A Computer in Your Head?

Which excerpt from "A Computer in Your Head?" most clearly supports the author's purpose of comparing and contrasting the brain and the computer?

• Your brain controls your emotions, appetite, sleep, heart rate, and breathing. Your brain is who you are and everything you will be.

• Is your brain really like the metal box that hums on your desk? Let's look at the similarities and differences between the two.

• Your brain is also connected to sensors or receptors in your eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin.

• Current research in artificial intelligence is moving toward developing emotional capabilities in computers and robots.

According to "A Computer in Your Head?," how do both brains and computers send information? (paragraph 4)

• through language

• through nerve cells

• through electrical signals

• through on and off switches

Which format is used below:

Nursing home care is very expensive, the average cost is 3000-4000 dollars a month. Compared to staying in a nursing home, receiving care at home is relatively inexpensive and costs only $900 per month.

• Point by Point

• Block

Next time you are thirsty, try drinking a glass of water instead of a soda. Although both will quench your thirst, soda is full of sugar and chemicals. Water, on the other hand, is a much healthier choice. Water helps your digestive system to function properly and keeps you immune system strong so you won't get sick.

Which key words tell you this is organized as compare contrast?

• water instead of soda
• on the other hand, although
• and, so
• is a much healthier choice

Which of the following describes the process by which brains and computers receive energy, according to "A Computer in Your Head?" (paragraph 3)

• Computers get energy from synapses, while brains get energy from receptors.

• Computers receive more energy the more they are used, while brains receive more energy through sleep

• Computers get energy by plugging into a source of electricity, while brains get energy from glucose in food.

• Computers receive energy and then store it for long periods of time, while brains receive energy from neurons.

Which format is used below:

Both comic books and mythological books involve creatures, but mythological creatures could have actually lived and comic book creatures are made up.

• Block

• Point by Point

What is the underlying message of the following excerpt from "A Computer in Your Head?"

Although computers can perform extraordinary computational feats at astounding speeds, they do not experience the emotions, dreams, and thoughts that are an essential part of what makes us human.

• It would be beneficial for humans if computers could experience things like dreams and emotions.

• While computers have many capabilities, there are some important ways in which human brains are unique.

• The speed with which computers operate is one of the reasons they have not yet developed the capacity for thought.

• Even the human brain has some special abilities, the power of computers to solve problems is far superior to anything the brain can do.

What is the author's purpose in writing "A Computer in Your Head?"

• to compare and contrast the brain and the computer

• to argue that brains are more complex than computers

• to explain the future of brain science and computer technology

• to describe the way that electricity functions in brains and computers

Which is the best synonym for monitor, based on the following sentence?

Laura logged on to the school website to monitor her son's progress in math class.

• check

• report

• change

• question

According to "A Computer in Your Head?," why are some messages not sent through the brain? (paragraph 5)

• Synapses are sometimes too far apart to allow a message to continue.

• When a neuron is turned on, it either sends electrical signals or it does not.

• If the synapses and receptors in the brain do not match up, the electrical switch turns off and the message stops.

• Neurons may get thousands of messages at once, and the total signal for a message must exceed a certain level before it can continue in the brain.