1 . Wouldn’t it be wonderful to travel to a foreign country without having to worry about the headache of communicating in a different language?
In a recent Wall Street journal article, technology policy expert A lec Ross argued that, within a decade or so. We’ll be able to communicate with one another via small earpieces with built-in microphones. That’s because technological progress is extremely rapid. It’s only a matter of time. Indeed, some parents are so convinced that this technology is imminent that they’re wondering if their kids should even learn a second language.
It’s true that an increase in the quantity and accuracy (准确) of the data loaded into computers make them cleverer at translating “No es bueno dormir mucho” as “It’s not good to sleep too much.” Replacing a word with its equivalent (同义词) in the target language is actually the “easy part of a translator’s job”. But even this seems to be a discouraging task for computers.
It’s so difficult for computers because translation doesn’t—or shouldn’t—involve simply translating words, sentences or paragraphs. Rather, it’s about translating meaning. And in order to infer meaning from a specific expression, humans have to interpret a mass of information at the same time. Think about all the related clues that go into understanding an expression: volume, gesture, situation, and even your culture. All are likely to convey as much meaning as the words you use.
Therefore, we should doubt whether a machine is able to translate the world around us. If people from different cultures can offend each other without realizing it, how can we expect a machine to do better? Unless engineers actually find a way to breathe a soul into a computer, undoubtedly when it comes to conveying and translation meaning using a natural language, a machine will never fully take our place.
1. What does the underlined word “imminent” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Ready. | B．Coming. | C．Helpful. | D．Advanced. |
| A．Their data is not adequate (充足的) enough. |
| B．The real meaning of words can change. |
| C．Their accuracy needs big improvement. |
| D．A soul hasn’t been breathed into them. |
| A．Proper translation can be difficult for humans. |
| B．Slight difference mean little in translation. |
| C．Some machines will translate our world properly. |
| D．Cultures deserve more attention than words used. |
| A．A new language translating machine |
| B．Translation will become easier |
| C．Who Will Be a Better Translator |
| D．Will Language Barrier (障碍) Actually Fall |
2 . The cultures of the East and the West are really different from each other a lot. This is because the culture systems are two separate ones on the whole.
The origin (起源) of the Eastern culture is mainly from two countries: China and India. Both of the two cultures are developed by rivers — the Yellow River in China and the Hindu River in India. They helped the two cultures develop for centuries and form their own styles.
When the two mother rivers gave birth to the Eastern culture, another famous culture was up on the Mesopotamian Plain — the Mesopotamian Civilization. This civilization later on developed into the cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. And these two are well-known as the base of the European culture. Like the Chinese culture, the European culture also crossed waters. When the British settled down in America, their culture went with them over the Atlantic Ocean. So the American culture doesn’t have much difference from the European culture.
At the same time, some other differences add to the cultural differences. Take the language system for example. In the East, most languages belong to the pictographic (象形) language while the western languages are mostly based on the Latin system. Other causes like human race differences count as well. But what’s more, due to the far distance and the steep areas between the East and the west, the two cultures seldom communicate until recent centuries. So they grew up totally in their own ways with almost no interference from the other.
The differences are everywhere. They are obvious and make people’s ways of thinking and their views of the world different. But different cultures make the world of 21st century more colorful. The cultural difference should not be the obstacle (障碍) to the civilization of human being. It ought to be the driving force of our going farther.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The origin of cultures. | B．Culture differences. |
| C．Language systems. | D．Colorful world. |
| A．Both of the two cultures have a very long history. |
| B．They have the same mother rivers as the Chinese culture. |
| C．The early settlers from Britain brought their culture to America. |
| D．Both the British and the American live along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. |
| A．difference | B．influence |
| C．confidence | D．environment |
| A．A diary. | B．A magazine. |
| C．A novel. | D．A guidebook. |
