Question

【題目】Have you ever imagined traveling 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 Alec 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 firmly hold the idea that this technology is approaching and they’re wondering if their kids should even learn a second language.

It’s true that an increase in the quantity and accuracy of the data loaded into computers will 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 (同義詞) 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 be very skeptical of a machine that is unable to interpret 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 interpreting meaning using a natural language, a machine will never fully take our place.

【1】What view does the author hold about translation?

A. Proper translation can be tough for humans.

B. Slight differences matter little in translation.

C. Some machines will interpret our world properly.

D. Cultures deserve more attention than words used.

【2】What is the best title for the text?

A. An Expert’s Precise Prediction

B. The Complexity of Translation

C. Who Will Be a Better Translator

D. Will Language Barrier Actually Disappear?

【3】What is the author’s attitude to the modem technology?

A. Unclear B. Objective

C. Optimistic D. Negative.

【4】In which column can you read the article in a newspaper?

A. Language Learning. B. Comments on hot issues.

C. Science Development. D. Translation tips.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】D

【3】D

【4】B

【解析】文章介紹了對(duì)新科技翻譯耳機(jī)的優(yōu)缺點(diǎn)，表達(dá)了人們對(duì)此不同的觀點(diǎn)。

【1】A

推理判斷題。根據(jù)第四段Rather, it’s about translating meaning.和第五段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.可知翻譯不是簡(jiǎn)單的詞語(yǔ)羅列，它涉及到意義、聲音、姿勢(shì)、狀況、文化背景等許多方面。所以恰當(dāng)翻譯很難，故選A.

【2】D

主旨大意題。隨著科技發(fā)展，有人預(yù)測(cè)將來(lái)不同語(yǔ)言的人交流通過(guò)專門的翻譯耳機(jī)進(jìn)行。作者對(duì)此懷疑，認(rèn)為翻譯是復(fù)雜的事，涉及到多方面的影響。D項(xiàng)：語(yǔ)言障礙真的會(huì)消失嗎？概括全文，表達(dá)了作者的疑問(wèn)，適合作為文章標(biāo)題，故選D.

【3】D

推理判斷題。作者認(rèn)為翻譯不是簡(jiǎn)單的詞語(yǔ)羅列，它涉及到意義、聲音、姿勢(shì)、狀況、文化背景等許多方面�，F(xiàn)代科技翻譯耳機(jī)做不到準(zhǔn)確翻譯句子的含義，所以作者對(duì)此持否定態(tài)度，故選D.

【4】B

推理判斷題。文章是對(duì)新科技翻譯耳機(jī)的優(yōu)缺點(diǎn)介紹，表達(dá)了人們的不同觀點(diǎn)。本文應(yīng)出自熱點(diǎn)問(wèn)題評(píng)論欄目，故選B.