Text: ROBOTS
A scientist said robots will be more intelligent than humans by 2029. The scientist's name is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as Director of Engineering. He is one of the world's leading experts on artificial intelligence (A.I.). Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from experiences, just like humans. He also thinks they will be able to tell jokes and stories, and even flirt. Kurzweil's 2029 prediction is a lot sooner than many people thought. The scientist said that in 1999, many A.I. experts said it would be hundreds of years before a computer was more intelligent than a human. He said that it would not be long before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful than the human brain
Mr Kurzweil joked that many years ago, people thought he was a little crazy for predicting computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking has stayed the same but everyone else has changed the way they think. He said: "My views are not radical any more. I've actually stayed consistent. It's the rest of the world that's changing its view." He highlighted examples of high-tech things we use, see or read about every day. These things make us believe that computers have intelligence. He said people think differently now: "Because the public has seen things like Siri [the iPhone's voice-recognition technology] where you talk to a computer; they've seen the Google self-driving cars."
Source:
Reading Comprehension
1. Read the headline and decide whether a-h below are true (T) or false (F):
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| a. | This research is from a scientist from Google. | T / F |
| b. | The article says the scientist is an expert on jokes around the world. | T / F |
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| c. | Many people thought robots would be smarter than humans in 1999. | T / F |
| d. | The scientist believes computers will be a billion times smarter than us. | T / F |
| e. | Most people now think about robots more like the scientist does. | T / F |
| f. | The scientist said his views about robots are more radical than ever. | T / F |
| g. | The scientist said our everyday things show us computer intelligence. | T / F |
| h. | The article says Siri is the name of Google's self-driving cars. | T / F |
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2. Match the words on the right to their synonyms from the article.
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| 1. | more intelligent | a. | mad |
| 2. | leading | b. | strong |
| 3. | experiences | c. | forecast |
| 4. | prediction | d. | pointed to |
| 5. | powerful | e. | smarter |
| 6. | crazy | f. | way of thinking |
| 7. | thinking | g. | events |
| 8. | view | h. | top |
| 9. | highlighted | i. | people |
| 10. | the public | j. | Opinions |
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3. Match the phrases. Sometimes more than one choice is possible.
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| 1. | robots will be more | a. | differently now |
| 2. | the world's leading experts | b. | recognition technology |
| 3. | a lot sooner than | c. | brain |
| 4. | He said that it would | d. | has stayed the same |
| 5. | the human | e. | many people thought |
| 6. | His thinking | f. | on artificial intelligence |
| 7. | It's the rest of the | g. | not be long |
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| 8. | He said people think | h. | driving cars |
| 9. | iPhone's voice- | i. | world that's changing |
| 10. | the Google self- | j. | intelligent than humans |
4. Fill in the gaps with the suitable words
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| A scientist said (1) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ will be more intelligent than humans by 2029. The scientist's name is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as (2) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ of Engineering. He is one of the world's (3) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ experts on artificial intelligence (A.I.). Mr Kurzweil believes computers will be able to learn from (4) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, just like humans. He also thinks they will be able to (5) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ jokes and stories, and even flirt. Kurzweil's 2029 prediction is a lot (6) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ than many people thought. The scientist said that in 1999, many A.I. (7) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ said it would be hundreds of years before a computer was more intelligent than a human. He said that it would not be long before computer intelligence is one billion times more powerful than the human (8) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. | | sooner brain Director tell robots experts leading experiences |
| Mr Kurzweil joked that many years ago, people thought he was a little crazy for (9) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ computers would be as intelligent as humans. His thinking has stayed the same but everyone (10) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ has changed the way they think. He said: "My views are not radical any more. I've actually (11) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ consistent. It's the (12) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ of the world that's changing its view." He highlighted examples of (13) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ things we use, see or read about every day. These things make us believe that computers have (14) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. He said people think differently now: "Because the (15) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ has seen things like Siri [the iPhone's voice-recognition technology] where you talk to a computer; they've seen the Google (16) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_-driving cars." | | intelligence rest else self predicting public stayed high-tech |