ADVANCED READING 2B

Week Computer
Beats Cha
m ps
3 Inventions

BIG QUESTION
How intelligent can machines be?

Watch a video about a kid dreaming to be a robot inventor. Answer the questions
below.
1. Do you want to be an inventor when you grow up?
2. If you could create anything, what would you invent? Why?
3. What would make your invention special?

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Learn Key Vocabulary

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Language Strategy
Reading for Details
When we read for details, we read every word carefully and think carefully about the
meaning. It is usually best to read for details wen we are looking for information in a part of a
passage – for example, when answering questions for a test.

Practice
A. Read the following sentences. Then scan the first paragraph of the passage on the
next page for the information. Write true (T) or false (F) for each sentence. If the
sentence is false, change it to make it true.
1. Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter had never been on Jeopardy! Before. ______
2. This was the first time the men played against Watson. ______
3. Watson often got answers wrong. ______
4. The men and Watson competed against each other in 2010. ______

B. Now read the entire passage carefully. Then answer the questions that follow.
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Computer Beats Champs

In 2011, on the popular
American TV quiz show,
Jeopardy!, two champions
competed against a brand
new opponent. Both Ken
Jennings and Brad Rutter had
won millions of dollars on
Jeopardy! Jennings once won
74 games in a row, the most
ever. Then Rutter beat him in
a tournament and set a new
record for the most money won on Jeopardy! Their new opponent, Watson, had never appeared
on the game show and had only played practice games before, in which he often got answers
wrong.

However, Watson isn’t human. He or rather it, is a machine, a wonder of technology made by
researchers at IBM. In the game, Watson used math to decide on an answer. When a question
was read out, Watson was immediately given the same question in electronic form. It analyzed
the question and searched its memory bank – about the same as one million books of information
– for possible answers. It then narrowed the options down to one answer. If Watson felt around
75 percent confident about the answer, it would answer the question.

The way Watson thinks is very different from the way humans think. People often make
decisions by listening to their emotions and feelings, even if they are unsure of the answer. As a
computer, Watson was not able to “listen” to the wrong answers given by his competitors. In
one question, Jennings answered the question incorrectly and Watson later answered with the
same wrong answer.

Watson also made silly mistakes. In a question in the category U.S. Cities, Watson incorrectly
answered Toronto, even though the city of Toronto is in Canada. An IBM researcher said Watson
got confused because it saw in its memory bank that the U.S. is often called America. Toronto is
considered a North American city, so that was the answer that Watson gave.

Still, Watson defeated his human opponents somewhat easily and received the $1 million prize.
The other players also won money for participating in the special game. Everyone left the game
happy, as each player was earning money for a different charity.

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Check Your Comprehension

A. Choose the correct answers for the following questions.
1. Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter played a special game against a ___________.
a. man
b. researcher
c. computer
2. Watson used ___________ to answer the questions.
a. feelings
b. paper
c. math
3. Watson made a mistake because it thought the question was about cities in
___________.
a. The U.S.
b. Canada
c. America
4. The money the players won in the game went to ___________.
a. charity
b. Jeopardy!
c. Watson
B. In which paragraph (1-5) of the passage can you find the following information?
Write the number. You may use any number more than once.
a. Watson is a machine that uses math to answer questions. ______
b. Watson sometimes gets confused. ______
c. Jen Jennings and Brad Rutter are Jeopardy! champions. ______
d. Watson won, but everyone received money. ______
e. Watson makes decisions in a different way from humans. ______
C. Answer the following questions.
1. Watson beat two very smart men. Why do you think Watson won?
2. Which is smarter: humans or machines? Why do you think so?

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 ADVANCED READING 2B

Visualize
Use the Venn diagram below to compare and contrast between Watson and humans.

Watson Humans

Let's Get Deeper

Discuss the following questions with a partner.
1. What is the most useful invention?
2. Will machines someday beat humans?
3. What can machines never replace humans?

A. What would it mean for a machine to have a soul? Imagine you were the
machine, write about your life.
You should write:
- What kind of machine are you? What is your name?
- How were you created? What is your job?
- Do you have a family or friends?
- What is your dream?

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B. Read the texts below. Remember to practice the language strategy you have learned to
answer the following questions.

The Most Useful Inventions

TOPIC: THE MOST USEFUL INVENTIONS
The other day, my friends and I had a discussion about the most
useful invention of all time. There were many good ideas – the train,
the car, and the airplane. They’re all useful, but they were not my
choices. For an everyday, useful invention, I vote for the air
conditioner. I live in Taipei, and during the summer the temperature
can be 35 degrees Celsius or higher. It’s so hot! I’m not joking when I
say that, without and air conditioner, people here couldn’t work or
study. The weather is so hot that it can make you feel unwell if you
don’t drink enough water and get enough rest. What do you guys
think is the most useful invention of all time?
Posted by Cindy Wu on Saturday, April 13
I don’t know if I agree with you, Cindy. For me, the most useful
invention of all time is surely the Internet. We can now reach people
and do business faster. I own a clothing store in Mexico City, and
there’s a lot of competition. I also have a website. Now, people from
all over the world can buy my clothing. With emails, I can keep in
touch with friends and family in Mexico and around the world. It’s
faster than usual mail, and it’s cheaper than using the phone!
Posted by Jorge on Sunday, April 14
Jorge, I also think that the internet is useful. But, in my opinion, there
is an “invention” that is even more important, and that’s electricity.
Of course, this isn’t a man-made invention, but without people like
Benjamin Franklin and Alessandro Volta, we wouldn’t have learned
how to use it. And without electricity, many of the world’s most
important modern inventions would not work.

Posted by Kazuo on Monday, April 15

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B. Choose the correct answers for the following questions.
1. For Cindy, the air conditioner is the most useful because ___________.
a. her apartment doesn’t smell very good
b. she lives in a very hot place
c. she often gets sick
2. Jorge says that the Internet helps him to ___________.
a. sell air conditioners to people around the world
b. keep in touch with family and friends
c. use the telephone more cheaply
3. Kazuo thinks electricity is the most useful invention because ___________.
a. many machines cannot work without it
b. Benjamin Franklin invented it
c. it isn’t really man-made
4. Who is most likely to agree that communication is the most important?
a. Cindy
b. Jorge
c. Kazuo
C. Answer the following questions by writing C (for Cindy), J (for Jorge), or K (for
Kazuo) in the blanks below.

1. chose an invention that people didn’t make _______

2. mentioned trains, cars, and planes _______
3. sells clothing _______
4. talked to friends about the topic _______
5. has a website _______