Passage 3
The three biggest lies in America are: (1) "The check is in the mail." (2) "Of course I‘ll expect you in the morning. " (3) "It was a computer error."
Of these three little white lies, the worst of the lot by far is the third. It‘s the only one that can never be true. Today, if a bank statement cheats you out of $900 that way,you know what the clerk is sure to say: "t was a computer error." Nonsense. The computer is reporting nothing more than what the clerk typed into it.
The most irritating case of all is when the computerized cash register in the grocery store shows that an item costs more than it actually does. If the innocent buyer points out the mistake, the checker, bagger and manager all come together and offer the familiar explanation: "It was a computer error."
It wasn‘t, of course. That high-tech cash register is really nothing more than an electric eye. The eye reads the Universal Product Code-that ribbon of black and white lines on the package"and then checks the code against a price list stored in memory. If the price list is right, you‘ll be charged accurately.
Grocery stores update the price list each day-that is,somebody sits at a keyboard and types in the prices. If the price they type in is too high, there are only two explanations: carelessness or dishonesty. But somehow "a computer error" is supposed to excuse everything.
One reason we let people hide behind a computer is the common misperception that huge, modern computers are "electric brains" with "artificial intelligence." At some point there might be a machine with intelligence, but none exists today. The smartest computer on Earth right now is no more "intelligent" than your average screwdriver. At this point in the development of computers, the only thing any machine can do is what a human has instructed it to do.
We are told that a high-tech cash register is really just _____.
细节题。 根据文章第四段第二句"That high-tech cash register is really nothing more than an electric eye."可知， 高科技收银机实际上只是一个电动的眼睛而已。 答案选A项。
Grocery store price lists are updated by _____.
细节题。 根据文章倒数第二段第一句"Grocery stores update the price list each day-that is, somebody sits at a keyboard and types in the prices"可知， 更新商品的价目是由人操作完成的。 故选D项。
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
细节题。 根据文章最后一段倒数第一、 二句"The smartest computer on Earth right now is no more "intelligent" than your average screwdriver…the only thing any machine can do is what a human has instructed it to do."可知， 现在最先进的电脑也只是和普通的螺丝刀一样智能， 都是执行人类下达的指令。 也就是说， 现如今并不存在可以脱离人工操作的智能电脑。 故选C项。
Which of the following describes the main idea of the passage?
主旨题。 可以通过排除法找到答案。 由倒数第二段第一句"GroceryMstores update the price list each day-that is, somebody sits at a keyboard and types in the prices"可知C项错误； 由第二句"If the price they type in is too high, there are only two explanations: carelessness or dishonesty."可知， 价目出错是因为不诚实或者粗心大意， D项错误； 文章并非在痛斥电脑的性能， 其真正目的是揭示"电脑出现故障"这一借口实际上是人为错误造成的， 所以A项错误。 故选B项。
What would the next paragraph most probably deal with?
推理题。 文章目的在于揭示电脑错误是人工错误的借口。 所以作者接下来会进一步论证这一观点。 故选A项。