研究人員在實(shí)驗(yàn)室里培養(yǎng)出的腦細(xì)胞已經(jīng)學(xué)會(huì)玩 20 世紀(jì) 70 年代模擬乒乓球比賽的電子游戲《乓》（ Pong ）。研究人員表示，他們培養(yǎng)出的 “迷你大腦” 能感知并對(duì)周圍環(huán)境作出反應(yīng)。

Pong was one of the very first computer games. Released in 1972, it involves keeping a dot in play by sliding a paddle on each side of the screen.

《乓》是最早問世的電子游戲之一。這款游戲于1972年發(fā)行，玩家通過滑動(dòng)屏幕兩側(cè)的球拍擊球，使球保持在界內(nèi)。

Researchers at Cortical Labs in Melbourne grew 800,000 brain cells from a mixture of mouse neurons and stem cells. They then connected them to a computer. With a little coaxing, the cells learnt how to play within five minutes.

澳大利亞墨爾本腦科學(xué)公司 “Cortical Labs” 的研究人員用小鼠神經(jīng)元和干細(xì)胞的混合物培養(yǎng)出了80萬個(gè)腦細(xì)胞。然后，他們將這些腦細(xì)胞連接到計(jì)算機(jī)上。在稍加引導(dǎo)后，“迷你大腦” 在五分鐘內(nèi)就學(xué)會(huì)了玩這個(gè)游戲。

Mini-brains are currently being used to research brain development and to find new treatments for disorders. But this experiment has taken the technology a step further and could be used to develop a more flexible type of artificial intelligence.

“迷你大腦” 技術(shù)一直被用于研究大腦發(fā)育和尋找疾病的新療法。但這個(gè)實(shí)驗(yàn)將該技術(shù)向前推進(jìn)了一步，使其有望用于研發(fā)更靈活的人工智能類型。

詞匯表

released 發(fā)行
brain cells 腦細(xì)胞
neurons 神經(jīng)元
stem cells 干細(xì)胞
coaxing 引導(dǎo)
disorders 疾病，（身心機(jī)能的）失調(diào)
artificial intelligence 人工智能

閱讀理解：請(qǐng)?jiān)谧x完上文后，回答下列問題。

1. When was the computer game Pong first released?

2. What were these new artificial brain cells grown from?

3. How long did it take for the brain cells to learn how to play Pong?

4. True or false? This experiment has had similar results to other research into brain development.

答案  

1. When was the computer game Pong first released?
The game was first released in 1972.

2. What were these new artificial brain cells grown from?
They were grown from a mixture of mouse neurons and stem cells.

3. How long did it take for the brain cells to learn how to play Pong?
With a little coaxing, the cells learnt how to play within five minutes.

4. True or false? This experiment has had similar results to other research into brain development.
False. This experiment has taken the technology a step further and could be used to develop a more flexible type of artificial intelligence.