皿で育てた脳の細胞に「卓球ゲーム」をさせたら、20分でラリーが長くなった

Q1. What is the passage mainly about?

1. AA new video game for children
2. BBrain cells in a dish that got better at a game
3. CHow to make a chip with electrodes
4. DWhy old video games are popular

皿の脳の細胞がゲームの板を動かし、20分でボールを多く打ち返すようになった話なので、正解は B。

Q2. What happened when the paddle missed the ball?

1. AThe game stopped for the day.
2. BThe cells got a short, regular signal.
3. CThe cells got random signals.
4. DThe scientists moved the paddle.

「When it missed, they got random signals.」とあるので、正解は C。

Q3. In the passage, "random" is closest in meaning to ___.

1. Afollowing no pattern
2. Bvery loud
3. Ceasy to guess
4. Dvery slow

random は「でたらめな、規則のない」という意味。当たったときの short, regular（短く規則的な）信号と反対のものとして書かれているので、正解は A。

Q1. What is the passage mainly about?

1. AA study in which nerve cells on a chip got better at Pong when misses had a result
2. BA plan to sell a new chip to game companies
3. CA test showing that mouse cells are smarter than human cells
4. DHow doctors use electrodes to treat the brain

チップの神経細胞が「ポン」で上達し、外しても何も変わらないルールでは上達しなかったという研究の話なので、正解は A。

Q2. What did the cells receive after a hit?

1. AFour seconds of random pulses
2. BNo signal at all
3. CA short burst on all eight electrodes at once
4. DA new ball from a random direction

「A hit was followed by a short burst on all eight electrodes at once.」とあるので、正解は C。

Q3. What can we guess from the last two sentences?

1. AThe cells needed to know the ball's position only.
2. BThe result of each hit or miss mattered for the cells to improve.
3. CThe cells improved faster when the ball never stopped.
4. DThe chip broke when the ball kept bouncing.

外しても何も変わらないルールでは上達しなかったので、打てたか外したかの結果が上達に必要だったと考えられる。正解は B。

Q1. What is the passage mainly about?

1. AHow a game company built a faster computer chip
2. BA dish of nerve cells that improved at Pong, and the debate over calling it sentient
3. CWhy mouse cells cannot live for more than one day
4. DA plan to replace all game-learning AI with living cells

皿の神経細胞が「ポン」で上達した実験と、それを「感じる力がある」と呼んだことへの反論を述べているので、正解は B。

Q2. According to the passage, what did the 30 researchers argue?

1. AThe cells should have been taken from human brains.
2. BThe game was too difficult for the cells.
3. CThe authors' definition of sentience could fit almost any interactive computer system.
4. DThe chip needed more than 26,000 electrodes.

「the authors' definition was so broad it could fit almost any interactive computer system」とあるので、正解は C。

Q3. Why does the writer mention the later study with game-learning AI?

1. ATo show that the cells could not keep up once the AI had much more practice
2. BTo prove that the cells were sentient after all
3. CTo explain how the electrodes were made
4. DTo show that the AI never learned to play Pong

AI が何万回も練習したあとで細胞を追い抜いたと書き、練習を重ねた AI には細胞が追いつけなかったことを示しているので、正解は A。