In the future your automobile（汽车） will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a supercomputer that fits in your pocket! You might even drive a flying car!
For each prediction that has come true today, several others have missed by a mile. Many of these predictions didn’t consider how people would want to use the technology, or if people really needed it in their lives or not. Let’s look at some predictions from the not-too-distant past.
Robot Helpers
Where’s the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere, of course. And he’s probably not coming anytime soon. Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other manufacturing environments.
Back in the 1950s, however, people said that by now personal robots would be in most people’s homes.
So why hasn’t it happened?  Probably because robots are still too expensive and clumsy. And maybe the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too weird. At home we seem to be doing fine without them.
Telephones of Tomorrow
In 1964 an American company introduced the video telephone. They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes. But of course the idea hasn’t caught on yet.
Why? The technology worked fine, but it over—looked something obvious: people’s desire for privacy（隐私）. Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just step out of the shower（淋浴）?  Probably not---it could be embarrassing! Just because a technology available doesn’t always mean people will want to use it.
And finally, how about that crazy prediction of the flying car? It’s not so crazy anymore! But a flying car remains one of the most fascinating technology ideas to capture our imagination. Keep watching the news, or perhaps the sky outside your window, to see what the future will bring.
【小题1】
The whole passage is mainly about ________________.

Close test30%
Not long ago, the only time you could see a robot was when you were reading a novel or watching a movie such as Star Wars. Today, 36 a lot of things in science stories have been science facts. Robots are starting to _37_ in our everyday lives. These robots have different sizes, shapes and colors. But they all have the same _38_ of man-made “_39_”. Leading the robot revolution(革命) are industrial robots that work in factories. Industrial robots can do different kinds of jobs that are often _40_ and sometimes dangerous. Robots are also coming to American homes, though not as quickly asthey are entering _41_. These robots aren’t as friendly and _42_ as those you saw in Star Wars. But, their makers say, today’s home robots “walk” and sense objects in their own way. They even _43_ objects though they may sometimes drop. Well, nobody is _44_.
We may _45_ home robots today, but some day they may see and hear _46_ than humans do. We _47_
can only see certain wave lengths of light and hear certain _48_. That’s because the _49_ of our eyes and ears are _50_.
Robots, however, need not have the same limits _51_ we have. Robots may also be _52_ wit devices(装置) that  _53_ information humans can’t. However, to understand _54_ their sensing devices pick up is a hard job.
Remember, man-made brains _55_ information, including all kinds of data, as zeroes and ones.
Imagine the difficulty in trying to explain to a robot what a football looks like---using only zeroes and ones.
36. A. however                  B. whenever                       C. on the other hand                 D. in other words
37. A. come                        B. appear                                      C. enter                                         D. raise
38. A. variety                      B. dozen                              C. score                                         D. type
39. A. muscle                     B. body                                 C. brain                                         D. appearance
40. A. surprising                B. boring                              C. pleasant                                   D. exciting
41. A. homes                     B. factories                         C. schools                                     D. offices
42. A. certain                     B. pleasing                          C. bright                                        D. foolish
43. A. carry                         B. forget                              C. remember                              D. choose
44. A. wonderful                B. excellent                         C. happy                                        D. perfect
45. A. play jokes on     B. make fun of                    C. laugh at                                  D. have fun with
46. A. worse                       B. faster                              C. better                                      D. sooner
47. A. fellows                     B. humans                           C. beings                                     D. friends
48. A. noise                         B. voice                                C. sounds                                              D. speeches
49. A. sight                         B. length                              C. distance                                  D. ability
50. A. enough                     B. endless                           C. limited                           D. hopeful
51. A. as                              B. since                                C. for                                            D. while
52. A. given                         B. equipped                        C. sent                                         D. applied
53. A. pick out                    B. pick up                   C. send up                                   D. send out
54. A. how                           B. where                              C. what                                        D. which
55. A. deal                           B. handle                             C. seek                                        D. provide

Have you heard of snake robots? Scientists and doctors are already using tiny snakes that coil through the human body armed with sharp surgical tools to perform operations on hearts, prostate cancer, and other diseased organs. The snake robots that carry tiny cameras, scissors and forceps, and even more advanced sensors are being developed.
The next generation of the robots will be wireless, and will explore inside your body on their own--- not attached to any cables. For now, they are powered by cables that humans control. Experts say the day is coming when some robots will roam around the body on their own. But the experts in robotics say the new creations work best when they are designed for very specific tasks.
Howie Choset has been researching and building robots, particularly snake robots. He believes that his snake robot and others like it can help reduce medical costs by making complex surgery faster and easier. Choset says his new design is smaller and more flexible than earlier models.
The size of surgical robots allows surgeons to operate with far less damage to the body, helping the patient heal faster. Choset has also built larger snake robots designed for search and rescue, or just exploration. They can climb poles and trees and then look around through a camera in the head and slither through places that humans cannot reach.
“ We sent our snake robots into these caves in the Red Sea to look for evidence of ancient Egyptian ships,” he said. “ To me, archeology is like search and rescue, but everyone has been dead for 5,000 years.”
The doctors are very excited about the potential for surgical robots to do things that humans can’t do. The variety of sensors available for surgical robots keeps expanding. As they get smaller, maybe one day they will be able to test chemicals or blood in the body, or even the electrical connections in nerves.
【小题1】What can we learn from the first paragraph?

 Some scientists believe that it won’t be long _______ robots are widely used in all walks of life．

   A． since           B． after           C． before          D． until

PITTSBURGH For most people, snakes seem unpleasant or even threatening. But Howie Choset sees in their delicate movements a way to save lives.

The 37-year-old Carnegie Mellon University professor has spent years developing snake-like robots he hopes will eventually slide through fallen buildings in search of victims trapped after natural disasters or other emergencies.

Dan Kara is president of Robotics Trends, a Northboro, Mass.-based company that publishes an online industry magazine and runs robotics trade shows. He said there are other snake-like robots being developed, mainly at universities, but didn’t know of one that could climb pipes.

The Carnegie Mellon machines are designed to carry cameras and electronic sensors and can be controlled with a joystick(操纵杆). They move smoothly with the help of small electric motors, or servos, commonly used by hobbyists in model airplanes.

Built from lightweight materials, the robots are about the size of a human arm or smaller. They can sense which way is up, but are only as good as their human operators, Choset added.

Sam Stover, a search term manager with the Federal Emergency Management Agency based in Indiana, said snake-type robots would offer greater mobility than equipment currently available, such as cameras attached to extendable roles.

“It just allows us to do something we’ve been able to do before,” Stover said, “We needed them yesterday.”

He said sniffer dogs are still the best search tool for rescue workers, but that they can only be used effectively when workers have access to damaged building.

Stover, among the rescue workers who handled the aftermath (后果) of Hurricane Katrina, said snake robots would have helped rescuers search flooded houses in that disaster.

Choset said the robots may not be ready for use for another five to ten years, depending on funding.

72. Which institution is responsible for the development of Choset’s robots?

A. Robotics Trends.                      B. Pittsburgh City Council.

C. Carnegie Mellon University.         D. Federal Emergency Management Agency.

73. Choset believes that his invention ______.

A.      can be attached to an electronic arm

B.      can be used by hobbyists in model airplanes

C.      can find victims more quickly than a sniffer dog

D.     can sense its way no better than its operators

74. By saying “We needed them yesterday” (paragraph 7), Stover means that snake-like robots _____.

A.      could help handle the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

B.      would have been put to use in past rescue work

C.      helped rescuers search flooded houses yesterday

D.     were in greater need yesterday than today

75. What is the text mainly about?

A.      Snake-like robots used in industries.

B.      Snake-like robots made to aid in rescues.

C.      The development of snake-like robots.

D.     The working principles of snake-like robots.