2021年河北衡水高中英语新高考外刊作文素材阅读讲义（023）（积累词汇、提升阅读理解写作能力）

2021 年河北衡水高中英语新高考外刊作文素材阅读讲义（023） Technology politics Playing with fire Google runs into more flak on artificial intelligence 技术政治 玩火 谷歌在人工智能领域遭遇更多抨击 flak /flæk/ N-UNCOUNT If you get a lot of flak from someone, they criticize you severely. If you take flak, you get the blame for something. 抨击 [非正式] 例： The president is getting a lot of flak for that. 总统因为那件事正在遭受猛烈抨击。 run into more flak on sth 在...领域遭受更多的抨击 DISCOVERING and harnessing fire unlocked （ 用 得 好 ） more nutrition from food, feeding the bigger brains and bodies that are the hallmarks of（...的标志） modern humans. Google ’ s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, thinks his company ’ s development of artificial intelligence trumps（胜过，用得好） that. “AI is one of the most important things that humanity is working on, ” he told an event in California earlier this year. “It’s more profound than, I don’t know, electricity or fire.” hallmark /ˈhɔːlˌmɑːk/ ( hallmarks ) N-COUNT The hallmark of something or someone is their most typical quality or feature. 标志; 特征 例： It's a technique that has become the hallmark of Amber Films. 这是一项已成为安伯电影公司标志的技术。 harness /ˈhɑːnɪs/ CET4 TEM8 ( harnessing, harnessed, harnesses ) V-T If you harness something such as an emotion or natural source of energy, you bring it under your control and use it. 利用 例： Turkey plans to harness the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for big hydro-electric power projects. 土耳其计划利用底格里斯河与幼发拉底河的水来建造大型水力发电工程。 火的发现和利用让人类从食物中获得了更多的营养，来供养更大的大脑和身体这些现 代人类的标志。谷歌的首席执行官桑达尔·皮查伊（Sundar Pichai）认为，他的公司对人 工智能（AI）的开发比火的意义还要大。“AI 是人类正在做的最重要的事情之一，”今年早 些时候他在加州的一次活动上说，“我猜，它的影响比电或火更加深远。” Hyperbolic analogies aside, Google ’ s AI techniques are becoming more powerful and more important to its business. But its use of AI is also generating controversy, both among its employees and the wider AI community. hyperbolic /ˌhaɪpəˈbɒlɪk/ ADJ If you describe language as hyperbolic, you mean that it makes something sound much more impressive than it really is. 运用夸张法的; 夸张的 [正式] [usu ADJ n] 撇开这种夸张的类比不说，谷歌的 AI 技术确实正变得愈发强大，对其业务也愈加重 要。但它对 AI 的应用也引发了争议，无论是在其员工内部还是在更广泛的 AI 圈里。 One recent clash has centred on( 句 型 ) Google ’ s work with America ’ s Department of Defence (DoD) （ 美 国 国 防 部 ） . Under a contract signed in 2017 with the DoD, Google offers AI services, namely computer vision（计算机视觉）, to analyse military images（分析军事图像）. This might well improve the accuracy of strikes by military drones（军用无人机）. Over the past month or so thousands of Google employees, including Jeff Dean, the firm ’ s AI chief, have signed a petition protesting against the work; at least 12 have resigned. On June 1st the boss of its cloud business（云计算业务主管）, Diane Greene, conceded to those employees that the firm would not renew the contract （ 续 签 合 同 ） when it expires （到期）next year. clash 英 [klæʃ] 美 [klæʃ] n. 冲突namely 英 ['neɪmlɪ] 美 ['nemli] adv. 也就是；即是；换句话说 strike N-COUNT A military strike is a military attack, especially an air attack. 袭击 例： ...a punitive air strike. …一次惩罚性空袭。 concede [kən'si:d] vt. 承认，认以为真： This dictionary is generally conceded to be the best in China. 这部词典普遍被认为是中国最好的词典。 承认失败，认输；放弃…希望： He conceded the election to his opponents. 他承认他在竞选中输给对手。 最近的一次争论围绕谷歌与美国国防部的合作展开。2017 年谷歌与国防部签署合同， 为其提供名为计算机视觉的 AI 服务，用来分析军事图像。这很可能会提高军用无人机打 击的精准度。在过去一个月左右的时间里，包括谷歌 AI 主管杰夫·迪恩（Jeff Dean）在内 的数千名公司员工签署了一份反对这项工作的请愿书，已有至少 12 人辞职。6 月 1 日， 谷歌云计算业务主管戴安·格林（Diane Greene）向这些员工做出让步，表示明年这份与 国防部的合同到期时将不再续签。The tech giant （科技巨头）also published a set of seven principles which it promises will guide its use of AI. These included statements that the technology should be “socially beneficial” and “built and tested for safety”（开发及测试均以 安全为导向）. More interesting still was （句型）what Google said it would not do. It would “proceed only where we believe that the benefits substantially outweigh the risks,” it stated. It eschewed the future supply of AI services to power smart weapons or norm-violating ( 违 反 普 遍 准 则 的 )surveillance techniques. It would, though, keep working with the armed forces in other capacities.（在其他领域） substantially /səbˈstænʃəlɪ/ ADV If something changes substantially or is substantially different, it changes a lot or is very different. 很大程度地 [正式] 例： The percentage of girls in engineering has increased substantially. 工科女生的比例已经大大增长了。 eschew 英 [ɪs'tʃuː; es-] 美 [ɪsˈtʃuː] vt. 避免；避开；远避 proceed If an activity, process, or event proceeds, it goes on and does not stop. (活动、 过程、事件等) 继续 例：The ideas were not new. Their development had proceeded steadily since the war. 这些想法并不新。它们的发展自开战以来一直在稳步地继续。 armed forces 武装部队；陆海空三军 这家科技巨头还发布了七大原则，承诺将以此指导公司对 AI 的应用。其中包括 AI 技 术应该“对社会有益”、“开发及测试要以安全为导向”。更有趣的是谷歌称自己不会去做的 事。它表示将“只在我们确信好处大大超过风险的领域继续推进 AI”。它还表示，未来不会 提供 AI 服务来支持智能武器或违反普遍准则的监视技术。不过，它仍将在其他领域继续 与军方合作。 Google ’ s retreat comes partly because its AI talent(AI 人 才 ) hails overwhelmingly from the computer-science departments （ 计 算 机 系 ） of American universities, notes Jeremy Howard, founder of Fast.ai, an AI research institute. Many bring liberal, anti-war views from academia with them, which can put them in direct opposition with the firm in some areas. Since AI talent is scarce, the firm has to pay heed to the principles of its boffins, at least to some extent. hail from Someone who hails from a particular place was born there or lives there. 出 生于 [正式] 例： He hails from Memphis. 他出生于孟菲斯。note If you note something, you mention it in order to draw people's attention to it. 提到 例： The report notes that export and import volumes picked up in leading economies. 该报道提到主要经济大国的进出口额增加了。 academia 英 [,ækə'diːmɪə] 美 [,ækə'dimɪə] n. 学术界；学术生涯 heed If you take heed of what someone says or if you pay heed to them, you pay attention to them and consider carefully what they say. 注意 [正式] 例： But what if the government takes no heed? 但要是政府不理会该怎么办呢？ boffin 英 ['bɒfɪn] 美 n. 研究员；科学工作者 AI 研究机构 Fast.ai 的创始人杰里米·霍华德（Jeremy Howard）指出，谷歌做出让 步一定程度上是因为它的 AI 人才大多来自美国各大高校的计算机系。许多人从学术界带来了自由、反战的观点，这可能会令他们在某些领域与公司直接对立。由于 AI 人才稀缺， 谷歌必须认真理会技术专家们的这些信条，至少在一定程度上得如此。 Military work is not the only sticking-point for Google’s use of AI. On June 7th a batch of patent applications（专利申请） made by DeepMind, a London-based sister company （ 姊 妹 公 司 ） , were made public. The reaction was swift. Many warned that the patents would have a chilling effect on （寒蝉效应，见精读第四十 篇 的 倒 数 第 二 段 ） other innovators in the field. The patents have not yet been granted—indeed, they may not be—but the request flies in the face of (公然违抗， 好 短 语 )the AI community’ s accepted norms of openness and tech-sharing, says Miles Brundage, who studies AI policy at the University of Oxford. The standard defence offered on behalf of Google is that it does not have a history of patent abuse, and that it files them defensively in order to protect itself from future patent trolls. DeepMind’s patent strategy is understood to be chiefly defensive in nature. sticking point ( sticking points ) N-COUNT A sticking point in a discussion or series of negotiations is a point on which the people involved cannot agree and which may delay or stop the talks. A sticking point is also one aspect of a problem which you have trouble dealing with. 症结; 难点 例： The main sticking point was the question of taxes. 主要的症结是税收问题。a batch of 一批 A batch of things or people is a group of things or people of the same kind, especially a group that is dealt with at the same time or is sent to a particular place at the same time. (一) 批 例： ...the current batch of trainee priests. …当前的这一批受训牧师。 例： She brought a large batch of newspaper clippings. 她带来一大批剪报。 例： I baked a batch of cookies. 我烤了一批小甜饼。 fly in the face of 悍然不顾，公然违抗；诋毁 standard 英 ['stændəd] 美 ['stændɚd] n. 标准；水准；旗；度量衡标准 adj. 标准的；合规格的；公认为优秀的 n. (Standard)人名；(英)斯坦达德；(德)施坦达德 file a patent 申请专利 patent troll专利流氓，专利地痞 专利蟑螂(Patent Trolls)是一种专门依赖挥舞专利诉讼大棒而非开发或使用专利而获 利的公司。 军事项目并不是谷歌运用 AI 的唯一分歧点所在。6 月 7 日，它位于伦敦的姊妹公司 DeepMind 的一批专利申请被公开。各方迅速作出反应。许多人警告说，这些专利会对该 领 域 的 其 他 创 新 者 产 生 寒 蝉 效 应 。 牛 津 大 学 研 究 AI 政 策 的 迈 尔 斯 · 布 伦 戴 奇 （ Miles Brundage）表示，这些专利尚未获批，实际上可能也不会获批，但是这些申请公然违反 了 AI 圈开放与技术共享的公认准则。那些为谷歌说话的人提出的理由都围绕着一点：谷 歌 不 曾 滥 用 专 利 权 ， 它 是 为 防 范 未 来 遭 专 利 流 氓 侵 扰 而 做 出 的 防 御 举 动 。 他 们 认 为 DeepMind 的专利战略在本质上主要是防御性的。 Whatever Google ’ s intent, there are signs that the homogeneity of the AI community may lessen in future. New paths are being created to join the AI elite, other than (除了)a PhD in computer science. Hopefuls can take vocational courses （职业教程）offered by firms such as Udacity, an online-education firm; the tech giants also offer residencies（培训项目） to teach AI techniques to workers from different backgrounds. That might just lead to a less liberal, less vocal AI community. If so, such courses might serve corporate interests(服务于公司利益) in more ways than one.（在很多方面） homogeneity /ˌhəʊməʊdʒɪˈniːɪtɪ/ TEM8 N-UNCOUNT Homogeneity is the quality of being homogeneous. 质 量 一 致 [正式]hopefuls n. 有希望获得成功的人；种子选手（hopeful 的复数） vocal You say that people are vocal when they speak forcefully about something that they feel strongly about. 直言不讳的 例： He has been very vocal in his displeasure over the results. 他直言不讳地说出了对结果的不满。 无论谷歌的意图如何，有迹象表明 AI 圈的同质性在未来可能有所减弱。除了拿到计 算机科学的博士学位，一些跻身 AI 精英圈子的新途径正被开拓出来。种子选手们可以选 择在线教育公司优达学城（Udacity）等企业提供的职业课程；科技巨头们也提供培训项 目，向不同背景的员工教授 AI 技术。这可能会导致 AI 圈变得不那么自由开放，也没那么 勇于发声。如果是这样，那么这些课程可能会在很多方面都为公司的利益服务。