Reading Comprehension TOEFL Exams 71

TOEFL Exams: Reading Comprehension - Lesson 71 (Đọc hiểu - TOEFL - Bài 71)

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Simply stated, computational linguistics is no more than the use of electronic digital computers in linguistic research. These machines are employed to scan texts and to produce, more rapidly and more reliably than is possible without their aid, such valuable tools 5 for linguistic and stylistic research as word lists, frequency counts, and concordances. But more interesting and theoretically much more difficult than the compilation of lists, is the use of computers for automatic grammatical analysis and translation. A considerable amount of progress was made in the area of machine translation in 10 the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France between the mid-1950's, and the mid- 1960's but much of the original impetus for this work has now disappeared, due in part to the realization that the problems involved are infinitely more complex than was at first envisaged. Thus, translation continues to remain as much an 15 art as a science if not more so.

1. According to the passage, computational linguistics involves
(A) a reliance on computers
(B) a simplified computer language
(C) making electronic tools
(D) research into electronics
2. In what way have the machines referred to proven to be helpful to researchers ?
(A) They can produce accurate lists of what a text contains.
(B) They can translate texts more reliably than was possible in the past.
(C) They can validate the theories of linguists and stylists.
(D) They have been used to improve grammatical analysis.
3. How does the author describe the present state of machine translation?
(A) It has been recognized as an art.
(B) It has largely been abandoned.
(C) It has received new impetus from a more artistic approach.
(D) The complex problems previously envisaged have recently been solved.
4. According to the passage, which of the following problems is the most difficult to solve ?
(A) compilation of word lists and frequency counts
(B) developing a theoretical approach to list compilation
(C) grammatical analyses and translations
(D) coming up with concordance which are useful for stylistic research
5. According to the passage, when approximately was significant progress made in translations by computers ?
(A) between 1950 and 1960
(B) before 1950
(C) after 1965
(D) between 1955 and 1965
6. It can be inferred from the passage that translation
(A) will never be done satisfactorily by machines
(B) is a science rather than an art
(C) is more complex than making lists
(D) is done particularly well in the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union