Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.
Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person's thoughts.
In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.
“Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord (脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles.” Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.
The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp (頭皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.
Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”
He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.
【小題1】BCI is a technology that can ________.

A．help to update computer systems
B．link the human brain with computers
C．help the disabled to recover
D．control a person's thoughts
【小題2】How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?
A．By controlling his muscles.
B．By talking to the machine.
C．By moving his hand.
D．By using his mind.
【小題3】Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?
A．scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair
B．computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair
C．scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair
D．cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair
【小題4】Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A．Switzerland, the BCI Research Center
B．New Findings About How the Human Brain Works
C．BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled
D．Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries


【小題1】B
【小題2】D
【小題3】C
【小題4】C

解析試題分析：大腦能不能直接和電腦機(jī)器連接起來并控制？最近科學(xué)家們研究出一種“腦控輪椅”。病人戴上特定的帽子就可以通過思考和想法操控輪椅。也許這是一項(xiàng)福音。
【小題1】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由“scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.”可知BCI就是為了讓人腦來直接連接電腦并控制。故選B。
【小題2】 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由“In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand.”可知，Tavella用移動左右手的想法來控制輪椅。故選D。
【小題3】推理判斷題。由倒數(shù)第二段可知，信號從頭皮傳到帽子，再由電腦控制輪椅。故選C。
【小題4】主旨大意題。全文主要是在介紹BCI這一新發(fā)明并強(qiáng)調(diào)對殘疾病人的巨大幫助。故選C。
考點(diǎn)：科普類短文閱讀。

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