to stop floodwater from coming in the house. Suddenly I was thrown to the ground by an enormous bang. ____1____ The door was blocked by rubble, but we forced our way in and found the children, thankfully unharmed. Later I was told to be struck by l ightning is a chance in a million.” In fact, it’s

calculated at one chance in 600,000. Even so, Dr Mark Keys of AER Technology, an organisation that monitors the effects of lightning, thinks you should be sensible. “I wouldn’t go out in a storm—but then I’m quite a careful person.” He advises anyone who is unlucky enough to be caught in a storm to get down on the ground and curl up into a ball, making yourself as small as possible.

Lightning is one of nature’s most awesome displays of sheer power. ____2____250 years ago, Benjamin Franklin, the American scientist and statesman，proved that lightning is a form of electricity, but scientists still lack a complete understanding of how it works.

____3____ Positive electrical charges streaming upwards from trees or church spires may glow and make a buzzing noise, and people’s hair can stand on end. And if you fear lightning, you’ll be glad to know that a company in America has manufactured a hand-held lightning detector which can detect it up to 70 kms away, sound a warning tone and monitor the storm’s approach.

Nancy Wilder was playing golf at a club in Surrey when she was hit by a bolt of lightning. Mrs Wilder’s heart stopped beating, but she was resuscitated and, after a few days in hospital, where she was treated for bums to her head, hands and feet, she was pronounced fit again. Since that time，she has been a strictly fair weather golfer1. ____4____ The best place to be is inside a car!

The largest number of people to be struck by lightning at one time was in September 1995 when 17 players on a football pitch were hit simultaneously. The most extraordinary aspect of the strike was the fact that 11 of the victims—seven adults and four children—had burn patterns of tiny holes at 3 centimetre intervals on each toe and around the soles of their feet.

Harold Deal, a retired electrician from South Carolina, USA, was struck by lightning 26 years ago. He was apparently unhurt, but it later emerged that the strike had damaged the part of the brain which controls the sensation of temperature. ____5____

Animals are victims of lightning too2．Hundreds of cows and sheep are killed every year, largely because they go under trees. In East Anglia in 1918, 504 sheep were killed instantaneously by the same bolt of lightning that hit the ground and travelled through the entire flock. Lightning is also responsible for starting more than 10,000 forest fires each year world-wide.

词汇：

bolt n. （闪电）道sheer adj. 绝对的resuscitate v. 使复苏flock n. 群rubble n. 碎石spire n. 尖顶，尖塔instantaneously adv. 即刻，突如其来地

注释：

1．she has been a strictly fair weather golfer：她变成了一个只在晴朗天气才打高尔夫的人。

2．Animals are victims of lightning too：动物也会受到雷击的伤害。

练习：

A No wonder the ancient Greeks thought it was Zeus, father of the gods, throwing thunderbolts around in anger.

B In fact, a golf course is one of the most dangerous places to be during a thunderstorm.

C Lightning has long been hailed as one of the most impressive displays of nature’s power.

D When I picked myself up, the roof and the entire upper storey of the house had been demolished.

E Occasionally there are warning signs.

F Since then the freezing South Carolina winters haven’t bothered Harold, since he is completely unable to feel the cold.

答案与题解：

1．D前文讲到“我”被爆炸击中，因此后文要讲被击昏然后醒来之后的事，D项符合。

2．A前文讲闪电是大自然绝对力量最可怕的展现方式之一，而宙斯在古希腊是力量的化身，古希腊人认为雷电

产生的原因是宙斯发怒并投掷闪电。

3．E后文讲到闪电来临之前的一些征兆，还讲到有一种产品可以预告闪电。此处要填的是该段的主题句，即闪电到来之前会有一些征兆。

4．B前面讲到在高尔夫球场上被雷击的一个事例，后文讲闪电来临之时最安全的地方是汽车里，因此要填的句子应该是讲在高尔夫球场不安全。

5．F前文讲Harold因为雷击丧失了感受温度的能力，F选项中关于他再也不怕冬天的寒冷的描述符合要求。

理工C阅读理解新增文章

第九篇An Essential Scientific Process

All life on the earth depends upon green plants. Using sunlight, the plants produce their own food. Then animals feed upon the plants. They take in the nutrients the plants have made and stored. But that’s not all. Sunlight also helps a plant produce oxygen. Some of the oxygen is used by the plant, but a plant usually produces more oxygen than it uses. The excess oxygen is necessary for animals and other organisms to live. The process of changing light into food and oxygen is called photosynthesis. Besides light energy from the sun, plants also use water and carbon dioxide. The water gets to the plant through its roots. The carbon dioxide enters the leaves through tiny openings called stomata. The carbon dioxide travels to chloroplasts, special cells in the bodies of green plants. This is where photosynthesis takes place. Chloroplasts contain the chlorophylls that give plants their green color. The chlorophylls are the molecules that trap light energy. The trapped light energy changes water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and a simple sugar called glucose.

Carbon dioxide and oxygen move into and out of the stomata. Water vapor also moves out of the stomata. More than 90 percent of water a plant takes in through its roots escapes through the stomata. During the daytime, the stomata of most plants are open. This allows carbon dioxide to enter the leaves for photosynthesis. As night falls, carbon dioxide is not needed. The stomata of most plants close. Water loss stops.

If photosynthesis ceased, there would be little food or other organic matter on the earth. Most organisms would disappear. The earth’s atmosphere would no longer contain oxygen. Photosynthesis is essential for life on our planet.

词汇：

nutrient n.营养物organism n.生物体，有机体carbon dioxide n.二氧化碳chloroplast n.叶绿体molecule n.分子vapor n.水蒸气oxygen n.氧气photosynthesis n.光合作用chlorophyll n.叶绿素glucose n.葡萄糖cease v.停止

注释：

1．Then animals feed upon the plants.动物以植物为食。

练习：

1．In the first paragraph，the word “excess” means

A heavy.

B extra.

C green.

D liquid.

2．Which of the following does not move through a plant’s stomata?

A Carbon dioxide.

B Water vapor.

C Oxygen.

D Food.

3．In the title, the term Essential Scientific Process refers to

A photosynthesis.

B the formation of glucose.

C global warming.

D water getting to the roots of plants.

4．This passage is primarily developed by

A explaining a process.

B telling a story.

C comparing and contrasting.

D convincing the reader of plants’ importance.

5．Another good title for this passage would be

A Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide.

B Plants and Their Roots.

C How Photosynthesis Works.

D Why Our Earth Needs Water.

答案与题解：

1．B前文讲到，植物产生的氧气一部分被植物自身消耗了，但植物消耗的氧气量远小于它们产生的氧气，因此可以推测这句话的意思应该是剩余的氧气对于动物以及其他生物体的生存是至关重要的。excess在句中的意思是“超额的”，与extra“额外的”意思相近。

2．D从第三段的第一、二句得知，二氧化碳、氧气和水蒸气都能从气孔中通过，唯一一个没有提到的是food“养分、食物”，因此该题选D项。

3．A文章通篇都在讲Photosynthesis，即光合作頌钠作用和重要性，文章结尾又重申了Photosynthesis is essential for life on our planet，因此选A项。B项是光合作用的一个部分，C、D项则毫不相干。

4．A文章先是介绍了进行光合作用所需的原料和组织，又介绍了光合作用的过程，因此整个逻辑应该是解释过程，而不是讲故事或比较对比。D项是“向读者说明植物的重要性”，这确实是文章的一个目的，但不是文章的组织方式。

5．C文章的主题是光合作用的基本原理，因此选项C。A、B项在文中有提及，但不是主旨，D项与本文无关。

理工C补全短文新增文章：

第五篇 A Record-Breaking Rover

NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity has boldly gone where no rover has gone before—at least in terms of distance. ____1____

On July 27, after years of moving about on Martian ground, the golf-cart-sized Opportunity had driven more than 24 miles, beating the previous record holder—a Soviet rover sent to the moon in 1973.

“This is s o remarkable considering Opportunity was intended to drive about 1 kilometer and was never designed for distance,” says John Callas, the Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager.

____2____ “But what is really importantly is not how many miles the rover has r acked up, but how much exploration and discovery we have accomplished over that distance.”

OPPORTUNITY

The solar-powered Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, landed on Mars 10 years ago on a mission expected to last 3 months. ____3____

Spirit stopped communicating with Earth in March 2010, a few months after it got stuck in a sand pit. But Opportunity has continued to collect and analyze Martian soil and rocks.

During its mission, Opportunity has captured, and sent back to Earth, some 187,000 panoramic and microscopic images of Mars with its cameras. ____4____

MARATHON ROVER

The rover doesn’t seem to be ready to stop just yet. If Opportunity can continue on, it will reach another major investigation site when its odometer hits 26.2 miles. ____5____

Resear chers believe that clay minerals exposed near Marathon Valley could hold clues to Mars’s ancient environment1. Opportunity’s continuing travels will also help researchers as they plan for an eventual human mission to the Red Planet.

词汇：

Mars rover n. 火星车panoramic adj. 全景的odometer n. 里程计rack up v. 积累microscopic adj. 微观的

注释：

1．could hold clues to Mars’s ancient environment：含有与火星早期环境有关的线索。

练习：

A It has also provided scientists with data on the planet’s atmosphere, soil, rocks, and terrain.

B He works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

C Scientists call this site Marathon Valley, because when the rover reaches the area, it will have traveled the same distance as the length of a marathon since its arrival on Mars.

D Opportunity has been working on Mars since January 2004.

E The objective of the rovers was to help scientists learn more about the planet and to search for signs of life，such as the possible presence of water.

F Since arriving on the Red Planet in 2004, Opportunity has traveled 25.01 miles, more than any other wheeled vehicle has on another world.

答案与题解：

1．F前文讲“机遇号”在距离上比之前的任何漫游车行进的距离都长，因此接下来应该讨论关于行进距离的问题。2．B前文引入了一个新人物John Callas，而后文是他说的一些话，因此这里应该填写的内容是对这个人的进一步介绍。

3．E前文讲了同时被送入太空的两台漫游车“机遇号”和“勇气号”，因此下文应该对它们的情况进行介绍，而关于发射目的的介绍在这里是合适的。

4．A前文讲到“机遇号”给地面传回了许多照片，而选项A中讲到它还给地面传回了许多其他信息，在这里是一致的。

5．C前文讲漫游车在行进到26.2英里的时候会到达一个地点，而后文提到了马拉松谷这个地方，因此这里应该是关于这个地点的介绍。