题目内容
What if you arrived home to find a delicious hot meal waiting for you,prepared by your very own kitchen robot? It might sound like science fiction,but professors at the university of Tokyo have taken the first steps toward making that scenario a reality.The team recently introduced a humanoid kitchen robot that can pour tea and other drinks into cups and serve them to guests.When teatime is over,the robot can also wash the dishes and put them away.
In California,another interesting kitchen robot has been developed.Called the Ready-bot,it can pick up objects and either store them in cabinets or put them in the trash.It also carries a separate floor-cleaning robot that can operate by itself.Unlike the Japanese robot,Readybot is not humanoid.Instead,it looks more like a large box with arms and wheels.
Readybot was created by engineers and designers who established a club called the Readybot Challenge.They believe that in the future millions of robots will be needed in homes to perform ordinary household tasks.Readybot is just the first step in their plan to create a robot that can tackle jobs not only in kitchens but in other rooms of homes and in offices as well.
Clearly there are technological hurdles to overcome before robots can cook a complete dinner,and there are also many safety concerns.Not everyone(especially parents)would be comfortable with the idea of robots in their house,manipulating hot pans and sharp knives.The European Commission recently funded a project to study these concerns.
- 1.
What does the writer imply about the Japanese robot?
- A.It performs fewer functions than readybot can.
- B.it looks more like a person than Readybot does.
- C.It speaks more languages than Readybot does.
- D.It costs 1ess to manufacture than Readybot does.
- A.
- 2.
Where do the engineers and designers hope that Readybot will operate in the future?
- A.On spacecraft
- B.In automobiles
- C.On playgrounds
- D.At companies
- A.
- 3.
What does the writer imply about parents?
- A.They have shown tremendous interest in kitchen robots.
- B.They don’t have strong opinions about kitchen robots.
- C.They might think that kitchen robots could be dangerous.
- D.They can’t wait to buy kitchen robots for their homes.
- A.
- 4.
According to the writer,what has the European Commission done for the project?
- A.It has built factories
- B.It has printed manuals
- C.It has hired workers
- D.It has provided money
- A.
The lights dimmed,the musical hall grew quiet and out walked the conductor (指挥) shiny and white and 4 feet and 3 inches tall.
ASIMO, a robot designed by Honda Motor Co., met its latest challenge Tuesday evening: Conducting the Detroit Symphony (底特律交响乐团), in a performance of “The Impossible Dream” from “Man of La Mancha”.
“Hello, everyone,” ASIMO said to the audience in a childlike voice, then waved to the orchestra. As it conducted, it perfectly mimicked (模仿) the actions of a conductor,
nodding its head at various sections and gesturing with one or both hands. ASIMO took a final bow to excited shouts from the audience. Later, cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined ASIMO onstage to receive an award for his efforts in music education.
Honda spokeswoman Alicia Jones says it is the first time ASIMO has conducted an orchestra, and it may be the first time any robot has conducted a live performance. But ASIMO has its limits. ASIMO's engineers programmed the robot to mimic Charles Burke, the Detroit Symphony's education director, as he conducted the piece in front of a pianist about six months ago. But it can't respond to the musicians.
“It's not a communicative device. It simply is programmed to do a set of gestures,” said Leonard Slatkin, the orchestra's musical director. “If the orchestra decides to go faster, there's nothing the robot can do about it. Hopefully, I keep that under control.”
But several musicians also said ASIMO was more realistic than they expected. “The movements are still a little stiff (僵硬的), but very humanlike, much better than I thought,” Hutchinson said.
1.What's the audience's response to ASIMO's performance?
A.Disappointed. |
B.Moved. |
C.Excited. |
D.Astonished. |
2.Whose conducting was ASIMO made to copy?
A.Yo-Yo Ma's. |
B.Charles Burke's. |
C.Leonard Slatkin's. |
D.Alicia Jones's. |
3.We can learn from the passage that ASIMO ________.
A.was designed and trained by Yo-Yo Ma |
B.can communicate with the audience freely |
C.only performs according to the designed programs |
D.can change its conducting style freely |
4.What would be the best title for this passage?
A.Detroit Symphony gives a good performance |
B.Honda robot conducts Detroit Symphony |
C.“The Impossible Dream” from Detroit Symphony |
D.Cooperation between Honda and Detroit Symphony |
完形填空。 | ||||
Years ago, in a small fishing village in Holland, a young boy taught the world about the rewards of unselfish service. Because the entire village lived on fishing, a volunteer rescue team was needed in case of emergency. One night, the winds 1 , the clouds burst and a strong storm overturned a fishing boat at sea. The crew in trouble 2 the SOS. The captain of the rescue rowboat team 3 the alarm and the villagers 4 in the town square overlooking the sea. When the team started their rowboat fought their way through the wild waves, the villagers waited 5 on the beach, holding lamps to 6 the way back. An hour later, the rescue boat reappeared through Falling 8 on the sand, the volunteers reported that the rescue boat could not hold any more 9 and they had to leave one man behind. Even one more passenger would have surely 10 the rescue boat and all would have been lost. 11 , the captain called for another volunteer team to 12 the survivor. Sixteen -year-old Hans stepped forward. His mother grabbed his arm, crying, "please don't go. Your father 13 in a shipwreck (船只失事) 10 years ago and yo Hans replied, "Mother, I have to go. 15 everyone said I can't go, let someone else do it? Mother, this time I have to do my duty. When the call for service 16 , we all need to take our turn and do our part. Hans kissed his mother, joined the team and 17 into the night." Another hour passed, which seemed to Hans' mother like a century. 18 the rescue boat dashed through the fog wit to control himself, Hans excitedly cried back, "Yes, we found him. Tell my mother it's my elder brother, Paul!" | ||||
|