1.

It was calculated that when its population reached its highest point, there were more
than 3 billion passenger pigeons –a number equal to 24 to 40 percent of the total bird
population in the United States, making it perhaps the most abundant birds in the
world.

【词汇突破】calculate 计算； abundant 丰富的

【解析】

【翻译】

2.But if robots are to reach the next stage of laborsaving utility, they will have to
operate with less human supervision and be able to make at least a few decisions for
themselves—goals that pose a real challenge.

【词汇突破】utility 运用； supervision 监管

【解析】

【翻译】

3. But the human mind can glimpse a rapidly changing scene and immediately
disregard the 98 percent that is irrelevant, instantaneously focusing on the monkey at
the side of a winding forest road or the single suspicious face in a big crowd.

【词汇突破】glimpse 快速的看一眼；disregard 抛弃，丢弃；irrelevant 不相干

instantaneously 立即；winding 蜿蜒曲折的；suspicious 可疑的

【解析】

【翻译】

4.A comparison of British geological publications over the last century and a half
reveals not simply an increasing emphasis on the primacy of research, but also a
changing definition of what constitutes an acceptable research paper.

【词汇突破】reveal 揭露；constitutes 包含；primacy 重要性，首要地位

【解析】

【翻译】
5. It is entirely reasonable for auditors to believe that scientists who know exactly
where they are going and how they will get there should not be distracted by the
necessity of keeping one eye on the cash register while the other eye is on the
microscope.

【词汇突破】auditors 审计人员；distract 分散注意力

【解析】

【翻译】