经济学人：人工智能如何彻底改变科学
How AI can revolutionize science？
刘立军 供稿
QUESTIONS
Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to each question you hear.
1. What are the common concerns about artificial intelligence (AI)?
A. Accelerated scientific discovery.
B. AI-induced job losses.
C. Invention of new antibiotics.
D. Reduction in inequality.
2. Who believe that AI can dramatically boost scientific progress?
A. Demis Hassabis and Yann LeCun.
B. Observers of AI development.
C. Biased algorithms.
D. Dystopian scenario creators.
3. What do some observers suggest about AI’s potential impact on science?
A. It could eradicate nationalism.
B. It would lead to mass job destruction.
C. It could help solve major global problems.
D. It would result in human extinction.
4. What is one example of how AI is currently being used, according to the text?
A. To reduce inequality.
B. To predict weather patterns.
C. To harness green technology.
D. To identify regional accents in wolves.
5. How did scientific journals influence science in the 17th century?
A. They discouraged researchers from sharing their findings.
B. They provided new ways for researchers to share their findings.
C. They focused on AI’s potential dangers.
D. They did not play a significant role in scientific discovery.
6. What is one way that AI is being utilized in scientific research?
A. Modelling complex systems like protein folding.
B. Replacing human scientists.
C. Predicting the extinction of humanity.
D. Launching a golden age of discovery.
7. How many percent of physics and astronomy papers published in 2022 involved AI?
A. 1.4%.
B. 7.2%.
C. 17%.
D. 22%.
8. Based on the text, what could be inferred about the impact of artificial intelligence on scientific discovery?
A. AI is likely to replace all human scientists.
B. AI may lead to a surge of innovations much like the introduction of microscopes and telescopes did in the 17th century.
C. AI’s impact will be primarily limited to astronomy and physics.
D. AI will eliminate the need for laboratories and scientific journals.
9. What can be implied about the adoption of AI in different fields of science?
A. It’s evenly adopted across all fields.
B. Its use is limited to drug discovery and materials identification.
C. It’s used most extensively in veterinary science.
D. It’s more prevalent in physics and astronomy than in veterinary science.
10. What is suggested about the future role of AI in scientific practice?
A. AI will take over all roles in scientific research.
B. AI will render traditional scientific tools obsolete.
C. AI could transform scientific practice in new ways.
D. AI will make scientific journals irrelevant.
TRANSCRIPT
Debate about artificial intelligence (AI) tends to focus on its potential dangers: algorithmic bias and discrimination, the mass destruction of jobs and even, some say, the extinction of humanity.
extinction n. 灭绝，消亡
As some observers fret about these dystopian scenarios, however, others are focusing on the potential rewards.
fret v. 担忧，焦虑
scenario n. 场景，情节
AI could, they claim, help humanity solve some of its biggest and thorniest problems. And, they say, AI will do this in a very specific way: by radically accelerating the pace of scientific discovery, especially in areas such as medicine, climate science and green technology. Luminaries in the field such as Demis Hassabis and Yann LeCun believe that AI can turbocharge scientific progress and lead to a golden age of discovery.
turbocharge v. 用涡轮给…增压；增强
Could they be right? Such claims are worth examining, and may provide a useful counterbalance to fears about large-scale unemployment and killer robots. Many previous technologies have, of course, been falsely hailed as panaceas. The electric telegraph was lauded in the 1850s as a herald of world peace, as were aircraft in the 1900s; pundits in the 1990s said the internet would reduce inequality and eradicate nationalism. But the mechanism by which AI will supposedly solve the world’s problems has a stronger historical basis, because there have been several periods in history when new approaches and new tools did indeed help bring about bursts of world-changing scientific discovery and innovation.
panacea n. 万能药，灵丹妙药
herald v. 预示，宣布
eradicate v. 根除，消灭
In the 17th century microscopes and telescopes opened up new vistas of discovery and encouraged researchers to favor their own observations over the received wisdom of antiquity, while the introduction of scientific journals gave them new ways to share and publicize their findings.
vista n. 展望，前景
antiquity n. 古代，古老
The result was rapid progress in astronomy, physics and other fields, and new inventions from the pendulum clock to the steam engine — the prime mover of the Industrial Revolution.
pendulum n. 钟摆，摆锤
Then, starting in the late 19th century, the establishment of research laboratories, which brought together ideas, people and materials on an industrial scale, gave rise to further innovations such as artificial fertilizer, pharmaceuticals and the transistor, the building block of the computer.
pharmaceutical adj. 制药的，药物的
transistor n. 晶体管
From the mid-20th century, computers in turn enabled new forms of science based on simulation and modelling, from the design of weapons and aircraft to more accurate weather forecasting. And the computer revolution may not be finished yet. As we report in a special Science section, AI tools and techniques are now being applied in almost every field of science, though the degree of adoption varies widely: 7.2% of physics and astronomy papers published in 2022 involved AI, for example, compared with 1.4% in veterinary science.
simulation n. 模拟，仿真
veterinary adj. 兽医的
AI is being employed in many ways. It can identify promising candidates for analysis, such as molecules with particular properties in drug discovery, or materials with the characteristics needed in batteries or solar cells. It can sift through piles of data such as those produced by particle colliders or robotic telescopes, looking for patterns. And AI can model and analyze even more complex systems, such as the folding of proteins and the formation of galaxies. AI tools have been used to identify new antibiotics, reveal the Higgs boson and spot regional accents in wolves, among other things. All this is to be welcomed.
molecule n. 分子
sift v. 筛选，仔细检查
antibiotic n. 抗生素
But the journal and the laboratory went further still: they altered scientific practice itself and unlocked more powerful means of making discoveries, by allowing people and ideas to mingle in new ways and on a larger scale. AI, too, has the potential to set off such a transformation.
mingle v. 混合，交融
KEY
1. What are the common concerns about artificial intelligence (AI)?
A. Slow scientific discovery.
B. AI-induced job losses.
C. Invention of new antibiotics.
D. Reduction in equality.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题。答案可以在文本的第一段找到：“Debate about artificial intelligence (AI) tends to focus on its potential dangers: algorithmic bias and discrimination, the mass destruction of jobs and even, some say, the extinction of humanity.”AI可能具有潜在威胁，主要是算法上自带的偏见与歧视、大量工作岗位的流失、以及人性的消失。因此选B。
2. Who believe that AI can dramatically boost scientific progress?
A. Demis Hassabis and Yann LeCun.
B. Observers of AI development.
C. Biased algorithms.
D. Dystopian scenario creators.
【答案】A
【解析】细节题，来源于文本第三段：“Luminaries in the field such as Demis Hassabis and Yann LeCun believe that AI can turbocharge scientific progress...”。Demis Hassabis and Yann LeCun等杰出人物认为AI能促进科技进步。因此选A。
3. What do some observers suggest about AI’s potential impact on science?
A. It could eradicate nationalism.
B. It would lead to mass job destruction.
C. It could help solve major global problems.
D. It would result in human extinction.
【答案】C
【解析】细节题，出处在文本中第三段“AI could, they claim, help humanity solve some of its biggest and thorniest problems.”即这些观察者声称AI可以帮助人类解决一些重大棘手问题。因此选C。
4. What is one example of how AI is currently being used, according to the text?
A. To reduce inequality.
B. To predict weather patterns.
C. To harness green technology.
D. To identify regional accents in wolves.
【答案】D
【解析】细节题，答案在文本第十段中“AI tools have been used to identify new antibiotics, reveal the Higgs boson and spot regional accents in wolves, among other things.”AI被用来确定新的抗生素，揭示希格斯玻色子，以及辨别狼群中的地方性口音。因此选D。
5. How did scientific journals influence science in the 17th century?
A. They discouraged researchers from sharing their findings.
B. They provided new ways for researchers to share their findings.
C. They focused on AI’s potential dangers.
D. They did not play a significant role in scientific discovery.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题，出处在文章第五段中“… while the introduction of scientific journals gave them new ways to share and publicize their findings.”即科技期刊的引入赋予了研究者新的途径来分享和发布自己的新发现。因此选B。
6. What is one way that AI is being utilized in scientific research?
A. Modelling complex systems like protein folding.
B. Replacing human scientists.
C. Predicting the extinction of humanity.
D. Launching a golden age of discovery.
【答案】A
【解析】细节题，答案在文本倒数第二段中“And AI can model and analyze even more complex systems, such as the folding of proteins...”即AI能建模并分析更为复杂的系统，比如蛋白质折叠。因此选A。
7. How many percent of physics and astronomy papers published in 2022 involved AI?
A. 1.4%.
B. 7.2%.
C. 17%.
D. 22%.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题，答案在文本第八段中“7.2% of physics and astronomy papers published in 2022 involved AI...”即2022年有7.2%发表的物理和天文学论文和AI相关。因此选B。
8. Based on the text, what could be inferred about the impact of artificial intelligence on scientific discovery?
A. AI is likely to replace all human scientists.
B. AI may lead to a surge of innovations.
C. AI’s impact will be primarily limited to astronomy and physics.
D. AI will eliminate the need for laboratories and scientific journals.
【答案】B
【解析】推理题，其出处在于文段“In the 17th century microscopes and telescopes opened up... AI, too, has the potential to set off such a transformation.”即AI可能会带来一系列的创新。因此选B。
9. What can be implied about the adoption of AI in different fields of science?
A. It’s evenly adopted across all fields.
B. Its use is limited to drug discovery and materials identification.
C. It’s used most extensively in veterinary science.
D. It’s more prevalent in physics and astronomy than in veterinary science.
【答案】D
【解析】推理题，答案在文中第八段 “7.2% of physics and astronomy papers published in 2022 involved AI, for example, compared with 1.4% in veterinary science.”由此可推测，物理和天文学领域的AI应用比兽医科学中更为广泛。因此选D。
10. What is suggested about the future role of AI in scientific practice?
A. AI will take over all roles in scientific research.
B. AI will render traditional scientific tools obsolete.
C. AI could transform scientific practice in new ways.
D. AI will make scientific journals irrelevant.
【答案】C
【解析】推理题，出处在最后一段“But the journal and the laboratory went further still: they altered scientific practice itself... AI, too, has the potential to set off such a transformation.”即AI可能会以新方式来改变科学实践。因此选C。
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