Close ReadingDirections: There are two passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions (46-55) 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 write the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.Passage OneResearchers for Cornell university and Intel produced a chip called Loihi that reportedly makes computers think like biological brains, according toDaily Mail.The researchers created the circuit on the chip, mirroring organic circuits found in theolfactory bulbs(嗅球)of a dog’s brain, which is how they process their sense of smell. The Loihi chip can identify a specific odor on the first try and even tell other background smells, said Intel, according toDaily Mail.The chip can even detect smells humans emit when sick with a disease-which vary depending on the illness-and smells linked to environmental gases and drugs. The key to sniffer dogs isn’t their olfactory system alone, but their incredible ability to remember-this is why they’re trained. Similarly, the artificial intelligence of the chip is trained to identify different smells and remember them, so that next time, it knows.The chip processes information just like mammal brains by using electrical signals to process smells. When a person smells something, the air molecules interact with nasal receptors that forward signals to the olfactory bulb in the brain. Then the brain translates the signals to identify which smell it’s experiencing, based on memories of previous experiences with the specific smell.“We are developing a method for Loihi to mimic what happens in your brain when you smell something.” said Senior Research Scientist in Intel’s Lab, Nabil Iman, in a statement, according to Daily Mial. Imam added that the work “demonstrates Loihi’s potential to provide important sensing capabilities that could benefit various industries.”So far, the researcher have trained it on ten harmful smells. It can be installed on robots in airports to help identify hazardous objects, or integrated withsensors in power plants or hospitals to detect dangerous gases.Similar biotechnology has seen the implementation in grasshoppers recently outfitted withcomputer chips to sniff-out bombs. However,this negativelyaffects their lifespan, limiting their use.While sniffer dogs might one day be out of a job, the circuits using AI to mimic the process of smell bring us one step closer to recreating the human sensory system in artificial intelligence.There are challenges in olfactory sensing, Imam says. When you walk into a grocery, you might smell a strawberry, but its smell might be similar to that of a blueberry or a banana, which induce very similar neural activity patterns in the brain. Sometimes it’s even hard for humans to distinguish between one fruit from a blend of scents. Systems might get tripped up when they smell a strawberry from Italy and one from California, which might have different aromas, yet need to be grouped into a common category. “These are challenges in olfactory signal recognition that we’re working on and that we hope to solve in the next couple of years before this becomes a product that can solve real-world problems beyond the experimental ones we have demonstrated in the lab,” Imam says. His work, he contends, is a “prime example of contemporary research taking place at the crossroads of neuroscience and artificial intelligence.”(46)What do we learn about Loihi?
A. It is a high-tech device that produces computer chips.
B. It is a dog’s biological organ to process its sense of smell.
C. It is a computer program that aids creating the circuit.
D. It is a chip that uses AI technology to identify a smell.
(47)What does the author think are crucial to sniffer dogs?
Agility and intelligence.
B. Olfactory system and memory capacity.
C. Stamina and flexibility.
D. Sensitivity and information processing.
(48)How does the human sense of smell work?
A. The nose decodes smells and makes judgments.
B. The brain processes smell signals and identifies it.
C. The air molecules interact with the olfactory bulb.
D. The nasal receptors translate signals into a specific smell.
(49)What is the defect in applying biotechnology to grasshoppers?
A. The harm to their life limits their application.
B. They are less sensitive than sniffer dogs.
C. They are in danger for being exposed to bombs.
D. The sensory system in them is under severe threat.