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Reading - Part 3
a. Youaregoingto readan articleabout artificial intelligence.Beforereading, in pairsdiscuss the following questions.
1 Whattasks canrobotsdo now? 2 What famous robots do you know from science fictionbooksor films? 3 Do you believethat we will ever create machines that are ableto think aswe do? Should we try to?

TheSearch for
Artificial Intelligence
Robert Matthews, a leading UK researcher, outlines his mission
It is one of the most evocativephrases in the lexicon of scienc. artificialintelligence,'AI', the creation of machinesthat can thic. Just the mention of it conjures up images of HAL, the allot. intelligent computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and C3PO, :. chatty, batty robot from Star Wars. For over half a century, computer scientists nave been workI.-_

b. Now scanthe text to findinformation


about the following. Checkwithyour partner.

Alan Turing The Turing Test

Herbert Simon AM
Christian Goldbach

towards creatingsuch machines,spendingbillionsof pounds in .


attempt. And hanging over their efforts has been a challenge set

Deep Blue

a British mathematician widely regarded as the father of...


c. Forquestions 1-7, choose the answer
(A, B, C or D)which ybu think fits best according to the text. Accordingto the writer, the term 'artificial

research: Alan Turing. During the 1930s, Turing showed, in theory at least, the.. 'universal machine' could be built, capable of performing all tasks of any special-purpose computing machine. After war-t;..work OD. code-breaking, Turing helpe.d to turn his discovery ::' the reality of an electronic computer. But he MsOb~leVe(hllS pr meant that computers could mimic the action of the human mir:-_ In 1951, Turing published a prediction: by the end of century, computers would be able to hold a five-mm_

intelligence' A ismissing fromsome scientific dictionaries. B makesus think of machines from sci-fi films. C D isoverused amongcomputer scientists. implies that computers canbetoo clever.

conversation with humans and fool 30 per cent of them

--

2 AlanTuring A builta 'universal machine' in the 1930s. B C D usedhis research work to developan electronic computer. usedcode-breaking techniques to build an electronic computer. created the first artificially intelligent computer. 3 Turingbelievedthat A computerscould copy humanthought processes. B computer research needed morefunding. C computers would eventually replace humanbeings. D computersmight be used for immoral purposes. 4 Computerscientists today A donotdistinguish between sci-fi andreality. B aremakingour dreams cometrue. C do not agree about the aims of AI development. D arespending fartoo longon AI research.

believing they were dea\ing with aD.otherhuman be.ing. It is a deadline that has come and gone, along with :amounts of funding. Yet no computer is remotely close to pa:.

the 'Turing Test'. What went wrong?Why has no one succee<k - .


creating AI? In fact, AI is already here, earning its keep in banks, airp hospitals, factories - even our own home and car. It may ~

quite what manywere led to expect,but then the story of re...


AI is one of misplaced dreams, b!tter feuds and grant-gra.'" hype. Today's computer scientists divide into two broad camps ~
_

issue of AI. The pragmatistssee AI as a means of ere-....


machines that do for thinking what engines have done for Ph:' labour - taking on tasks we humans would prefer not tc spending endless hours scouring heaps of market data for tren... scanning piles of medical images for signs of disease. Then there are the visionaries, still wedded to Turing's chalkand trying to bring the sci-fi image to life. For them, AI is all a'" computerised 'assistants' that solve your printer problems cheeky-chappy robots that talk to strangers. There are some even see AI as the route to understanding the workings c human mind.

100 --.

What is the writer's view of the Microsoft Paperclip assistant? A It is a veryhelpfuldevice. B It is not to be trusted. ( It isan impressivedevelopment. D It is rather annoying.

Df
Ice
6

TK

n
:on of sc.~ .

The discovery made by lenat's computer program A went against 18th centurymathematical theory. B was greeted with excitement by AI researchers. ( showed predictionsabout AIto be false. D enabledit to wingameslikechess.

that cae L. the ... ld C3PC

7 According to the writer,what do many think is most mainstreamAI researchers 'important? A inventinga computer to beat the Turing Test B developingcomputers to become chess champions
(

been w:>: pounds _ hallenge father


It least.
~

forming ::..

After wa:discove~

doubt, it is the visionaries who have done most to get -_.:: on TV shows such as TomolTow's World. It is the _ however, who have g\Jt AI out of the door and into -pplications: the neural network cooking controls of _ :;,'ens, for example, or the expert system that vets credit _~nt AI technology is pushed closer to its sci-fi image, .:an be more irritating than impressive: witness ? ..perclip Assistant, and the AI-based 'help-desks' of ~..l:companies. Even now, 50 years after work began on

improving computerised services indaily


life

D creating computers for entertainment purposes

:1ievec :_ ehum a::-

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Vocabulary Practice
Matchthe highlightedwords in the passage with their synonyms below. time limit disputes groups publicity. imitate trick achieved creates in the mind

[he en~ a fi,e...... It of t~ ~mg.

~:hines,
_

only the bravest customers trust the

ephone ticketing system at their local cinema.

Ilong wt~ close to pme succee~


)anks, airpc-

It may nm
tory of real~ grant-grab'-

.d camps or: ms of ere<..

isionary AI researchers working away from the ...:: have pulled off some striking achievements.Herbert .957 prediction that a computer would make a - ~ricaldiscoverycame to pass 20 years later, when a logicprogram named AM, developed by Douglas Lenat at ":i University, discovere.dthat every even number greater .lI seemedto be the sum of twoodd primes.In fact,AM had ;.:pped to this discovery by the Prussian mathematician ~ Goldbach in the 18th century; nevertheless the ery of 'Goldbach's Conjecture' by AM caused a stir within
_ ~unity.

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3

Text Analysis
What do the underlinedphrases in the text mean?Discuss in pairs.

="J Discussion

one for ph;


~fer not tc
ata for trer.....

e.
uing's cha:"'" 1, AI is all ... r probleffi5 'e are some workings ~

- ':.S prediction that a computer would become world chess ::ialso came to pass - in a manner of speaking - in -1997, :B~.rs Deep Blue computer beat Garry Kasparov, the ::~man exponent of the game. -1ely it will be one of the AI visionaries who finally creates ~r that passes Turing's 50-year-old test. For many in the ...m AI community, however, beating the Turing Test is _ tittle more than a party trick. They are hard at work ~ far more basic issues in AI - like convincing computers er the cinema tickets you've paid for.

a. Ii1Dma In groups,discuss what


applicationsof artificial intelligence you would liketo seein the future. Thinkabout:

education work entertainment


homes . travel medicine finance
b. In pairs,designa robot of your own. Presentit to the classand explainits function. 101

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Language Focus

:> Advances in Technology


1
a. Underlinethe correct word/phrase in the sentences.
My new cellularphone allows me to send (faxes, text messages, telegrams) anywherewithin the countryand abroad. 2 3 Don't forget to turn on the (printer, modem, monitor) if you want to go on-line. The advent of (endoscopic surgery, telemedicine,
antibiotics) has greatly r~duc~dthe post-operativerecovery time of most patients.

:> Computers
3
a. What do the following words meanin an
everyday context, and what do they mean in the context of computing? Make sentences showing each usage.

crash terminal hack load navigator update'


web wallpaper mouse

wizard
crash: Alan crashed his car into a
lamp post.
The computer crashed unexpectedly and Mike lost all of his work.

Supermarkets of the future will make use of (scanners, smart cards, personal organisers) to read the contents of your trolley and total up your bill.

Factorieswhich relyon humans working on (assembly lines, conveyor belts, processing equipment) are becoming a thing of the past.

b. Now, in pairs, ask and answer the questions Do you own a computer? Do you have access ~: Internet? 2 3
4

Youwould be quite astounded by the number of (satellites, space capsules, landing craft) orbiting the Earth.

Not only would a (nuclear, solar, diesel) powered vehicle be safe, it would also make use of one of the planet's greatest natural ~sources.

Howoften do you use your computer? What do ): it for? Do you know how to download/delete files? ~ the procedureto your partner.
Have you ever crashed your computer? What hap..~

b. What fields of technology are the sets of words


related to? Choose from the list below.

5 6

Hasyourcomputereverhad a virus?What didYOl., J Doyou think computers are a good or bad thing'

.. .,

medical informationtechnology space


industrial energy electronics communications

:> Technological Downsides

Look at the pictures. In pairs, discusswhich of them will become obsolete over the next twenty years. What do you think they will have been replaced by?

a. Fill in the stressful

gaps in the sentences using wor-:...

phrases from the list below. lifestyle

traffic congestion

urban sprawl extreme weather chang~

nuclearpower fastfood

unemployl""'= impersonal service biological weapons space junk GMfoods consumer s~"
I'm terribly sorry I'm late but traffic conges:

around the city just keeps getting worse. The recent increasein ...............................

area can be explained by the new automate:


that has just opened. 3

After little more than forty years, we ra ~ polluted the final frontier with .............. and other debris. We livein a...............................................
find it easier to

throwaway something the rather than get it fixed.


Many teenagers would prefer to go 01..~~_

friendsfor
A: I feel that over the next twenty years,
...

to a meal with their family.


6 Looking out the aeroplane window I could seeunsightly spread far into the desert. of tre
will become obsolete.

102

8:

I agree and I think that they will have been replaced by...

...

!a~ n a"
~eJ ~ea~ I<e

--E::"<25

<J: :T,>'"-'i'BW sl1o(7(7irrq complex

may

-=---.,: 0:: -:;

there keepsme
~

6. fxp(afnthe following verbs,then use them in sentences. outdistance outdo outsmart outrun outgrow outsell

ocaI "larket.
rTlustbe clearly marked.

'? -02'"': '"1as refused to passa lawwhichstates

-,~

:'1a,manycountries arehidingstores of . caused herto suffer

- '"'i:a andphysical ailments. we'vebeenhaving -g '1.3','OC on cropproduction in mostpartsof

couldbe extremely dangerous '=:' -:; -a ''1tothe wronghands. :~ ~ ~.scuss which of the problems described ! question
lYe access

-.: sertences from Ex. 4a are caused directly =<!"''''ology.Which are caused indirectly? : :asons. :?"! -'Jot traffic congestionis a direct cause of :;q t>ecause it hasgivenus the meansto mass=::::'"eao vehicles. J2.~.it...

te

f"

es- ::

Collocations

badtr "~

.: ~~ your Word

Power

.~ :::eg:l"mingwith 'out')
- ..

.r--\,.=.
Inew age scientific

a. Match the adjectives to the pairs of nouns to form collocations.

,"IF' ... 1.:/.....


inquiryfjournal stage/research warfare/era factory/appliances video discs/camera exploration/station philosophy/travellers gadgetry/industry

xr~ences belowcontainnounsthat begin ~anings.


12.

- ~t'. Match the underlined words with


;:.

technological automated

p ..

18"

result costs epidemic excursion beginning future


-~''1gwe needin this city is anotherfast food

high-tech experimental space digital

(harg~
"1Pa ~:: '1erscc::

c::-

__:::'!le of the heated debate on technology in the Ai: Nas not what I had expected. ';s continue as they are, the outlook for the .. S" space programme doesn't appear to be _Co" positive.

"

b. Now, use the collocations to complete the sentences. Use the remaining collocations to make up sentences of your own.
Originally, the Russian , MIR, was supposedto last for five years, but in fact it remained in operationfor fourteen. 2 Professor Smithhasrecently hadhisfindingspublished in a prominent ..................................... 3 Thisisthe productprototype;asyoucansee,it isstill at the . 4 ~~~~~~~ of conventional weapons andtraditionalbattlestrategies. 5 Supposedly, , or DVDs astheyare called,arefar moreresistant to scratching thanrecords. 6 People lookingfor meaning in today'sconfusing modern worldoften immerse themselves in .

2'=' "we can get some informationfrom the -~ oeforewe planour outingto the LakeDistrict. --Ie outset, Bill Gates was confident that his

e' language, BASIC, wouldbea success. ='~,g of outragewasfurtherincreased by the fact '" -ad brokenoff theirengagement viaemail. _-.="eal< of a newstrainof flu hasmedical experts -=r"Jsedandworried.

=e::Y"munications companyrecovered its initial -=- =':"e~ onlytwo monthsin business.

---

Language Focus 7
Fillin: make, hold,haveor do, then makesentences.
1 experimental work;2 advances in one's field;3 a successful mission; 4 an important discovery; 5 an importantobservation; 6 .............. ground-breakingresearch;7 a life changing experience; 8 evidence of sth;9 a 'demonstration; 10 a changefor the better; 11 a scientificproject; 12 an international conference

~
10

Idioms
a. Matchitemsfromcolumns A andBto formidioms. guesswhatthe idiomsmightmean.Do In pairs, youhavesimilaridioms in yourlanguage?

break
blind someone

. .

movewith
be somebody's once in a turn the come down reinvent it doesn't take stand the test

a rocket scientist clock back with science of time guinea pig blue moon to earth the wheel the mould the times

...

:) Ambiguous Words
8
Theuseof the underlinedwords in the sentences below is ambiguous.In pairs,providetwo alternativesfor eachsentence to showthe possible differencesin meaning.
Thisistoo hard. I'llleave it outof thefreezer forhalfonhourbefore weeat it. 2 3 4 5 6 7 I'llnever beabletodoit onmyown. Helen isveryfair. Theydid not recognise th~ newchairman. Michael isaverycurious man. My uncleisa verypowerfulman. Helookedverysuspicious. I loveentertaining people.

b. Now,rewrite the sentences below usingidicin their correctform, from Ex.10a.


Jeff finally saw the reality of the situation afL~ employerexplainedto him that extra respons:J went alongwith hisnewpromotion. 2 In orderto ensure our company's continuedsuCG~.. haveto keepup with moderntrends. 3 Idon'tknowwhyyouthinkhe's sospecial. Itdoesn'~ "C that much intelligence to install a software prograrr 4 You'reconfusing mewith allthat technologicalla--Justtellmeinsimple termshowto connect to the 5 Sue,canI expenment on youby havingyoutr: ::
~

...

9
[

Underline the correct


word.
.

~
~~.~

a..

~ \i ~ ,
~

L
,'-I

fJ

f:)"

8 ~~~

,~ "'_.......... ,~~ -,.,~~,


. 1ft
~~

~
.

' ~~~ . 1>:,;.'.' II


CJ
\.
...
" '"

'..

"

'~
")

, ~~

newprogram I designed?

:~

.~~

3nges havehappene(

L ~'
[I

modernlcontempQl'aryllatest years.
2 Operate/PushNibrate/Effect the machinery carefully. 3 Thecompany offersa group/collection/cluster/range of word processing packages. the owners'policy.

. in the longrun in fact in spiteof

. in brief in light of in private in persc


in writing in anyevent
in case

.
.

~\

.'

I'

~
I
I

4 Thecompany's mottoreflects/conveys/infers/proves
1 Personally, I believethat what someonedoes=

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I:

5 Doeofthe comp,"y'sm'jorconcernsitroubleslca",sI. ~ bothers isto makethe productsellin lotsof markets. WA


6 Allfilesareconfined/stocked/reserved/stored incabinets. 7 Thecompany's personnel ishighlylconsiderably/vastly/
supremely trained. ~

closed dooo is"," ooneof mybusioess.


2~, the talk on the importanceof furtt'= exploration proved quite interesting. 3 Because of the latestsurveyresults,we've dt>::
fund the upcoming programme.

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.

'~ 8 Please keep/hold/take/carry in mind that you must answer all questions. 9 Thismachinery is ratherelderly/unfashionable/aged/ outdated. 10 Following hisadvice willdoyoualot of advantage/good/

Initially, recycling seemed quite botherso-

~. B'

~.

eventually everybody got usedto doingit. 5 To put it in as few words as Dossible, I've OC'.

I.

resign mypositionasheadof research. BeforeI agreeto anything,I want to seethe CJ blackandwhite.

~ain/benefit.

104

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