职称英语考试理工类B级新增文章与译文

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1、 . Real World Robots1When Our Eyes Serve Our Stomach2Musical Robot Companion Enhances Listener Experience3Researchers Discover Why Humans Began Walking Upright5Giant Structures6Why India Needs Its Dying Vultures8Better Solar Energy Systems: More Heat, More Light9What Is a Dream?10The Biology of Musi

2、c12The Apgar Test13Ice Cream Taster Has Sweet Job14Real World Robots16Lightening Strikes17Real World RobotsWhen 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 monoton

3、e 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.

4、 Todays robot is more than an automatic machine that performs one task again and again. A modern robot is programmed with varying degrees of artificial intelligencethat is, a robot contains a computer program that tells it how to perform tasks associated with human intelligence, such as reasoning, d

5、rawing 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 sw

6、ivel and move in combination with joints and motors. To find its way in its surroundings1, a robot utilizes various built-in sensors. Antennae attached to the robots 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 sens

7、es the vertical differential. To 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 th

8、e information and corrects or adjusts the robots actions. As science and technology advance, the robot too will progress in its functions and use of artificial-intelligence programs.当你想到机器人的时候，你脑海中浮现的是不是一个有着大致人类轮廓的、能够发挥像人类一样的功能，并且能用夹着高音的单调音调答复你的问题的有光泽的金属装置？很多人想象中的机器人都是这个样子的，但是，在现实世界中，机器人和人类长得一点都不像。与

9、之相反，机器人通常是一个不会说话的盒子状机器，能够代替人类高效率地完成一些重复性的或者危险的工作。现在的机器人不仅仅是一台能够重复同一任务的自动工具，而是具有不同程度的人工智能，也就是说，机器人置了一个计算机程序，能够指导机器人完成与人类智能有关的任务，比方推理、得出结论，以及从过去的经历中学习。机器人不具备人形的原因是，如果机器人有两条腿的话，保持平衡会很困难。机器人的移动主要依靠轮轴结构旋转来实现。有的机器人甚至还能够通过接合点和发动机旋转和移动的臂。机器人依靠多种置的感觉器来帮助寻找路径。连接在机器人底部的天线能够探测到机器人撞到的任何物体。在斜坡上移动的时候，如果机器人开场摇晃，机器人

10、部的陀螺仪和钟摆仪就会探测到水平方向的变化。机器人探测自己与其他物体的距离以及到达该物体的时间的方法是发射激光束和超声波，通过反射的信号来判断这些信息。这些探测器不断地向计算机提供信息，计算机将这些信息进展分析，从而纠正或调整机器人的进一步动作。随着科技的进步，机器人也会在功能和人工智能程序等方面上取得开展。When Our Eyes Serve Our StomachOur senses arent just delivering 汪 strict view of whats going on in the world; theyre affected by whats going on i

11、n our heads. A new study finds that hungry people see food-related words more clearly than people whove just eaten.Psychologists have known for decades that whats going on,inside our head affects our senses. For example, poorer children think coins are larger than they are, and hungry people think p

12、ictures of food are brighter. Remi Radel of University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis，France，wanted to investigate how this happens. Does it happen right away as the brain receives signals from the eyes or a little later as the brains high-level thinking processes get involved.Radel recruited 42 students

13、with a normal body mass index. On the day of his or her test, each student was told to arrive at the lab at noon after three or four hours of not eating. Then they were told there was a delay. Some were told to come back in 10 minutes; others were given an hour to get lunch first. So half the studen

14、ts were hungry when they did the experiment and the other half had just eaten.For the experiment, the participant looked at a computer screen. One by one, 80 words flashed on the screen for about l/300th of a second each. They flashed at so small a size that the students could only consciously perce

15、ive. A quarter of the words were food-related. After each word，each person was asked how bright the word was and asked to choose which of two words theyd seen a food-related word like cake or a neutral word like boat. Each word appeared too briefly for the participant to really read it.Hungry people

16、 saw the food-related words as brighter and were better at identifying food- related words. Because the word appeared too quickly for them to be reliably seen, this means that the difference is in perception ,not in thinking processes, Radel says.“This is something great to me. Humans can really per

17、ceive what they need or what they strive for. From the experiment, I know that our brain can really be at the disposal of our motives and needs, Radel says.我们的视觉效劳于我们的胃口我们的五官不仅仅让我们感知世界;还受大脑活动的影响。一项新研究发现：比起那些刚刚用过餐的人，饥饿的人能更清晰地看到与食品有关的词。数十年以来，心理学家已经知道我们的心理活动直接影响到我们的视觉。例如，贫穷的孩子看到的硬币比实际的要大;饥饿的人看到的食物图片更明亮

18、。法国的尼斯索菲亚安提波利斯大学试图调查这一现象：发生这种情况的时间是在大脑从眼睛接收到视觉信号的即时还是稍后些，这时高级思维活动已经介入了。雷戴尔招募了安康指数正常的42位学生作为被试者。在测试的当天，每个学生被告知在中午到达实验室，这时距上一次的用餐时间有34个小时。等他们到达实验室时，他们被告知实验时间有延迟。一半学生被告知十分钟后再回来;其余的给1个小时的时间先吃午饭。所以一半学生饿着肚子，另一半学生饱腹参加了此次实验。实验的步骤如下：要求被试者看电脑屏幕。屏幕上的80个字以1/300秒的频率闪动。由于字体非常之小，被试者只能凭感觉捕捉到字形。1/4的字是与食物有关的。每闪动一个字，被

19、试者答复字体的亮度并选择看到的是哪类词：一类是和食物有关的词，比方“蛋糕;一类是中性词，比方“船。由于每个词的闪动在瞬间完成，被试者根本看不清楚那个词是什么。饥饿的人看到与食物有关的词更明亮，且能更好地识别出与食物有关的词。由于每个词的闪动太快，其实那些被试者根本不会确切地看到什么，这就说明：他们只是感觉不同，根本没经过思考。雷戴尔给出了这样的解释。雷戴尔说：“这就是重点所在。人类可以真正感知到自身的需要或者为之奋斗的目标。该实验使我了解这样的事实，即我们的大脑是受我们的动机和需要所支配的。Musical Robot Companion Enhances Listener Experience

20、Shimi, a musical companion developed by Georgia Techs Center for Music Technology, recommends songs, dances to the beat and keeps the music pumping based on listener feedback. The smartphone-enabled, one-foot-tall robot is billed as an interactive “musical friend.“Shimi is designed to change the way

21、 that people enjoy and think about their music， said Professor Gil Weinberg, the robots creator. He will unveil the robot at the June 27th Google I/O conference in San Francisco. A band of three Shimi robots will perform for guests, dancing in sync with music created in the lab and composed accordin

22、g to its movements.Shimi is essentially a docking station with a “brain powered by an Android phone. Once docked, the robot gains the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the users mobile device. In other words, if theres an “app for that, Shimi is ready. For instance, by using the phones

23、camera and face-detecting software，Shimi can follow a listener around the room and position its “ears，or speakers, for optimal sound. Another recognition feature is based on rhythm and tempo. If the user taps a beat, Shimi analyzes it, scans the phones musical library and immediately plays the song

24、that best matches the suggestion. Once the music starts，Shimi dances to the rhythm.“Many people think that robots are limited by their programming instructions, said Music Technology Ph. D. candidate Mason Bretan. “Shimi shows us that robots can be creative and interactive. Future apps in the works

25、will allow the user to shake their head in disagreement or wave a hand in the air to alert Shimi to skip to the next song or increase/decrease the volume. The robot will also have the capability to recommend new music based on the users song choices and provide feedback on the music play list.Weinbe

26、rg hopes other developers will be inspired to create more apps to expand Shimis creative and interactive capabilities. “I believe that our center is ahead of a revolution that will see more robots in homes. Weinberg said.Weinberg is in the process of commercializing Shimi through an exclusive licens

27、ing agreement with Georgia Tech. Weinberg hopes to make the robot available to consumers by the 2013 holiday season. “If robots are going to arrive in homes, we think that they will be this kind of machines一 small, entertaining and fun，Weinberg said. “They will enhance your life and pave the way for

28、 more intelligent service robots in our lives.音乐机器人伴侣提升音乐欣赏体验Shimi是由佐治亚理工大学音乐技术中心研发的一款音乐伴侣。它可以根据听者的反应推荐符合节拍的歌曲、舞蹈;并且不断播放音乐。这款髙1英尺的机器人是由智能手机系统支持的，因此被标榜为“一个可以互动的音乐朋友。Gil Weinberg教授是该机器人的创造者，他解释说：“Shimi设计的宗旨是改变人们欣赏音乐、认识音乐的方式。他将在今年6月27日在旧金山的谷歌I/O大会上展示这款机器人。一个由三个机器人组成的乐队将为来宾演奏，并伴随音乐起舞。而音乐是根据不同的运动形式编制的。Sh

29、imi实际上是一个扩大基座，它的“大脑由安卓手机控制。一旦连接上，机器人便从用户的移动装置获得传感和音乐生成能力。换言之，只要有应用程序，机器人便能使用。例如，通过手机的照相机和识别脸型的软件，Shimi就能在房间周围跟踪到听众，然后安置好它的“耳朵或扬声器，以确保输送最正确声音。另外一种识别特征是基于节奏和速度。如果用户打出某个(音乐)拍子，Shimi会对此进展分析，然后浏览手机的音乐库，并立即演奏最符合要求的音乐。一旦音乐响起来，Shimi就随韵律起舞。“许多人认为机器人受到程序指令的限制，而Shiini给我们展示了机器人可以具有创造力和与人交互的能力。音乐技术博士研究生Mason Bre

30、tan如是说。正在研发中的程序将使用户能沟通过摇头或摆手表示不同意，来提醒Shimi跳到下一首歌或增减音量。机器人还可根据用户对歌曲的选择推荐新音乐，并对音乐播放列表提供反应。Weinberg希望其他研发者会因此获得灵感，开发更多的应用程序，来扩展Shimi的创新和交互功能。他说：“我认为我们中心正在引领这场将更多机器人应用到家庭中去的变革。Weinberg正在通过获得佐治亚理工学院的独家授权来对Shimi进展商业推广。Weinberg希望到2013年的节日季消费者可购置到Shimi。Weinberg说：“如果机器人进入家庭，我们认为就应该是这种类型的机器人：小巧、令人愉快和有趣，它们能提高我

31、们的生活质量，为更多智能效劳型机器人进人我们的生活做好准备。Researchers Discover Why Humans Began Walking UprightMost of us walk and carry items in our hands every day. These are seemingly simple activities that the majority of us dont question. But an international team of researchers, including Dr. Richmond from GWs Columbian

32、College of Arts and Sciences，have discovered that human walking upright, may have originated millions of years ago as an adaptation to carrying scarce, high- quality resources. The team of researchers from the U. S., England, Japan and Portugal investigated the behavior of modern-day chimpanzees as

33、they competed for food resources，in an effort to understand what ecological settings would lead a large ape one that resembles the 6 million-year old ancestor we shared in common with living chimpanzees to walk on two legs.“These chimpanzees provide a model of the ecological conditions under which o

34、ur earliest ancestors might have begun walking on two legs, ，said Dr. Richmond.The research findings suggest that chimpanzees switch to moving on two limbs instead of four in situations where they need to monopolize a resource. Standing on two legs allows them to carry much more at one time because

35、it frees up their hands. Over time，intense bursts of bipedal activity may have led to anatomical changes that in turn became the subject of natural selection where competition for food or other resources was strong.Two studies were conducted by the team in Guinea. The first study was conducted by th

36、e team in KyotoUniversitys “ outdoor laboratory in a natural clearing in BossouForest. Researchers allowed the wild chimpanzees access to different combinations of two different types of nut the oil palm nut，which is naturally widely available, and the coula nut, which is not. The chimpanzees behavi

37、or was monitored in three situations:(a) when only oil palm nuts were available,(b)when a small number of coula nuts were available，and(c) when coula nuts were the majority available resource.When the rare coula nuts were available only in small numbers, the chimpanzees transported more at one time.

38、 Similarly, when coula nuts were the majority resource, the chimpanzees ignored the oil palm nuts altogether. The chimpanzees regarded the coula nuts as a more highly-prized resource and competed for them more intensely.In such high-competition settings，the frequency of cases in which the chimpanzee

39、s started moving on two legs increased by a factor of four. Not only was it obvious that bipedal movement allowed them to carry more of this precious resource, but also that they were actively trying to move as much as they could in one go by using everything available 一 even their mouths.The second

40、 study, by Kimberley Hockings of Oxford Brookes University, was a 14-month study of Bossou chimpanzees crop-raiding, a situation in which they have to compete for rare and unpredictable Resources. Here, 35 percent of the chimpanzees activity involved some sort of bipedal movement, and once again, th

41、is behavior appeared to be linked to a clear attempt to carry as much as possible at one time.研究人员发现人类开场直立行走的原因我们大多数人每天都走路而且手里搬着东西。这样的活动看似太简单，大多数人没有疑问。但是一个国际研究者(包括乔治华盛顿大学哥伦比亚艺术与科学学院的Richmond博士)团队已经发现了人类直立行走可能源于数百万年以前适应搬运稀有的、高质量的资源。这些来自美国、英国、日本和葡萄牙的研究者研究了当代黑猩猩争抢食物时的行为特征，试图对什么样的生态环境竟然导致大猿(一种我们与现存的黑猩猩一

42、样的600万年前的祖先)直立行走作出解释。“这些黑猩猩居住的生态环境和我们最早的祖先开场直立行走时是一样的， Richmond博士说。研究结果显示，当黑猩猩需要独占一种资源时，它们就从四肢行走转换为直立行走。由于直立行走可以解放它们的双手，这使得它们能搬更多的东西。久而久之，双足活动的强烈爆发可能导致了解剖学上的变化，因此这种变化也就成为自然选择的主题，在那种情况下，对食物或其他 资源的争夺是十分剧烈的。有两项研究是在几亚完成的。第一项研究是在京都大学博森林的一块天然空地“室外实验室进展的。研究者们允许森林里的黑猩猩能得到两种不同的坚果，一种叫油棕榈坚果，自然界随处可见，一种叫可乐果，自然环境

43、中不常见。人们监控黑猩猩在以下三种情形下的行为：(a)只有油棕榈坚果;(b)只有少量的可乐果，大多数是油棕榈坚果;(c)大多数是可乐果，少数是油棕榈坚果。当稀有的可乐果数量很少时，黑猩猩一次就会拿得多。同样，当大局部是可乐果时，黑猩猩对油棕榈坚果根本视而不见。黑猩猩认为可乐果才是珍贵的资源，并为得到可乐果剧烈竞争。处于这种剧烈竞争的环境中，黑猩猩直立行走的频率增加了四倍。很显然，双足行走可以使它们拿走更多的稀有资源，而且，为了尽可能地一口气多拿，它们积极利用可用到的任何方法，甚至嘴巴。第二项研究是在牛津布鲁克斯大学的Kimberley Hockings进展的。该研究历时14个月，主题是博的黑猩

44、猩抢劫粮食，场景是它们不得不为稀有和不可预知的资源竞争。在这项研究中，黑猩猩35%的活动是直立行走。而这一次研究再一次证实了黑猩猩的直立行走与它们试图一次搬走尽可能多的东西有关。Giant StructuresIt is an impossible task to select the most amazing wonders of the modem world since every year more _1_ constructions appear. Here are three giant structures which are worthy of our _2_ although

45、 they may have been surpassed by some more recent wonders.The PetronasTwinTowersThe PetronasTowers were the tallest buildings in the world when they were completed in 1999. With a _3_ of 452 metres, the tall twin towers, like two thin pencils, dominate the city of Kuala Lumpur. At the 41st floor, th

46、e towers are linked by a bridge, symbolizing a gateway to the city. The American _4_ Cesar Pelli designed the skyscrapers.Constructed of high-strength concrete, the building provides around 1，800 square metres of office space _5_ every floor. And it has a shopping centre and a concert hall at the ba

47、se. Other _6_ of this impressive building include double-decker lifts, and glass and steel sunshades.The MiUauBridgeThe Millau Bridge was opened in 2004 in the Tam Valley，in southern France. _7_ the time it was built，it was the worlds highest bridge, _8_ over 340m at the highest point. The bridge is

48、 described as one of the most amazingly beautiful bridges in the world. It was built to _9_ Millaus congestion problems. The congestion was then caused by traffic passing from Paris to Barcelona in Spain. The bridge was built to withstand the _10_ extreme seismic and climatic conditions. Besides, it

49、 is guaranteed for 120 years!The Itaipu DamThe Itaipu hydroelectric power plant is one of the largest constructions of its kind in the world. It consists of a series of dams across the River Parana, _11_ forms a natural border between Brazil and Paraguay. Started in 1975 and taking 16 years to compl

50、ete, the construction was carried out as a joint project between the two _12_. The dam is well-known for both its electricity output and its size. In 1995 it produced 78% of Paraguays and 25% of Brazils _13_ needs. In its construction, the _14_ of iron and steel used was equivalent to over 300 Eiffe

51、lTowers. It is a _15_ amazing wonder of engineering.Wonderful admiration height architect on featuresA.tReaching relieve most which countries energy amounttruly巨型建筑挑选当今世界最神奇的奇观是一个不可能完成的任务。原因是每年都有新的更令人叹为观止的建筑出现。有这样三座巨大的建筑值得人们赞叹，尽管它们可能被某些最近建成的奇观所超越。第一座：国油双峰塔。国油双峰塔在1999年建成时是世界上最高的建筑物，高452米，高高 的双塔就像两支细铅

52、笔，高耸于吉隆坡市。在41层，两个塔由一座桥连接，象征着通向城市的大门。该建筑的设计者是美国建筑师Cesar Pelli。该建筑由高强度混凝土建成，每一层都有夫约1800平方米的办公区域;在底部还有一个购物中心和一个音乐厅。该建筑的其他特色是双层电梯以及建材为玻璃和钢的遮阳篷。第二座：米约高架桥。米约高架桥位于法国南部的Tam山谷，2004年建成通车。它是当时世 界上最高的大桥，最高点超过340米。该桥被人们描写为“世界上最神奇最美丽的大桥之一。它是为舒缓米约的交通拥挤所建。当时的拥挤是由从巴黎到西班牙的巴塞罗那的过往车辆太多所致。该桥可以承受强震和极端气候。另外，它可以使用120年!第三座：

53、伊泰普水电站。伊泰普水电站是同类建筑中最大的一个。它由横跨巴拉那河的一组大坝组成，成为巴西和巴拉圭的自然边境。该建筑作为两个国家的共同开发项目，1975年动工修建，历时16年完工。该大坝因它的发电量和规模之大而闻名。1995年，它为巴拉圭和巴西分别提供了78%和25%的能源需求。该建筑使用的钢铁量是埃菲尔铁塔的300倍还多。该建筑令人叹为观止，名不虚传。Why India Needs Its Dying VulturesThe vultures in question may look ugly and threatening, but the sudden sharp _1_ in thre

54、e species of Indias vultures is producing alarm rather than celebration, and it presents the world with a new kind of environmental _2_ The dramatic decline in vulture numbers is causing widespread disruption to people living in the same areas as the _3_ . It is also causing serious public health pr

55、oblems _4_ the Indian sub-continent.While their reputation and appearance may be unpleasant to many Indians，vultures have_5_played a very important role in keeping towns and villages all over India clean. Itis_6_they feed on dead cows. In India, cows are sacred animals and are _7_ left in the open w

56、hen they die in their thousands upon thousands every year.The disappearance of the vultures has _8_ an explosion in the numbers of wild dogs feeding on the remains of these dead animals. There are fears that rabies may _9_ as a result. And this terrifying disease may ultimately affect humans in the

57、region, since wild dogs are its main carriers. Rabies could also spread to other animal species, causing an even greater problem in the _10_.The need for action is _11_, so an emergency project has been launched to _12_ a solution to this serious vulture problem. Scientists are trying to identify th

58、e disease causing the birds，deaths and, if possible, develop a cure.Large-scale vulture _13_ were first noticed at the end of the 1980s in India. A population survey at that time showed that the three species of vultures had declined _14_ over 90 per cent. All three species are now listed as “critic

59、ally endangered. As most vultures lay only single eggs and _15_ about five years to reach maturity, reversing their population decline will be a long and difficult exercise.decline problem birds acrosslong because traditionallyled toincreasefutureurgentfinddeaths bytake 印度为什么需要濒临灭亡的秃鹰人们谈论的秃鹰可能看起来既丑又

60、危险，但是印度三种秃鹰濒临灭亡对我们是一种警告，而不是一件值得庆贺的事。它向世人明示了一个新的环境问题。秃鹰数量的急剧减少不仅是这些鸟类的灾难对当地居民同样也是如此，它同时给整个印度次大陆带来了公共卫生问题。虽然秃鹰的名声不好，许多印度人也讨厌其长相，但是长久以来，秃鹰在维护全印度的城镇和乡村的清洁方面扮演了非常重要的角色。因为秃鹰是以死牛为生。在印度，每年都有成千上万的牛死去，而牛是神圣的动物，死后露尸户外，任其腐烂。秃鹰的消失使得以牛尸为生的野狗数量暴增，因此，人们担忧罹患狂犬病的病人会增加。由于野狗是狂犬病的主要携带者，这种可怕的疾病最终会影响当地的居民。狂犬病也可能传播到其他生物，未来

61、会导致更大的问题。采取行动刻不容缓。所以，一个危机处理项目已经启动，目的是找到解决秃鹰问题的方法。科学家们正试图确认导致秃鹰死亡的疾病，如果可能的话，找到治愈该病的方法。在印度，人们注意到秃鹰的大批死亡最早是在20世纪80年代。根据当时的物种调查显示，三种秃鹰的数量减少了90%以上。目前，这三种秃鹰都被列为“极度濒危动物 由于大局部秃鹰每次只产一只蛋，幼鹰需要大约5年的时间才能成熟，因此，假设想遏制住秃鹰数量的下降会是一项长期的、艰巨的任务。Better Solar Energy Systems: More Heat, More LightSolar photovoltaic thermal

62、energy systems, or PVTs, generate both heat and electricity, but _1_ now they havent been very good at the heat-generating part compared to a stand-alone solar thermal collector. Thats because they operate at low temperatures to cool crystalline silicon solar cells, which lets the silicon generate m

63、ore _2_ but isnt a very efficient way to gather heat.Thats a problem of _3_ . Good solar hot-water systems can harvest much more energy than a solar-electric system at a substantially lower _4_. And it，s also a space problem：photovoltaic cells can take up all the space on the roof, leaving little ro

64、om for thermal applications.In a pair of studies, Joshua Pearce, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, has devised a _5_ in the form of a better PVT made with a different kind of silicon. His research collaborators are Kunal Girotra from ThinSilicon in California and Michael P

65、athak and Stephen Harrison from Queens University, Canada.Most solar panels are made with crystalline silicon，but you can also make solar cells out of amorphous silicon, _6_ known as thin-film silicon. They dont create as much electricity, but they are lighter, flexible, and cheaper. And, because they _7_ much less silicon, they have a greener footprint. Unfortunately，