经济学人双语精读TE-2023-05-08期|人工智能：装病打电话请假

经济学人双语精读TE-2023-05-08期考研英语杂志英文外刊|人工智能：装病打电话请假（PDF版+Word版+音频）

5.8每日一篇|英语外刊社|366外刊社

Artificial intelligence：Sickies called
An algorithm candiagnosea cold from changes in someone’s voice
【1】Faking sickness is about to get harder. Sneaking a day off work bynervouslycoughingdown the phone to your boss might no longer cut the mustard—very soon your company might be able to tell whether or not yoursymptomsare real, just from the sound of your voice.
【2】As anyone who haswokenup with arunnynose and a voice like Darth Vader canattest,infectionwith the common coldvirusaltershow a person’s voice sounds. That is because the vocal cords often becomeinflamed, which changes theiracousticproperties. Thetissuetemporarilyswells and, therefore,vibratesat a lower pitch, which tends to make people with a cold develop a deeper voice.
【3】A research team at the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology in Surat, India, tried todecodeexactly how a “cold voice” differs from a healthy voice. Their research makes use of the fact that human speech, like any musicalinstrument, does not produce singlefrequenciesof sounds. Even the best trainedsingerscannot hit pure notes like those that come fromtuningforks. Thedominantnotes in the human voice are insteadaccompaniedby a series of higher-pitchedovertones.
【4】Together these sets of notes fit into mathematicalpatternscalledharmonics, withovertoneshavingfrequenciesthat aremultiplesof the original note. For example, the pitch of the secondharmonicnote is twice thefrequencyof the main note and so on. Theamplitude(loudness) of theseharmonicsin speech tends todiminishas theyproceedup thefrequencyscale. The team of researchers, led by Pankaj Warule, an electronic engineer, reasoned thatinfectionwith a cold mightalterhow thisattenuationhappened.
【5】To find out, the scientists made use of anunusualresource:recordingsof the voices of630people in Germany,111of whom were suffering from a cold. Each was asked to count from one to40and describe what they did at the weekend. They also read aloud Aesop’sfable“The North Wind and the Sun”, which has been a popular text for phonetics research since1949.
【6】By breaking down each person’s speech into itsspectrumofcomponentwavelengths, the researchers couldidentifythedominantfrequencyand theharmonicsin each case. They then used machine-learningalgorithmsto analyse the relationships between theamplitudesof theseharmonicsand foundpatternsthat coulddistinguishthe cold voices from the healthy voices. They reported their work in Biomedical Signal Processing and Control.
【7】It is not just the common cold that can bediagnosedfrom speech in this way. Other scientists are looking at how conditions from Parkinson’s disease anddepressionto head and neck cancers can also affect thepatternsoffrequenciesin a person’s voice. It is part of a wider effort by medics,psychiatristsand computer scientists toremotelydetect biomarkers fordiseasesin data collected on how people talk, write and even walk.
【8】The Indian team’sdiagnosisof cold voice is not yetfoolproof. The results show it can correctlydiagnosea cold up to around70% of the time. Faced with anotherdrearyMonday at the office, would you take the risk?

①短语：1.原文：Sneaking a day off work by nervously coughing down the phone to your boss might no longer cut the mustard.

词典:cut the mustard 如所期待的那么好；符合要求

例句：Other magazines have tried to copy the formula but have never quitecut the mustard.

其他杂志都想套用这一方法，但都做得不好。

2.原文：The tissue temporarily swells and, therefore, vibrates at a lower pitch, which tends to make people with a cold develop a deeper voice.

词典:tend to do sth 往往会做某事；倾向于做某事

例句：A problem for manufacturers is that lighter carstend tobe noisy.

制造商们遇到的一个问题是，重量较轻的汽车往往噪音大。

3.原文：Together these sets of notes fit into mathematical patterns called harmonics, with overtones having frequencies that are multiples of the original note.

词典:fit into 融入；归属，适于（种情形或体系）

例句：Most film locations broadlyfit intotwo categories; those on private property and those in a public place.

多数电影的拍摄场地大致归为两类：私人宅院与公共场地。

4.原文：They then used machine-learning algorithms to analyse the relationships between the amplitudes of these harmonics and found patterns that could distinguish the cold voices from the healthy voices.

词典:distinguish A from B 区分A和B；A有别于B

例句：There is something about music thatdistinguishesitfromall other art forms.

音乐的某种特质使其有别于所有其他艺术形式。

②长难句

1.原文：Their researchmakes use of the factthathuman speech, like any musical instrument, does not produce single frequencies of sounds.

分析：本句包含一个同位语从句。主句为“Their researchmakes use of the fact”；“thathuman speech... sounds”为同位语从句，对the fact进行解释说明。

译文：他们的研究基于这一事实：就像任何乐器一样，人类语言不会产生单一频率的声音。

2.原文：Theythenusedmachine-learning algorithmsto analyse the relationships between the amplitudes of these harmonics andfoundpatternsthatcould distinguish the cold voices from the healthy voices.

分析：本句包含一个限制性定语从句。主句为“Theyusedmachine-learning algorithmsandfoundpatterns”；“to analyse... these harmonics ”为目的状语；“thatcould ... healthy voices”为限制性定语从句，修饰patterns。

译文：然后，他们使用机器学习算法来分析这些谐波振幅之间的关系，找到能够区分感冒嗓和健康嗓的模式。

③写作技巧：

The amplitude (loudness) of these harmonics in speech tends todiminishas theyproceed upthe frequency scale.

这些谐波在语音中的振幅（响度）随着频率增加而减小。

The team of researchers, led by Pankaj Warule, an electronic engineer, reasoned that infection with a cold might alter how thisattenuationhappened.

电子工程师潘卡杰·瓦鲁尔（Pankaj Warule）领导的研究团队推断，感冒可能会改变振幅衰减的发生方式。

生词: diminish v.减少，减弱

proceed v.继续做

attenuationn.衰减；减弱 动词形式为attenuate“使减弱；使减少”

本文可积累两个表示“减少”的词：diminish和attenuate。

proceed up表示“继续向上”，可引申为“增加；上升”。

proceed to do sth表示“继续做某事”

proceed against 表示“提起诉讼；起诉”

例句：The government strives to promote renewable energies and energy efficiency in all sectors in order to attenuate the negative effects of climate change

政府努力在所有部门推广可再生能源和节能，以期减轻气候变化带来的不利影响。

④背景知识：

Harmonics（谐波）：基波（Fundamental）频率是信号的主要频率（基频），在音频中，它是一个声音中最低的频率，基波决定了声音的音调。谐波频率比信号的主要频率高，是频率中为基波频率整数倍的频率成分。假设现在音频频率的基波是100Hz，那么谐波就是200Hz、300Hz、400Hz……谐波的作用就是美化声音赋予色彩。一般对于大多数人声或乐器，适当提升基波低端频率处的均衡量，可以获得温暖感与丰满度，同理，如果声音太沉闷，也可以衰减基波频率的均衡量；而提升谐波频率处的均衡量，能够增强声音的现场感与清晰度，同理，如果太刺耳，也可以衰减谐波频率处的均衡量。

段落大意：

【1】算法能通过人声诊断感冒，装病越来越难了。

【2】感冒患者的声音会发生变化。

【3】研究团队正在破解健康嗓和感冒嗓的区别。

【4】感冒会改变人声中振幅衰减的方式。

【5】研究团队对630位德国人的人声录音进行分析。

【6】研究团队找到了能区分感冒嗓和健康嗓的方式。

【7】这项技术还能检测其他疾病对人声频率模式的影响。

【8】这项技术诊断感冒的正确率高达70%左右。

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