2.We humans are imperfect beings tending to make mistakes and basic errors of judgment.So we create technologies to help ourselves out.
Take the self-driving cars for example.The belief here is that the technology will improve safety.But this is a very bold assumption to make at this stage in its development,as the evidence to support the view simply is not there yet.The best data we have comes from tests conc1ucted over the course of 2016in California,a state which,it must be remembered,has a mild climate hardly representing global driving conditions.
Google's Waymo scored best,with one human intervention(介入)every 5,127 miles driven.This was an improvement on the year before,but nowhere near perfect.In all,Waymo's 60 testing vehicles drove about 10,597 miles in 2016-3,000 miles less than the annual US average per vehicle.Tesla performed much worse.The electric vehicle maker's four cars were tested on average 137 miles each that year,meeting with 45 human interventions per vehicle-or one roughly every three miles.Each Intervention represents an accident which was potentially avoided.
Given that most industry watchers believe the public will not tolerate any faults at all,none of this is encouraging.It is certainly true that the technology is improving.But it is also the case that self-driving cars have been around since the mid-1990s,with one vehicle achieving a 98.2 percent"autonomous driving percentage"even back then.
Even if the technical challenges can be overcome,unexpected negative externalities(外在因素)probably cannot.And we surely would not want to risk that when driving.
28.What does the underlined word"bold"in Paragraph 2mean?C
A.black
B.ridiculous
C.daring
D.perfect
29.What can we learn from the self-driving tests in Paragraph 3?A
A.Human interventions are unavoidable.
B.Waymo's cars could drive farther than Tesla's.
C.Electric vehicles need fewer human interventions.
D.Each intervention caused an accident.
30.What is the author's attitude to self-driving cars?B
A.It's unbearable.
B.It's sceptical.
C.It's very economical.
D.It's very encouraging.
31.What may be the best title for this passage?D
A.Can self-driving improve test skills?
B.Self-driving:Costly or not?
C.Can self-driving represent new technology?
D.Self-driving:Reliable or not?
分析 文章通过一些实际调查举例讲述了自驾车的发展,以及未来使用自驾车的有关讨论.
解答 28.C 词意猜测题.根据文章第二段第二句"But this is a very bold assumption to make at this stage in its development,as the evidence to support the view simply is not there yet"但是,这是一个非常大胆的假设,在这个阶段的发展,因为证据支持这种观点,只是还没有,故这个单词在这里的含义为大胆的.故选C.
29.A 细节理解题.根据文章第三段"Waymo's 60 testing vehicles drove about 10,597 miles in 2016-3,000 miles less than the annual US average per vehicle.Tesla performed much worse.The electric vehicle maker's four cars were tested on average 137 miles each that year,"Waymo的60个测试车辆比美国平均每辆车每年少2016-3000英里10597英里.特斯拉电动汽车的表现更为糟糕.制造商的四辆汽车平均137英里每一年的测试,可知B、C项不正确,"Each Intervention represents an accident which was potentially avoided."每一次干预都是一次可能避免的事故,可知D项不正确.故选A.
30.B 细节理解题.根据最后一段",unexpected negative externalities(外在因素)probably cannot.And we surely would not want to risk that when driving."意料之外的负外部性可能无法去除,我们当然不想在开车的时候冒这个险.故选B.
31.D 标题概括题.文章通过一些实际调查举例讲述了自驾车的发展,以及未来使用自驾车的有关讨论.结合选项标题为Self-driving:Reliable or not?最佳.故选D.
点评 本文是一个科教类阅读理解,题目涉及多道细节理解题,做题时结合原文和题目有针对性的找出相关语句进行仔细分析,结合选项选出正确答案.推理判断题也是要在抓住关键句子的基础上合理的分析才能得出正确答案,切忌胡乱猜测,一定要做到有理有据.