18．In a few years，you might be able to speak Chinese，Korean，Japanese，F(xiàn)rench，and English-and all at the same time．This sounds incredible，but Alex Waibel，a computer science professor at US's Carnegie Mellon University{CMU）and Germany's University of Karlsruhe，announced last week that it may soon be reality．He and his team have invented software and hardware that could make it far easier for people who speak different languages to understand each other．
One application，called Lecture Translation，can easily translate a speech from one language into another．Current translation technologies typically limit speakers to certain topics or a limited vocabulary，Users also have to be trained how to use the programme．
Another prototype （雛形機） can send translations of a speech to different listeners depending on what language they speak．‘‘It is like having a simultaneous translator right next to you but without disturbing the person next to you，"Waibel said．
Prefer to read？So-called Translation Glasses transcribe（轉(zhuǎn)錄）the translations on a tiny liquid-crystal（液晶） display（LCD） screen．
Then there's the Muscle Translator．Electrodes capture the electrical signals from facial muscle movements made naturally when a person is mouthing words．The signals are then translated into speech．The electrodes could be replaced with wireless chips implanted in a person's face，according to researchers．
During a demonstration held last Thursday in CMU's Pittsburgh campus，a Chinese student named Stan Jou had 11tiny electrodes attached to the muscles of his cheeks，neck and throat．Then he mouthed-without speaking aloud-a few words in Mandarin（普通話） to the audience．A few seconds later，the phrase was displayed on a computer screen and spoken out by the computer in English and Spanish："Let me introduce our new prototype．''
This particular gadget（器械），when fully developed，might allow anyone to speak in any number of languages or，as Waibel put it，"to switch your mouth to a foreign language"．"The idea behind the university's prototypes is to create‘good enough'bridges for cross-cultural exchanges that are becoming more common in the world．"Waibel said．
With spontaneous（自發(fā)的）translators，foreign drivers in Germany could listen to traffic warnings on the radio，tourists in China could read all the signs and talk with local people，and leaders of different countries could have secret talk without any interpreters there．
51．Which of the following statement is not TURE？B
A．A lecture translation can translate what you said into other languages easily．
B．There is no Muscle Translator in the world now
C．Muscle Translators can translate what you think into speech if you just move your mouth
D．The spontaneous translators will help us a lot．
52．What kind of equipment is NOT mentioned in this passage？C
A．Lecture Translation
B．Muscle Translator
C．Multiple Translator
D．Translation Prototype
53．What's the final destination of inventing the language translators？A
A．To make cultural exchanges between different countries easier．
B．To help students learn foreign languages more easily．
C．To make people live in foreign countries more comfortably．
D．To help people learn more foreign languages in the future．
54．What can be inferred from the seventh paragraph？D
A．The translator is so good that it can translate any language into the very language you need．
B．The translator is becoming more and more common in the world as a bridge．
C．With the help of the translator，you only need to open your mouth when you want to say something without saying the exact words at all．
D．The translator needs to be improved before being put into market．
55．Where can this passage probably be taken from？B
A．A newspaper B．A magazine on science
C．A fairy tale． D．A scientific fantasy book．
分析 本文介紹了一個與語言翻譯有關的發(fā)明．
解答 51．B 細節(jié)判斷題．根據(jù)文章第六段During a demonstration held last Thursday in CMU's Pittsburgh campus，a Chinese student named Stan Jou had 11tiny electrodes attached to the muscles of his cheeks，neck and throat．Then he mouthed-without speaking aloud-a few words in Mandarin（普通話） to the audience．可知這種機器已經(jīng)展示了，可推出B項是錯誤的．
52．C 推斷題．在短文第二段中提到了Lecture Translation，在第三段中提到了prototype，在第五段中又提到了Muscle Translator，因而沒有被提到的應該是C項．
53．A 意圖推斷題．根據(jù)短文倒數(shù)第二段所述"The idea behind the university's prototypes is to creat‘good enough'bridges for cross-cultural exchanges that are becoming more common in the world．"其含義為：隱藏在雛形機背后的理念是為今后世界上越來越普通的跨文化交流搭建足夠好的橋梁，由此可以推斷出A項就是發(fā)明翻譯器的真正目的．
54．D 推斷題．根據(jù)倒數(shù)第一段第一行This particular instrument，when fully developed..中的when fully developed．要想投入市場，必須要進一步完善．
55．B 深層閱讀題．這篇文章是有關科技發(fā)明成果的闡述，根據(jù)常識，它極有可能會節(jié)選自科學雜志．
點評 1、要想做好科普英語閱讀理解題，同學們就要注意平時多讀科普知識類文章，學習科普知識，積累常見的科普詞匯，從根本上提高科普英語的閱讀能力．
2、要熟悉科普類文章的結構特點．科普類文章一般由標題（Head line），導語（Introduction），背景（Back ground），主體（Main body）和結尾（End）五部分構成．標題是文章中心思想高度而又精辟的概括，但根據(jù)歷年的高考情況來看，這類閱讀理解材料一般不給標題，而要同學們選擇標題．導語一般位于整篇文章的首段．背景交待一個事實的起因．主體則對導語概括的事實進行詳細敘述，這一部分命題往往最多，因此，閱讀時，同學們要把這部分作為重點．結尾往往也是中心思想的概括，并與導語相呼應，命題者常在此要設計一道推理判斷題．
3、在進行推理判斷時，同學們一定要以閱讀材料所提供的科學事實為依據(jù)，同時所得出的結論還應符合基本的科普常識．
