Recently, scientists have developed a wireless brainmachine interface that help restore communication to people who can no longer speak by reading brainwaves using electrodes(电极) stuck on their heads. Unfortunately, these have proved very slow, at roughly one word typed per minute, making normal conversations and social interactions virtually impossible.
Scientist Frank Guenther and his colleagues reveal a brainmachine interface that uses electrodes implanted directly into the brain for research into real time speech.
"It should soon be possible for extremely paralysed individuals who are incapable of speaking to produce speech through a laptop computer, " said Guenther.
The scientists worked with a 26-year- old male volunteer who experience near-total paralysis due to a stroke he suffered when he was 16. They implanted an electrode that had two wires into a part of the brain that help plan and execute movements related to speech. The electrode recorded brain signals when the volunteer attempted to talk and the wires spread them across the scalp(头皮)to help drive a speech synthesizer (合成器). The delay between brain activity and sound output was just 50 milliseconds on average, roughly the same with regular speech.
"He was quite excited, particularly on the first few days we used the system, as he got used to its properties, " Guenther recalled." I am sure the work proceeds slowly from his perspective, as it does from ours. Nonetheless, he was very excited about getting real-time audio feedback of his intended speech and happy to work very hard with us throughout the experiments."
"The current system uses data from just two wires. Within a year it will be possible to implant a system with 16 times as many." Guenther said." This will allow us to tap into neurons(神经元)，which in the end means better control over a synthesizer and thus better speech."
【小题1】In the study of Guenther, electrodes are _______.

Recently, scientists have developed a wireless brainmachine interface that help restore communication to people who can no longer speak by reading brainwaves using electrodes(电极) stuck on their heads. Unfortunately, these have proved very slow, at roughly one word typed per minute, making normal conversations and social interactions virtually impossible.

    Scientist Frank Guenther and his colleagues reveal a brainmachine interface that uses electrodes implanted directly into the brain for research into real time speech.

"It should soon be possible for extremely paralysed individuals who are incapable of speaking to produce speech through a laptop computer, " said Guenther.

The scientists worked with a 26-year- old male volunteer who experience near-total paralysis due to a stroke he suffered when he was 16. They implanted an electrode that had two wires into a part of the brain that help plan and execute movements related to speech. The electrode recorded brain signals when the volunteer attempted to talk and the wires spread them across the scalp(头皮)to help drive a speech synthesizer (合成器). The delay between brain activity and sound output was just 50 milliseconds on average, roughly the same with regular speech.

"He was quite excited, particularly on the first few days we used the system, as he got used to its properties, " Guenther recalled." I am sure the work proceeds slowly from his perspective, as it does from ours. Nonetheless, he was very excited about getting real-time audio feedback of his intended speech and happy to work very hard with us throughout the experiments."

"The current system uses data from just two wires. Within a year it will be possible to implant a system with 16 times as many." Guenther said." This will allow us to tap into neurons(神经元)，which in the end means better control over a synthesizer and thus better speech."

1.In the study of Guenther, electrodes are _______.

A.fixed on the heads                    B. put into the heads

C. tied to the heads                        D. separated from the heads

2.  The underlined word "them" in Paragraph 4 refers to _______.

A. movements        B. wires        C. brain signals        D. Scientists

3.  What might be the best title for the passage?

A. Wireless Device Are Used to Read Words in the Brain.

B. New Equipment Helps you read others’ mind.

C. Virtual tongue can make you speak fluently.

 It is no secret what you are thinking in mind.

Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers．Brain-computer interface（BCI） technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines．
Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated（展示）a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts．
In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand．He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts．
“Our brain has billions of nerve cells．These send signals through the spinal cord（脊髓）to the muscles to give us the ability to move．But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles,” Tavella says．“Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices．”
The researchers designed a special cap for the user．This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp（头皮）and sends them to a computer．The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair． The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path．They help the computer react to commands from the brain．                                               
Prof．Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands．“The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices．One example is this wheelchair．”
He says his team has set two goals．One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from．And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time．
【小题1】BCI is a technology that can         .

Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers．Brain-computer interface（BCI） technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines．

Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated（展示）a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts．

In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand．He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts．

“Our brain has billions of nerve cells．These send signals through the spinal cord（脊髓）to the muscles to give us the ability to move．But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles,” Tavella says．“Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices．”

The researchers designed a special cap for the user．This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp（头皮）and sends them to a computer．The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair． The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path．They help the computer react to commands from the brain．

Prof．Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands．“The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices．One example is this wheelchair．”

He says his team has set two goals．One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from．And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time．

1.BCI is a technology that can         .

2.How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?                                    

3.The team will test with real patients to         .

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.

Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person's thoughts.

In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.

“Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord (脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles.” Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.

The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp (头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.

Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”

He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.

1.BCI is a technology that can ________.

A. help to update computer systems

B. link the human brain with computers

C. help the disabled to recover

D. control a person's thoughts

2.How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?

A. By controlling his muscles.

B. By talking to the machine.

C. By moving his hand.

D. By using his mind.

3.Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?

A. scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair

B. computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair

C. scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair

D. cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Switzerland, the BCI Research Center

B. New Findings About How the Human Brain Works

C. BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled

D. Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries