雅思词汇课文（3）· AI in Daily Life 人工智能走进日常生活
科技主题，约 350 词，融入 30 个雅思科技类核心词。
🎧 课文朗读音频（约 1 分钟）
📖 课文 Text
AI in Daily Life
Only a few years ago, artificial intelligence was a subject confined to science fiction. Today, it is embedded in the routine of almost every modern life: smartphones recognise our faces, music apps predict our tastes, and navigation systems calculate the fastest route before we leave home.
The speed of this transition has taken even experts by surprise. What began as a narrow set of tools for automating repetitive tasks has expanded into systems that can translate languages, draft documents, and even make medical diagnoses. This automation promises to raise productivity, but it also raises unprecedented questions about work, privacy, and who is responsible when a system makes a mistake.
Critics point to several risks. Machine-learning systems can perpetuate human bias: if a hiring algorithm is trained on data from a company with a history of discriminating against women, it will learn to do the same. Transparency is another concern — many AI systems are effectively "black boxes", and even their designers cannot always explain how a particular decision was reached. There are also fears that autonomous weapons, self-driving cars and surveillance tools could shift power dangerously toward governments and large corporations.
Yet the same technology offers genuine benefits. AI can process volumes of data far beyond human capacity, spotting patterns in medical scans that doctors might miss. It can optimise energy use, predict equipment failures, and personalise education for students who learn at their own pace. Used well, it is a powerful tool, not a replacement for human judgement.
The central challenge is governance, not the technology itself. Without clear rules, the benefits of AI may be concentrated among a small group of companies, while its risks fall on everyone else. The question is no longer whether AI will transform society, but how its use will be regulated — and whether ordinary people will have a say in the answer.
📝 生词表 New Words and Expressions
| Word | 音标 | 词性 | 中文 | 课文例句 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| embedded | /ɪmˈbedɪd/ | adj. | 嵌入的、内置的 | embedded in the routine |
| calculate | /ˈkælkjuleɪt/ | v. | 计算 | calculate the fastest route |
| transition | /trænˈzɪʃn/ | n. | 过渡、转变 | the speed of this transition |
| automate | /ˈɔːtəmeɪt/ | v. | 使自动化 | automating repetitive tasks |
| diagnosis | /ˌdaɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/ | n. | 诊断 | medical diagnoses |
| productivity | /ˌprɒdʌkˈtɪvəti/ | n. | 生产力、效率 | raise productivity |
| unprecedented | /ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd/ | adj. | 前所未有的 | unprecedented questions |
| risk | /rɪsk/ | n. | 风险 | several risks |
| perpetuate | /pəˈpetʃueɪt/ | v. | 使永久化、使延续 | perpetuate human bias |
| bias | /ˈbaɪəs/ | n. | 偏见 | human bias |
| discriminate | /dɪˈskrɪmɪneɪt/ | v. | 歧视 | discriminating against women |
| transparency | /trænsˈpærənsi/ | n. | 透明度 | transparency is another concern |
| autonomous | /ɔːˈtɒnəməs/ | adj. | 自主的、自动的 | autonomous weapons |
| surveillance | /sɜːˈveɪləns/ | n. | 监视、监控 | surveillance tools |
| corporation | /ˌkɔːpəˈreɪʃn/ | n. | 公司、企业 | large corporations |
| benefit | /ˈbenɪfɪt/ | n. | 好处、益处 | genuine benefits |
| process | /ˈprəʊses/ | v. | 处理 | process volumes of data |
| capacity | /kəˈpæsəti/ | n. | 容量、能力 | beyond human capacity |
| optimise | /ˈɒptɪmaɪz/ | v. | 优化 | optimise energy use |
| personalise | /ˈpɜːsənəlaɪz/ | v. | 个性化 | personalise education |
| tool | /tuːl/ | n. | 工具 | a powerful tool |
| judgement | /ˈdʒʌdʒmənt/ | n. | 判断 | human judgement |
| governance | /ˈɡʌvənəns/ | n. | 治理、管理 | the central challenge is governance |
| regulate | /ˈreɡjuleɪt/ | v. | 监管、规范 | how its use will be regulated |
| ordinary | /ˈɔːdnri/ | adj. | 普通的 | ordinary people |
| routine | /ruːˈtiːn/ | n. | 日常、常规 | modern routine |
| repetitive | /rɪˈpetətɪv/ | adj. | 重复的 | repetitive tasks |
| scale | /skeɪl/ | n. | 规模 | on a large scale |
| device | /dɪˈvaɪs/ | n. | 设备 | smart devices |
| expertise | /ˌekspɜːˈtiːz/ | n. | 专业知识、专长 | technical expertise |
🧠 课文理解 Comprehension
1. According to Paragraph 1, AI today is...
- A. still mainly used in science fiction
- B. already part of everyday life
- C. available only on computers
- D. still too expensive for most people
2. The example of the hiring algorithm shows that AI can...
- A. eliminate human bias completely
- B. reproduce and even worsen human prejudice
- C. make hiring fairer automatically
- D. predict future salaries accurately
3. What does the writer mean by calling AI systems "black boxes"?
- A. they are physically dark
- B. even their designers cannot always explain their decisions
- C. they are kept secret from the public
- D. they are dangerous to operate
4. According to Paragraph 4, AI is beneficial because it...
- A. replaces doctors and teachers
- B. can find patterns in data that humans might miss
- C. costs nothing to use
- D. makes human judgement unnecessary
5. The writer's main point in the final paragraph is that...
- A. AI technology itself is dangerous
- B. we need better rules governing how AI is used
- C. ordinary people should not use AI
- D. AI will transform society for the worse
✏️ 词汇练习 Vocabulary Practice
Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list. Change the form where necessary.
| automate / bias / capacity / discriminate / governance / optimise / unprecedented / transparency |
- The company's hiring practices were found to ______ against older workers.
- The crisis posed an ______ challenge that no government was prepared for.
- Machines can ______ many routine tasks faster than humans.
- The system was criticised for lack of ______ — no one knew how decisions were made.
- People from minority groups complained that the algorithm showed a clear ______.
- The brain has an enormous ______ to store information.
- The factory was redesigned to ______ energy efficiency.
- Good corporate ______ is essential for public trust.
✅ 答案 Answers
Comprehension
- B（"embedded in the routine of almost every modern life"）
- B（"if a hiring algorithm is trained on data... discriminating against women, it will learn to do the same"）
- B（"even their designers cannot always explain how a particular decision was reached"）
- B（"spotting patterns in medical scans that doctors might miss"）
- B（"The question is... how its use will be regulated"）
Vocabulary
- discriminate 2. unprecedented 3. automate 4. transparency 5. bias 6. capacity 7. optimise 8. governance
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