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Whether in the home or the workplace, social robots are going to become a lot more common in the next few years. Social robots are about to bring technology to the everyday world in a more humanized way, said Cynthia Breazeal, chief scientist at the robot company Jibo.
While household robots today do the normal housework, social robots will be much more like companions(同伴) than mere tools. For example, these robots will be able to distinguish when someone is happy or sad. This allows them to respond more appropriately to the user.
The Jibo robot, arranged to ship later this year, is designed to be a personalized assistant. You can talk to the robot, ask it questions, and make requests for it to perform different tasks. The robot doesn’t just deliver general answers to questions; it responds based on what it learns about each individual in the household. It can do things such as reminding an elderly family member to take medicine or taking family photos.
Social robots are not just finding their way into the home. They have potential applications in everything from education to health care and are already finding their way into some of these spaces.
Fellow Robots is one company bringing social robots to the market. The company’s “Oshbot” robot is built to assist customers in a store, which can help the customers find items and help guide them to the product’s location in the store. It can also speak different languages and make recommendations for different items based on what the customer is shopping for.
The more interaction the robot has with humans, the more it learns. But Oshbot, like other social robots, is not intended to replace workers, but to work alongside other employees. “We have technologies to train social robots to do things not for us, but with us,” said Breazeal.
1.How are social robots different from household robots？
A. They are more like humans.
B. They can control their emotions.
C. They do the normal housework.
D. They respond to users more slowly.
2.What can a Jibo robot do according to Paragraph 3?
A. Communicate with you and perform operations.
B. Obey your orders and remind you to take medicine.
C. Answer your questions and make requests.
D. Take your family pictures and deliver milk.
3.What can Oshbot work as？
A. A language teacher. B. A tour guide.
C. A private nurse. D. A shop assistant.
4.We can learn from the last paragraph that social robots will ________.
A. improve technologies B. train employees
C. be our workmates D. take the place of workers
5.What does the passage mainly present？
A. An introduction to social robots.
B. Marketing strategies for social robots.
C. A new design idea of household robots.
D. Information on household robots.
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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Standing in front of the “Chilkoot Trailhead” sign for 15 minutes, I didn’t take one step. I was afraid of bears. That’s what was keeping me from walking the trail alone. I had hiked through black-bear country back home in Colorado, but now I was in Alaska, home to the fierce brown grizzly bear.
Fortunately, a friendly couple arrived and asked me to take their picture. We started talking and soon were walking the trail together. I was relieved. Ron and Carol were from Alaska and they taught me how to stay safe in bear country.
I had finally started my hike along the famous Chilkoot Trail, where more than 115 years ago, thousands of gold miners had walked. I was writing a book about the Klondike Gold Rush, and I wanted to follow in the footsteps of the miners to know what it was really like.
Ron, Carol, and I walked through the forest. As I was looking around at the beautiful scenery in the forest, I tripped (绊倒) over a big tree root and injured my ankle (脚踝). Fortunately, my ankle felt better in the morning, and we followed the trail. We went to bed early that night because the following day would be the toughest hike of all.
At dawn, we started hiking up the steep (陡峭的), green valley. Icy glaciers covered the mountains above. Soon we were as high as the clouds and could see only 20 feet in front of us. Finally, we reached the top of the Chilkoot pass and saw a Canadian flag moving in the heavy wind. Hours later, we arrived at our campground.
The following morning, my ankle was feeling fine, and my fear of bears had mostly disappeared. I said good-bye to Ron and Carol and walked alone for the next two days. Without seeing any bears the entire trip, I finally arrived at Bennett Lake. I rode the old train down to the town of Skagway and checked into my hotel.
While relaxing in my comfortable bed in the hotel, I thought of the miners from the Klondike Gold Rush. When the miners reached Bennett Lake, they had to cut down trees, build boats, and travel 500 miles down dangerous rivers and lakes. Then, when they finally reached the goldfields, they had to start digging.
1.Why did the author stand in front of the “Chilkoot Trailhead” sign for 15 minutes?
A. To wait for Ron and Carol.
B. Because he felt nervous.
C. Because he met a black bear.
D. To take photos of the beautiful scenery.
2.The author hiked along the Chilkoot Trail to ________.
A. find inspiration for his writing
B. search Alaska for bears
C. enjoy the beauty of nature
D. look for gold
3.When crossing the Chilkoot Trail, the author ________.
A. got help from two local miners
B. once tried to take a boat trip
C. hurt himself by accident
D. was almost killed by a brown bear
4.What kind of feeling did the author mainly show in the last paragraph?
A. Joy. B. Pity. C. Worry. D. Doubt.
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The first summer job is often a signal that you’re on your way to adulthood, and it’s also a method for earning money to pay for what you dream of. It’s never too early to start considering the future. Now, here are some good choices for you!
Retail (零售) Sales
Retail offers plenty of opportunity for teens who are looking for a job. This type of work can pay from $10 to $15 an hour depending upon the duty you are expected to take on. It can also be great for teens who are friendly and enjoy talking to other people. For more information, call us at 111-222-3333.
Food Service
A job in the food service industry is a natural fit for sociable teens who enjoy communicating with the public. It allows employees to work as part of a team while learning about following instructions. It also comes with the opportunity to earn between $8 and $10 per hour. Just call 111-222-3533 for more information.
Babysitter
This job requires someone who is highly responsible. Though it pays generally between $6 and $8 hourly, it also requires a lot of patience. This is a great choice for teens who wish to make a career in teaching, child care, social work or any other field that makes use of social skills or requires interaction with kids. Got a question? Just call 111-222-3336.
Housekeeping
This type of work can bring in about $5 an hour and it will allow teens to learn responsibility and develop their organizational skills. The summer sees an upswing in the tourism industry, so hotels are often looking for more housekeeping staff, and parks often need more people to assist with keeping public areas clean and organized as well. Telephone: 111-222-3330.
1.How much can you earn at least in two hours as a retailer?
A. $10. B. $12. C. $16. D. $20.
2.Which of the following jobs may attract teens who want to be a teacher?
A. Retail Sales. B. Babysitter. C. Housekeeping. D. Food Service.
3.The text is mainly written for teens who ________.
A. want a part-time job in the summer
B. are faced with communication problems
C. dream of becoming a housekeeper
D. plan to start their own business
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Hannah Levine decided she wanted to give hugs to all of the children and families in need at local hospitals.
Because she couldn’t give them one by one, Levine, then a sixth-grader, decided she would use her talents(才能) to do the next best thing. She began to knit(编织) hats, scarves, and blankets for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford. Her creations also went to Bundle of Joy, a program that provides newborn baby items for families in need, and to Knitting Pals by the Bay, a local organization that provides hand-knitted caps to cancer patients.
“I love to knit, and I thought it would be a great idea to make all these handmade items for kids and adults who need them. It would be like a hug for them,” Levine explained.
Levine started the project about a year ago. “I think it’s just really fun to do, and it keeps me busy,” said Levine, now 13.
Once she got started, Levine realized that her project could be much bigger than the goods she was able to produce with just her own hands. So she sent emails to her school and communities(社区), asking for knitted donations(捐赠物) to the project she named “Hannah’s Warm Hugs”. She also posted advertisements at Starbucks and other locations in her area. The warm goods began to gush in.
“It was amazing; more strangers than people she knew started dropping donations at our door,” said Levine’s mother, Laura Levine. “We ended up with this huge box of items she was donating.”
The knitted items numbered in the hundreds. Levine made her first round of donations around Hanukkah (an eight-day Jewish holiday in November or December) and later received thank-you letters from the organizations. Levine is still knitting, and she said the project will continue.
“It has turned into a bigger thing than she had thought,” her mom said. “It made her feel pretty good; it made us feel pretty good.”
1.Hannah Levine knitted hats and scarves ________.
A. for children and families in difficulty
B. to raise money for cancer patients
C. to earn some pocket money
D. for the homeless in her neighborhood
2.The underlined part “gush in” in paragraph 5 can best be replaced by “________”.
A. take off B. run out C. flood in D. break in
3.What would be Laura Levine’s attitude toward Hannah Levine’s project?
A. Optimistic but worried.
B. Proud and supportive.
C. Concerned but doubtful.
D. Unfavorable and uncaring.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Be ready to lend a helping hand
B. Start a project to show your support
C. Teen turns knitting hobby into heartwarming project
D. 13-year-old girl becomes US best knitter
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Tom goes everywhere with Catherine Green, a 54-year-old secretary. He moves around her office at work and goes shopping with her. "Most people don't seem to mind Tom," says Catherine, who thinks he is wonderful. "He's my fourth child," she says. She may think of him and treat him that way as her son, buying his food, paying his health bills and his taxes, but in fact Tom is a dog.
Catherine and Tom live in Sweden, a country where everyone is expected to lead an orderly life according to rules laid down by the government, which also provides a high level of care for its people. This level of care costs money.
People in Sweden pay taxes on everything, so aren't surprised to find that owning a dog means yet more taxes. Some people are paying as much as 500 Swedish kronor in taxes a year for the right to keep their dog, money that is spent by the government on dog hospitals and sometimes medical treatment for a dog that falls ill. However, most such treatment is expensive, so owners often decide to offer health and even life premium for their dog.
In Sweden dog owners must pay for any damage their dog does. A Swedish Kennel Club official explains what this means: if your dog runs out on the road and gets hit by a passing car you, as the owner, have to pay for any damage done to the car, even if your dog has been killed in the accident.
1.The money paid as dog taxes is used to ________.
A. provide medical care for dogs
B. pay for damage done by dogs
C. keep a high level of care for the people
D. buy insurance for dog owners
2.The underlined world "premium" possibly means ________.
A. entertainment expense B. medical check
C. payment for risks D. protection fee
3.If a dog causes a car accident and gets killed, who should pay for the damage done to the car?
A. The government.
B. The owner of the car.
C. The insurance company.
D. The owner of the dog.
4.From the text it can be inferred that in Sweden ________.
A. people care much about dogs
B. keeping dogs means asking for trouble
C. many car accidents are caused by dogs
D. dogs are welcome in public places
The bus we __________ (一直等待) was too crowded, so we decided to catch a later one.
The bus we __________ (一直等待) was too crowded, so we decided to catch a later one.