In the 1950s, the pioneers of artificial intelligence (AI) predicted that, by the end of this century, computers would be conversing with us at work and robots would be performing our housework. But as useful as computers are, they're nowhere close to achieving anything remotely resembling these early aspirations for humanlike behavior. Never mind something as complex as conversation: the most powerful computers struggle to reliably recognize the shape of an object, the most elementary of tasks for a ten-month-old kid.
    A growing group of AI researchers think they know where the field went wrong. The problem, the scientists say, is that AI has been trying to separate the highest, most abstract levels of thought, like language and mathematics, and to duplicate them with logical, step-by-step programs. A new movement in AI, on the other hand, takes a closer look at the more roundabout way in which nature came up with intelligence. Many of these researchers study evolution and natural adaptation instead of formal logic and conventional computer programs. Rather than digital computers and transistors, some want to work with brain cells and proteins. The results of these early efforts are as promising as they are peculiar, and the new nature-based AI movement is slowly but surely moving to the forefront of the field.
    Imitating the brain's neural network is a huge step in the right direction, says computer scientist and biophysicist Michael Conrad, but it still misses an important aspect of natural intelligence. 'People tend to treat the brain as if it were made up of color-coded transistors', he explains, 'but it's not simply a clever network of switches. There are lots of important things going on inside the brain cells themselves.' Specifically, Conrad believes that many of the brain's capabilities stem from the pattern recognition proficiency of the individual molecules that make up each brain cell. The best way to build an artificially intelligent device, he claims, would be to build it around the same sort of molecular skills.
    Right now, the notion that conventional computers and software are fundamentally incapable of matching the processes that take place in the brain remains controversial. But if it proves true, then the efforts of Conrad and his fellow AI rebels could turn out to be the only game in town.
单选题     The author says that the powerful computers of today ______.
 
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】 根据第一段最后一句话“Never mind something as complex as conversation:…”机器人不会同我们交流，这是一件很复杂的事情。故答案是D，机器人不能用人类的语言同我们交流。
单选题     The new trend in artificial intelligence research stems from ______.
 
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】 根据第二段第二句话“The problem, the scientists say, is that AI has been trying to separate the highest, most abstract levels of thought, like language and mathematics, and to duplicate them with logical, step-by-step programs.”科学家们说，问题在于人工智能一直都在致力于将数学与语言这样最高级最抽象的思想分离开来，也不能用有逻辑的，按部就班的程序将其复制。所以新的趋势出现的原因就是人们发现了这一问题。
单选题     Conrad and his group of AI researchers have been making enormous efforts to ______.
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】 根据第二段的第四句话“Many of these researchers study evolution and natural adaptation instead of formal logic and conventional computer programs.”许多研究人员研究进化和自然选择，而不是形式上的逻辑以及传统的计算机程序。故答案是C，研究智力是如何自然发展的。
单选题     What's the author's opinion about the new AI movement? ______
 
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】 根据倒数第二段的第一句话“Imitating the brain's neural network is a huge step in the right direction, says computer scientist and biophysicist Michael Conrad…”科学家和生物物理学家Michael Conrad说，模仿大脑的神经网络系统说明我们已经朝着正确方向迈开了一大步。
单选题     Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase 'the only game in town' (Para. 4)? ______
 
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】 根据倒数第二段最后一句话“The best way to build an artificially intelligent device, he claims, would be to build it around the same sort of molecular skills.”制造出人工智能设备最好的方法就是用同一种分子技能。接下来一段作者说传统的计算机和程序能不能按照大脑的程序来运作，尚有争议，如果不能的话，那么Conrad的方法就是制造人工智能的唯一方法。