Embracing cyborg futures

浙江 江 麗

在科技飛速發展的時代，“賽博格”這個概念不再僅存在于科幻電影中，而是逐漸成為現實。

主題語境：智能設備 篇幅：339詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1It's natural that people want to use the latest innovations to better themselves.Smart devices can truly do incredible things and help to simplify our day.They can also enhance our perceptions, arm us with knowledge, and open up a world of new possibilities.A few people have even decided to make the leap and transform themselves to become cyborgs.

2Cyborg is a term used to describe a being that is half human and half machine.This may sound like something out of sciencefiction films, but some people have already adopted this lifestyle.One is artist Neil Harbisson.He was born completely color-blind, and could only see black and white images.It seemed that he would never experience colors.After attending a cybernetics talk in college, he met an inventor who agreed to make a special device for him.The inventor's team designed an eyeborg, a mechanical eye that changed colors into sound frequencies.This enabled Harbisson to hear colors and perceive the world in a different way.He started going to museums to “hear” classic paintings.In fact, a simple walk down a grocery store filled with colorful products produces some catchy tunes (動 聽 的 曲 調).Harbisson loves his eyeborg so much that he rarely takes it off.He now gives talks urging others to consider adding their own mechanical improvements.

3British scientist Kevin Warwick conducted his own experiment in 1998.He implanted a chip into his arm, which he used to control lights and other appliances at home.He later expanded the project by placing electrodes (電極) inside his nervous system and linking the electrodes to the Internet.This allowed him to control external objects including robotic arms and loudspeakers.His work remains influential as this example of extended sensory input was the first of its kind.

4You can decide whether becoming a cyborg is right for you, or if you're content to remain a human like the rest of us.

Reading Check

1.What can we know about the eyeborg from paragraph 2?

A.It is a machine which is half human eye and half machine.

B.It is a device that changes sounds into colors for the color-blind.

C.It makes the color-blind perceive colors by hearing sound frequencies.

D.It enables the color-blind to identify colors by creating classic paintings.

2.How is the text developed?

A.By comparison.

B.By classification.

C.By giving examples.

D.By listing data.

3.What is probably the author's attitude to the experience of being a cyborg?

A.Objective.

B.Skeptical.

C.Indifferent.

D.Ambiguous.

4.What is the text mainly about?

A.The reasons why cyborgs make our world colorful.

B.The reasons why many people want to have eyeborgs.

C.How innovative technology improves people's lives.

D.How technology promotes the development of cyborgs.

Language Study

Ⅰ.日積月累

innovationn.創新

simplifyv.簡化

perceptionn.感知

cyborgn.賽博格（半人半機器的存在物）

color-blindadj.色盲的

frequencyn.頻率

tunen.曲調

implantv.植入

chipn.芯片

smart device 智能設備

mechanical eye 機械眼

Ⅱ.語法填空

A cyborg is a person who has both body parts 1.________ machine parts.Imagine people 2.________ can't see colors, but with a special machine added to their eyes, they can hear colors.This is 3.________ happened to a man named Neil Harbisson.He has a small device that 4.________(let) him hear what colors sound like.People become cyborgs for different 5.________(reason).Some people need to replace parts they have lost, while others want to make their bodies do special things that are not possible 6.________(normal).For example, another person, Kevin Warwick, put a small computer part in his arm in 1998.This let him control computers without 7.________(touch) them.The idea of being part machine might seem strange, 8.________ it shows how much we can do with technology.It helps some people in amazing ways.Being a cyborg 9.________(mix) human and machine, and it is something that is becoming more common.It can change 10.________we live and do things in the future.