北京市高考英語閱讀
1. 2020年高考英語北京卷 - 閱讀理解D
Certain forms of AI are indeed becoming ubiquitous. For example, algorithms carry out huge volumes of trading on our financial markets, self-driving cars are appearing on city streets, and our smartphones are translating from one language into another. These systems are sometimes faster and more perceptive than we humans are. But so far that is only true for the specific tasks for which the systems have been designed. That is something that some AI developers are now eager to change.
某些形式的AI （人工智慧）確實正變得無處不在。例如，金融市場上進行大量交易的演算法，出現在城市街道上的自動駕駛汽車，智能手機將一種語言翻譯成另一種語言。這些系統有時比我們人類更快、更敏銳。但到目前為止，這些只適用於系統所設計的特定任務，一些AI開發者正在期待改變。
Some of today's AI pioneers want to move on from today's world of 「weak」 or 「narrow」 AI, to create 「strong」 or 「full」 AI, or what is often called artificial general intelligence (A GI). In some respects, today's powerful computing machines already make our brains look weak. A GI could, its advocates say, work for us around the clock, and drawing on all available data, could suggest solutions to many problems. DM, a company focused on the development of A GI, has an ambition to 「solve intelligence」. 「If we're successful,」 their mission statement reads, 「we believe this will be one of the most important and widely beneficial scientific advances ever made.」
當代一些AI先驅希望從今天的「弱」或「窄」的AI世界中走出來，創造「強」或「全」的AI，也就是通常所說的A GI（人工通用智能）。在某些方面，今天強大的計算機已經讓我們的大腦看起來很弱。A GI的支持者認為A GI可以24小時為我們工作，利用所有可用的數據，可以為許多問題提供解決方案。DM是一家專注於A GI開發的公司，有著「解決智能問題」的雄心。「如果我們成功了，」他們的任務聲明寫道，「我們相信這將是有史以來最重要、最廣泛有益的科學進步之一。」
Since the early days of AI, imagination has outpaced what is possible or even probable. In 1965, an imaginative mathematician called Irving Good predicted the eventual creation of an "ultra-intelligent machine…that can far surpass all the intellectual activities of any man, however clever." Good went on to suggest that 「the first ultra-intelligent machine" could be 「the last invention that man need ever make."
自AI誕生之初，想像力的發展速度已經超過了你的想像。1965年，一位富有想像力的數學家歐文·古德預言，最終將創造出一台「超智能機器……它將遠遠超過人類的所有智能活動，無論多麼聰明。」古德接著表示，「第一台超智能機器」可能是「人類需要創造的最後一項發明」。
Fears about the appearance of bad, powerful, man-made intelligent machines have been reinforced by many works of fiction—Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the Terminator film series, for example. But if AI does eventually prove to be our downfall, it is unlikely to be at the hands of human-shaped forms like these, with recognisably human motivations such as aggression. Instead, I agree with Oxford University philosopher Nick Bostrom, who believes that the heaviest risks from A GI do not come from a decision to turn against mankind but rather from a dogged pursuit of set objectives at the expense of everything else.
人們對於出現強大而又邪惡的人造智能機器的擔憂已經加劇，例如，瑪麗·雪萊的《弗蘭肯斯坦》科幻小說和《終結者》系列電影。但如果最終證明AI 是我們的垮台，它就不太可能掌握在這樣的人形形態手中，而這些形態具有明顯的人類動機，比如敵對行為。相反，我同意牛津大學哲學家尼克·博斯特羅姆的觀點，他認為，A GI帶來的最大風險不是來自於反對人類的決定，而是來自於不惜犧牲一切代價執著地追求既定目標。
The promise and danger of true A GI are great. But all of today's excited discussion about these possibilities presupposes the fact that we will be able to build these systems. And, having spoken to many of the world's foremost AI researchers, I believe there is good reason to doubt that we will see A GI any time soon, if ever.
真正的A GI的前景和危險都是巨大的，但是今天所有關於這些可能性的激動人心的討論都是以我們能夠建立這些系統為前提。而且，在與許多世界上最重要的AI研究人員交談後，我相信有充分的理由懷疑我們是否會很快看到A GI，如果有的話。
2. 2019年高考英語北京卷 - 閱讀理解D
By the end of the century，if not sooner，the world's oceans will be bluer and greener thanks to a warming climate，according to a new study.
根據一項新的研究，到本世紀末，如果沒有更早的話，由於氣候變暖，世界海洋將變得更藍更綠。
At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms called phytoplankton. Because of the way light reflects off the organisms，these phytoplankton create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colour varies from green to blue，depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas，while recing it in other spots，leading to changes in the ocean's appearance.
這種現象的核心是被稱為浮游植物的海洋微生物。由於光從生物體反射的方式，這些浮游植物在海洋表面形成了五顏六色的圖案。海洋的顏色從綠色到藍色不等，這取決於浮游植物的種類和濃度。氣候變化將在某些地區助長浮游植物的生長，而在其他地區則會相反，這導致了海洋外觀的變化。
Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface，where they pull carbon dioxide into the ocean while giving off oxygen. When these organisms die，they bury carbon in the deep ocean，an important process that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerable to the ocean's warming trend. Warming changes key characteristics of the ocean and can affect phytoplankton growth，since they need not only sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow，but also nutrients.
浮游植物生活在海洋表面，在那裡它們將二氧化碳吸入海洋，同時釋放氧氣。當這些生物死亡時，碳就會埋在深海中，這是一個有助於調節全球氣候的重要過程。但浮游植物很容易受到海洋變暖趨勢的影響。變暖改變了海洋的主要特徵，並可能影響浮游植物的生長，因為它們的生長不僅需要陽光和二氧化碳，還需要營養物質。
Stephanie Dutkiewicz，a scientist in MIT's Center for Global Change Science，built a climate model that projects changes to the oceans throughout the century. In a world that warms up by 3℃，it found that multiple changes to the colour of the oceans would occur. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplankton could become even bluer. But in some waters，such as those of the Arctic，a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton，and these areas will turn greener. 「Not only are the quantities of phytoplankton in the ocean changing. 」she said，「but the type of phytoplankton is changing. 」
麻省理工學院全球變化科學中心的科學家斯蒂芬妮·杜特凱維奇建立了一個氣候模型，預測整個世紀海洋的變化。在一個溫度升高3℃的世界裡，會發現海洋的顏色發生多重變化。該模型預測，目前幾乎沒有浮游植物的藍色區域可能會變得更藍。但在一些水域，如北極水域，變暖將使浮游植物生長條件更加成熟，這些地區將變得更加綠色。」不只是海洋中浮游植物的數量在變化，」她說，「浮游植物的種類也正在改變。」
3. 2018年高考英語北京卷 - 閱讀理解C
Plastic-Eating Worms
吃塑料的蠕蟲
Humans proce more than 300 million tons of plastic every year. Almost half of that winds up in landfills， and up to 12 million tons pollute the oceans. So far there is no effective way to get rid of it, but a new study suggests an answer may lie in the stomachs of some hungry worms.
人類每年生產超過3億噸塑料，其中幾乎一半被作為垃圾填埋， 多達1200萬噸污染海洋。目前還沒有有效的方法來消除它，但一項新的研究表明，答案可能在於一些飢餓蠕蟲的胃。
Researchers in Spain and England recently found that the worms of the greater wax moth can break down polyethylene, which accounts for 40% of plastics. The team left 100 wax worms on a commercial polyethylene shopping bag for 12 hours, and the worms consumed and broke down about 92 milligrams, or almost 3% of it. To confirm that the worms' chewing alone was not responsible for the polyethylene breakdown, the researchers made some worms into paste and applied it to plastic films. 14 hours later the films had lost 13% of their mass--apparently broken down by enzymes from the worms' stomachs. Their findings were published in Current Biology in 2017.
西班牙和英國的研究人員最近發現，大蠟螟的蠕蟲可以分解聚乙烯，聚乙烯占塑料的40%。研究小組將100隻蠟蟲蠕蟲放在一個商用聚乙烯購物袋中12小時，這些蠕蟲消耗並分解了約92毫克，約占總量的3%。為了證實蠕蟲的咀嚼並不是聚乙烯分解的原因，研究人員將一些蠕蟲製成糊狀物並將其放置於塑料薄膜。14小時後，這些膠片失去了13%的質量——顯然被蠕蟲胃裡的酶分解了。他們的發現發表在2017年的《當代生物學》上。
Federica Bertocchini, co-author of the study, says the worms' ability to break down their everyday food-beeswax--also allows them to break down plastic. "Wax is a complex mixture, but the basic bond in polyethylene, the carbon-carbon bond, is there as well, "she explains. "The wax worm evolved a method or system to break this bond. "
這項研究的合著者費德麗卡·貝爾托基尼說，蠕蟲分解日常食物——蜂蠟的能力，也可以讓它們分解塑料。「蠟是一種復雜的混合物，但聚乙烯中的基本鍵——碳碳鍵——也存在，」她解釋道，「蠟蟲進化出一種方法或系統來破壞這種鍵。」
Jennifer Debruyn, a microbiologist at the University of Tennessee, who was not involved in the study, says it is not surprising that such worms can break down polyethylene. But compared with previous studies, she finds the speed of breaking down in this one exciting. The next step, DeBruyn says, will be to identify the cause of the breakdown. Is it an enzyme proced by the worm itself or by its gut microbes?
田納西大學的微生物學家詹妮弗·德布魯恩沒有參與這項研究，她說，這種蠕蟲可以破壞聚乙烯，這並不奇怪。但與之前的研究相比，她發現這次研究的分解速度令人興奮。德布魯恩說，下一步將是確定分解原因。這種酶是由蠕蟲自身產生還是腸道微生物產生？
Bertocchini agrees and hopes her team』s findings might one day help employ the enzyme to break down plastics in landfills. But she expects using the chemical in some kind of instrial process-not simply "millions of worms thrown on top of the plastic.」
貝爾托基尼對此表示同意，並希望她的研究小組的發現有朝一日能利用這種酶在垃圾填埋場分解塑料。但她希望在某種工業過程中使用這種化學物質，而不僅僅是將「數百萬只蠕蟲扔在塑料上」。
4. 2020年高考英語北京卷 - 閱讀理解C
For the past five years, Paula Smith, a historian of science, has devoted herself to re-creating long-forgotten techniques. While doing research for her new book, she came across a 16th-century French manuscript consisting of nearly 1,000 sets of instructions, covering subjects from tool making to finding the best sand.
在過去五年裡，科學歷史學家保拉·史密斯一直致力於重現人們早已遺忘的技術。在為她的新書做研究時，她偶然發現了一本16世紀的法國手稿，包括近1000份說明書，涵蓋范圍從工具製作到如何尋找最佳沙子。
The author's intention remains as mysterious as his name; he may have been simply taking notes for his own records. But Smith was struck mainly by the fact that she didn't truly grasp any of the skills the author described. "You simply can't get an understanding of that handwork by reading about it," she says.
作者的意圖如同他的名字一樣神秘；他可能只是在為自己的記錄做筆記。但讓史密斯備受打擊的是，她並沒有真正掌握作者描述的任何技能。「你根本無法通過閱讀來理解手工作品」，她說。
Though Smith did get her hands on the best sand, doing things the old-fashioned way isn't just about playing around with French mud. Reconstructing the work of the craftsmen who lived centuries ago can reveal how they viewed the world, what objects filled their homes, and what went on in the workshops that proced them. It can even help solve present-day problems: In 2015, scientists discovered that a 10th-century English medicine for eve problems could kill a drug-resistant virus.
盡管史密斯確實得到了最好的沙子，但用傳統的方法做事情並不只是玩法國泥。重建生活在幾個世紀前的工匠作品可以揭示他們是如何看待世界，他們的家中裝滿的物品，以及這些物品在作坊里如何進行生產。它甚至可以幫助解決當代問題：2015年，科學家發現，一種用於解決女性問題的10世紀英國葯物可以殺死耐葯病毒。
The work has also brought insights for museums, Smith says. One must know how on object was made in order to preserve it. What's more, reconstructions might be the only way to know what treasures looked like before time wore them down. Scholars have seen this idea in practice with ancient Greek and Roman statues. These sculptures were painted a rainbow of striking colours. We can't appreciate these kinds of details without seeing works of art as they originally appeared-something Smith believes you can do only when you have a road map.
史密斯說，這項工作也為博物館帶來了啟發。為了保存文物，人們必須知道這個物體是如何製作的。更重要的是，重建可能是了解寶藏在時間磨損之前是什麼樣子的唯一途徑。學者們在古希臘和古羅馬雕像的實踐中看到了這種想法，這些雕塑被漆成了鮮艷的彩虹色。如果不看藝術作品最初出現的樣子，我們無法欣賞這些細節——史密斯認為，只有當你有路線圖時，你才能做到這一點。
Smith has put the manuscript's ideas into practice. Her final goal is to link the worlds of art and science back together: She believes that bringing the old recipes to life can help develop a kind of learning that highlights experimentation, teamwork, and problem solving.
史密斯把手稿的想法付諸實踐。她最終的目標是將藝術和科學的世界重新聯系起來：她相信，將古老的食譜帶到生活中有助於發展一種強調實驗、團隊合作和解決問題的學習方式。
Back when science—then called 「the new philosophy」—took shape, academics looked to craftsmen for help in understanding the natural world. Microscopes and telescopes were invented by way of artistic tinkering, as craftsmen experimented with glass to better bend light.
當科學——也就是所謂的「新哲學」——初具雛形時，學術界尋求工匠幫助理解自然世界。正如工匠嘗試用玻璃更好地彎曲光線，顯微鏡和望遠鏡因為藝術修補而發明。
If we can rediscover the values of hands-on experience and craftwork, Smith says, we can marry the best of our modern insights with the handiness of our ancestors.
史密斯說，如果我們能重新發現動手經驗和工藝的價值，我們就能把我們最好的現代洞察力與我們祖先的靈巧結合起來。
5. 2020年高考英語北京卷 - 閱讀理解B
Baggy has become the first dog in the UK—and potentially the world—to join the fight against air pollution by recording pollutant levels near the ground.
Baggy已經成為英國乃至全世界第一隻通過記錄地面附近污染物水平來參與對抗空氣污染的狗。
Baggy wears a pollution monitor on her collar so she can take data measurements close to the ground. Her monitor has shown that air pollution levels are higher closer to ground level, which has helped highlight concerns that babies and young kids may be at higher risk of developing lung problems.
Baggy在衣領上戴著一個污染監測器，這樣她就可以在地面附近進行數據測量。監測器顯示越接近地面，空氣污染水平越高，這有助於突顯人們的擔憂，即嬰幼兒患肺部疾病的風險可能更高。
Conventional air pollution monitors are normally fixed on lampposts at about nine feet in the air. However, since Baggy stands at about the same height as a child in a pushchair, she frequently records pollution levels which are much higher than the data gathered by the Environment A gency.
傳統的空氣污染監測器通常安裝在九英尺高的燈柱上。不過，由於Baggy的身高與嬰兒車里的嬰兒身高差不多, 她記錄的污染水平通常遠高於環境部門所收集的數據。
The doggy data research was the idea of Baggy's 13-year-old owner Tom Hunt and his dad Matt. The English youngster noticed that pollution levels are around two-thirds higher close to the ground than they are in the air at the height where they are recorded by the agency. Tom has since reported the shocking findings to the government in an attempt to emphasise that babies are at higher risk of developing asthma.
用狗做數據研究是Baggy13歲的主人湯姆·亨特和他的父親馬特的想法。這位英國男孩注意到，接近地面的污染水平比機構記錄高度的空氣污染水平高出約三分之二。湯姆後來向政府報告了這一令人震驚的發現，用來強調嬰兒患哮喘的風險更高。
Matt Hunt said he was "very proud" of his son because 「when the boy gets an idea, he keeps his head down and gets on with it, and he really does want to do some good and stop young kids from getting asthma."
馬特·亨特說，他為自己的兒子「感到非常自豪」，因為「當這個男孩有了一個想法時，他會低下頭繼續往下做，他真的想做點好事，阻止小孩子患哮喘。」
「Tom built up a passion for environmental protection at a very early age," Matt added. 「He became very interested in gadgets. A bout one year ago, he got this new piece of tech which is like a test tube. One Sunday afternoon, we went out to do some monitoring, and he said, why don't we put it on Baggy's collar and let her monitor the pollution？'So we did it."
「湯姆在很小的時候就對環保產生了熱情，」馬特補充道，「他對小裝置非常感興趣。」大約一年前，他得到了這項新技術產品，看起來像一隻試管。一個星期天下午，我們出去做了一些監測，他說，我們為什麼不把它戴在Baggy的衣領上，讓她來監測污染呢？於是我們就這樣做了。"
Tom said, "Most of the time, Baggy is just like any other dog. But for the rest of the time she is a super dog, and we are all really proud of her."
湯姆說：「大多數時候，Baggy 和其他狗一樣。但在餘下的時間里，她就是一隻超級狗，我們都為她感到驕傲。」
6. 2011年高考英語北京卷 - 閱讀理解D
As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating and transmission system for the 21th century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the surrounding community. The same is true of big solar plants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around.
在過去的幾個世紀里，隨著美國西部鐵路和高速公路的發展，21世紀一種新的電力發電運輸系統應運而生，無論好壞，都將在西方留下持久的印記。鐵路和公路的真正意義不在於它們對風景的直接物理影響，而在於它們對周圍社區的影響。大型太陽能發電廠和將鋪設的輸電線路也是如此。
The 19th century saw land grants offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land. In much of the West, some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped, and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management. With the completion of the interstate highway system, many of the small towns, which sprang up as railway stops and developed well, have lost their lifeblood and died.
19世紀政府撥地給鐵路公司建造橫貫大陸的鐵路，將公共土地置於私有土地之間。在西部大部分地區，一些鐵路路段已經開發，而另一些尚未開發，在這兩種情況下，土地所有權對土地管理提出了獨特的挑戰。隨著州際公路系統的建成，許多作為鐵路車站而興起並發展良好的小城鎮已經失去了生命力，繼而消逝。
Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the West. This is not an argument against building them. We need alternative energy badly, and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now.
大型太陽能發電廠及其輸電線的影響也將遠遠超出它們在西部的直接影響。這不是反對建造它們的理由。我們迫切需要替代能源，要真正利用它，我們需要比現在更容易地輸送電力。
So trade-offs will have to be made. Some scenic spots will be sacrificed. Some species will be forced to move, or will be carefully moved to special accommodations. Deals will be struck to rece the immediate effects.
因此，必須做出權衡。一些景點將被犧牲，一些物種將被迫搬家，或被小心地轉移到特殊地點。將達成協議以減少直接影響。
The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter. The 21th century development of the American West as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money in the region. There are chances for that power and money to do a lot of good. But it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroads and the highways.
這些權衡的持久影響是另一回事。21世紀，作為替代能源的理想之地美國西部開發將給本地區帶來大量的電力和資金。這種權力和金錢有可能帶來很多好處，但也有可能被浪費掉，並留下新的問題，就像鐵路和公路一樣。
The money set aside in negotiated trade-offs and the institutions that control it will shape the West far beyond the immediate footprint of power plants and transmission lines. So let's remember the effects of the railroads and the highways as we construct these new power plants in the West.
通過談判達成的交易和控制交易的機構所預留的資金，將遠遠超出發電廠和輸電線路的直接影響范圍，開發西部。所以，讓我們記住在西部建設這些新發電廠時對於鐵路和公路的影響。