“Do you want to meet at 3 pm?”, Gmail offers one-click responses such as “Sure!”
The New Yorker’s John Seabrook recently described a more powerful version of this technology, called GPT-2, which can ably mimic (模拟) his magazine’s style. Such systems use a digital network of billions of artificial “neurons” (神经元) with virtual “synapses” — the connections between neurons — that strengthen as the network “learns”, in this case from 40 gigabytes（千兆字节）— worth of online writing. The version Mr. Seabrook tested was polished with back-issues of the New Yorker.
The metaphor of the brain is attractive, but “neurons” and “synapses” deserve those scare-quotes ( 双引号). The system is merely making some—admittedly very complex—statistical guesses about which words follow which in a New Yorker-style sentence.
What escapes computers is creativity. They cannot create a topic or goal on their own, much less plan how to get there with logic and style. At various points in the online version of his article, readers can see how GPT-2 would have carried on writing Mr. Seabrook’s piece for him. The writing gives the impression of being human. But on closer inspection it is empty, even incoherent.
Meaningless writing is the preserve of artificial intelligence. But to truly write, you must first have something to say. Computers do not. They await instructions. To compose meaningful essays, the likes of GPT-2 will first have to be integrated with databases of real-world knowledge.
1. Why does the author mention Gmail in the first paragraph?
A. To prepare for the introduction of the topic. B. To advertise the powerful Gmail. C. To describe the feature of Gmail. D. To prove the strength of the Gmail. 2. In what way is GPT-2 more powerful than Gmail? A. It is creative. B. It has neurons with synapses.
C. It can offer quick answers. D. It can follow a certain writing style. 3. What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
A. GPT-2 is powerful because it is integrated to real-world knowledge. B. GPT-2 has already been able to write meaningful essays. C. GPT-2 still has a long way to write like humans. D. GPT-2 can help Mr. Seabrook with writing very well.
4. Where is the passage taken from? A. A brochure. B. An advertisement. C. A magazine. D. An essay. 【答案解析】 1. A 2. D 3. C 4. C
本文是说明文，介绍了计算机自动写作功能的更强大的版本——GPT-2，它可以巧妙地模仿杂志的风格，但是写出来的文章， 如果仔细检查，就会觉得空洞，甚至是不连贯的。要写出有意义的文章，像GPT-2这类的项目首先必须与现实世界的知识数据库相结合。机器写手无法完全取代人类。 【1题详解】
推理判断题。根据第二段“The New Yorker’s John Seabrook recently described a more powerful version of this technology, called GPT-2（纽约人John Seabrook最近描述了这项技术的一个更强大的版本，称为GPT-2）”可以推断，文章第1段中举出Gmail自动写作技术的例子，是为了引出下文关于GPT-2的话题。故选A项。 【2题详解】
细节理解题。根据第二段“…. a more powerful version of this technology, called GPT-2,which can ably mimic (模拟) his magazine’s style”可知，计算机自动写作功能更强大的版本GPT-2可以巧妙地模仿杂志的风格。所以GPT-2可以遵循一定的写作风格方面比Gmail更强大。故选D项。 【3题详解】
推理判断题。根据第五段“To compose meaningful essays, the likes of GPT-2 will first have to be integrated with databases of real-world knowledge（要写出有意义的文章，像GPT-2这样的项目首先必须与真实世界的知识数据库相结合）”可以推断，GPT-2技术要像人那样写出有意义的文章，还需要更多的研究，还有很长的路要走。故选C项。 【4题详解】
推理判断题。本文是关于电脑自动写作功能更强大的版本——GPT-2的介绍，是关于人工智能研究的话题，应该是来自于科学杂志。故选C项。
No.8
（2020. 广东省广州市高三月考）
1. What is true about the Milky Way? A. There are only stars inside it. B. There is a black hole at its center.
C. It’s the biggest spiral galaxy in the universe. D. It takes 100,000 years to get there from Earth.
2. Which of the following is the main factor in categorizing galaxies? A. Shape. B. Size.
C. Number of stars. D. Distance from the sun.
3. Which of the following galaxies can be classified as irregular? A. Whale Galaxy — similar to the Milky Way both in size and shape. B. Cygnus A (3C 405) Galaxy — the brightest egg shape we can observe. C. Cigar Galaxy — long and narrow galaxy that looks like an ashy cloud. D. Sunflower Galaxy — galaxy with multiple arms radiating from its bright core.
【答案解析】 1. B 2. A 3. C 【分析】
这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了一些宇宙中星系的情况，如螺旋星系、椭圆星系和不规则星系等。 【1题详解】
细节理解题。根据SPIRAL GALAXY部分中Our galaxy has a huge black hole at its center that billions of stars revolve around.可知，我们的星系中心有一个巨大的黑洞，数十亿颗恒星围绕着它旋转。由此可知，银河系中间有一个巨大的黑洞。故选B。 【2题详解】
细节理解题。根据IRREGULAR GALAXY部分中There are many other shapes of galaxies that aren’t spiral or elliptical. They all fit into irregular category.可知，不规则的星系部分中还有许多其他星系的形状不是螺旋或椭圆。它们都属于不规则的类别。由此可知，星系主要是根据形状来进行分类。故选A。 【3题详解】
推理判断题。根据IRREGULAR GALAXY部分中There are many other shapes of galaxies that aren’t spiral or elliptical. They all fit into irregular category.可知，不规则的星系部分中还有许多其他星系的形状不是螺旋或椭圆。它们都属于不规则的类别。结合选项可推知，狭长的，看起来像一片灰蒙蒙的云的雪茄星系可以被归类为不规则星系。故选C。
No.9
(2020. 广东省高三第一次教学质检)The team of researchers from the University of Lincoln, UK, is designing and building an app to help farmers in hot climates identify and record the spread of locusts(蝗虫) on their land.
By recognizing locusts through the smartphone’s camera, the app will be able to identify the stage of the insect's growth and record its location. This information can then be utilized so that the farmers can use pesticides(杀虫剂) more accurately in the early stages of their life time, greatly reducing the amount of crop damage.
This approach could also reduce remaining pesticide levels, leading to increased food safety while maintaining food security and protecting nearby water systems.
“Each year, approximately 18 million hectares of land are damaged by locusts, influencing
hugely farmers and their productivity, explains Dr. Bashir Al-Diri from the School of Computer Science at the University of Lincoln.” Their monitoring techniques currently rely on field surveys by people through digging insect eggs, but this information only helps farmers to make mid and long-term forecasting decisions and can delay effective management measures. By digitally recording the exact number, age and location of locusts, we hope this new app will put more knowledge and more power into the hands of the farmers.
Dr. Al-Diri and his team of computer scientists work with the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology at the University of Lincoln, aiming to support and improve productivity, efficiency and farming through research, education and new technology.
With advanced technology, the developers hope that the app will also be used for a wide range in the future to capture and document information about the natural world. For example, it could easily be adapted to help individuals identify plant diseases or to digitally capture the number and type of birds and wildlife in specific locations as part of national and international surveys.
1. What do we know about the app mentioned in the passage? A. It has helped farmers record the spread of locusts. B. It will be of great use for farmers in hot climates. C. It may cost the farmers more than they expect. D. It will remind farmers of what the locusts look like.
2. Which can replace the underlined word \ A. Accessed. B. Controlled. C. Arranged. D. Progressed.
3. What can we know according to Dr. Bashir Al-Diri? A. Farmers don't know how to deal with locusts. B. Their techniques can be used to dig insect eggs. C. Farmers suffer greatly because of locusts. D. Some steps must be taken before using the app. 4. What is the purpose of Al-Diri and his team? A. To check if the app is useful in killing locusts. B. To educate farmers on how to protect themselves.
话题三 科普环保-冲刺2021年高考英语阅读理解热点话题专练(解析版) - 副本
