研究人员在实验室里培养出的脑细胞已经学会玩20世纪70年代模拟乒乓球比赛的电子游戏《乓》（Pong）。研究人员表示，他们培养出的 “迷你大脑” 能感知并对周围环境作出反应。
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》是最早问世的电子游戏之一。这款游戏于1972年发行，玩家通过滑动屏幕两侧的球拍击球，使球保持在界内。
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.
澳大利亚墨尔本脑科学公司 “Cortical Labs” 的研究人员用小鼠神经元和干细胞的混合物培养出了80万个脑细胞。然后，他们将这些脑细胞连接到计算机上。在稍加引导后，“迷你大脑” 在五分钟内就学会了玩这个游戏。
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.
“迷你大脑” 技术一直被用于研究大脑发育和寻找疾病的新疗法。但这个实验将该技术向前推进了一步，使其有望用于研发更灵活的人工智能类型。
词汇表
released 发行
brain cells 脑细胞
neurons 神经元
stem cells 干细胞
coaxing 引导
disorders 疾病，（身心机能的）失调
artificial intelligence 人工智能
阅读理解：请在读完上文后，回答下列问题。
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.
内容简介 主持人 Georgie 的一位朋友试图退回一件已经穿过并弄脏的裙子，还说 “裙子有质量问题，要退货”，这时 Georgie 说 “My friend has no leg to stand on”。这是什么意思呢？听节目，跟主持人菲菲和…
内容简介 听到一个人表达的看法或者想法和自己相同时，我们可能会说 “哇，你可说到我心坎里了！” 在英语中，人们会用 “You really speak my language!” 来表达这个意思。听节目，跟主持人菲菲和 Georgie 学习惯用语 “speak someone's language”…
内容简介 你剪了一个新发型，朋友看到你后对你说 “You ate!”，新发型和 “吃饭” 有什么关系？其实，“eat（吃）” 的过去式 “ate” 是一个新兴的俗语，意思是 “太棒了，太好看了”。与之相关的表达还有 “ate and left no crumbs（表现得十分完美）”。听节目，跟主持人…
内容简介 在对 “How are you? ” 这个问候作答时，除了 “I'm fine” 之外，我们可能会听到有人说 “I'm muddling along.” 这是什么意思呢？听节目，跟主持人菲菲和 Beth…
内容简介 形容词 “tough” 可以形容事物是 “困难的，坚固的”。不过在本期节目中，主持人 Phil 和菲菲分享的短语 “tough it out” 不但可以用于描述 “忍受肉体上的痛苦，坚持下去”，也可以描述 “在艰难的处境中坚持下去”。听节目，学习这个短语的用法。 文字稿 （关于台词的备注:…
内容简介 如果你在分享自己的烦恼时，朋友对你说 “that's really a you problem”，那朋友的意思就是 “这件事只有你在乎”。“A you problem” 是一个地道的俗语表达，它的意思是 “属于你的问题，与别人无关” 或者 “这件事情只有你自己在意” 。在本期节目中，主持人…