Robots have certain advantages compared to humans: They are efficient, tireless, can be repaired when damaged and they never get sick. This last trait has made them the star during our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. While hundreds of thousands of medical workers have fallen ill dealing with this highly infectious virus and a lot more are forced to stay at home for fear of getting the disease, this isn’t a problem for robots.
This is why the COVID-19 outbreak is seen as the “tipping point”---noted The Independent Science reporter Anthony Cuthbertson---for robots to start to replace humans in certain jobs.
In areas like hospitals and healthcare facilities, robots are used to perform high-risk tasks. In China, for example, a hotel in Hangzhou employed a robot named “Little Peanut” to deliver food to people under quarantine（隔离期）. In Spain, robots are about to be used to test people for the coronavirus. Ultraviolet-light-disinfection (紫外线消毒) robots are also being widely used to clean hospital corridors and wards.
“Hospitals around the world are waking up to autonomous disinfection,” Per Juul Nielsen, CEO of Denmark’s UVD Robots, a leading company manufacturing disinfection robots, told Forbes. “We can’t build these robots fast enough.”
In non-medical companies, robots are also replacing human employees since they don’t have the problem of social distancing and will never take sick leave. Walmart and Amazon, for example, where robots are already used in sorting, packing and shipping, are planning to increase the number of robots in their facilities. Fast-food chains like McDonald’s are not only delivering food with robots in some areas, but also looking to use them as cooks and servers.
According to futurist Martin Ford, using more robots than human employees can prove to be rewarding for companies---even when the pandemic is over. “People will prefer to go to a place that has fewer workers and more machines because they feel they can lower overall risk,” Ford told the BBC.
But this sudden surge (激增) in robot demand doesn’t mean that they triumph over humans in every aspect. According to Bill Smart, a roboticist at Oregon State University, the human contact between doctors and patients is still important. Doctors comfort the patients and guide them through hard decisions while robots are only doing routine tasks, like cleaning and giving tests, just to free up doctors and nurses.
It might be true that robots have certain advantages over humans, but they are still secondary to human interaction.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A.The advantages of robots compared to humans.
B.Different views toward applying robots to fight COVID-19.
C.Why the COVID-19 outbreak has fueled robot demand.
D.The important role humans play in certain areas.
2.What has made robots desirable during the pandemic according to the text?
A.They can be repaired when damaged.
B.They test people for coronavirus more precisely.
C.They never get tired and can replace doctors and nurses.
D.They are not vulnerable to the coronavirus.
3.What does Martin Ford think of the application of robots?
A.Its benefits are appealing and lasting.
B.Machines are less disturbing than humans.
C.It poses a threat to human employment.
D.There are some risks with the use of robots.
4.What can be concluded from the last two paragraphs?
A.The demand for robots is too great to meet.
B.Human interaction is essential in some areas.
C.Doctors can make more accurate judgments than robots.
D.Robots need updating to improve contact with humans.
高三英语阅读理解困难题
Robots have certain advantages compared to humans: They are efficient, tireless, can be repaired when damaged and they never get sick. This last trait has made them the star during our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. While hundreds of thousands of medical workers have fallen ill dealing with this highly infectious virus and a lot more are forced to stay at home for fear of getting the disease, this isn’t a problem for robots.
This is why the COVID-19 outbreak is seen as the “tipping point”---noted The Independent Science reporter Anthony Cuthbertson---for robots to start to replace humans in certain jobs.
In areas like hospitals and healthcare facilities, robots are used to perform high-risk tasks. In China, for example, a hotel in Hangzhou employed a robot named “Little Peanut” to deliver food to people under quarantine（隔离期）. In Spain, robots are about to be used to test people for the coronavirus. Ultraviolet-light-disinfection (紫外线消毒) robots are also being widely used to clean hospital corridors and wards.
“Hospitals around the world are waking up to autonomous disinfection,” Per Juul Nielsen, CEO of Denmark’s UVD Robots, a leading company manufacturing disinfection robots, told Forbes. “We can’t build these robots fast enough.”
In non-medical companies, robots are also replacing human employees since they don’t have the problem of social distancing and will never take sick leave. Walmart and Amazon, for example, where robots are already used in sorting, packing and shipping, are planning to increase the number of robots in their facilities. Fast-food chains like McDonald’s are not only delivering food with robots in some areas, but also looking to use them as cooks and servers.
According to futurist Martin Ford, using more robots than human employees can prove to be rewarding for companies---even when the pandemic is over. “People will prefer to go to a place that has fewer workers and more machines because they feel they can lower overall risk,” Ford told the BBC.
But this sudden surge (激增) in robot demand doesn’t mean that they triumph over humans in every aspect. According to Bill Smart, a roboticist at Oregon State University, the human contact between doctors and patients is still important. Doctors comfort the patients and guide them through hard decisions while robots are only doing routine tasks, like cleaning and giving tests, just to free up doctors and nurses.
It might be true that robots have certain advantages over humans, but they are still secondary to human interaction.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A.The advantages of robots compared to humans.
B.Different views toward applying robots to fight COVID-19.
C.Why the COVID-19 outbreak has fueled robot demand.
D.The important role humans play in certain areas.
2.What has made robots desirable during the pandemic according to the text?
A.They can be repaired when damaged.
B.They test people for coronavirus more precisely.
C.They never get tired and can replace doctors and nurses.
D.They are not vulnerable to the coronavirus.
3.What does Martin Ford think of the application of robots?
A.Its benefits are appealing and lasting.
B.Machines are less disturbing than humans.
C.It poses a threat to human employment.
D.There are some risks with the use of robots.
4.What can be concluded from the last two paragraphs?
A.The demand for robots is too great to meet.
B.Human interaction is essential in some areas.
C.Doctors can make more accurate judgments than robots.
D.Robots need updating to improve contact with humans.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Modern-day robots are programmed to handle tasks that are normally carried out by humans. They are faster and 1. (accurate) than human workers and never ask for a pay rise or take breaks! Robots are also able to work 2. dangerous situations.
Researchers at the University of Arkansas in the United States say that the mobile robots which have been created already are ideal for the job of hospital attendants. These mobile robots store a 3. (detail) map of the hospital in their memory. The robots’ sensors can detect 4.(barrier) and quickly get out of the way. Although these robots cannot go up and down stairs, they know how 5.(press) a button of an elevator.
Researchers at a Massachusetts’ university are creating the first robot 6.can constantly change its shape according to the task it has to do. These robots are called polymorphic robots. “Polymorphic” means7. ability to take different forms. A 3D printer 8.(place) inside the robot to create the desired shape. The entire process of changing forms in this manner is called the rapid printing technology which is 9.(fair) common in the car industry to produce complex 3D structures quickly. Once the robot has performed 10.(it) task, it can be melted down and recycled into another useful part by the 3D printer.
高三英语语法填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Have you considered how weak humans are ____ a volcano, hurricane or earthquake?
A. comparing with B. compared with
C. to compare with D. having been compared with
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Have you considered how weak humans are________a volcano, hurricane or earthquake?
| A．comparing with | B．compared with |
| C．to compare with | D．having been compared with |
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Have you considered how weak humans are________a volcano, hurricane or earthquake?
A．comparing with B．to compare with
C．compared with D．having been compared with
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The pandas are very dear to human beings. So people have been doing they take to save them.
A. whichever B. however C. whatever D. whoever
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
One argument for why robots will never fully measure up to people is because they lack human-like social skills. But researchers are experimenting with new methods to give robots social skills to better interact with humans.
The experiment was carried out by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT). The team developed a machine learning system for self-driving vehicles that is designed to learn the social characteristics of other drivers. The researchers studied driving situations to learn how other drivers on the road were likely to behave. Since not all human drivers act the same way, the data was meant to teach the driverless car to avoid dangerous situations.
The researchers say the technology uses tools borrowed from the field of social psychology. In this experiment, scientists created a system that attempted to decide whether a person's driving style is more selfish or selfless. In road tests, self-driving vehicles equipped with the system improved their ability to predict what other drivers would do by up to 25 percent.
In one test, the self-driving car was observed making a left-hand turn. The study found the system could cause the vehicle to wait before making the turn if it predicted the oncoming drivers acted selfishly and might be unsafe. But when oncoming vehicles were judged to be selfless, the self-driving car could make the turn without delay because it saw less risk of unsafe behavior.
The MIT team plans to expand its research model to include other things that a self-driving vehicle might need to deal with. These include predictions about people walking around traffic, as well as bicycles and other things found in driving environments. The researchers say they believe the technology could also be used in vehicles with human drivers. It could act as a warning system against other drivers judged to be behaving aggressively.
1.What is the purpose of the new research?
A.To reduce human drivers' mistakes.
B.To develop a machine learning system.
C.To give robots human-like social skills.
D.To prove robots can never replace humans.
2.What caused the self-driving car to wait or turn quickly?
A.The colors of the traffic lights.
B.The orders from police officer.
C.The directions from human drivers.
D.The oncoming driver's driving style.
3.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.More traffic participants will be involved in the research.
B.Other colleges will be invited to join in the project.
C.New rules will be developed for road users.
D.Human drivers will give way to robots.
4.In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?
A.Entertainment. B.Science.
C.Education. D.Business.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Researchers at Cornell University are one step closer to building robots that are more like humans. This new method is one you might not expect. However, a soft robot muscle that "sweats" to regulate its temperature. "Sweating takes advantage of evaporated (蒸发)water loss to rapidly dissipate heat and can cool below the environmental temperature. So as is often the case, biology provided an excellent guide for us as engineers."
The fingerlike devices are 3D printed, water powered, and can be used to grab things. They are made of two soft chemical materials: a base layer of (CH3) 2 CH-C3H5 NO covered in a multihole layer of (C3H5 NO)n. When the fingers reach a temperature of 30°C (86°F), the base layer reacts by shrinking, squeezing the water through the top pores (毛孔)in the top layer. The drying up is so efficient that the surface temperature of the actuator can drop by 21°C in just 30 seconds. That's three times more efficient than in humans. When wind from a fan is thrown into the mix, they cool down around six times as fast. The evaporation also cooled the object held by the actuator hand.
"The best part of this artificial strategy is that the heat regulation is based on the material itself," said T. J. Wallin, co-lead author, a research scientist at Facebook Reality Labs. "We did not need to have sensors or other components to control the sweating rate. When the local temperature rose above the set point, the pores would simply open and close on their own. "
While the result is exciting, it is only a first step. The robot has its weaknesses. The sweat can make the robot hand slippery, so the team is examining textures to improve its grasp. When the sweating takes place, the robot's mobility is also blocked and needs to refill its water supply.
"I think that the future of making these more biologically similar materials and robots is going to rely on the material composition," said co-lead author Rob Shepherd, an associate professor of mechanical and engineering. "This brings up a point about the importance of research involving several different academic subjects or areas, where really no one group has all the answers. "
1.Which can best replace the underlined word "dissipate" in paragraph 1?
A.turn down B.put aside
C.drive away D.take in
2.What can control the heating performance of the robot?
A.Its artificial material. B.Its accurate sensor.
C.Its sensitive devices. D.Its working surroundings.
3.What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about?
A.The disadvantages of the robot.
B.The next step of the researchers.
C.The rules the robot has to follow.
D.The effect of the new development.
4.What can we infer from Shepherd's words?
A.The future of the robot is promising.
B.The similar materials are too difficult to develop.
C.Only working together can make the robot more successful.
D.The next step of his team is to search for suitable software.
高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
Faced with economic slowdown, some companies are planning to use robots to ______ human workers to reduce their labor costs.
A. compensate B. substitute
C. symbolize D. discriminate
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Faced with economic slowdown, some companies are planning to use robots to ______ human workers to reduce their labor costs.
A. compensate B. substitute
C. symbolize D. discriminate
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析