Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by
some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices
marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the
corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 52 to 56 are based on the following passage.
Computers are now employed in an increasing number of fields in our daily life.
Computers have been taught to play not only checkers, but also championship chess,
which is a fairly accurate yardstick for measuring the computer’s progress in the
ability to learn from experience.
Because the game requires logical reasoning, chess would seem to be perfectly
suited to the computer. All a programmer has to do is to give the computer a program
evaluating the consequences of every possible response to every possible move, and
the computer will win every time. In theory this is a sensible approach; in practice
it is impossible. Today, a powerful computer can analyze 40,000 moves a second. That
is an impressive speed. But there are an astronomical number of possible moves in
chess—literally trillions. Even if such a program were written (and in theory it
could be, given enough people and enough time), there is no computer capable of
holding that much data.
Therefore, if the computer is to compete at championship levels, it must be
programmed to function with less than complete data. It must be able to learn from
experience, to modify its own program, to deal with a relatively unstructured
situation—in a word, to "think" for itself. In fact, this can be done. Chess-playing
computers have yet to defeat world champion chess players, but several have beaten
human players of only slightly lower ranks. The computers have had programs to carry
them through the early, mechanical stages of their chess games. But they have gone
on from there to reason and learn, and sometimes to win the game.
There are other proofs that computers can be programmed to learn, but this
example is sufficient to demonstrate the point. Granted, winning a game of chess
is not an earthshaking event even when a computer does it. But there are many serious
human problems, which can be fruitfully approached as games. The Defense Department
uses computers to play war games and work out strategies for dealing with
international tensions. Other problems—international and interpersonal relations,
ecology and economics, and the ever-increasing threat of world famine can perhaps
be solved by the joint efforts of human beings and truly intelligent computers.
52. According to the passage, computers cannot be used to ______.
A) solve the threat of world famine
B) ease international tension
C) defeat world champion chess player
D) work out solutions to the industrial problems
53. In the author’s opinion, ______.
A) playing chess shows computer’s program has been developed into a new stage
B) it is practically possible now that computer can win every chess game now
C) computers even with less than complete data can be programmed to defeat the
world champion chess player
D) computers can be programmed to play and reason but not learn
54. The author’s attitude toward the future use of computer is ______.
A) negative
B) positive
C) indifferent
D) critical
55. In order to "think", computer should ______.
A) be programmed to have more than enough data
B) learn from the experience and to reason
C) deal with all the unstructured situation
D) predicate every move in the chess
56. Today, the chess-playing computer can be programmed to ______.
A) have trillions of responses in a second to each possible move and win the game
B) store complete data and beat the best players
C) learn from chess-playing in the early stage and go on to win the game
D) predicate every possible move but may fail to give the right response each time