In the wake of 11 September, Visionics, a leading manufacturer, issued a fact sheet explaining how its technology could enhance airport security. They called it "protecting civilization from the faces of terror". The company's share price skyrocketed, as did the stocks of other face-recognition companies, and airports across the globe began installing the software and running trials.
As the results start to come in, however, the gloss is wearing off. No matter what you might have heard about face-recognition software, Big Brother is not so good as expected.
The concern was based largely on an independent assessment of face-recognition systems carried out in 2000 in the U.S. by the Department of Defense. These tests found that to catch 90 percent of suspects at an airport, face-recognition software would have to raise a huge number of false alarms. One in three people would end up being dragged out of the line and that's assuming everyone looks straight at the camera and makes no efforts to disguise himself. Results from the recent airport trials would seem to justify that concern.
Most face-recognition systems use some kind of geometric technique to translate a picture of a face into a set of numbers that capture its characteristics. Once it has identified these boundaries, the software calculates their relative sizes and positions and converts this geometry into what Visionics calls a "faceprint". Feed the software a series of mugshots and it’ll calculate their faceprints. Then it can monitor live CCTV images for the faces of known suspects. When it finds a match, it raises an alarm.
Even if the system does manage to capture a face, the problems aren't over. The trouble is that a suspect's faceprint taken from live CCTV is unlikely to match the one in the database in every detail. To give themselves the best chance of picking up suspects, operators can set the software so that it doesn't have to make an exact match before it raises the alarm. But there's a price to pay: the more potential suspects you pick up, the more false alarms you get. You have to get the balance just right.
Despite the disappointing tests, some people insist that face-recognition technology is good enough to put terrorists off. After all the claims and counter-claims, with no one able to discern the truth, the industry may soon have to face up to reality.
1.The first paragraph tells us that ( ).
2.The second paragraph implies that( ).
3.What is the fatal defeat of the system according to the U.S. Department of Defense?
4.What makes it so hard for the face-recognition systems to work effectively?
5.In the last paragraph, the author points out that( ).
问题1选项
A.Visionics produced the best face-recognition software enhancing airport security
B.Visionics's stock rose in price
C.the airports were satisfied with the software
D.Visionics's software was a great success
问题2选项
A.the surface of the software is not enough
B.there is a series of face-recognition software products
C.the software turns out to be inefficient
D.the software is not durable
问题3选项
A.Too many false alarms were raised.
B.Everyone should look straight at the camera.
C.Only 90% of suspects at an airport were found.
D.Everyone should not disguise himself.
问题4选项
A.The computers are not so advanced.
B.The faceprints fed in the computers are never identical with those of real persons.
C.It is very hard for the operators to learn to control the system.
D.People seldom look straight at the camera.
问题5选项
A.anyway, the face-recognition technology is good enough to frighten the terrorists
B.the industry should recognize the situation and improve the technology.
C.all the claims are premature
D.we must not expect too much
第1题:B
第2题:C
第3题:A
第4题:B
第5题:B
第1题:
细节事实题。A:Visionics公司生产了最好的人脸识别软件来增强机场的安全性。B: Visionics的股票价格上涨。C:机场对软件很满意。D:Visionics的软件非常成功。第一句指出: In the wake of 11 September, Visionics, a leading manufacturer, issued a fact sheet explaining how its technology could enhance airport security (9月11日之后,领先的制造商Visionics发布了一份情况说明书,解释其技术如何增强机场安全)。但并不能证明A项跟D项正确。第三句说到: The company’s share price skyrocketed (公司股价飞涨)。因此B项正确。最后一句指出: airports across the globe began installing the software and running trials (全球各地的机场开始安装该软件并进行测试)。但这并不能说明C项正确。因此答案为B。
第2题:
判断推理题。第二段意思为:然而,伴随软件试用结果出现,该软件的光彩逐渐消逝,无论你或许对面部识别软件听说过什么,Visionics这家大公司的面部识别软件都不如宣传的那样好。因此C项“该软件结果是无效率的”正确。
第3题:
判断推理题。题干问的是:根据美国国防部的说法,这个系统的致命缺点是什么? A:太多假警报被拉响。B:每个人都要直视镜头。C:只有90%的嫌疑犯在机场被发现。D:每个人都应该伪装自己。可定位至第三段。第二句指出: These tests found that to catch 90 percent of suspects at an airport, face-recognition software would have to raise a huge number of false alarms (这些测试发现,要在机场抓获90%的嫌疑人,人脸识别软件必须发出大量虚假警报)。因此A项正确,C项不正确。第三句指出: One in three people would end up being dragged out of the line and that's assuming everyone looks straight at the camera and makes no efforts to disguise himself (每三个人中就有一个被拖拉出候机的队伍,而这种比例是基于每个人都直视镜头且不做任何努力掩饰自己的情况)。由此可知B项跟D项只是文中提及的实验的条件,而非致命缺点。
第4题:
判断推理题。第五段指出:The trouble is that a suspect’s faceprint taken from live CCTV is unlikely to match the one in the database in every detail (问题在于从现场监控提取的嫌疑犯的脸纹不可 能与数据库里的每一个细节相匹配)。因此,使得人脸识别系统难以有效工作的原因是B项“电脑里的面纹从不与真人的面纹完全相同”。
第5题:
细节事实题。最后一段最后一句指出: After all the claims and counter-claims, with no one able to discern the truth, the industry may soon have to face up to reality (在所有的控诉和反控诉之后,尽管没有一个人能识别真相,但是该行业或许很快不得不面对现实)。由此可知B项“该行业应该认清现实,改善技术”正确。