单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} Good looks ,the video-games industry is discovering ,will get you only so far. The graphics on a modern game may far outstrip the pixellated blobs of the 1980s, but there is more to a good game than eye candy. Photo-realistic graphics make the lack of authenticity of other aspects of gameplay more apparent. It is not enough for game characters to look better—their behaviour must also be more sophisticated, say researchers working at the interface between gaming and artificial intelligence(AI). Today' s games may look better, but the gameplay is " basically the same" as it was a few years ago, says Michael Mateas, the founder of the Experimental Game Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. AI, he suggests, offers an" untapped frontier" of new possibilities. "We are topping out on the graphics, so what's going to be the next thing that improves game-play?" asks John Laird, director of the AI lab at the University of Michigan. Improved AI is a big part of the answer, he says. Those in the industry agree. The high-definition graphics possible on next-generation games consoles, such as Microsoft' s Xbox 360, are raising expectations across the board, says Neil Young of Electronic Arts, the world' s biggest games publisher. "You have to have high-resolution models, which requires high-resolution animation," he says," so now I expect high-resolution behaviour." Representatives from industry and academia will converge in Marina del Rey, California, later this month for the second annual Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment(AIIDE) conference. The aim, says Dr Laird, who will chair the event, is to increase the traffic of people and ideas between the two spheres. "Games have been very important to AI through the years," he notes. Alan Turing, one of the pioneers of computing in the 1940s, wrote a simple chess-playing program before there were any computers to run it on; he also proposed the Turing test, a question-and-answer game that is a yardstick for machine intelligence. Even so, AI research and video games existed in separate worlds until recently. The AI techniques used in games were very simplistic from an academic perspective, says Dr. Mateas, while AI researchers were, in turn, clueless about modern games. But, he says, " both sides are learning, and are now much closer." Consider, for example, the software that controls an enemy in a first-person shooter (FPS)—a game in which the player views the world along the barrel of a gun. The behaviour of enemies used to be pre-scripted: wait until the player is nearby, pop up from behind a box, fire weapon, and then roll and hide behind another box, for example. But some games now use far more advanced" planning systems" imported from academia. "Instead of scripts and hand-coded behaviour, the AI monsters in an FPS can reason from first principles, "says Dr. Mateas. They can, for example, work out whether the player can see them or not, seek out cover when injured, and so on. "Rather than just moving between predefined spots, the characters in a war game can dynamically shift, depending on what' s happening," says Fiona Sperry of Electronic Arts. If the industry is borrowing ideas from academia, the opposite is also true. Commercial games such as" Unreal Tournament", which can be easily modified or scripted, are being adopted as research tools in universities, says Dr. Laird. Such tools provide flexible environments for experiments, and also mean that students end up with transferable skills. But the greatest potential lies in combining research with game development, argues Dr. Mateas. "Only by wrestling with real content are the technical problems revealed, and only by wrestling with technology does it give you insight into what new kinds of content are possible, "he says.

单选题Brain Cohen was an unusual kid. While other first-graders were outside playing, he was writing computer code. By junior high, he could solve Rubik"s Cube in a few minutes. A college dropout, he went on to co-found a hacker"s convention in San Francisco. "I was always really weird," he says. Yet it was only two years ago, at age 27, that he learned why. Cohen says he has trouble examining his thoughts and making eye contact but has learned to control his symptoms using behavioral psychology. Now he has a new task: warding off accusations by the Hollywood film industry that a breakthrough piece of sottware he wrote is threatening the movie business the way Napster menaced—and subsequently revolutionized—the music world. Cohen is the author of a free program called BitTorrent, which has been downloaded more than 20 million times and underpins a new generation of file-sharing technology. BitTorrent addresses a couple of the biggest problems of file sharing—that downloading bogs down when lots of folks access a file at once, and that some people leech, downloading content but refusing to share with others on the network. BitTorrent eliminates the bottleneck by having everyone share little pieces of a file at the same time—a process techies call swarming. And the program prevents leeching since folks must upload a file while they download it. All this means that the more popular the content, the more efficiently it zips through the network—bad news if you"re a movie studio trying to hinder the trading of films like The lncredibles . Says Andrew Parker of the Web-tracking firm CacheLogic, "It has turned the download world on its head." Hollywood has good reason to be worried. BitTorrent downloads account for one-third of Internet traffic, according to CacheLogic. So-called tracker sites post links to movies, video games and episodes of TV shows, the content of which is then traded at express speeds. With more folks logging onto the Internet via broadband connections, online trading of movies and TV shows is surging. Downloads of feature films alone are up 175% in the past year, says BigChampagne. In response, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) recently filed dozens of civil suits against tracker sites in the U.S. and Britain, as well as criminal complaints against sites in France. The industry is hoping that in a case scheduled for next month, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule against firms that produce file-sharing software, such as Morpheus and Grokster. Neither Cohen nor BitTorrent is named in the lawsuit, although an MPAA spokesman says Cohen is under examination for continuing to develop the software "and making it easy to steal copyright material."

单选题The evolution of the mangrove species is described to______.

单选题What is the main cause of the issues in Asia according to the author?

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} A study released a little over a week ago, which found that eldest children end up, on average, with slightly higher IQ's than younger siblings, was a reminder that the fight for self-definition starts much earlier than freshman year. Families, whatever the relative intelligence of their members, often treat the firstborn as if he or she were the most academic, and the younger siblings fill in other niches: the wild one, the flirt. These imposed caricatures, in combination with the other labels that accumulate from the sandbox through adolescence, can seem over time like a miserable entourage of identities that can be silenced only with hours of therapy. But there's another way to see these alternate identities: as challenges that can sharpen psychological skills. In a country where reinvention is considered a birthright, many people seem to treat old identities the way Houdini treated padlocked boxes: something to wriggle free from, before being dragged down. And psychological research suggests that this ability can be a sign of mental resilience, of taking control of your own story rather than being trapped by it. The late-night bull sessions in college or at backyard barbecues are at some level like out-of-body experiences, allowing a re-coloring of past experience to connect with new acquaintances. A more obvious outlet to expand identity—and one that's available to those who have not or cannot escape the family and community where they're known and labeled—is the Internet. Admittedly, a lot of the role-playing on the Internet can have a deviant quality. But researchers have found that many people who play life-simulation games, for example, set up the kind of families they would like to have had, even script alternate versions of their own role in the family or in a peer group. Decades ago the psychologist Erik Erickson conceived of middle age as a stage of life defined by a tension between stagnation and generativity-a healthy sense of guiding and nourishing the next generation, of helping the community. Ina series of studies, the Northwestern psychologist Dan P. McAdams has found that adults in their 40s and 50s whose lives show this generous quality—who often volunteer, who have a sense of accomplishment—tell very similar stories about how they came to be who they are. Whether they grew up in rural poverty or with views of Central Park, they told their life stories as series of redemptive lessons. When they failed a grade, they found a wonderful tutor, and later made the honor roll; when fired From a good job, they were forced to start their own business. This similarity in narrative constructions most likely reflects some agency, a willful reshaping and re-imagining of the past that informs the present. These are people who, whether pegged as nerds or rebels or plodders, have taken control of the stories that form their identities. In conversation, people are often willing to hand out thumbnail descriptions of themselves:" I'm kind of a hermit." Or a talker, a practical joker, a striver, a snob, a morning person. But they are more likely to wince when someone else describes them so authoritatively. Maybe that's because they have come too far, shaken off enough old labels already. Like escape artists with a lifetime's experience slipping through chains, they don't want or need any additional work. Because while most people can leave their family niches, schoolyard nicknames and high school reputations behind, they don't ever entirely forget them.

单选题When Marine Lt. Alan Zarracina finally did the splits after months of struggling with the difficult pose in yoga class, the limber women around him applauded. Zarracina, a 24-year-old Naval Academy graduate and flight student, admits he would have a hard time explaining the scene to other Marines. Each class ends with a chant for peace. Then, instructor Nancy La Nasa hands students incense sticks as a gift for their 90 minutes of back bends, shoulder stands and other challenging positions. Zarracina has tried to drag some of his military friends to class, but they make fun of him. "It's not necessarily considered masculine," he said. Still, the popular classes, based on ancient Hindu practices of meditation through controlled breathing, balancing and stretching, are catching on in military circles as a way to improve flexibility, balance and concentration. A former Navy SEAL told Zarracina about the class. The August edition of Fit Yoga, the nation's second-largest yoga magazine with a circulation of 100,000, features a photo of two Naval aviators doing yoga poses in full combat gear aboard an aircraft carrier. "At first it seemed a little shocking—soldiers practicing such a peaceful art," writes editor Rita Trieger. Upon closer inspection, she said, she noticed "a sense of inner calm" on the aviators' faces. "War is hell, and if yoga can help them find a little solace, that's good," said Trieger, a longtime New York yoga instructor. Retired Adm. Tom Steffens, who spent 34 years as a Navy SEAL and served as the director of the elite corps' training, regularly practices yoga at his home in Norfolk, Va. "Once in a while I'll sit in class, and everyone is a 20-something young lady with a 10-inch waist and here I am this old guy," he joked. Steffens, who said the stretching helped him eliminate the stiffness of a biceps injury after surgery, said the benefits of regular practice can be enormous. "The yoga cured all kinds of back pains," he said. "Being a SEAL, you beat up your body." Yoga breathing exercises can help SEALs with their diving, and learning to control the body by remaining in unusual positions can help members stay in confined spaces for long periods, he said. "The ability to stay focused on something, whether on breathing or on the yoga practice, and not be drawn off course, that has a lot of connection to the military," he said. "In our SEAL basic training, there are many things that are yoga-like in nature./

单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} Richard Satava, program manager for advanced medical technologies, has been a driving force bringing virtual reality to medicine, where computers create a "virtual" or simulated environment for surgeons and other medical practitioners (从业者). "With virtual reality we'll be able to put a surgeon in every trench," said Satava. He envisaged a time when soldiers who are wounded fighting overseas are put in mobile surgical units equipped with computers. The computers would transmit images of the soldiers to surgeons back in the U. S. The surgeons would look at the soldier through virtual reality helmets (头盔) that contain a small screen displaying the image of the wound. The doctors would guide robotic instruments in the battlefield mobile surgical unit that operate on the soldier. Although Satava's vision may be years away from standard operating procedure, scientists are progressing toward virtual reality surgery. Engineers at an international organization in California are developing a tele-operating device. As surgeons watch a three-dimensional image of the surgery, they move instruments that are connected to a computer, which passes their movements to robotic instruments that perform the surgery. The computer provides feedback to the surgeon on force, textures, and sound. These technological wonders may not yet be part of the community hospital setting but increasingly some of the machinery is finding its way into civilian medicine. At Wayne State University Medical School, surgeon Lucia Zamorano takes images of the brain from computerized scans and uses a computer program to produce a 3-D image. She can then maneuver the 3-D image on the computer screen to map the shortest, least invasive surgical path to the tumor (肿瘤). Zamorano is also using technology that attaches a probe to surgical instruments so that she can track their positions. While cutting away a tumor deep in the brain, she watches the movement of her surgical tools in a computer graphics image of the patient's brain taken before surgery. During these procedures--operations that are done through small cuts in the body in which a miniature camera and surgical tools are maneuvered--surgeons are wearing 3-D glasses for a better view. And they are commanding robot surgeons to cut away tissue more accurately than human surgeons can. Satava says, "We are in the midst of a fundamental change in the field of medicine."

单选题{{B}}Text 2{{/B}} Like street comer prophets proclaiming that tile end is near, scientists who study the earth's atmosphere have been issuing predictions of impending doom for the past few years without offering any concrete proof. So far even the experts have had to admit that no solid evidence has emerged that this is anything but a natural phenomenon. And the uncertainty has given skeptics-especially Gingrichian politicians--plenty of ammunition to argue against taking the difficult, expensive steps required to stave off a largely hypothetical calamity. Until now, A draft report currently circulating on the Internet asserts that the global temperature rise can now be blamed, at least in part, on human activity. Statements like this have been made before by individual researchers-who have been criticized for going too far beyond the scientific consensus. But this report comes from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a respected UN sponsored body made up of more than 1,300 leading climate experts from 40 nations. This shift in scientific consensus is based not so much on new data as on improvements in the complex computer models that climatologists use to test their theories. Unlike chemists or molecular biologists, climate experts have no way to do lab experiments on their specialty. So they simulate them on supercomputers and look at what happens when human generated gases-carbon dioxide from industry and auto exhaust, methane from agriculture, chlorofluoro carbons from leaky refrigerators and spray cans-are pumped into the models virtual atmospheres. Until recently, the computer models weren't working very well. When the scientists tried to simulate what they believe has been happening over the past century or so, the results didn't mesh with reality; the models said the world should now he warmer than it actually is. The reason is that the computer models had been overlooking an important factor affecting global temperatures: sulfur dioxides that are produced along with CO2 when fossil fuels are burned in cars and power plants. Aerosols actually cool the planet by blocking sunlight and mask the effects of global warmning. Once the scientists factored in aerosols, their models began looking more like the real world. The improved performance of the simulations was demonstrated in 1991, when they successfully predicted temperature changes in the aftermath of the massive Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines. A number of studies since have added to the scientists confidence that they finally know what they are talking about-and can predict what may happen if greenhouse gases continue to be pumped into the atmosphere unchecked.

单选题As with many a grown-up sporting star, the first hint of greatness came at an early age for Lewis Hamilton. As an eight-year-old at his first kart race, he charged "more like a mature driver than a novice," remembers Martin Hines, owner of the Zip Kart racing company. Scything his way through the field just outside London, Hamilton had a confident style that seemed different from normal rookies, Hines says. "There was a little spark about him." Now 22, and in his debut season in Formula One—he became the first black driver to make it onto the grid in motor racing's blue-ribbon championship. His success and profile that have earned young Hamilton comparisons with other sporting greats. His color— Hamilton's grandfather came to Britain from Grenada in the 50s—and the positive influence of his father, Anthony, have drawn parallels with Tiger Woods. Hamilton acknowledges that his participation could stoke interest among ethnic groups who may not be into the sport now. "Hopefully people that can relate to me will see that it's possible and also try to get into the sport," he told the BBC. Moreover, his youth, good looks and wholesome image are also likely to get marketers fired up. Countless more karting titles followed before 2001. He "made seasoned drivers look silly," says Tony Shaw, Hamilton's then team manager at Manor Motorsport. Hamilton's raw, natural speed and canny race craft nudged him closer to the big leagues. Hamilton's "understanding of when and where to overtake and how to take advantage of a situation is very advanced," Shaw says. At his first crack at GP2, the training ground for Formula One, Hamilton dominated the 2006 season with a series of blistering drives on his way to the title. Hamilton is "not worried about showing or doing what he's used to doing just because it's Formula One," says Hill. For many new drivers, "that's an enormous hurdle." With the retirement last year of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, there's one less rival for Hamilton to negotiate. And Hamilton is certainly not short on confidence. When he first met Ron Dennis—now his Formula One team boss—as a 10-year-old in a borrowed suit, Hamilton promptly told him he wanted to drive for McLaren. Three years later, he joined the team's support program for promising young drivers. But, say former team managers, he's ready to listen and learn when things go wrong. Hamilton has a rare "capacity to question himself—to analyze very clearly after a race," says Frederic Vasseur, general manager at the ART Grand Prix team behind Hamilton's GP2 championship. As for whether he'll become the Tiger Woods of the sport, it's too early to know whether he can live up to those standards. But for now, his fans are bullish. Damon Hill was the last British driver to take the world crown. And it's Hamilton, Hill says, "who looks likely to be the next./

单选题{{B}}Text 3{{/B}} The day was star-crossed: Friday the 13th in the month of October, on the eve of the second looming anniversary of a devastating market crash. "I'm telling you, psychology is really funny. People get crazy in situations like that," said portfolio strategist Elaine Garzarelli. Last week Friday the 13th lived up to its frightful reputation. After drifting lower at a sleepy pace for most of the day, the Dow Jones industrial average abruptly lurched into a hair-raising sky dive in the final hour of trading. The Bush Administration moved swiftly to avert any sense of crisis after the market Closed. Declared Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady: "It's important to recognize that today's stock market decline doesn't signal any fundamental change in the condition of the economy. The economy remains well balanced, and the outlook is for continued moderate growth." But Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey, who chairs a House subcommittee on telecommunications and finance, vowed to hold hearings this week on the stock market slide. Said he: "This is the second heart attack. My hope is that before we have the inevitable third heart attack, we pay attention to these problems." Experts found no shortage of culprits to blame for {{U}}the latest shipwreck{{/U}}. A series of downbeat realizations converged on Friday, ranging from signs of a new burst of inflation to sagging corporate profits to troubles in the junk-bond market that has fueled major takeovers. The singular event that shook investors was the faltering of a ＄6.75 billion labor management buyout of UAL, the parent company of United Airlines, the second largest U.S. carrier. On one point most thoughtful Wall Streeters agreed: the market had reached such dizzying heights that a correction of some sort seemed almost inevitable. Propelled by favorable economic news and a wave of multibillion-dollar takeovers, stocks had soared more than 1,000 points since the 1987 crash. But by last August some Wall streeters were clearly worried. The heaviest blow to the market came Friday afternoon. In a three-paragraph statement, UAL said a labor-management group headed by Chairman Stephen Wolf had failed to get enough financing to acquire United. Several banks had apparently balked at the deal, which was to be partly financed through junk bonds. The take-over group said it would submit a revised bid "in the near term," but the announcement stunned investors who had come to view the United deal as the latest sure thing in the 1980s buyout binge. Said John Downey, a trader at the Chicago Board Options Exchange: "The airline stocks have looked like attractive takeover targets. But with the United deal in trouble, everyone started to wonder what other deals might not go through. "

单选题What is mentioned in the passage as one of the similarities between tile detective story and the thriller?

单选题The word "divine" (Line 3, Paragraph 2) in the text probably means

单选题According to the passage, we can tell that