2011同等学力英语二卷班——翻译讲义(郭崇兴老师(4)

11○

Thehumanbraincontains10thousandmillioncellsandeachofthesemayhaveathousand

connections.Suchenormousnumbersusedtodiscourageusandcauseustodismissthepossibilityofmakingamachinewithhumanlikeability,butnowthatwehavegrownusedtomovingforwardatsuchapacewecanbelesssure.Quitesoon,inonly10or20yearsperhaps,wewillbeabletoassembleamachineascomplexasthehumanbrain,andifwecanwewill.Itmaythentakeusalongtimetorenderitintelligentbyloadingintherightsoftware(软件)orbyalteringthearchitecturebutthattoowillhappen.

Ithinkitcertainthatindecades,notcenturies,machinesofsilicon(硅)willarisefirsttorivalandthenexceedtheirhumanancestors.Oncetheyexceedustheywillbecapableoftheirowndesign.Inarealsensetheywillbeabletoreprouducethemselves.Siliconwillhaveendedcarbon’slongcontrol.Andwewillnolongerbeabletoclaimourselvestobethefinestintelligenceintheknownuniverse.12○

Evenplantscanrunafever,especiallywhenthey’reunderattackbyinsectsordisease.Butunlike

humans,plantscanhavetheirtemperaturetakenfrom3,000feetaway-straightup.Adecadeago,adaptingtheinfrared(红外线)scanningtechnologydevelopedformilitarypurposesandothersatellites,physicistStephenPaleycameupwithaquickwaytotaketemperatureofcropstodeterminewhichoneareunderstress.Thegoalwastoletfarmerspreciselytargetpesticide(杀虫剂)sprayingratherthanrainpoisononawholefield,whichinvariablyincludesplantsthatdon’thavepest(害虫)problems.

Evenbetter,Paley’sRemoteScanningServicesCompanycoulddetectcropproblemsbeforethey

becamevisibletotheeye.Mountedonaplaneflownat3,000feetatnight,aninfraredscannermeasuredtheheatemittedbycrops.Thedataweretransformedintoacolor-codedmapshowingwhereplantswererunning“fevers”.Farmerscouldthenspot-spray,using50to70percentlesspesticidethantheyotherwisewould.

ThebadnewsisthatPaley’scompanycloseddownin1984,afteronlythreeyears.Farmersresistedthenewtechnologyandlong-termbackerswerehardtofind.Butwiththerenewedconcernaboutpesticidesonproduce,andrefinementsininfraredscanning,Paleyhopestogetbackintooperation.Agricultureexpertshavenodoubtthetechnologyworks.“Thistechniquecanbeusedon75percentofagriculturallandintheUnitedStates,”saysGeorgeQertherofTexasA&M.RayJackson,whorecentlyretiredformtheDepartmentofAgriculture,thinksremoteinfraredcropscannigcouldbeadoptedbytheendofthedecade.ButonlyifPaleyfindsthefinancialbackingwhichhefailedtoobtain10yearsago.

13○

Foryears,doctorsadvisedtheirpatientsthattheonlythingtakingmultivitaminsdoesisgivingthemexpensiveurine(尿).Afterall,truevitamindeficienciesarepracticallyunheardofinidustrialized

countries.Nowitseemsthosedoctorsmayhavebeenwrong.Theresultsofagrowingnumberofstudies

suggestthatevenamodestvitaminshortfallcanbeharmfultoyourhealth.Althoughproofofthebenefitsofmultivitaminsisstillfarfromcertain,thefewdollarsyouspendonthemisprobablyagoodinvestment.