Dawn of the Robots IELTS Reading Answers

You can practice the IELTS academic reading module by answering the questions for the Dawn of the Robots reading passage. This topic is given in Cambridge IELTS test 2 Reading Passage 2. In this passage, you’ll find 3 different types of questions such as matching headings, matching features, and note completion. To make you understand better we’ve given the solutions and explanations for this AC reading passage in this article.

Dawn of the Robot

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You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

Reading Passage 2

A. At first glance, it appeared to be a typical suburban road accident. A Land Rover approached a Chevrolet Tahoe estate car that had stopped at a curb; the Land Rover drove out and attempted to pass the Tahoe just as it started off again. There was a crack of the fender and the sound of paint being scraped, the kind of minor accident that occurs tens of thousands of times a day on the roads. Typically, drivers exit their vehicles, gesticulate, exchange insurance information, and then drive away. In November’s DARPA (U.S. Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency) Urban Challenge, both the Tahoe and the Land Rover were being driven by computers.

B. It’s mind-boggling to think that machines could perform to such high levels. Driving is a complex task that takes a long time for humans to master. Nonetheless, each car had its on-board computer loaded with a digital map and route plans, and was instructed to navigate busy roads, distinguish between pedestrians and stationary objects, determine whether other vehicles were parked or moving off, and handle various parking maneuvers, all of which robots proved to be surprisingly adept at. The fact that the only scrape in the entire tournament was between the robot Land Rover developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Tahoe outfitted by Cornell University Artificial Intelligence (AI) experts was even more striking. However, only three years ago, at DARPA’s previous driverless car competition, every robot contender – assigned to traverse over a length of the open desert – crashed or seized up before reaching the finish line.

C. It is a stunning transition with obvious implications for the future of automobiles. Bill Gates, the CEO of Microsoft and an ardent supporter of robots and AI, has emphasized the significance of the advancements made in robotics and AI over the previous several years. He argues that the robotics sector is evolving similarly to the computer industry 30 years ago. As he points out, electronic corporations produce increasingly sophisticated gadgets that imitate pets and youngsters. Gates states, “I can envision a future in which robotic technologies would become practically ubiquitous in our daily lives.” We may be on the cusp of a new era in which the PC will leave the desktop and enable us to see, hear, touch, and operate objects in locations where we are not physically present.

D. What is the near-future potential for robots and computers? We have a long way to go before real robots catch up to their science fiction counterparts which is a fact, said Gates. Then, what are the stumbling blocks? One crucial challenge is teaching robots their proper location. This has nothing to do with etiquette or class but it is only a matter of location. Humans orient themselves with ease in relation to other objects in a room. Robots find the task to be nearly impossible. “Even something as simple as distinguishing between an open door and a window might be difficult for a robot”, according to Gates. This relegated robots to very immobile and cumbersome roles until recently.

E. Researchers tried to get around the problem a long time ago by mimicking the visual processing that occurs in the human cortex. However, this problem has proven to be extremely difficult and complex. “We have gotten substantially more pragmatic in our work,” says Nello Cristianini, professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Bristol in England and associate editor of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research. “We’re not trying to duplicate human functions anymore.” Instead, we’re searching for simpler options, such as using basic electronic sensors.’ Vacuuming robots like the Electrolux Trilobite are good examples of this strategy. The Trilobite scuttles around houses, producing ultrasonic signals that produce room maps that are saved for future cleaning. This form of technology, according to philosopher Ron Chrisley, chairman of the Centre for Research in Cognitive Science at the University of Sussex in England, is currently changing the face of robots.

F. Last year, Robot Kitchen, a new Hong Kong eatery, opened with two sensor-laden humanoid machines directing clients to their seats. Each one has a touch-screen where orders may be entered. After that, the robot returns with the proper dishes. Researchers from the University of Tokyo recently demonstrated a kitchen ‘android’ that could do things like wash dishes, make tea, and cook a few simple meals. The ultimate goal is to give robot house aides to the sick and elderly, which is a major problem in Japan, where 22% of the population is 65 or older. Over a billion dollars is spent each year on research into robots that can care for the elderly. ‘Robots must first learn basic skills, such as how to manoeuvre around a house without colliding with objects. Then we can consider teaching them how to communicate with humans,’ Chrisley explained. These machines lead academics into the topic of socialised robotics, which focuses on how to make robots behave in a way that does not terrify or offend people. ‘We need to figure out how robots should interact with people and how they should look.’ Chrisley says, “That is likely to be a significant topic for future research.”

Questions

Questions 14-19

List of headings

i. Tackling the issue using a different approach
ii. A significant improvement from last time
iii. How robots can save human lives
iv. Examples of robots at work
v. Not what it seemed to be
vi. Why timescales are impossible to predict
vii. The reason why robots rarely move
viii. Following the pattern of an earlier development
ix. The ethical issues of robotics

Paragraph A
Paragraph B
Paragraph C
Paragraph D
Paragraph E
Paragraph F

Questions 20-23

Look at the following statements (Questions 7-10) and the list of people below. Match each statement with the correct person A, B, or C. 

You may use any letter more than once. 

Bill Gates
Nello Cristianini
Ron Chrisley

7. An important concern for scientists is to ensure that robots do not seem frightening.
8. We have stopped trying to enable robots to perceive objects as humans do.
9. It will take a considerable time for modern robots to match the ones we have created in films and books.
10. We need to enable robots to move freely before we think about trying to communicate with them.

Questions 24-26

Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage. 

The robot features DARPA race cars

(11)______provides maps and plans for a route, Electrolux trilobite: builds an image of a room by sending out (12)______Robot kitchen humanoids: have a (13)______to take orders.

Answers with Explanation

1. v

Explanation:  You can find it in the 8th line of paragraph A that considering the road accident that took place, normally people driving the car get out and exchange details which in this case did not happen. The lines imply that no humans were driving the cars, and were controlled by computers competing in November’s DARPA (the U.S Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency) Urban Challenge.

2.  ii 

Explanation:  In line 12 of paragraph B, the author is startled by the idea that machines could perform at such standards. These lines suggest that the robots did not perform well last time and their performance has only significantly improved as compared to three years earlier.

3. viii

Explanation: The lines 5-6 in paragraph C suggest that in the same way that computers developed and evolved throughout the past few decades, the robotics industry too, is capable of such development.

4. vii 

Explanation:  The lines 10-11 of paragraph D indicate that because robots find it hard to identify or differentiate between two simple objects have reduced them to mediocre roles. Fairly static and cumbersome roles imply that robots rarely move, robots find the task impossible, the reason why robots move rarely.

5. i 

Explanation: The lines 4-5 in paragraph E signify that after having tried to get around the problem by trying to recreate the visual processing of the human cortex, scientists have decided to follow a different approach. Scientists have turned to simpler alternatives implies that they have been tackling the issue using a different approach.

6. iv

Explanation: In lines 1-7 in paragraph F the author with these examples illustrates that robots can do limited work—that they can start with learning basic competence first and then can be taught how to interact with humans.

7. C 

Explanation: The lines 13-15 in paragraph F suggest that we need to delve deeper into researching how to ensure that robots do not appear frightening to individuals.

8. B 

Explanation: The lines 4-9 in paragraph E suggest that we have stopped trying to make robots perceive things as humans do. In this sentence, we are no longer trying to imply that we have stopped trying to recreate human functions to enable robots to perceive objects as humans do. Hence, we are no longer trying to recreate human functions, instead, we are looking for simpler solutions.

9. A

Explanation: In lines 8-9 in paragraph D, the author indicates that we are not yet so technologically advanced to be able to develop robots to match those that we see in fictional films or read in books. Here, we still have a long way to go means it will take considerable time, real robots to catch up implies that modern robots match, and science fiction counterparts mean that the ones we have created in films and books.

10. C 

Explanation: What the author is implying from lines 12-14 in paragraph F is that before we teach robots how to communicate with humans, we need to teach them how to move freely without any glitches.

11. Onboard Computer

Explanation:  Here in line 3-4 in paragraph B, the author is in awe of the standard of performance of machines as driving is such a complex task but the car does it so effortlessly with the help of an onboard computer that is loaded with digital maps and route maps

12. Ultrasound Signals

Explanation: The lines 12-13 in paragraph E the Trilobite implies for Electrolux trilobite, creating maps of rooms means building an image of a room, emitting means sending out. Here, the author describes that the trilobite roams around the homes while producing ultrasound signals that create maps of rooms.

13. Touchscreen

Explanation:  The author in lines 1-4 in paragraph F talks about a new Robot Kitchen with a couple of sensor-laden, humanoid machines that possess a touchscreen for assisting the customers to their seats and orders.

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