阅读理解A
题干:Thankstoslumpingmarkets,investmentbanksaresheddingmanyoftheirhighly-paidtraders.Whenmarketsrecover,thebanksmightbetemptedtoreplacethemwithrathercheapertalent.Onealternativehasbeenaroundforawhilebuthasyettocatchon:autonomoustradingagents—computersprogrammedtoactlikethehumanversionwithoutsuchpeskycostsasholidays,lunchbreaksorbonuses.Programtradinghas,ofcourse,beendonebefore;someblamedthe1987stockmarketcrashoncomputersinstructedwithsimpledecision-makingrules.Butrobotscanbesmarterthanthat.DaveCliff,aresearcheratHewlett-PackardLaboratoriesinBristol,England,hasbeencreatingtradingrobotsforsevenyears.Incomputersimulationsheletsthemevolve"genetically",andsoallowsthemtoadaptandfitmodelsofreal-worldfinancialmarkets.Hisexperimentshavesuggestedthataredesignofsomemarketscouldleadtogreaterefficiency.Lastyear,aresearchgroupatIBMshowedthatMrCliff'sartificialtraderscouldconsistentlybeatthehumanvariety,invariouskindsofmarket.Nearlyalltaketheshapeofanauction.Onewell-knowntypeistheEnglishauction,familiartopatronsofthesalesroomsofChristie'sandSotheby's,wheresellerskeepmumontheirofferprice,andbuyersincreasetheirbidsbystagesuntilonlyoneremains.AttheotherextremeistheDutchauction,familiarto17th-centurytulip-tradersintheNetherlandsaswellastobiddersforAmericanTreasurybonds.Here,buyersremainsilent,andasellerreduceshispriceuntilitisaccepted.Mostmarketsforshares,commodities,foreignexchangeandderivativesareahybridofthesetwotypes:buyersandsellerscanannouncetheirbidorofferpricesatanytime,anddealsareconstantlybeingclosed,aso-called"continuousdoubleauction".MrCliff'snovelideawastoapplyhisevolutionarycomputerprogramstomarketplacesthemselves.Whynot,hethought,tryandseewhattypesofauctionwouldlettradersconvergemostquicklytowardsanequilibriumprice?Theresultsweresurprising.Inhismodels,auctionsthatletbuyersandsellersbidatanytimelikemostoftoday'sfinancialexchangeswerelessefficientthanonesthatrequiredrelativelymorebidsfromeitherbuyersorsellers.These"evolvedauctions"alsowithstoodbigmarketshocks,suchascrashesandpanics,betterthantoday'sreal-worldversions.MrCliff'smostrecentresults,whichwillbepresentedinSydney,Australia,onDecember10th,showthatthebesttypeofauctionforanymarketdependscruciallyonevenslightdifferencesinthenumberofbuyersandsellers.BankofAmericahasbeeninvestigatingthesenewauctions,alongwithrobotictraders,forpossibleuseinelectronicexchanges.Thehopeisthattoday'sfinancialauctionsandonlinemarketplacesmightworkbetterbybecomingmoreliketheirEnglishandDutchforebears.Butwhattocallsuchmulti-ethnichybrids?Here'sintroducingthe"Cliffhanger".
题目:
Toward robot traders, the writer’s attitude can be said to be().