2015职称英语新增文章(带翻译)

Real World Robots

When you think of a robot, do you envision a shiny, metallic devi ce having the same general shape as a human being, performin g humanlike functions, and responding to your questions i n a monotone voice accentuated by high-pitched tones and beeps? This is the way many of us imagine a robot, bu t in the real world, a robot is not humanoid at all. Instead a r obot often is a voiceless, box-shaped machine that efficien tly carries out

repetitive or dangerous functions usually performed by huma ns.

T o d a y’

s robot is more than an automatic machine that performs one t ask again and again. A modern robot is programmed with varyin g degrees of artificial intelligence—

that is, a robot contains a computer program that tell s it how to perform tasks associated with human intelligence, such as reasoning,drawing conclusions, and learning from past experience. A robot does not posses s 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 swivel and move in combination wit h joints and motors.

T o find its way in its surroundings1, a robot utilizes variou s built-in sensors. Antennae attached to the robot’

s base detect anything they bump into. If the robot starts to teeter as it moves on an incline, a gyroscope or a pendul um inside

it senses 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 wave s off obstructions in its path2. These and other sensors con stantly feed information to the computer, which then analy zes the information and corrects or adjusts the robot’s actions. As science and technology advance, the robo t too will progress in its functions and use of artifi cial-intelligence programs.

词汇：

envision v. 想象，预想

device n. 装置

accentuate v. 强调，重读

artificial intelligence n. 人工智能

limb n. 臂

antennae n. 天线

incline v. 倾斜

pendulum n. 钟摆

ultrasonic adj. 超声的

metallic adj. 金属的

monotone n. 单调的

humanoid adj. 像人的

axle n. 轮轴

rotate v. 旋转

swivel n. 旋转

teeter v. 摇晃

gyroscope n. 陀螺仪，回转仪

vertical n. 直立的

注释：

1．To find its way in its surroundings...：为了在周围找到路……

2．the robot bounces beams of laser light and ultrasonic sound waves off obstructions in its path：机器人发射激光束和超声波，反射到障碍物上（以此来探知路径）。

练习：

1．Another good title for this passage would be

A Robots: Taking the Place of Humans.

B Artificial Intelligence Programs.

C Today’s Robots and How They Function.

D Modern-Day Sensors.

2．Artificial intelligence is

A the unnatural way in which robots move.