Question

The days of staring attentively at the computer screen pretending to be interested in an assignment even though you are bored out of your mind may soon be coming to an end.That's because if Dr.Harry Witchel has his way, computers of the future will be able to detect boredom and even react to it in real time.

But before you get concerned,the machine is not reading your mind.It is just keeping track of the constant involuntary movements that people exhibit when in front of a computer or even a television.These are not the bigger instrumental actions like moving a mouse or using the remote,but subtle barely noticeable movements like scratching or stretching.Witchel says the level of movement is directly relative to how absorbed the person is in what he/she is reading or watching-the higher the interest level,the lesser the movement!

To test the theory Witchel and his team invited 27 people and exposed them to a variety of digital content for three minutes at a time.The activities ranged from playing online games to reading documents like the EU banking regulations that most people would find boring.A video motion tracker monitored their movements as they powered through each assignment.Just as the researchers had suspected,the involuntary actions decreased surprisingly,by as much as 42%,when the subjects were totally absorbed in what they were reading or seeing.

Fortunately,the scientists are not planning to use the findings that were published in the online journal to create machines that report students who are not focusing at school.Instead,they believe that combining the motion detecting technology into future computers will help enhance（加强）the digital learning experience.

The scientists say that being able to measure the student's interest level will enable educators to adjust the materials in real time and re-engage the student.Witchel also believes that the technology can provide filmmakers with honest audience opinions and in the future,also be used in developing more understanding companion robots.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Answer

Dr.Harry Witchel is developing a computer that can discover and respond to boredom in real time.（要点1）The machine will know it by tracking the users’ unconscious movements like stretching or scratching.（要点2）They conclude the more the users are absorbed in a program,the less they use such movements.（要点3）In the future the computer can be applied to film-making or school education accordingly.（要点4）

【解析】本文要求学生们概括所读文章的要点。该文主要介绍了Dr. Harry Witchel研发一种计算机，这种计算机可以发现人们是否对手头的任务厌烦，并且会对此作出反应。同学们可以根据每段主题概括要点：第一段点明文章中心(Dr.Harry Witchel has his way, computers of the future will be able to detect boredom and even react to it in real time)。第二段主要介绍这种计算机的工作方式(It is just keeping track of the constant involuntary movements that people exhibit when in front of a computer or even a television)。第三段介绍研究结论。第四段和第五段介绍这种电脑可能地应用。同学们要仔细阅读每一段，找出每一段的中心。

【范文点评】

该范文要点齐全，对文章主要内容进行了准确的概括。主要概括了这种计算机的功能，工作方式以及未来可能的的应用等。