1 . Hollywood’s theory that machines with evil(邪恶) minds will drive armies of killer robots is just silly. The real problem relates to the possibility that artificial intelligence(AI) may become extremely good at achieving something other than what we really want. In 1960 a well-known mathematician Norbert Wiener, who founded the field of cybernetics（控制论）, put it this way: “If we use, to achieve our purposes, a mechanical agency with whose operation we cannot effectively interfere(干预), we had better be quite sure that the purpose put into the machine is the purpose which we really desire.”

A machine with a specific purpose has another quality, one that we usually associate with living things: a wish to preserve its own existence. For the machine, this quality is not in-born, nor is it something introduced by humans; it is a logical consequence of the simple fact that the machine cannot achieve its original purpose if it is dead. So if we send out a robot with the single instruction of fetching coffee, it will have a strong desire to secure success by disabling its own off switch or even killing anyone who might interfere with its task. If we are not careful, then, we could face a kind of global chess match against very determined, super intelligent machines whose objectives conflict with our own, with the real world as the chessboard.

The possibility of entering into and losing such a match should concentrate the minds of computer scientists. Some researchers argue that we can seal the machines inside a kind of firewall, using them to answer difficult questions but never allowing them to affect the real world. Unfortunately, that plan seems unlikely to work: we have yet to invent a firewall that is secure against ordinary humans, let alone super intelligent machines.

Solving the safety problem well enough to move forward in AI seems to be possible but not easy. There are probably decades in which to plan for the arrival of super intelligent machines. But the problem should not be dismissed out of hand, as it has been by some AI researchers. Some argue that humans and machines can coexist as long as they work in teams—yet that is not possible unless machines share the goals of humans. Others say we can just “switch them off” as if super intelligent machines are too stupid to think of that possibility. Still others think that super intelligent AI will never happen. On September 11, 1933, famous physicist Ernest Rutherford stated, with confidence, “Anyone who expects a source of power in the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine.” However, on September 12, 1933, physicist Leo Szilard invented the neutron-induced(中子诱导) nuclear chain reaction.

1. Paragraph 1 mainly tells us that artificial intelligence may         .

A．run out of human control

B．satisfy human’s real desires

C．command armies of killer robots

D．work faster than a mathematician

2. Machines with specific purposes are associated with living things partly because they might be able to        .

A．prevent themselves from being destroyed

B．achieve their original goals independently

C．do anything successfully with given orders

D．beat humans in international chess matches

3. According to some researchers, we can use firewalls to           .

A．help super intelligent machines work better

B．be secure against evil human beings

C．keep machines from being harmed

D．avoid robots’ affecting the world

4. What does the author think of the safety problem of super intelligent machines?

A．It will disappear with the development of AI.

B．It will get worse with human interference.

C．It will be solved but with difficulty.

D．It will stay for a decade.

2 . Dogs are often said to look like their owners, but the breed someone chooses could also reveal key aspects of their personality, psychologists claim.

They found that people _______ different types of dog depending on their lifestyle and character, though they typically don’t realize it.

Corgi owners, such as the Queen, tend to be extroverted, _______ Sir Isaac Newton’s Pomeranian could have signaled that he was creative and intelligent, the study suggested. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s choice of a cocker spaniel puppy, Lupo, may _______ that they are agreeable and conscientious, while owners of greyhounds and beagles are more likely to be emotionally stable.

This could be because, like in a romantic relationship, we tend to _______ ourselves with pets that we feel we share something in common with, researchers from Bath Spa University found.

It could also _______ our lifestyle, with active dogs like retrievers and greyhounds appealing more to people who enjoy spending time _______, they added.

Dr. Lance Workman and Jo Fearon surveyed 1,000 dog owners via an online questionnaire on behalf of the Kennel Club.

The questions were designed to test the so-called “Big Five” traits that _______ our personality: extroversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, conscientiousness and intelligence.   

Dr. Workman said there was a definite link between a dog’s _______ and their owner’s personality. “I think when you look for a dog at some level, largely _______, you look for something that is a bit like you,” he said. “It’s a bit like a romantic partner. If they ________ they will probably last, and contrary to popular opinion, with romantic partners opposites don’t attract—you need to have a lot ________ if it’s going to last.”

But it also has to suit your lifestyle, he added. If you’re going to get a(n) ________ breed, you need to be an outdoor type person.

Someone’s choice of dog could also reveal ________ personality traits that do not immediately come across from watching them or listening to them speak.

The Queen’s ________ for corgis, for example, may signal that she is more extroverted than she appears to be, Dr. Workman explained.

He said, “It takes a lot to get up and stand up in front of the number of people she does as often as she does, and give a good talk, and at the same time she has to be controlled as the head of state. ________ the minor royals can party, she’s never been able to do that, so I think the personality that we see appears less extroverted than she actually is.”

1.

A．are aware of

B．are drawn towards

C．are compared to

D．are disrespectful to

2.

A．if

B．while

C．as if

D．because

3.

A．confess

B．propose

C．reflect

D．announce

4.

A．match

B．contrast

C．confuse

D．provide

5.

A．change

B．result in

C．be down to

D．interact with

6.

A．working

B．planning

C．indoors

D．outdoors

7.

A．combine

B．govern

C．outweigh

D．examine

8.

A．size

B．breed

C．temperament

D．origin

9.

A．subconsciously

B．knowingly

C．indifferently

D．distinctively

10.

A．figure out

B．team up

C．break down

D．fit in

11.

A．in common

B．to offer

C．at hand

D．on hold

12.

A．fashionable

B．luxurious

C．energetic

D．glamorous

13.

A．hidden

B．positive

C．negative

D．evident

14.

A．tolerance

B．capacity

C．talent

D．fondness

15.

A．Since

B．Whereas

C．For

D．As long as

3 . Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, believed that men are divided into three classes: gold, silver and bronze. Vifredo Pateto, an Italian economist, argued that “the vital few” account for most progress. In the private sector, best companies struggle relentlessly to find and keep the vital few. They offer them fat pay packets, extra training, powerful mentors and more challenging assignments.

As the competition in business is getting increasingly fierce, companies are trying harder to nurture raw talent, or to poach it from their vitals. Private-equity firms rely heavily on a few stars. High-tech firms, for all their egalitarianism (平均主义), are ruthless about recruiting the brightest. Firms in emerging markets are desperate to find young high-flyers to cope with rapid growth and fast-changing environment.

Bill Conaty and Ram Charan’s recent book The Talent Masters provides a nice mix of portraits of well-known talent factories along with sketches of more recent converts to the cause. “Talent masters” are proud of their elitism. GE divides its employees into three groups based on their promise. Hindustan Unilever compiles a list of people who show innate leadership qualities. “Talent masters” all seem to agree on the importance of two things: measurement and differentiation. The best companies routinely subject employees to various “reviews” and “assessments.” But when it comes to high-flyers they make more effort to build up a three-dimensional picture of their personalities and to provide lots of feedback.

A powerful motivator is to single out high-flyers for special training. GE spends $1 billion a year on it. Novartis sends high-flyers to regular off-site training sessions. Many companies also embrace on-job training, speaking of “stretch” assignments or “baptisms by fire.” The most coveted are foreign postings: these can help young managers understand what it is like to run an entire company with a wide range of problems.

Successful companies make sure that senior managers are involved with “talent development.” Bosses of GE and P&G spent 40% of their time on personnel. Intel obliged senior managers to spend at least a week in a year teaching high-flyers. Involving the company’s top brass (高级职员) in the process prevents lower-level managers from monopolizing high-flyers and crates dialogues between established and future leaders. Successful companies also integrate talent development with their broader strategy to ensure that companies are more than the sum of their parts. P&G likes its managers to be both innovative and worldly. Goodyear replaced 23 of its 24 senior managers in two years as it shifted its target-consumers from carmakers to motorists.

Meanwhile, in their rush to classify people, companies can miss potential stars. Those who are singled out for special treatment can become too full of themselves. But the first problem can be fixed by flexibility; people who are average in one job can become stars in another. And people who become too smug can be discarded.

1. The author mentions the needs for talent of different firms in the second paragraph to show that _________.

A．the need for talent is universal

B．there is a cut-throat competition among them

C．the economy is more prosperous than before

D．the need for talent is confined to high-tech firms

2. What does the new book The Talent Masters chiefly depict?

A．How the well-known talent factories classify their staff.

B．How the talent factories and recent converts to the cause are like.

C．How to identify and recruit talent.

D．How to keep and foster elite employees.

3. The best companies usually cultivate their high-flyers by __________.

A．checking and evaluating them frequently

B．compelling the senior managers to instruct the high-flyers

C．moving them into the positions that display their strengths

D．providing them with training or special mentoring classes

4. The successful companies implement the “talent development” strategy by ________.

A．making sure that its senior managers spend enough time on personnel

B．changing the company’s strategy according to the status quo of talent

C．replacing most of the senior managers regularly to avoid monopoly

D．grooming future leaders from high-flyers rather than from lower-level managers

5. What does the author mainly talk about in the last paragraph?

A．The importance of equality.

B．The necessity of flexibility.

C．The drawbacks of elitism.

D．The harm of self-conceit.