It can greet people, show DVDs and hand out balloons. “Ubiko”, a robot-on –wheels with a catlike face, is joining the crew of temporary workers supplied by a Japanese job-referral company, Ubiquitous Exchange, to stores, events and even weddings. Next month, the 44-inch tall robot will be selling mobile phones at a store.
Ubiko can be hired as a temporary worker for two hours for 105,000 yen, or $890.
“We see this as serious business. There are jobs that robots are better at,” Akiko Sakurai said “people do develop a relation with the robot, and it’s lovable.”
The $255,000 robot, which is equipped with a camera and sensors, greets customers with a nasal electronic voice, shows DVDs with a projector in its head and hands out balloons and other goods with wireless remote-controllable arms.
Ubiko sounds like a Japanese female name, which often ends with “ko”.
Tmsuk, the Japanese company that makes the robot, sold three last month to hospital, where they are working as full-time, rather than temporary, receptionists and guides. One of the hospital’s robots serves as a receptionist and has been programmed to greet visitors. It also has a touch-panel(控制板) on its body, and visitors can use it to get directions for where they want to go. 
“Just give it electricity, and a robot can work for long hours, even do repetitive work, and you don’t have to worry about labor laws,” Sudo said.
Japan’s lower birth rate means that in the coming years it could face a labor shortage, and some experts believe robots could be part of the key to that problem. Robots are very popular in Japan partly because of the popularity of cartoons that describe robots as friends and assistants to humans.
【小题1】The news report is mainly to _________________.

Anger at the practice of demanding dowries (嫁妆), which can lead to violence against brides, has prompted a takeoff of “Angry Birds” called “Angry Brides” that aims to highlight the illegal practice still prevalent in many South Asian countries.

Dowries-such as jewelry, clothes, cars and money-are traditionally given by the bride’s family to the groom and his parents to ensure she is taken care of in her new home.

The custom was outlawed more than five decades ago. But it is still widely practiced, with the groom’s family demanding even more money after marriage, leading to mental and physical annoyance that can drive the woman to suicide.

“The Angry Brides game is our way of throwing a spotlight on the nuisance(陋习)of dowry.” said Ram Bhamidi, senior vice president and head of online marketing for Shaadi.com, a matrimonial(婚姻的)website with two million members.

“According to a 2007 study, there is a dowry-related death every four hours in India, We condemn this and have consistently run campaigns on social media to help create awareness of the issue”.

The name of the app, available on the group’s home page, is a spinoff from the globally popular “Angry Birds” game, Its home page shows a red-clad, eight-armed woman resembling a powerful female Hindu goddess. Underneath, there is a caption: “A woman will give you strength, care and all the love you need … NOT dowry!”

To play the game, users have to try and hit three dodging grooms--a pilot, a builder and a doctor. There are a variety of weapons to choose from, including a frying pan, broomstick, tomato and loafer.

Each groom has a price tag, starting at 1.5 million rupees($29,165). Every time the player hits a groom, his value decreases and money is added to the player’s Anti-Dowry Fund,which is saved posted on their Facebook page.

“Since we launched the game last week, more than 270,000 people have liked the app. Both men and women seem to be playing it”, said Bhamidi.

56.What caused “Angry Brides” to appear online?

   A.Women’s rightsbeing seriously abused.B.Anger at the practice of demanding dowries.

   C.The bride’s giving a great many dowries. D.The popularity of Angry Birds online.

57.Which of the following is TRUE about “Dowries”?

 A.The custom of giving dowries has been in practice for five decades.

B.Lack of abundant dowries may lead to the bride’s being in violence.

C.The illegal practice of dowries is still popular in many African countries.

D.More dowries the bride gives mean a high social status of her family.

58.The underlined word “spinoff” probably means____.

A.relation         B.connection        C.copy         D.fake

59.Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the game “Angry Bride”?

A.There are a variety of weapons to choose from.B.Ram Bhamidi thinks highly of the game.

 C.Men players don’t find the game enjoyable.D.The game character looks like a Hindu goddess.

60.What is the text mainly about?

A.Women’s unfair treatment in the marriage.B.The popularity of the game “Angry Brides”

C.The groom’s demanding too many dowries.D.How to build an equal relation it the marriage.

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Your friends might be in Australia or maybe just down the road, but they are all just a few clicks away. Life has   36   for millions of teenagers across the world who now make friends online.   37   you use chat rooms, QQ, MSN or ICQ, you are   38   of a virtual community (虚拟社区).
"I rarely talk with my parents or grandparents,   39   I talk a lot with my old friends on QQ," said Fox's Shadow, the online nickname (网名) used by a Senior 2 girl in China. "Eighty per cent of my classmates use QQ   40   school."
QQ is the biggest messaging   41   in China. A record shows 4 million people used it one Saturday night in October,   42   to Tencent, the company which developed QQ.
And Fox's Shadow might well have been one of them. "I log in (登陆) on Friday nights, and Saturdays or Sundays when I feel  43  . I usually   44   about 10 hours chatting online every week," she said. "But I rarely talk with  45  , especially boys or men."
Even though she likes chatting, she is careful about making   46   with strangers online. "You don't know   47   you're talking to. You should  48   be careful about who you trust online."
Many people would like to meet offline when they feel they have got to  49   someone very well. Fox's Shadow once met one of her online friends face to face. It was a girl who was a comic fan like   50   and they went to a comic show together.
However, not all teenagers have been so   51  . At the beginning of this year, a 17-year-old girl in Liaoning Province was killed after meeting a friend she had found on QQ. The criminals (罪犯) weren't   52   until last month.
A 16-year-old Beijing boy, known online as Bart Simon, dislikes QQ users. "I used to chat on QQ, but I found that most people were talking   53  ," he said. Now he chats online in English, using MSN. But he spends little time chatting as he sees it as a  54    of time and money. "If you are really   55   to it, sometimes you just can't concentrate (集中精神) in class," he said.
36.A. improved      B. become      C. changed     D. increased
37.A. Whether       B. If       C. When  D. Unless
38.A. member B. part    C. partner       D. number
39.A. but B. as       C. when  D still.
40.A. before   B. at       C. after   D. since
41.A. service  B. product      C. structure     D. organization
42.A. granting       B. depending  C. considering D. according
43.A. sleepy   B. tired   C. bored  D. busy
44.A. take      B. cost    C. pay     D. spend
45.A. friends  B. adults  C. males  D. strangers
46.A. relation B. touch  C. contact       D. friends
47.A. who      B. which C. whose D. these
48.A. often     B. usually       C. sometimes  D. always
49.A. know    B. recognize   C. tell     D. judge
50.A. herself   B  she    C. anybody else      D. everyone
51.A. good     B. fortunate    C. safely  D. healthy
52.A. kept      B. held    C. caught D. killed
53.A. uselessness    B. noise   C. nonsense    D. rubbish
54.A. short     B. lack    C. waste  D. little
55.A. kept      B. held    C. addicted     D. stuck

Some animals apparently can resist cancer by strengthening their immune nervous system in preparation for winter，John Hopkins researchers said on Wednesday.

The scientists said their study was the first to show that the central nervous system，reacting to environmental changes，may spark changes in the body’s immune system(免疫系统) that control the growth of tumors.They said if that was the case，a better understanding of how the process works eventually could lead to new cancer treatments.

Dr.Randy Nelson，an associate professor of psychology at Hopkins，stressed at a meeting of the Society of Neuroscience that further study would be needed to confirm a connection between the length of the day，the animals’ immune system and cancer.More work also would be needed to show that the findings could be applied to human cancer.

Dr.Faye Austin，an immunologist with the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda，said，“It’s a very intriguing observation that the length of exposure to light can affect the growth of a tumor.But I think that the draws really need further work to clarify the mechanics.”

But Austin said the findings were surprising and important，only because they open up a new approach for research.

Studies showed that stress weakened the immune system in animals.They figured that because winter is stressful，the season probably causes exertion (影响) on the immune system.

The researchers reasoned that animals that compensated by boosting (促进) their immune systems as winter approached would have a better chance of surviving and producing offspring.

“In the same way that animals have evolved to select the best time to breed，it struck me that animals ought to be able to predict when conditions would be challenging immunologically.”Nelson said.

1．Dr.Nelson has drawn a conclusion that ________.

A．there is a relation between the length of the day，the animal’s immune system and cancer

B．the findings of animals’ resistance to cancer can be applied to human cancer treatments

C．the length of exposure to light can affect the growth of a tumor

D．there is a new approach for studying the function of central nervous system in the body’s immune system

2．Which season can strengthen the immune system in animals?

A．Spring. 　　　 B．Summer.　　　 C．Autumn.　　　 　D．Winter.

3．On which of the following subjects can essays be presented at the meeting of the Society of Neuroscience?

A．The nervous system.

B．The treatment of cancer.

C．The ability to produce offspring.

D．The control of the growth of tumors.

第二节：完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

Your friends might be in Australia or maybe just down the road, but they are all just a few clicks away. Life has   36   for millions of teenagers across the world who now make friends online.   37   you use chat rooms, QQ, MSN or ICQ, you are   38   of a virtual community (虚拟社区).

"I rarely talk with my parents or grandparents,   39   I talk a lot with my old friends on QQ," said Fox's Shadow, the online nickname (网名) used by a Senior 2 girl in China. "Eighty per cent of my classmates use QQ   40   school."

QQ is the biggest messaging   41   in China. A record shows 4 million people used it one Saturday night in October,   42   to Tencent, the company which developed QQ.

And Fox's Shadow might well have been one of them. "I log in (登陆) on Friday nights, and Saturdays or Sundays when I feel  43  . I usually   44   about 10 hours chatting online every week," she said. "But I rarely talk with  45  , especially boys or men."

Even though she likes chatting, she is careful about making   46   with strangers online. "You don't know   47   you're talking to. You should  48   be careful about who you trust online."

Many people would like to meet offline when they feel they have got to  49   someone very well. Fox's Shadow once met one of her online friends face to face. It was a girl who was a comic fan like   50   and they went to a comic show together.

However, not all teenagers have been so   51  . At the beginning of this year, a 17-year-old girl in Liaoning Province was killed after meeting a friend she had found on QQ. The criminals (罪犯) weren't   52   until last month.

A 16-year-old Beijing boy, known online as Bart Simon, dislikes QQ users. "I used to chat on QQ, but I found that most people were talking   53  ," he said. Now he chats online in English, using MSN. But he spends little time chatting as he sees it as a  54    of time and money. "If you are really   55   to it, sometimes you just can't concentrate (集中精神) in class," he said.

36.A. improved      B. become      C. changed     D. increased

37.A. Whether       B. If       C. When  D. Unless

38.A. member B. part    C. partner       D. number

39.A. but B. as       C. when  D still.

40.A. before   B. at       C. after   D. since

41.A. service  B. product      C. structure     D. organization

42.A. granting       B. depending  C. considering D. according

43.A. sleepy   B. tired   C. bored  D. busy

44.A. take      B. cost    C. pay     D. spend

45.A. friends  B. adults  C. males  D. strangers

46.A. relation B. touch  C. contact       D. friends

47.A. who      B. which C. whose D. these

48.A. often     B. usually       C. sometimes  D. always

49.A. know    B. recognize   C. tell     D. judge

50.A. herself   B  she    C. anybody else      D. everyone

51.A. good     B. fortunate    C. safely  D. healthy

52.A. kept      B. held    C. caught D. killed

53.A. uselessness    B. noise   C. nonsense    D. rubbish

54.A. short     B. lack    C. waste  D. little

55.A. kept      B. held    C. addicted     D. stuck