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A new robot, Pepper, has been designed. It is considered as the world's first with the ability to read human emotions. Pepper looks slightly like Michelin Man. It is four-feet tall with a computer in its chest and human-like hands. Although it is not tall, Pepper is able to talk about everything from the weather to the latest events about the country.
Using its functions, Pepper can react(反应) to people nearby -- making jokes, dancing and even singing in different languages. Pepper can understand expressions, human voice and actions, then react through computer programmes. The designer hopes to create a robot that can understand people well, then it can take action. He also hopes robots can play roles in many ways, not just work in the industry. They provide fun at the home or store. Pepper is designed to be a family robot. It is powered by love inside a family. He not only makes people laugh, but also comforts those people who are sad or lonely and encourage them when natural disasters come.
Pepper will be on sale in Japan for around US$2,000 in February 2015. For now, several Peppers are shown at some stores in Tokyo for visitors. The designers want the robots to get so much knowledge that they can succeed in communicating with humans better before sale.
Several thousand Peppers are going to learn at some stores. Everything they learned and got is going to be stored into the i-cloud service. So that they can share wisdom with each other
We are sure Pepper can bring amazing changes into our lives.
1.According to the passage, “Pepper” is ______.
A. a kind of food B. a computer
C. a robot D. a designer
2.What does the underlined word “emotions” mean?
A. words B. feelings C. minds D. worries
3.From the passage, we can infer(推断) ______
A. Pepper will be sold in many countries
B. Pepper can speak only Japanese.
C. People can buy Pepper in Japan now.
D. Peppers can’t share wisdom with each other
4.In which part of a newspaper can we probably read this passage?
A. Travel B. Culture C. Advertisement D. Technology
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A robot named Stevie has been designed to communicate ________ old people.
A.to B.with C.for D.after
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The fridge is considered necessary. It has been so since the 1960s when packaged food list appeared with the label: “Store in the refrigerator.”
In my fridge-less fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthy. The milkman came every day, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times each week. The Sunday meat would last until Wednesday and surplus（剩余的）bread and milk became all kinds of cakes. Nothing was wasted, and we were never troubled by rotten food. Thirty years on food deliveries have ceased, fresh vegetables are almost unobtainable in the country.
The invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation. Many well-tried techniques already existed -- natural cooling, drying, smoking,salting, sugaring, bottling ...
What refrigeration did promote was marketing -- marketing hardware and electricity, marketing soft drinks, marketing dead bodies of animals around the world in search of a good price.
Consequently, most of the world’s fridges are to be found, not in the tropics where they might prove useful, but in the rich countries with mild temperatures where they are climatically almost unnecessary. Every winter, millions of fridges hum away continuously, and at vast expense, busily maintaining an artificially-cooled space inside an artificially-heated house -- while outside, nature provides the desired temperature free of charge.
The fridges’ effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been insignificant. If you don’t believe me, try it yourself, invest in a food cabinet and turn off your fridge next winter. You may not eat the hamburgers, but at least you’ll get rid of that terrible hum.
1.The statement “In my fridge-less fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthily.” suggests that ____.
A.the author was well-fed and healthy even without a fridge in his fifties
B.the author was not accustomed to fridges even in his fifties
C.there was no fridge in the author’s home in the 1950s
D.the fridge was in its early stage of development in the 1950s
2.Why does the author say that nothing was wasted before the invention of fridges?
A.Because people would not buy more food than was necessary.
B.Because food was delivered to people two or three times a week.
C.Because food was sold fresh and did not get rotten easily.
D.Because people had effective ways to preserve their food.
3.Who benefited the least from fridges according to the author?
A.Inventors. B.Consumers. C.Manufacturers. D.Travelling salesmen.
4.Which of the following phrases in the fifth paragraph indicates the fridge’s negative effect on the environment?
A.“Hum away continuously”. B.“Climatically almost unnecessary”.
C.“Artificially - cooled space.” D.“With mild temperatures.”
5.What is the author’s overall attitude toward fridges?
A.Neutral. B.Critical. C.Objective. D.Compromising.
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W: Jason, I heard that your father is a designer (设计师). Is it true?
M: Yes, my father has worked as a designer for 21 years.
W: Wow, he must be experienced. ________
M: My father designs many kinds of cars. Look! It’s the latest car he designed.
W: ________ Was it his dream to be a car designer?
M: Yes. When he was a boy, he was interested in his toy cars. But after high school he didn’t have money to learn to design.
W: ________Did he have to work for money first?
M: Yeah. After two years’ work, he got enough money.________ And he began to learn
to design at college.
W: ________
M: Yeah. He is the pride of my family and I have learned a lot from him.
1.
A. Where does he work? B. Does he like selling cars?
C. What does he design? D. Is he good at making cars?
2.
A. Wow, it’s so cool. B. That sounds like a good idea.
C. How long does it take? D. Well, he must be musical.
3.
A. What a lucky man! B. How funny it is!
C. That’s all right. D. That’s too bad.
4.
A. Then he could go to college. B. He had a kind boss.
C. So he could teach himself. D. He set up a small car factory.
5.
A. Have a nice day! B. Your father is really a great man!
C. Thanks for telling me such a story. D. Hope things work out.
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The _______ of cigarette has to be cut down, as it is considered harmful to people’s health.
A.production B.product C.producer D.producing
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Trust has been considered as the basic (基础) of any relationship, including friendship. No relationship can last long without trust. 1.Sometimes, it takes years, even a whole life to make it. So how do we know if others trust us?
2.You may first like to talk to the friends you trust most. It is the same with your friends.
Whom do you ask for advice when you need it the most? Either your parents or your friends may first come into your mind. You only ask for advice from people you really trust. You know they will never pass on a wrong suggestion. And so do they. 3.
Different ideas and discussions are a part of every relationship, and this is also true for friendship. Actually, two people can't always have the same opinions on a situation and they may share different suggestions. Sometimes some people find it hard to forgive (原谅) and forget.
4.It is because they trust you and believe that you will never cause any pain to them on purpose (故意地). There are times in life when you find yourself a lonely soldier. 5.Your friends will never let you down and will strongly stand for you when you need encouragement. If they side with you when you need them the most, you can know that they trust you.
A. Whom would you like to share your secrets with?
B. But winning trust is not easy as we imagine.
C. But for your true friends, there is no difficulty in it.
D. They don't like their friends, with different opinions.
E. However, if you have true friends, you will never be alone in any trouble.
F. The friends who trust you will go to you for help in the important decisions of their life.
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Black Friday
Thanksgiving is always on Thursday. The day after it has been known as Black Friday. It is the start of the holiday shopping season, and it has been the busiest shopping day of the year in the USA since 2005.
Most stores offer big sales on Black Friday. They open their doors quite early in the morning. They try to attract shoppers with big discounts. Some items(商品)like TVs and clothes are much cheaper than usual. Stores may even lose money on these items. They hope that shoppers will buy gifts for other people while they are in the store.
Black Friday is a great time to go shopping. However, there are problems. The biggest one is that there are not enough low-priced items. Each store may only have a few. These items are in great need, so people stand in long lutes to get them. They may wait three to four hours before a store opens. They may be hoping to get a low price on a TV or computer, but not everybody can get one. Some people leave, disappointed.
The situation makes people worried. Some Black Friday events have been crazy. There have been fights over toys among shoppers. Some workers have even been hurt by large crowds. But most Black Friday events are safe and fun. Still, if you plan to go, you will expect large crowds and a bit of pushing.
So where does the name "Black Friday" come from? It was first used in Philadelphia in the 1950s. The police called this day Black Friday because of the heavy traffic it caused. In the 1960s, stores tried to rename the day "Big Friday". It did not stick. The name "Black Friday" continued to spread across the country. It seems that it is here to stay.
Now people all over the country take part in Black Friday events. It is even spreading to other parts of the world. Stores have held Black Friday events in the UK, Australia, and Brazil since 2012. In Mexico, stores offer a weekend of discounts every year. They call it "E1Buen Fin", which means" the good weekend" in Spanish. I guess people everywhere like to buy things.
1.What is the biggest problem with Black Friday?
_________________________________________________________________________
2.Why do people like going shopping on Black Friday?
_________________________________________________________________________
3.Will you go shopping on Black Friday? Why or why not?
_________________________________________________________________________
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It has been described as art by some people, but to others it’s an ugly part of modern life.
What is it? Graffiti (涂鸦), of course. Look around cities in the UK today and you can see graffiti on buildings, walls, doors and even on buses or trains that have stayed in one place for too long. But where modern technology creates a problem, it also finds a way to deal with it. Last week, The Weekend West was shown around the factory of a small but successful company (公司), Hubdean.
Hubdean’s achievement is some special paints which are graffiti-resistant. How do they work? It couldn’t be simpler. Take any graffiti-covered surface. First, a treatment called Agproclear is used. Then, using a very hot pressure jet (压力喷嘴), this treatment is taken away and the graffiti disappears at the same time. Now you have a clean wall. But before this clean wall can be painted on by graffiti lovers, a new product, Agproshield, is used. This paint has a special surface which gives it two important advantages. Firstly, spray paint (喷雾颜料) won’t stick to the surface very well, and secondly, the whole surface can be cleaned very easily, just using water. Once the surface is painted, no specialist equipment (设备) is needed to keep the area clean and graffiti-free.
Not surprisingly, Hubdean’s products are used by both local governments and private companies all over the UK, and now orders are being received from around the world. This brings the company a problem, however. Can they increase production to satisfy the needs? Of course, they can build a second factory or work with a large international company to make their products. The future is looking good for Hubdean!
1.What does the underlined word “graffiti-resistant” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.Painting graffiti. B.Keeping graffiti. C.Preventing graffiti. D.Changing graffiti.
2.When should Agproshield be used?
A.Before Agproclear is used. B.When the wall is still clean.
C.When Agproclear doesn’t work. D.After graffiti is painted on the wall.
3.What can we learn about Hubdean?
A.There is a good market for its products.
B.A large company is going to buy its products.
C.It is developing more new and better products.
D.Most of its business comes from private companies.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.Is Hubdean successful? B.Is graffiti art? Of course not!
C.Hubdean a high-tech company? D.Graffiti a problem? Just wash it off!
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Black Friday
Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. The day after it has been known as Black Friday. It is the start of the holiday shopping season, and it has been the busiest shopping day of the year in the US since 2005.
Most stores offer big sales on Black Friday. They open their doors quite early in the morning. They try to attract shoppers with big discounts (打折). Some items (商品)like TVs and cloths are much cheaper than usual. Stores may even lose money on these items. They hope that shoppers will buy gifts for other people while they are in the store.
Black Friday is a great time to go shopping. However, there are problem. The biggest one is that there are not enough low-priced items. Each store may only have a few. These items are in great need, so people stand in long lines to get them. They may wait three to four hours before a store opens. They may be hoping to get a low price on a TV or computer, but not everybody can get one. Some people leave, disappointed.
The situation makes people worried. Some Black Friday events have been crazy. There have been fights over toys among shoppers. Some workers have even been hurt by large crowds. But most Black Friday events are safe and fun. Still, if you plan to go, you will expect large crowds and a bit of pushing.
So where does the name “Black Friday” come from? It was first used in Philadelphia in the 1950s. The police called this day Black Friday because of the heavy traffic it caused. In the 1960s, stores tried to rename the day “Big Friday”. It did not stick. The name “Black Friday” continued to spread across the country. It seems that it is here to stay.
Now people all over the country take part in Black Friday events. It is even spreading to other parts of the world. Stores have held Black Friday events in the UK, Australia, and Brazil since 2012. In Mexico, stores offer a weekend of discounts every year. They call it “El Buen Fin”, which means “the good weekend” in Spanish. I guess people everywhere like to buy things on sale.
1.Is Black Friday the start of the holiday shopping season?
2.What is the biggest problem with Black Friday?
3.How long may people have to wait before a store opens?
4.Where was the name “Black Friday” first used in the 1950s?
5.Why do people like going shopping on Black Friday?
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Black Friday
Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. The day after it has been known as Black Friday. It is the start of the holiday shopping season, and it has been the busiest shopping day of the year in the US since 2005.
Most stores offer big sales on Black Friday. They open their doors quite early in the morning. They try to attract shoppers with big discounts (打折). Some items (商品)like TVs and cloths are much cheaper than usual. Stores may even lose money on these items. They hope that shoppers will buy gifts for other people while they are in the store.
Black Friday is a great time to go shopping. However, there are problem. The biggest one is that there are not enough low-priced items. Each store may only have a few. These items are in great need, so people stand in long lines to get them. They may wait three to four hours before a store opens. They may be hoping to get a low price on a TV or computer, but not everybody can get one. Some people leave, disappointed.
The situation makes people worried. Some Black Friday events have been crazy. There have been fights over toys among shoppers. Some workers have even been hurt by large crowds. But most Black Friday events are safe and fun. Still, if you plan to go, you will expect large crowds and a bit of pushing.
So where does the name “Black Friday” come from? It was first used in Philadelphia in the 1950s. The police called this day Black Friday because of the heavy traffic it caused. In the 1960s, stores tried to rename the day “Big Friday”. It did not stick. The name “Black Friday” continued to spread across the country. It seems that it is here to stay.
Now people all over the country take part in Black Friday events. It is even spreading to other parts of the world. Stores have held Black Friday events in the UK, Australia, and Brazil since 2012. In Mexico, stores offer a weekend of discounts every year. They call it “El Buen Fin”, which means “the good weekend” in Spanish. I guess people everywhere like to buy things on sale.
1.Is Black Friday the start of the holiday shopping season?
2.What is the biggest problem with Black Friday?
3.How long may people have to wait before a store opens?
4.Where was the name “Black Friday” first used in the 1950s?
5.Why do people like going shopping on Black Friday?