B KEY→P7
范畴:人与自然 主题:宇宙探索 体裁:说明文 难度:★★★★ 建议用时:7分钟 评价:/4
Is there alien life? It's a question that many people have tried to answer. Now scientists have accepted a new method for finding alien life forms—artificial intelligence(AI). AI is a type of program that allows a computer to learn from experience and perform tasks that usually require human intelligence. AI works by taking in much information, and then making predictions according to it.

The research team used their AI method to study different materials and decide whether they were biotic(of or related to living things) or abiotic. The AI was also able to tell whether a biotic sample was currently living or a fossil. To train the AI program, the researchers gave it information on 134 biotic and abiotic materials. The program then used the knowledge to tell whether things like human hair, bones, teeth, leaves, coal, and chemicals were alive or not. The team said the AI was 90% correct.
The scientists also think the AI tool could discover alien life forms, even though conditions for life are different on other planets. "We may be able to find a life form from another planet ... even if it is very different from the life we know on the earth," said Robert Hazen. "If we do find signs of life elsewhere, we can tell if life on the earth and other planets came from a common origin or different origins."
For now, though, the team pays attention to ancient rock samples from the earth to learn more about life on our own planet and where it came from. For example, the tool could be used to deal with a disagreement among scientists about 3.5 billion-year-old rocks from Western Australia. Some experts believe they include the earth's oldest fossil samples of microbes, but others think the rocks just have unusual patterns and have nothing to do with ancient life.
AI could also be used to examine samples from Mars collected by the Perseverance rover. NASA put this wheeled robot on the red planet to search for evidence that Mars has the right conditions to support life. Perseverance is collecting rock samples that will be brought to the earth in 2033.
()1. Which of the following ISN'T mentioned in Paragraph 1?
A. What AI is.
B. How AI works.
C. When AI appeared.
D. What scientists use AI for.
()2. 新考法·组合选择 Which of the following are scientists' opinions about the 3.5 billion-year-old rocks?
① There are signs of life in the rocks.
② There are just special patterns on the rocks.
③ There is nothing meaningful about the rocks.
④ There are the earth's oldest fossil samples of microbes in the rocks.
A. ②④
B. ①③
C. ①②
D. ③④
()3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. Humans will build new homes on Mars and live there happily.
B. Humans will get to Mars with the help of artificial intelligence.
C. Scientists will find a proper environment for human life on Mars.
D. Scientists will be closer to knowing if there are living things on Mars.
()4. Which is the structure of this passage?
A. ①/②/③/④/⑤
B. ①/②③/④⑤
C. ①②/③④/⑤
D. ①/②③④⑤

外星生命真的存在吗？科学家们可以利用人工智能检测来自地球的古代岩石标本与“毅力号”火星车从火星上收集的标本，他们试图利用人工智能寻找外星生命的存在形式。
1. C 推理判断题。由“... scientists have accepted a new method for finding alien life forms ... AI is a type of program ... AI works by taking in much information ...”可知，第一段未提及 AI 是什么时候出现的。
2. A 组合选择题。由第四段中“Some experts believe they include the earth's oldest fossil samples of microbes, but others think the rocks just have unusual patterns ...”可知，有人认为岩石上只有一些特殊的图案，也有人相信在岩石中有地球上最古老的微生物化石标本。
3. D 推理判断题。由最后一段中“... put this wheeled robot on the red planet to search for evidence that Mars has the right conditions to support life.”可推知，(借助人工智能)科学家们将更接近于知道火星上是否有生物。
4. B 篇章结构题。全文采用“总—分—总”结构：第一段总起，第二、三段详细介绍人工智能的工作原理、训练过程，以及它在识别外星生命、探究生命起源方面的作用，第四、五段说明人工智能目前在地球古生物研究中的应用，以及未来在火星样本分析中的前景，是对 AI 应用价值的总结与拓展。