The Republic of Korea??s robot conducts orchestra當機器人揮動音樂指揮棒

李全忠

在科技迅速發展的時代，AI已然融入我們生活的方方面面。機器人和人工智能的突破甚至已經滲透到了藝術的殿堂——音樂中。

主題語境：科技進步 篇幅：359詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1 A special event took place at the NationalTheater of the Republic of Korea. A robot calledEveR 6 led an orchestra in a performance of theRepublic of Koreas music.

2 EveR 6 is a robot. It＇s about as tall as a person，and has a humanlikeface that can show emotions.EveR 6 has joints in its neck， shoulders， elbows and wrists. As a result， it can move itsarms quickly and smoothly in many different directions.

3 But EveR 6 doesn＇t think on its own like some advanced Artificial Intelligenceprograms. Instead， it has a limited group of movements that it has been trained to perform.To make these movements as natural as possible， EveR 6s movements are based onmotions“ captured” from real human conductors.

4 In the performance， the National Orchestra of the Republic of Korea presented aconcert titled Absence. The concert included five different pieces of music. Two wereconducted by EveR 6， and two were conducted by SooYeoulChoi， who leads the BusanPhilharmonic Orchestra. Both conductors worked together on the final piece.

5 Mr Choi was impressed with the way EveR 6 moved.“ The robot was able to present such detailed moves much better than I had imagined，” he said. But the robot still is notnearly ready to replace a human conductor. Mr Choi said the robot＇s greatest weakness isthat it can＇t hear.“ Some people think that conducting is just a combination of hand wavingand keeping the beat，” said Mr Choi. But a good conductor needs to listen to theorchestra， so that he or she can correct and encourage the orchestra as it plays.

6 Mr Choi and EveR 6 worked together to conduct the concert＇s most surprising pieceof music. It was called Sense， and， unusually， it was not written with musical notes. Instead，it had instructions for how to play the piece. The conductors and the musicians had to worktogether to create the music. Mr Choi was responsible for communicating with the musicians，while EveR 6 kept the beat steady. Mr Choi said that once EveR 6 started， the musicianshad no choice but to follow its beats.

Reading Check

1. What does paragraph 2 mainly talk about？

A. EveR 6＇s appearance.

B. EveR 6＇s ability to hear.

C. EveR 6＇s lack of detailed moves.

D. EveR 6＇s inability to wave hands.

2. Why did EveR 6 move naturally？

A. It employed artificial intelligence.

B. It trained intensively.

C. It studied music theory.

D. It copied human conductors.

3. What did Mr Choi think of EveR 6？

A. It can create music.

B. It cannot listen and adapt.

C. It lacks emotional expression.

D. It can replace human conductors.

4. What unique characteristic did the piece Sense have？

A. It had no musical notes.

B. It was performed alone by EveR 6.

C. It created the robot＇s programming.

D. It was only conducted by Mr Choi.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

But a good conductor needs to listen to the orchestra， so that he or she can correct andencourage the orchestra as it plays. 但是，一名優秀的指揮家需要聆聽樂團的演奏，這樣他或她才能在樂團演奏時加以糾正和鼓勵。

【點石成金】本句中，so that意為“以便；為了”，引導目的狀語從句；as引導時間狀語從句。

Ⅱ. Fill in the blanks.

At the National Theater of the Republic of Korea， a special event took place. Ahumanoid robot named EveR 6 led an orchestra. EveR 6， 1.________（design） with ahumanlikeface capable of expressing emotions， is equipped with joints in its neck，shoulders， elbows， and wrists， 2.________（allow） it to imitate human arm movements3.________（skill）. However， unlike some advanced AI， EveR 6 operates on predeterminedmovements， 4.________（lack） the ability to think independently.

During a concert titled Absence， the National Orchestra 5. ________（play） five pieces，with EveR 6 6. ________（conduct） two and human conductor SooYeoulChoi conductinganother two， before jointly handling the last piece with the robot. Choi acknowledgedEveR 6＇s movement precision but highlighted its inability 7. ________（listen）—a criticalaspect of conducting. He emphasized that a great conductor must not only manage handgestures and timing but also listen and adapt 8. ________ the orchestra＇s performance inreal time.

In an unconventional piece named Sense， 9. ________ didnt use musical notes butinstructions—Choi and EveR 6 cooperated， with Choi guiding the musicians and EveR 6maintaining the rhythm. Choi remarked on the 10. ________（necessary） for the musiciansto follow the unwavering tempo set by the robot once it started.