26.The author says that the powerful computers of today ______.

　　A) are capable of reliably recognizing the shape of an object

　　B) are close to exhibiting humanlike behavior

　　C) are not very different in their performance from those of the 50's

　　D) still cannot communicate with people in a human language

　　27.The new trend in artificial intelligence research stems from ______.

　　A) the shift of the focus of study on to the recognition of the shapes of objects

　　B) the belief that human intelligence cannot be duplicated with logical, step-by-step programs

　　C) the aspirations of scientists to duplicate the intelligence of a ten-month-old child

　　D) the efforts made by scientists in the study of the similarities between transistors and brain cells

　　28.Conrad and his group of AI researchers have been making enormous efforts to ______.

　　A) find a roundabout way to design powerful computers

　　B) build a computer using a clever network of switches

　　C) find out how intelligence developed in nature

　　D) separate the highest and most abstract levels of thought

　　29.What's the author's opinion about the new AI movement?

　　A) It has created a sensation among artificial intelligence researchers but will soon die out.

　　B) It's a breakthrough in duplicating human thought processes.

　　C) It's more like a peculiar game rather than a real scientific effort.

　　D) It may prove to be in the right direction though nobody is sure of its future prospects.

　　30.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase "the only game in town" (Line 3, Para. 4)?

　　A) The only approach to building an artificially intelligent computer.

　　B) The only way for them to win a prize in artificial intelligence research.

　　C) The only area worth studying in computer science.

　　D) The only game they would like to play in town.

　　In the 1950s, the pioneers of artificial intelligence (AI) predicted that, by the end of this century, computers would be conversing with us at work and robots would be performing our housework. But as useful as computers are, they're nowhere close to achieving anything remotely resembling these early aspirations for humanlike behavior. Never mind something as complex as conversation: the most powerful computers struggle to reliably recognize the shape of an object, the most elementary of tasks for a ten-month-old kid.

　　A growing group of AI researchers think they know where the field went wrong. The problem, the scientists say, is that AI has been trying to separate the highest, most abstract levels of thought, like language and mathematics, and to duplicate them with logical, step-by-step programs. A new movement in AI, on the other hand, takes a closer look at the more roundabout way in which nature came up with intelligence. Many of these researchers study evolution and natural adaptation instead of formal logic and conventional computer programs. Rather than digital computers and transistors, some want to work with brain cells and proteins. The results of these early efforts are as promising as they are peculiar, and the new nature-based AI movement is slowly but surely moving to the forefront of the field.