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Since May 8, Boston Dynamics’ dog-like robot, Spot, has been in use at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park in Singapore to help encourage social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic (新冠肺炎疫情) according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
Singpore’s government is funding the experiment of the robotic dog, which will last for two weeks at the park during off-peak(非高峰的) hours.
“The robot isn’t enforcing (强制 ). It’s just giving people information and encouraging them, ”Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert told CNBC. “When Spot is patrolling(巡逻)the area, there’s a parks officer nearby who can do whatever enforcement he decides is suitable. ”
Cameras fixed on Spot will scan the surroundings and help officers work out the number of visitors in the park, but they cannot read faces and won’t collect any personal information. It also carries a loudspeaker to broadcast a pre-recorded message to remind visitors of the importance of social distancing.
Without enough manpower, Singapore is turning to robotics to reduce the manpower required for park patrols and remind people about the risks they may be putting themselves and others in.
The question, however, is whether their use of Spot will be a good tool or will or only attract more people to it instead.
If the two-week experiment proves successful, the government will consider using Spot at the park during peak hours. Singapore will also do studies to see if it’s worth using other Spots in other parks. Already, Singapore engineers are trying to improve Spot, making it tell if people are together in a group or strangers passing on the grass.
No one knows if Spot will stay after the pandemic is gone, but one thing is for sure: the robot is the hardest working dog in the world.
1.Why is Spot used at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park?
A.To draw visitors’ attention to it. B.To help encourage social distancing.
C.To read and record visitors’ faces. D.To help collect private information.
2.The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 4 refers to(指的是)________ .
A.visitors B.strangers C.cameras D.officers
3.What can we learn from the last 3 paragraphs?
A.The experiment is still in progress. B.The use of Spot proves to be a good tool.
C.Spot will stay after the pandemic is over. D.Singapore will no longer need other Spot robots.
4.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A.Spot scares people into keeping a distance in public.
B.Spot patrols the park for two weeks during peak hours.
C.Spot can tell people together in a group from strangers passing by.
D.The parks officer nearby decides on the enforcement instead of Spot.
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---It is said Yangzhou Taizhou Airport has been in service since May 9th 2012.
---Really? ________!
A. How exciting news B. What an exciting news
C. What exciting news D. How an exciting news
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---It is said Yangzhou Taizhou Airport has been in service since May 9th 2012.
---Really? ________!
A. How exciting news B. What an exciting news
C. What exciting news D. How an exciting news
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I think there are several reasons that suggest developing robots is a waste of money.
In San Diego recently $325,000 was spent on inventing a robotic squirrel to do some scientific experiments. The research proved that squirrels are able to scare away snakes by wagging (摇动) their tails. Do you need a robotic squirrel to work this out?
What about AIBO, a robotic pet, developed in Japan? In Japanese aibou means “buddy”. These pets have been developed at huge cost mainly to provide entertainment. They've been used in movies and music videos. Universities have used them for educational purposes. However, in 2006 the company stopped producing these robotic pets in order to save money. Was it worth a lot of money?
Then there’s NAO, a robot which has been developed by a French company. Its main purpose is to make life easier for humans. It speaks 19 languages and has its own personality. It can tell children a story, help in the classroom or the home, or act as a companion to those people who need someone to be with. A fully developed one costs $16,000. Is that value for money? Who can afford it anyway?
There may be good reasons why it is worth developing robots, but so far I haven’t thought of any.
1.What does the underlined word “companion” in Paragraph 4 mean in Chinese?
A.公司 B.机构 C.对手 D.伙伴
2.What is the true fact about the robots mentioned?
A.The robotic squirrel is needed by every scientist to do some research.
B.AIBO wasn’t made any more because it only provided entertainment.
C.A fully developed NAO may tell kids stories in different languages.
D.All the three types of robots used to be produced at a very low cost.
3.What does the writer think of developing robots?
A.It can help bring people a lot of fun. B.It has advantages in many ways.
C.It may be useful but costs too much. D.It is worth a great deal of money.
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A team of engineers at Harvard University has been inspired by Nature to create the first robotic fly. The mechanical fly has become a platform for a series of new high-tech systems. Designed to do what a fly does naturally, the tiny machine is the size of a fat housefly. Its mini wings allow it to stay in the air and perform controlled flight tasks.
“It’s extremely important for us to think about this as a whole system and not just the sum of a bunch of individual components (元件),” said Robert Wood, the Harvard engineering professor who has been working on the robotic fly project for over a decade. A few years ago, his team got the go-ahead to start piecing together the components. “The added difficulty with a project like this is that actually none of those components are off the shelf (现货供应) and so we have to develop them all on our own,” he said.
They engineered a series of systems to start and drive the robotic fly. “The seemingly simple system which just moves the wings has a number of interdependencie(相互依赖) on the individual components, each of which individually has to perform well, but then has to be matched well to everything it’s connected to,” said Wood. The flight device was built into a set of power, computation (计算), sensing and control systems. Wood says the success of the project proves that the flying robot with these tiny components can be built and manufactured.
While this first robotic flyer is linked to a small, off-board (外置的) power source, the goal is eventually to equip it with a built-in power source, so that it might someday perform data-gathering work at rescue sites, in farmers’ fields or on the battlefield. “Basically it should be able to take off, land and fly around,” he said.
Wood says the design offers a new way to study flight mechanics and control at insect-scale. Yet, the power, sensing and computation technologies on board could have much broader applications. “You can start thinking about using them to answer open scientific questions, you know, to study biology in ways that would be difficult with the animals, but using these robots instead,” he said. “So there are a lot of technologies and open interesting scientific questions that are really what drives us on a day-to-day basis.”
1.The difficulty the team of engineers met with while making the robotic fly was that ______.
A.they had no model in their mind B.they did not have enough time
C.they had no ready-made components D.they could not control flight tasks
2.It can be inferred from paragraphs 3 and 4 that the robotic fly ______.
A.consists of a flight device and a control system
B.can just fly in limited areas at the present time
C.can collect information from many sources now
D.has been put into wide application
3.Which of the following can be learned from the passage?
A.The robotic flyer is designed to learn about insects.
B.Animals are not allowed in biological experiments.
C.There used to be few ways to study how insects fly.
D.Wood’s design can replace animals in some experiments.
4.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
A.Father of Robotic Fly B.Inspiration from Engineering Science
C.Robotic Fly Imitates Real Life Insect D.Harvard Breaks Through in Insect Study
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Kobian, a human-like robot, which can express seven human feelings, has been unveiled (推 出) by researchers at Waseda University in Japan.
The robot can express seven different feelings, including happiness, surprise, sadness and dislike. Kobian can express itself by not only using facial (面部的) movements, but combining them with other body movements. Kobian can use motors (电动机) in its face to move its lips, eyelids and eyebrows into different positions.
To express happiness, for example, the robot puts its hands over its head and opens its mouth and eyes wide.
To show sadness, Kobian hangs its head and holds a hand up to its face in a gesture of sadness.
Kobian can walk around and sense its environment. It can also do different tasks. There
are plans for it to be further developed and then possibly used in the field of nursing.
1.Kobian can express human emotions.
A. 4 B. 5 C. 6 D. 7
2.Kobian can to express its feelings.
A. only use its lips and eyes B. only use its body movements
C. only use motors in its face D. use both facial and body movements
3.How does Kobian express sadness?
A. It can put its hands over its head and cry.
B. It can hang its head and hold a hand up to its face in a gesture of sadness.
C. It can fall down its tears.
D. It can open its mouth and eyes wide.
4.The last paragraph mainly tells us .
A. Kobian can walk around
B. Kobian can sense what is happening around it
C. Kobian can do some work
D. Kobian will be a good helper for humans
5.What can Kobian do in the future?
A. Kobian can help farmers work in the fields.
B. Kobian can help people protect the environment.
C. Kobian can help take care of patients in hospital or at home.
D. Kobian can help do some research work in university.
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Wearing a white blouse, Ai-Da studies her subject and begins to draw. She looks like any artist at work. However, the "beep ... beep ... beep" noise from her arm gives her away. Ai-Da is, in fact, a robot.
Ai-Da has been described as the world's "first AI (人工智能) robot artist". She takes her name from Ada Lovelace, the world's first female computer programmer. Scientists at Oxford University developed AI systems (系统) for Ai-Da. The robot has cameras in her eyeballs. After she has studied a subject, she will use her left arm to draw. Now, Ai-Da can only use a pencil for sketches (素描). The plan is for her to paint.
Ai-Da is not the first AI system to produce artworks. Since 2006, scientists have been developing software (软件) to turn photos into drawings. Last year, an artwork created using AI was sold in New York for $132,500. However, Ai-Da's human-like appearance brings something new to the field.
In June, Ai-Da opened her first exhibition at Oxford. There were about 30 drawings by the robot. Ai-Da, standing next to her artworks, attracted (吸引) many visitors.
Ai-Da's inventor, Aidan Meller, talked about the importance of the robot. "Ai-Da brings a new voice to the art world," she said. "AI is going to be the big thing of the 2020s. That influences us greatly." Meller hopes the exhibition was just the start and that more will follow to show how AI is influencing human life.
根据短文内容，判断下列句子正误。正确的用“A”表示，不正确的用“B”表示。
1.Ai-Da is a real artist who helps scientists at Oxford University develop AI systems.
2.Last year, scientists began to develop software to turn photos into drawings.
3.In June, Ai-Da opened her first exhibition at Oxford successfully.
4.Aidan Meller thinks AI is going to influence human life more and more greatly.
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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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Smoking hasn't been allowed in public places since May lst last year. It may be a good chance for people to
smoking.
A. put up B. give up
C. pick up D. look up