机器翻译能打败人工翻译吗?等3则阅读训练-2023届高三英语一轮复习

机器翻译能打败人工翻译吗？

导读：

当你需要知道一个外语单词时，你会怎么做？许多人会拿起智能手机，来翻译他们需要的单词。但是如果计算机出错了，怎么办？在非正式的场合中，犯个小错误，也许影响不大；但有时在正式的重要场合中，一旦出现翻译错误，被传播出去，后果可能不堪设想。科技在不断地进步，但机器翻译能比真人翻译更好吗？

一、语篇泛读

For me, it was bacon. There I was, standing in the streets of Medellin,

Colombia, looking hungrily at a delicious empanada. The sign read 'quest

tocsin'. Because I'd got my tongue round some essential Spanish vocabulary, I

knew that 'quest' was cheese. But 'tocsin'? I typed it into my

smartphone translation app. What came back? 'Tocsin'. I later learned that

means 'bacon' in the local lingo.

Computer-assisted translation is popular. Google Translate, for example, is

used by more than 500 million people. But while convenient and easy to use,

they are hardly perfect. Now, dropping the odd expression now and again is

hardly important on an informal conversational level – as might happen to a

tourist on holiday. But in more formal circumstances, such as a medical or

legal discussion, the wrong vernacular can be disastrous. So, can a computer

translator ever equal a human?

The technology has come a long way. These days, people can wear a

'translation earpiece'. These pick up the foreign terminology and translate it

directly to the wearer. Andrew Ochoa, chief executive of US start-up Waverly

Labs, a producer of one such earpiece, says they work by 'combining a network

of algorithms and speech-recognition technology'. But they have limitations.

Firstly, there's a delay while the phrase is translated. How long often depends

on the connection strength. Secondly, they aren't able to communicate

human sentiment well.

Human conversation is subtler than just the words used. It has tone,

attitude, nuance, for example. "If you want to create a relationship… you need

a human translator to make it sound natural," Zoey Cooper, brand and content

director at Word-bank, a global marketing and translation agency, told the

BBC.

So, while many professional translators do use computer-assisted

translation tools to help them with the repetitive nature of

translation, context is important. It might work well for a survey or instruction

manual, but for important human-to-human speech, and for the time being at

least, better to use a translator, or your message might get garbled or lost in

translation.

二、词汇表

get your tongue round 正确发出……音

vocabulary 词汇

translation 翻译

lingo 语言

expression 表达

conversational 交谈的，口语的

discussion 讨论

vernacular 本地话，方言

terminology 术语

speech-recognition 语音识别

sentiment 情绪

subtle 微妙的

tone 口气

nuance 细微差别

sound natural 听起来很通顺、自然

context 语境

garble 让（话语或信息）变得含糊不清，易引起误会

lost in translation 在翻译中遗失了

三、测试与练习

阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What kind of food did the author want to buy in Colombia?

2. True or false? No one uses computer-assisted translation these days.

3. When can a computer-assisted translation error be a big problem?

4. How do translation earpieces work?

5. What are the disadvantages of translation earpieces?

选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. I'm quite good at languages, but I find Russian difficult to get my

_______.

tongue round tongue down

mouth round head down

2. 'Plagiarism' is a word you'll hear a lot in academic _______.

translation expression

vernacular sentiment

3. The radio message was _______ by interference from the storm.

lost in translation garbled

nuanced discussed

4. He says he's sorry, but without _______, so I'm not sure I believe him.

translation discussion

sentiment context

5. I am your teacher, young man, and I don't appreciate your _______.

context garble

nuance tone

参考答案

阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What kind of food did the author want to buy in Colombia?

The author wanted to buy a 'quest y tocsin' (cheese and bacon) empanada.

2. True or False? No one uses computer-assisted translation these days.

False. Google Translate, for example, is used by more than 500 million

people.

3. When can a computer-assisted translation error be a big problem?

In formal circumstances, such as a medical or legal discussion, the wrong

vernacular can be disastrous.

4. How do translation earpieces work?

They combine a network of algorithms and speech-recognition technology.

5. What are the disadvantages of translation earpieces?

There is a delay while the sentence is translated and they aren't able to

communicate sentiment well.

选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. I'm quite good at languages, but I find Russian difficult to get

my tongue round.

2. 'Plagiarism' is a word you'll hear a lot in academic vernacular.

3. The radio message was garbled by interference from the storm.

4. He says he's sorry, but without sentiment, so I'm not sure I believe him.

5. I am your teacher, young man, and I don't appreciate your tone.

你需要一份人生愿望清单吗？

导读：

你是否一直想学跳探戈、变魔术或者跳伞？如果你有这样的一个愿望，也许你需要一份 “人生愿望清单”，列出你死亡前想做的所有事情。这样一份清单听起来很棒，但也有人指责它限制了人们的想象力，因为它鼓励人们追随他人对完美生活的看法。本文讨论是不是每个人都需要有一份愿望清单。

一、语篇泛读

‘Life is for living’, according to the well-used expression: What we

choose to do is up to us. That may not be completely true, but there is no harm

in dreaming about what we’d like to achieve in our life. Many of us write a list

of things we’d like to do before we die – often called a bucket list.

Bucket lists have been called ‘the greatest hits of your life’ and have

helped some people overcome anxiety which would have stopped them

following their dreams. Some of us may choose to write one to fill our life

with exciting and new experiences – from skydiving to swimming with sharks –

the list is unlimited.

This is something the BBC radio program me All In The Mind has been

looking at. It heard from a blogger called Annette White who said she made a

promise to live her bucket list which “continuously pushes the comfort zone to

its limits and beyond it.” Such a list can be exciting and can indeed help you

plan your life and give you focus. When the BBC reporter Helen Fawkes knew

she was suffering from incurable ovarian cancer, she took comfort in drawing

up a bucket list -although she called it her ‘list for living’ because these were

things for making the most of life. Sadly, she was not able to achieve all of her

50 things before she died at the age of 45.

Creating a bucket list can certainly give us hope, but some people have

argued it can be used as a coping strategy to try to control

something uncontrollable – death. Clinical psychologist Linda Blair told the BBC

that she was “not really in favor of bucket lists… [they] take you away from the

chance to be spontaneous.” It’s probably true that a list can encourage people

to follow someone else’s idea of the perfect life. And also, following a fixed list

of goals makes you less impulsive - your aims and wishes might change as you

approach the day when you finally kick the bucket.

But why not at least dream of what we would like to do? Why not reach for

the stars, even if we only reach the sky? Whether we want to plan it or just see

what happens, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so maybe we should live

for today.

二、词汇表

life is for living 活出精彩

bucket list 人生愿望清单

anxiety 焦虑

experience 经历

skydiving 跳伞运动

comfort zone 舒适区

to its limits 到……最大限度

focus 专注的重点，中心

take comfort 从……中得到安慰

coping strategy 应对策略

uncontrollable 无法控制的

in favour of 支持，赞同

spontaneous 自发的，本能的

goal 目标

impulsive 冲动的

kick the bucket 死亡

reach for the stars 追求难以实现的东西

live for today 活在当下

三、测试与练习

阅读课文并回答问题。

1. How many things were on BBC reporter Helen Fawkes ‘list for living’?

2. True or false? According to the article, a bucket list is uncontrollable.

3. According to the article, what can stop you being impulsive in what you

do?

4. Why should we not wait until tomorrow to do something?

5. How many things should we have on a bucket list?

选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

needs to be pushed out of his _______ if he wants to further his

career.

comforting zone comfortable zone

comfort zone comfort zones

2. News that someone had spotted our missing cat _______ that she will

eventually return home.

reach for the stars gave us hope

took comfort in favour of

3. We chose Thailand _______ Vietnam for our holiday because we got a

good price for a flight.

in favour of at favour of

in favour off in favourite of

4. The audience was so impressed with his speech, they broke into

_______ applause even before he had finished.

impulsive to its limits

focus spontaneous

5. Finally, my old car has decided to _______. I am going to have to buy a

new one.

kicked the bucket kick the buckets

kick the bucket kick a bucket

参考答案

阅读课文并回答问题。

1. How many things were on BBC reporter Helen Fawkes ‘list for living’?

She had 50 things on her list. She was not able to achieve all of them before

she died.

2. True or false? According to the article, a bucket list is uncontrollable.

False. Some people have argued that a bucket list can be used as a coping

strategy to try to control something uncontrollable – death.

3. According to the article, what can stop you being impulsive in what you

do?

Following a fixed list of goals might make you less impulsive.

4. Why should we not wait until tomorrow to do something?

According to the author, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring so maybe

we should live for today.

5. How many things should we have on a bucket list?

As few or many things as you like – the list is unlimited.

选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. Dan needs to be pushed out of his comfort zone if he wants to further

his career.

2. News that someone had spotted our missing cat gave us hope that she

will eventually return home.

3. We chose Thailand in favour of Vietnam for our holiday because we got

a good price for a flight.

4. The audience was so impressed with his speech, they broke

into spontaneous applause even before he had finished.

5. Finally, my old car has decided to kick the bucket. I am going to have to

buy a new one.

哭对我们有好处吗？

导读：

哭泣真的能让我们的心情变好吗？女性比男性哭的次数更多吗？如今，在公共场所哭泣是否已被人们接受？本文讨论眼泪的力量和哭泣的好处。

一、语篇泛读

What makes you cry? Being moved by a soppy or sad movie, waving a

loved one off, or getting emotional after splitting up with your partner can all

cause tears to roll down our faces? We all have the power to cry, but is that a

good thing?

When you think about it, shedding tears from your eyes is an odd thing to

do. But it seems to be an automatic reaction when we get sad, upset or even

when we’re very happy. What triggers this reaction differs from person to

person. However, the feeling is the same – your cheeks puff up, your eyes

tighten and before you know it, tears are streaming down your face. Some of

us may sniffle a little while others might cry like a baby – and some people

suggest that it’s women who cry more than men.

A study in the UK in 2017 found that women admitted that they cry 72

times a year. This was, on average, more than men. Writing for the BBC, Adam

Rutherford says “according to pretty much every study done, women do cry

more than men, and this result has been consistent since we’ve been looking.”

But does this mean men don’t get as upset or emotional as women, or are they

just more embarrassed about showing their true feelings? The debate

continues.

One place where we experience emotional and tearful outbursts is in the

workplace. This can be somewhere where emotions run high – someone might

be stressed, their workload might be too much, and, as therapist, Joanna Cross

told the BBC, “crying is often a build-up of frustration and unseat-with

situations and it’s a bit of a final straw moment.” She describes how someone

might start weeping when they’re just asked to make a cup of tea because,

“actually that’s often a backlog of situations.”

But crying in the office or elsewhere can be cathartic: it can actually make

you feel better. Maybe it dissolves or clears the negative or sad feelings

you’ve had. Bawling your eyes out shows others how you feel, so perhaps it’s a

crying shame that more of us, particularly men, don’t cry more often.

二、词汇表

moved 被感动的

soppy 伤感的

emotional 情绪激动的

shed tears 流泪

upset 沮丧的，难过的

trigger 引起（坏事）

stream 涌出

cry like a baby 像婴儿一样哭泣，哭泣

embarrassed 害羞的

true feelings 真情实感

tearful 含泪的，流泪的

outburst （情感）爆发

emotions run high 情绪波动大，情绪高涨

frustration 挫折，沮丧

(the) final straw 最后一根稻草，使人最终崩溃的一击

weep 哭泣，流泪

cathartic 情感宣泄的

bawl your eyes out 痛哭流涕

It’s a crying shame 不像话，不应该

三、测试与练习

阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What type of film might cause you to cry?

2. According to research, who cries the most, men or women?

3. According to the article, what might cause you to start crying at work?

4. What might be the positive effects of crying?

5. True or false? Being very happy can cause you to cry.

选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1.I found the speech my father made at my wedding very _______.

moved move

movable moving

2. I find eating nuts _______ an allergic reaction, so I avoid eating any

food that contains them.

upsets triggers

outbursts cathartic

3. The coronavirus outbreak was the _______ for my brother’s coffee shop

business. He ran out of money and had to close.

crying shame final straw

shedding true feelings

4. That new rom-com was funny and sad, and I was _______ by the end

of it.

crying like a baby cry like a baby

cried like a baby crying like baby

5. My girlfriend thinks I’m _______ when I cry seeing dolphins in the sea,

but I think I just appreciate the beauty of nature!

embarrassed upset

weeping soppy

参考答案

阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What type of film might cause you to cry?

A sad or soppy movie can ‘move us’ – or make us cry.

2. According to research, who cries the most, men or women?

According to research, women cry more than men.

3. According to the article, what might cause you to start crying at work?

Stress, frustration, too much work or a backlog of situations, might cause you

to start crying at work.

4. What might be the positive effects of crying?

Crying can be cathartic; it can actually make you feel better.

5. True or false? Being very happy can cause you to cry.

True. We can cry when we get sad, upset or even when we’re very happy.

选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. I found the speech my father made at my wedding very moving.

2. I find eating nuts triggers an allergic reaction, so I avoid eating any food

that contains them.

3. The coronavirus outbreak was the final straw for my brother’s coffee

shop business. He ran out of money and had to close.

4. That new rom-com was funny and sad, and I was crying like a baby by

the end of it.

5. My girlfriend thinks I’m soppy when I cry seeing dolphins in the sea, but I

think I just appreciate the beauty of nature!