How soon will it be before robots become so intelligent that will be able to do things, such as teaching
languages or looking after patients in hospital? Some experts believe this will happen within twenty years
while others disagree.
     One London company, UAS (Universal Automated Systems) has already developed machines that can be used as "home helps" for old people unable to look after themselves and who are living on their own or
in special homes.These machines can now do such things as cooking eggs and cleaning the floor, and the
company says that future models still accept simple voice instructions and be controlled by a " brain" that is the equivalent(当量) of the latest IBM microcomputer. The director of USA, Mr Henry Jeffries, believes
that in the next five to ten years companies will have developed even more sophisticated(复杂的) robots
for use in industry. By this time, it is likely that they will also have begun to sell new forms of these
machines into ordinary homes. Robots could do a wide range of household tasks, such as preparing meals, washing dishes, cleaning the house and so on. By then, the price of such machines may have come down to as little as $1 000.
     But Dr Sandra Lomax, who has done research into artificial(人工的) intelligence at Sussex University
and MIT ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology) believes we have a long way to go before we can
develop truly intelligent machines,
     "Preparing an omelette (煎蛋)  may seem easy enough. But suppose one of the eggs has gone bad,
even the most "intelligent" robot would probably still use it. If something slightly unusual needs
doing-something that requires even a little bit of ordinary human imagination, a robot is useless. They need programming for even the simplest of tasks and are not able to leam from experience. And teaching a
robot how to recognize a bad egg is far more difficult than teaching it to prepare the omelette the egg goes
into," she says.

A. Far water does not put out near fire.
B. All rivers run into sea.
C. Many a little makes a miracle.
D. It never rains but it pours.

     There is no denying that students should learn something about how computers work, just
as we expect them at least to understand that the internal-combustion engine (内燃机) has
something to do with burning fuel, expanding gases and pistons (活塞) being driven. For
people should have some basic idea of how the things that they use do what they do. Further,
students might be helped by a course that considers the computer"s impact on society. But
that is not what is meant by computer literacy. For computer literacy is not a form of literacy
(读写能力); it is a trade skill that should not be taught as a liberal art.
      Learning how to use a computer and learning how to program one are two distinct
activities. A case might be made that the competent citizens of tomorrow should free
 themselves from their fear of computers. But this is quite different from saying that all ought
to know how to program one. Leave that to people who have chosen programming as a
career. While programming can be lots of fun, and while our society needs some people
who are experts at it, the same is true of auto repair and violin-making.
Learning how to use a computer is not that difficu1t, and it gets easier all the time as
programs become more "user-friendly". Let us assume that in the future everyone is
going to have to know how to use a computer to be a competent citizen. What does the
phrase "learning to use a computer" mean? It sounds like "learning to drive a car", that is,
it sounds as if there is some set of definite skills that, once acquired, enable one to use a
computer.
     In fact, "learning to use a computer" is much more like "learning to play a game", but
learning the rules of one game may not he1p you play a second game, whose rules may
not be the same. There is no such a thing as teaching someone how to use a computer.
One can only teach people to use this or that program and generally that is easily accomplished.