大学英语六级：短文改错(四十七)

The human brain contains 10 thousand million cells and
each of these may have a thousand connections. So enormous ___1___
numbers used to discourage us and causing us to dismiss the ___2___
possibility of making a machine with human-like ability, but now
that we have grown used to move forward at such a pace we can ___3___
be less sure. Quite soon, in only 10 or 20 years perhaps, we will
be able to assemble a machine as complex as the human brain,
and if we can we will. It may then take us a long time to render
it intelligently by loading in the right software or by altering the ___4___
architecture but that too will happen. I think it certain that in
decades, no centuries, machines of silicon will arise first to rival ___5___
and then exceed their human ancestors. Once they exceed us
they will be capable of their own design. In real sense they will ___6___
be able to reproduce themselves. Silicon will have ended carbon’s
long control. And we will no longer be able to claim
ourselves to be the fine intelligence in the known universe. As ___7___
the intelligence of robots increase to match that of humans and ___8___
as their cost declines through economics of scale that we may use ___9___
them to expand our frontiers, first on earth through their ability
to withstand environments, beneficial to ourselves. Thus, deserts ___10___
may bloom and the ocean beds are minded. Further ahead, by
a combination of the great wealth this new age will bring and the
technology it will provide, the construction of a vast, man-created
world in space, home to thousands or millions of people, will be
within our power.



答案及解析:
1. So -> Such
名词前有形容词时，so和such都可以被用来修饰，但要注意不定冠词a / an的位置，如so big a city / such a big city；如果修饰的对象是复数或不可数名词时，则只能用such修饰。

2. causing -> cause
本行中used to do意为“过去常做某事”，后接动词原形；discourage和causing由and连接成并列结构，动词形式应保持一致，都应为动词原形。

3. move -> moving
此处have grown used to ….相当于have been used to….，意为“习惯于做某事”，其后接名词或动名词，故将move改为moving。