英语六级阅读理解：AI能给降噪耳机分离人声？
英语原文
Modern life is noisy. If you don’t like it, noise-canceling headphones can reduce the sounds in your environment. But they muffle sounds indiscriminately, so you can easily end up missing something you actually want to hear.
A new prototype AI system for such headphones aims to solve this. Called Target Speech Hearing, the system gives users the ability to select a person whose voice will remain audible even when all other sounds are canceled out. Although the technology is currently a proof of concept, its creators say they are in talks to embed it in popular brands of noise-canceling earbuds and are also working to make it available for hearing aids.
“Listening to specific people is such a fundamental aspect of how we communicate and how we interact in the world with other humans,” says Shyam Gollakota, a professor at the University of Washington, who worked on the project. “But it can get really challenging, even if you don’t have any hearing loss issues, to focus on specific people when it comes to noisy situations.”
For now, the system is only able to successfully enroll a targeted speaker whose voice is the only loud one present, but the team aims to make it work even when the loudest voice in a particular direction is not the target speaker.
While speech separation research tends to be more theoretical than practical, this work has clear real-world applications, says Samuele Cornell, a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University’s Language Technologies Institute, who did not work on the research. “I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Cornell says. “It’s a breath of fresh air.”
阅读理解题目
1.What is the primary drawback of traditional noise-canceling headphones mentioned in the passage?
A) They are not widely available.
B) They muffle all sounds indiscriminately.
C) They are too expensive for most consumers.
D) They are not compatible with hearing aids.
2.What is the main purpose of the Target Speech Hearing system?
A) To increase the volume of all sounds in noisy environments.
B) To suppress all background noise indiscriminately.
C) To selectively hear specific voices while canceling out background noise.
D) To analyze theoretical aspects of speech separation.
3.What potential applications are being considered for the Target Speech Hearing system?
A) Integration into popular noise-canceling earbuds.
B) Compatibility with virtual reality headsets.
C) Implementation in smartphone applications.
D) Use in medical devices for hearing loss treatment.
4.According to Shyam Gollakota, what challenge do individuals face in noisy environments?
A) Difficulty communicating with others.
B) Difficulty focusing on specific voices.
C) Difficulty hearing loud sounds.
D) Difficulty adjusting their hearing aids.
5.What is Samuele Cornell's opinion of the Target Speech Hearing system?
A) He believes it is a theoretical concept with no practical applications.
B) He believes it is a significant advancement with real-world applications.
C) He believes it is a temporary solution to a long-standing problem.
D) He believes it is a redundant technology already covered by existing products.
中文翻译
现代生活很喧闹。如果您不喜欢，降噪耳机可以降低环境中的声音。但它们会不加区别地抑制声音，因此您很容易错过您真正想听的内容。
此类耳机的新原型人工智能系统旨在解决这个问题。该系统称为“目标语音听力”，使用户能够选择一个人，即使所有其他声音都被抵消，其声音仍然可以听到。尽管这项技术目前只是概念验证，但其创造者表示，他们正在商谈将其嵌入到流行品牌的降噪耳塞中，并正在努力将其用于助听器。
参与该项目的华盛顿大学教授希亚姆·戈拉科塔 (Shyam Gollakota) 表示：“倾听特定人的声音是我们如何沟通以及如何与其他人互动的一个基本方面。” “但是，即使您没有任何听力损失问题，在嘈杂的环境中关注特定的人也可能非常具有挑战性。”
目前，该系统只能成功注册一个目标发言者，其声音是唯一大声的，但该团队的目标是即使在特定方向上最响亮的声音不是目标发言者时也能正常工作。
卡内基梅隆大学语言技术研究所的研究员萨缪尔·康奈尔（Samuele Cornell）并未参与这项研究，他表示，虽然语音分离研究往往更偏于理论而非实践，但这项工作具有明确的现实应用。 “我认为这是朝着正确方向迈出的一步，”康奈尔说。 “这是一股新鲜空气。”
答案解析
1. B) They muffle all sounds indiscriminately.
解析: 文章提到，传统的降噪耳机会无差别地压制所有声音，可能导致用户错过重要的听觉线索。
2. C) To selectively hear specific voices while canceling out background noise.
解析: 文章指出，Target Speech Hearing系统的主要目的是在抑制背景噪音的同时，允许用户选择性地听到特定的声音。
3. A) Integration into popular noise-canceling earbuds
解析: 文章提到，研究人员正在考虑将Target Speech Hearing系统集成到流行的降噪耳塞中。
4. B) Difficulty focusing on specific voices
解析: Shyam Gollakota指出，即使没有听力损失问题，在嘈杂的环境中，个人也面临着集中注意力于特定声音的困难。
5. B) He believes it is a significant advancement with real-world applications.
解析: Samuele Cornell认为，Target Speech Hearing系统具有重要的实际应用，并表示这是朝着正确方向迈出的一步，为解决实际问题提供了有希望的解决方案。
Modern life is noisy. If you don’t like it, noise-canceling headphones can reduce the sounds in your environment. But they muffle sounds indiscriminately, so you can easily end up missing something you actually want to hear.
A new prototype AI system for such headphones aims to solve this. Called Target Speech Hearing, the system gives users the ability to select a person whose voice will remain audible even when all other sounds are canceled out. Although the technology is currently a proof of concept, its creators say they are in talks to embed it in popular brands of noise-canceling earbuds and are also working to make it available for hearing aids.
“Listening to specific people is such a fundamental aspect of how we communicate and how we interact in the world with other humans,” says Shyam Gollakota, a professor at the University of Washington, who worked on the project. “But it can get really challenging, even if you don’t have any hearing loss issues, to focus on specific people when it comes to noisy situations.”
For now, the system is only able to successfully enroll a targeted speaker whose voice is the only loud one present, but the team aims to make it work even when the loudest voice in a particular direction is not the target speaker.
While speech separation research tends to be more theoretical than practical, this work has clear real-world applications, says Samuele Cornell, a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University’s Language Technologies Institute, who did not work on the research. “I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Cornell says. “It’s a breath of fresh air.”
阅读理解题目
1.What is the primary drawback of traditional noise-canceling headphones mentioned in the passage?
A) They are not widely available.
B) They muffle all sounds indiscriminately.
C) They are too expensive for most consumers.
D) They are not compatible with hearing aids.
2.What is the main purpose of the Target Speech Hearing system?
A) To increase the volume of all sounds in noisy environments.
B) To suppress all background noise indiscriminately.
C) To selectively hear specific voices while canceling out background noise.
D) To analyze theoretical aspects of speech separation.
3.What potential applications are being considered for the Target Speech Hearing system?
A) Integration into popular noise-canceling earbuds.
B) Compatibility with virtual reality headsets.
C) Implementation in smartphone applications.
D) Use in medical devices for hearing loss treatment.
4.According to Shyam Gollakota, what challenge do individuals face in noisy environments?
A) Difficulty communicating with others.
B) Difficulty focusing on specific voices.
C) Difficulty hearing loud sounds.
D) Difficulty adjusting their hearing aids.
5.What is Samuele Cornell's opinion of the Target Speech Hearing system?
A) He believes it is a theoretical concept with no practical applications.
B) He believes it is a significant advancement with real-world applications.
C) He believes it is a temporary solution to a long-standing problem.
D) He believes it is a redundant technology already covered by existing products.
中文翻译
现代生活很喧闹。如果您不喜欢，降噪耳机可以降低环境中的声音。但它们会不加区别地抑制声音，因此您很容易错过您真正想听的内容。
此类耳机的新原型人工智能系统旨在解决这个问题。该系统称为“目标语音听力”，使用户能够选择一个人，即使所有其他声音都被抵消，其声音仍然可以听到。尽管这项技术目前只是概念验证，但其创造者表示，他们正在商谈将其嵌入到流行品牌的降噪耳塞中，并正在努力将其用于助听器。
参与该项目的华盛顿大学教授希亚姆·戈拉科塔 (Shyam Gollakota) 表示：“倾听特定人的声音是我们如何沟通以及如何与其他人互动的一个基本方面。” “但是，即使您没有任何听力损失问题，在嘈杂的环境中关注特定的人也可能非常具有挑战性。”
目前，该系统只能成功注册一个目标发言者，其声音是唯一大声的，但该团队的目标是即使在特定方向上最响亮的声音不是目标发言者时也能正常工作。
卡内基梅隆大学语言技术研究所的研究员萨缪尔·康奈尔（Samuele Cornell）并未参与这项研究，他表示，虽然语音分离研究往往更偏于理论而非实践，但这项工作具有明确的现实应用。 “我认为这是朝着正确方向迈出的一步，”康奈尔说。 “这是一股新鲜空气。”
答案解析
1. B) They muffle all sounds indiscriminately.
解析: 文章提到，传统的降噪耳机会无差别地压制所有声音，可能导致用户错过重要的听觉线索。
2. C) To selectively hear specific voices while canceling out background noise.
解析: 文章指出，Target Speech Hearing系统的主要目的是在抑制背景噪音的同时，允许用户选择性地听到特定的声音。
3. A) Integration into popular noise-canceling earbuds
解析: 文章提到，研究人员正在考虑将Target Speech Hearing系统集成到流行的降噪耳塞中。
4. B) Difficulty focusing on specific voices
解析: Shyam Gollakota指出，即使没有听力损失问题，在嘈杂的环境中，个人也面临着集中注意力于特定声音的困难。
5. B) He believes it is a significant advancement with real-world applications.
解析: Samuele Cornell认为，Target Speech Hearing系统具有重要的实际应用，并表示这是朝着正确方向迈出的一步，为解决实际问题提供了有希望的解决方案。
