TOKYO—A child-like robot that combines the roles of nurse, companion and security guard is to go on the market to help the growing ranks of elderly Japanese with no one to look after them.

    The “Wakamaru” robot can walk around a house 24 hours a day, warning family, hospitals and security firms if it perceives (notices) a problem. It will, for example, call relatives if the owner fails to get out of the bath.

    Cameras implanted in the “eye-brows” of the robot enable it to “see” as it walks around an apartment. The images can be sent to the latest cellphones, which display the pictures.

    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which developed Wakamaru, plans to start selling the metre-high robots by April, 2005, for about ＄15,000 Cdn.

    Wakamaru, which speaks with either the voice of a boy or girl, is also designed to provide companionship, greeting its “papa” when he comes home.

    It is the first household robot able to hold simple conversations, based on a vocabulary of around 10,000 words. It cannot only speak but can understand answers and react accordingly.

    It will ask “Are you all right ?” if its owner does not move for some time. If the answer is no, or there is no answer, it will telephone preset numbers, transmitting images and functioning as a speakerphone.

    Wakamaru will inform a security firm if there is a loud bang or if an unknown person enters the house while the owner is out or asleep. It can recognize up to 10 faces.

    But like most robots it cannot climb stairs.

    It can be set to remind forgetful people when it is time to take medicine, eat and sleep.

    Mitsubishi adapted Wakamaru from robots it already makes to go around nuclear power facilities. The idea to use the technology in the home came from a company employee.

    The project chief said :“Looking at the ageing of society and the falling birth rate we decide that this could work as a business. We want to offer Wakamaru as a product that helps society.”

    The technology has gained nation-wide publicity in Japan among increasing concern over how to look after the ever-growing number of old people. The life expectancy of Japanese women has shot up to almost 85, the highest in the world.

    At the same time, extended families are being replaced by nuclear families. This has left many Japanese anxious about their elderly parents, whom they rarely see because of their long hours at the office.

1．Which of the following is true about the Robot?

A. It is used in some nuclear power facilities.         

B. It cannot speak but can understand answers.

    C. It can go up and down the stairs easily.    D. It can recognize as many as 10 faces.

2．The purpose of this passage is ________.

    A. to introduce a new product         B. to solve the aging problems

    C. to tell people how to use the robot   D. to show the rapid development of technology

3．What can we infer from the passage ?

    A. The robot can dial proper numbers for help.

    B. The robot is likely to have a promising market.

    C. The robot has given the Japanese a chance to live longer.

    D. The nuclear families have left many elderly Japanese anxious.

4．What is the best title of this passage ?

  A. The Latest Development of Robot Technology  B. Japanese Robot and the Aging Society

    C. Vast Market of the New Robot      D. Japanese-built Robot to Help the Old

5. Wakamaru _____________________.

   A. is a  child who is always taking good care of his grandparents 24 hours a day.

   B. has a vocabulary of around 1,000 words

C.  is the first household robot that has ever been produced.

   D. has ameras implanted in the “eye-brows” which enable it to “see” when walking.

TOKYO—A child-like robot that combines the roles of nurse, companion and security guard is to go on the market to help the growing ranks of elderly Japanese with no one to look after them.

    The “Wakamaru” robot can walk around a house 24 hours a day, warning family, hospitals and security firms if it perceives (notices) a problem. It will, for example, call relatives if the owner fails to get out of the bath.

    Cameras implanted in the “eye-brows” of the robot enable it to “see” as it walks around an apartment. The images can be sent to the latest cellphones, which display the pictures.

    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which developed Wakamaru, plans to start selling the metre-high robots by April, 2005, for about ＄15,000 Cdn.

    Wakamaru, which speaks with either the voice of a boy or girl, is also designed to provide companionship, greeting its “papa” when he comes home.

    It is the first household robot able to hold simple conversations, based on a vocabulary of around 10,000 words. It cannot only speak but can understand answers and react accordingly.

    It will ask “Are you all right ?” if its owner does not move for some time. If the answer is no, or there is no answer, it will telephone preset numbers, transmitting images and functioning as a speakerphone.

    Wakamaru will inform a security firm if there is a loud bang or if an unknown person enters the house while the owner is out or asleep. It can recognize up to 10 faces.

    But like most robots it cannot climb stairs.

    It can be set to remind forgetful people when it is time to take medicine, eat and sleep.

    Mitsubishi adapted Wakamaru from robots it already makes to go around nuclear power facilities. The idea to use the technology in the home came from a company employee.

    The project chief said :“Looking at the ageing of society and the falling birth rate we decide that this could work as a business. We want to offer Wakamaru as a product that helps society.”

    The technology has gained nation-wide publicity in Japan among increasing concern over how to look after the ever-growing number of old people. The life expectancy of Japanese women has shot up to almost 85, the highest in the world.

    At the same time, extended families are being replaced by nuclear families. This has left many Japanese anxious about their elderly parents, whom they rarely see because of their long hours at the office.

1．Which of the following is true about the Robot?

A. It is used in some nuclear power facilities.     

B. It cannot speak but can understand answers.

    C. It can go up and down the stairs easily.    D. It can recognize as many as 10 faces.

2．The purpose of this passage is ________.

    A. to introduce a new product         B. to solve the aging problems

    C. to tell people how to use the robot   D. to show the rapid development of technology

3．What can we infer from the passage ?

    A. The robot can dial proper numbers for help.

    B. The robot is likely to have a promising market.

    C. The robot has given the Japanese a chance to live longer.

    D. The nuclear families have left many elderly Japanese anxious.

4．What is the best title of this passage ?

  A. The Latest Development of Robot Technology  B. Japanese Robot and the Aging Society

    C. Vast Market of the New Robot      D. Japanese-built Robot to Help the Old

5. Wakamaru _____________________.

   A. is a  child who is always taking good care of his grandparents 24 hours a day.

   B. has a vocabulary of around 1,000 words

C.  is the first household robot that has ever been produced.

   D. has ameras implanted in the “eye-brows” which enable it to “see” when walking.

TOKYO—A child-like robot that combines the roles of nurse, companion and security guard is to go on the market to help the growing ranks of elderly Japanese with no one to look after them.

    The “Wakamaru” robot can walk around a house 24 hours a day, warning family, hospitals and security firms if it perceives (notices) a problem. It will, for example, call relatives if the owner fails to get out of the bath.

    Cameras implanted in the “eye-brows” of the robot enable it to “see” as it walks around an apartment. The images can be sent to the latest cellphones, which display the pictures.

    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which developed Wakamaru, plans to start selling the metre-high robots by April, 2005, for about ＄15,000 Cdn.

    Wakamaru, which speaks with either the voice of a boy or girl, is also designed to provide companionship, greeting its “papa” when he comes home.

    It is the first household robot able to hold simple conversations, based on a vocabulary of around 10,000 words. It cannot only speak but can understand answers and react accordingly.

    It will ask “Are you all right ?” if its owner does not move for some time. If the answer is no, or there is no answer, it will telephone preset numbers, transmitting images and functioning as a speakerphone.

    Wakamaru will inform a security firm if there is a loud bang or if an unknown person enters the house while the owner is out or asleep. It can recognize up to 10 faces.

    But like most robots it cannot climb stairs.

    It can be set to remind forgetful people when it is time to take medicine, eat and sleep.

    Mitsubishi adapted Wakamaru from robots it already makes to go around nuclear power facilities. The idea to use the technology in the home came from a company employee.

    The project chief said :“Looking at the ageing of society and the falling birth rate we decide that this could work as a business. We want to offer Wakamaru as a product that helps society.”

    The technology has gained nation-wide publicity in Japan among increasing concern over how to look after the ever-growing number of old people. The life expectancy of Japanese women has shot up to almost 85, the highest in the world.

    At the same time, extended families are being replaced by nuclear families. This has left many Japanese anxious about their elderly parents, whom they rarely see because of their long hours at the office.

55.which of the following is true about the Robot？

A.it is used in some nuclear power facilities

B.ic can recognize asmany as 10 faces

C.it can go up and down the stairs easily

Dit cannot speak but can understand answers。

56.the purpose of this passage is

A.to introduce a new product

B.to show the rapid development of technology 

C.to tell people how to use the robot

D.to solve the ageing problems

57.what can we infer from the passage？

A.the robot can dial proper numbers for help

B.the nuclear families have left many elderly Japanese anxious

C.the robot has given the Japanese a chance to live longer。

D.the robot is likely to have a promising market

58．What is the best title of this passage ?

    A. The Latest Development of Robot Technology

    B. Japanese-built Robot to Help the Old

C. Vast Market of the New Robot

D. Japanese Robot and the Ageing Society

PART THREE   READING COMPREHENSION (30%)
Directions: Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C, and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage
They say a cat has nine lives, and I think that possible since I am now living my third life and I’m not even a cat. My father died when I was 15, and we had a hard struggle to make a living. And my mother, who was seriously ill in her last years, died while still in her 60s. My sister married soon after, and I followed her example within the year.
This was when I began to enjoy my first life. I was very happy, in excellent health. I had a good job in San Jose and a beautiful home up the peninsula (半岛) in San Carlos. Life was a pleasant dream. Then the dream ended. I became afflicted (使苦恼) with a slowly progressive disease of the motor nerves, affecting first my right arm and leg, and then my other side. Thus began my second life...
In spite of my disease I still drove to and from work each day, with the aid of special equipment installed in my car. And I managed to keep my health and optimism (乐观), to a degree, because of 14 steps. Crazy? Not at all. Our home was an affair with 14 steps leading up from the garage to the kitchen door. Those steps were a standard measure of life. They were my yardstick, my challenge to continue living. I felt that if the day arrived when I was unable to lift one foot up one step and then drag the other painfully after it ---repeating the process 14 times, I would be through---I could then admit defeat and lie down and die.
Then on a dark night in August, 1971, I began my third life. It was raining when I started home that night; strong winds and slashing rain beat down on the car as I drove slowly down one of the less-traveled roads. Suddenly the steering wheel jerked (猝然一动). In the same instant I heard the bang of a blowout. It was impossible for me to change that tire! Utterly impossible!
I started the engine and thumped slowly along until I came to the dirt road, where I turned in and where I found lighted windows welcomed me to a house and pulled into the driveway and honked the horn.
The door opened and a little girl stood there. When she knew what happened to me, she went into the house and a moment later came out, followed by a man who called a cheerful greeting. I sat there comfortable and dry, and felt a bit sorry for the man and the little girl working so hard in the storm.
About an hour later, the man’s voice was heard, “This is a bad night for car trouble, but you’re all set now.” “Thanks,” I said. “How much do I owe you?” He shook his head, “Nothing. Cynthia told me you were a cripple. Glad to be of help. I know you’d do the same for me. There’s no charge, friend.” I held out a five-dollar bill, “No! I like to pay my way.” He made no effort to take it and the little girl stepped closer to the window and said quietly, “Grandpa can’t see it.”
56. “A cat has nine lives” here means ___________.
A. a cat can live nine times longer than any other animal  B .a cat can die ninth
C .a lucky man can not die easily                     D the writer will live nine times
57. What do you think of the man who helped change the tire?
A. Old, warm-hearted but pitiable             
B. Blind, but warm-hearted and happy
C. A blind old man that has nothing to do every day.
D. A poor old man that is always ready to help others.
58. How will the story be ended?
A. The writer paid the little girl but the old man did not accept.
B. The writer drove away with tears running down his cheek.
C. The writer stayed there, without knowing what to do and how to do it.
D. In the next few frozen seconds the writer felt the shame and astonishment he had never felt
before.
59. How do you understand the underlined sentence “I followed my sister’s example?”
A.  He listened to his sister carefully.
B  Mother told him that he must get the agreement from his sister for whatever he would do.
C  His sister got married. He, too.
D  His sister was a great woman.. He must learn from her.
60. The best title for this passage perhaps will be _____.
A.The Old Man and His Daughter              B. Heart Leaping Up
C.Never Lose Heart                        D. Good Will Be Rewarded Good