D
Some cities and lawmakers are resisting crime-fighting tech owing to bias (偏见) and accuracy concerns. Police departments around the U.S. are asking citizens to trust them to use facial recognition software as a handy tool in their crime-fighting toolbox. But some lawmakers — and even some technology giants — are against it.
Take the western Massachusetts city of Springfield, where many residents are Latino or black. Springfield police say they have no plans to use facial recognition systems, but some City Council members are moving to block any future government use of the technology anyway.
At an October hearing on the subject, Springfield City Councilman, Orlando Ramos, defended the technology. “The facial recognition technology does not drop a net from the sky and put you to prison,” he said, noting that it could serve as a useful investigative tool. However, he doesn’t want to take any risks. “It would only lead to more racial discrimination.” he said, citing studies that found higher error rates for facial recognition software used to identify women and people with darker skins.
Similar debates across the country are highlighting racial issues and concerns about the technology’s accuracy. Axon, which supplies body-worn cameras nationwide, had already formed an artificial intelligence ethics board (伦理委员会)that concluded facial recognition technology isn’t yet dependable enough to justify its use on police cameras. Axon Chief Executive Rick Smith said, “Even if facial recognition software was perfectly accurate, the ability to track people raises privacy concerns. “Do we want everybody who walks near a police officer to get their face identified and logged in a database?” he said.
Nevertheless, Todd Pastorini, general manager at biometric forensics (生物取证) company DataWorks Plus, said it’s the “extremely effective” method of running images through photos to help identify a suspect. “Society and the public are going to get frustrated, if governments refuse to adopt a technology that keeps improving”, he said. In his eyes, facial recognition hits are just one part of an investigation.
32. What is Orlando Ramos’ attitude towards facial recognition?
A. Hopeful. B. Cautious. C. Ambiguous. D. Tolerant.
33
What is one focus of the debates about facial recognition?
A. Gender discrimination. B. Speed limit.
C. Accuracy rate. D. Steadiness control.
34. What does Rick Smith think of facial recognition?
A. It appears to cause prejudice. B. It brings about privacy concerns.
C. Its technology is reliable. D. Its accuracy needs improving.
35. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Facial recognition tool meets with resistance.
B. All the people disapprove of facial recognition.
C. Facial recognition is the only tool of investigation.
D. Governments should ban facial recognition.
【答案】32. B 33. C 34. B 35. A
【解析】
这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了美国警察部门要求用面部识别软件进行犯罪打击，但一些立法者和科技巨头对此提出的反对意见，因为在某些州内，该软件对于识别肤色较深的人和女性的错误率更高，而且还有可能引起个人隐私问题。但也有人提出面部识别只是调查中的一部分，如果拒绝采用这一不断进步的技术，社会和公众将会感到沮丧。
【32题详解】
推理判断题。根据第三段中的“The facial recognition technology does not drop a net from the sky and put you to prison,” he said, noting that it could serve as a useful investigative tool. However, he doesn’t want to take any risks. “It would only lead to more racial discrimination.” he said, citing studies that found higher error rates for facial recognition software used to identify women and people with darker skins.可知，Orlando认为可以将这个软件作为一个有用的调查工具，但他也不愿意冒任何的风险，因为这个软件很有可能导致更多的种族歧视，研究发现识别女性和肤色较深的人时错误率更高。由此可知，Orlando对这个软件持谨慎态度。A. Hopeful.充满希望的；B. Cautious.小心的，谨慎的；C. Ambiguous.模棱两可的，模糊的；D. Tolerant.宽容的。故选B。
【33题详解】
细节理解题。根据第四段中的Similar debates across the country are highlighting racial issues and concerns about the technology’s accuracy.可知，类似的争辩都突显了种族问题和对该技术准确性的担忧。由此可知，现在关注的是识别的准确度。故选C。
【34题详解】
细节理解题。根据第四段倒数第二句Axon Chief Executive Rick Smith said, “Even if facial recognition software was perfectly accurate, the ability to track people raises privacy concerns.”可知，Rick Smith认为就算面部识别的识别度非常准确，追踪人们的能力也会引起隐私问题。由此可知，这会引发一些隐私方面的问题。故选B。
【35题详解】
推理判断题。根据第三段中的At an October hearing on the subject, Springfield City Councilman, Orlando Ramos, defended the technology.可知，议员在为这项技术进行辩护，说明并不是所有人都反对面部识别，故B项错误。最后一段最后一句facial recognition hits are just one part of an investigation.可知，面部识别只是调查的一部分，故C项错误。最后一段倒数第二句Society and the public are going to get frustrated, if governments refuse to adopt a technology that keeps improving可知，如果政府不接受这种不断进步的技术，社会和公众将会感到沮丧，而这是一个更严重的问题，故D项错误。文章第一段提到，一些立法者甚至科技巨头都反对这项技术的使用，而且一些州的议会成员阻止着政府使用这项技术，说明面部识别技术在推广上遭到了阻碍。故选A。
Some cities and lawmakers are resisting crime-fighting tech owing to bias (偏见) and accuracy concerns. Police departments around the U.S. are asking citizens to trust them to use facial recognition software as a handy tool in their crime-fighting toolbox. But some lawmakers — and even some technology giants — are against it.
Take the western Massachusetts city of Springfield, where many residents are Latino or black. Springfield police say they have no plans to use facial recognition systems, but some City Council members are moving to block any future government use of the technology anyway.
At an October hearing on the subject, Springfield City Councilman, Orlando Ramos, defended the technology. “The facial recognition technology does not drop a net from the sky and put you to prison,” he said, noting that it could serve as a useful investigative tool. However, he doesn’t want to take any risks. “It would only lead to more racial discrimination.” he said, citing studies that found higher error rates for facial recognition software used to identify women and people with darker skins.
Similar debates across the country are highlighting racial issues and concerns about the technology’s accuracy. Axon, which supplies body-worn cameras nationwide, had already formed an artificial intelligence ethics board (伦理委员会)that concluded facial recognition technology isn’t yet dependable enough to justify its use on police cameras. Axon Chief Executive Rick Smith said, “Even if facial recognition software was perfectly accurate, the ability to track people raises privacy concerns. “Do we want everybody who walks near a police officer to get their face identified and logged in a database?” he said.
Nevertheless, Todd Pastorini, general manager at biometric forensics (生物取证) company DataWorks Plus, said it’s the “extremely effective” method of running images through photos to help identify a suspect. “Society and the public are going to get frustrated, if governments refuse to adopt a technology that keeps improving”, he said. In his eyes, facial recognition hits are just one part of an investigation.
32. What is Orlando Ramos’ attitude towards facial recognition?
A. Hopeful. B. Cautious. C. Ambiguous. D. Tolerant.
33
What is one focus of the debates about facial recognition?A. Gender discrimination. B. Speed limit.
C. Accuracy rate. D. Steadiness control.
34. What does Rick Smith think of facial recognition?
A. It appears to cause prejudice. B. It brings about privacy concerns.
C. Its technology is reliable. D. Its accuracy needs improving.
35. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Facial recognition tool meets with resistance.
B. All the people disapprove of facial recognition.
C. Facial recognition is the only tool of investigation.
D. Governments should ban facial recognition.
【答案】32. B 33. C 34. B 35. A
【解析】
这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了美国警察部门要求用面部识别软件进行犯罪打击，但一些立法者和科技巨头对此提出的反对意见，因为在某些州内，该软件对于识别肤色较深的人和女性的错误率更高，而且还有可能引起个人隐私问题。但也有人提出面部识别只是调查中的一部分，如果拒绝采用这一不断进步的技术，社会和公众将会感到沮丧。
【32题详解】
推理判断题。根据第三段中的“The facial recognition technology does not drop a net from the sky and put you to prison,” he said, noting that it could serve as a useful investigative tool. However, he doesn’t want to take any risks. “It would only lead to more racial discrimination.” he said, citing studies that found higher error rates for facial recognition software used to identify women and people with darker skins.可知，Orlando认为可以将这个软件作为一个有用的调查工具，但他也不愿意冒任何的风险，因为这个软件很有可能导致更多的种族歧视，研究发现识别女性和肤色较深的人时错误率更高。由此可知，Orlando对这个软件持谨慎态度。A. Hopeful.充满希望的；B. Cautious.小心的，谨慎的；C. Ambiguous.模棱两可的，模糊的；D. Tolerant.宽容的。故选B。
【33题详解】
细节理解题。根据第四段中的Similar debates across the country are highlighting racial issues and concerns about the technology’s accuracy.可知，类似的争辩都突显了种族问题和对该技术准确性的担忧。由此可知，现在关注的是识别的准确度。故选C。
【34题详解】
细节理解题。根据第四段倒数第二句Axon Chief Executive Rick Smith said, “Even if facial recognition software was perfectly accurate, the ability to track people raises privacy concerns.”可知，Rick Smith认为就算面部识别的识别度非常准确，追踪人们的能力也会引起隐私问题。由此可知，这会引发一些隐私方面的问题。故选B。
【35题详解】
推理判断题。根据第三段中的At an October hearing on the subject, Springfield City Councilman, Orlando Ramos, defended the technology.可知，议员在为这项技术进行辩护，说明并不是所有人都反对面部识别，故B项错误。最后一段最后一句facial recognition hits are just one part of an investigation.可知，面部识别只是调查的一部分，故C项错误。最后一段倒数第二句Society and the public are going to get frustrated, if governments refuse to adopt a technology that keeps improving可知，如果政府不接受这种不断进步的技术，社会和公众将会感到沮丧，而这是一个更严重的问题，故D项错误。文章第一段提到，一些立法者甚至科技巨头都反对这项技术的使用，而且一些州的议会成员阻止着政府使用这项技术，说明面部识别技术在推广上遭到了阻碍。故选A。
