TOKYO, Japan(AP)– Japan is very serious about robotics(机器人技术)．If the droids are going to fit in, they probably need to learn the Japanese custom of serving tea．Fortunately, researchers at the University of Tokyo are exploring just that．In a show this week, a humanoid(有人特点的)with camera eyes made by Kawada Industries Inc．poured tea from a bottle into a cup．Then another robot on wheels delivered the cup of tea in an experimental room that has sensors embedded in the floor and sofa as well as cameras on the ceiling, to simulate(模仿)life with robot technology．
“A human being may be faster, but you'd have to say ‘Thank you,’” said University of Tokyo professor Tomomasa Sato．“That's the best part about a robot．You don't have to feel bad about asking it to do things.”
Sato believes Japan, a rapidly aging society where more than a fifth of the population is 65 or older, will lead the world in designing robots to care for the elderly, sick and bedridden(卧床不起的)．
Already, monitoring technologies, such as sensors that automatically turn on lights when people enter a room, are becoming widespread in Japan．
The walking, child–size Asimo from Honda Motor Co．greets people at showrooms．NEC Corp．has developed a smaller companion robot–on –wheels called Papero．A seal robot available since 2004 can entertain the elderly and others in need of fuzzy companionship．
Sato says his experimental room is raising awareness about privacy questions that may arise when electronic devices(设备)monitor a person's movements down to the smallest detail．
On the bright side, the tea – pouring humanoid has been programmed to do the dishes．
(1)
What is the best title of this passage?
[ ]
A．
“Thank You” Will Never Be Needed in Japan
B．
Monitoring Technologies Are Widespread in Japan
C．
Robot Is Designed to Care for the Elderly．
D．
Robot Serves Tea Just the Way Japanese Like it
(2)
The underlined word “embedded” in the third paragraph probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
fixed
B．
established
C．
settled
D．
rooted
(3)
According to professor Sato, ________．
[ ]
A．
the robot serves tea much faster than a human being
B．
the robot does anything like human beings
C．
tea – serving robot helps to form laziness of the aging society
D．
tea – serving robot doesn't need any reward for the service
(4)
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
[ ]
A．
A robot can imitate people to complete complicated tasks
B．
A robot has been programmed to clean the dishes
C．
All the problems in the aging society can be solved by robots．
D．
The number of aging people is increasing rapidly in Japan．
(5)
We can infer from the passage that ________．
[ ]
A．
people are afraid of being monitored by robots．
B．
the technology of robots has been highlighted in Japan．
C．
robots can completely take the place of human beings．
Tokyo：the world’s oldest man, retired Japanese silkworm breeder Yukichi Chuganji, died in his home at the age of 114, on Monday．Family members found him dead on his mattress．Born on March 23, 1989, Chuganji worked as a silkworm breeder and bank employee after leaving school．He also served as a community welfare officer．He had been in good health, talking daily with his family members．
Washington：every American dislikes people who talk on cellphones while driving, even those are guilty of the practice．In the State of New Jersey, 84 percent of 968 cellphone owners said in a recent telephone survey that they would support a state ban on the use of cellphones while driving．However, 42 percent of cellphone owners also said they used the devices“very often”or“sometimes”while driving．Although most agree that the banning is good, only 38 percent believed such a ban would be easy to enforce．
New York：a woman in the US who was being attacked by a vicious dog said she was saved from further harm when her 13-year-old daughter distracted the canine by screaming“ You want a piece of me?”and kicked it repeatedly in the head．Jane Howell said she and her daughter, Elizabeth, were taking a walk around the neighbourhood on Saturday, evening when they came across the big dog, unchained．
(1)
The main idea of the second paragraph is ________．
[ ]
A．
most Americans don’t like cellphones
B．
a ban on the use of cellphones has been made
C．
few people use cellphones while driving
D．
using cellphones while driving will be banned because most Americans don’t like it
(2)
The three pieces of news are all about ________．
[ ]
A．
science
B．
daily life
C．
sports
D．
law
(3)
The woman in the US ________．
[ ]
A．
was not harmed by the dog
B．
was raising the dog when it attacked her
C．
was protected from being seriously hurt by her daughter
D．
had escaped when her daughter was kicking the dog
(4)
From the news we can infer ________．
[ ]
A．
Chuganji was living alone when he died
B．
the woman’s 13-year-old daughter was brave enough
C．
cellphones are not good devices
D．
it’s easy to enforce the ban on the use of cellphones while driving
(5)
“Vicious”in the third paragraph means ________．
[ ]
A．
bad
B．
kind
C．
unchained
D．
ugly
阅读理解：
By 2050…
Futurologists predict that life will probably be very different in 2050．
TV channels will have disappeared．Instead, people will choose a program from a“menu”and a computer will send the program directly to the television．Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away．By 2050, music, films, programs, newspapers, and books will come to us by computer．
Cars will run on new, clean fuels and they will go very fast．Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won't be any accidents．Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are．By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination．Space planes will take people halfway around the world in two hours．Today, the United Sates Space Shuttle can go into space and land on Earth again．By 2050, space planes will fly all over the world and people will fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours．
Robots will have replaced people in factories．Many factories already use robots．Big companies prefer robots－they don't ask for pay rises or go on strike, and they work 24 hours a day．By 2050, we will see robots everywhere－in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes．
Medical technology will have conquered many diseases．Today, there are electronic devices that connect directly to the brain to help people hear．By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people to see and hear again．
Scientists will have discovered how to control genes．Scientists have already produced clones of animals．By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people, and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have．Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?
(1)
Which of the following can NOT be realized today?
[ ]
A．
Reading newspapers on a computer．
B．
Making a space shuttle go into space and land on Earth again．
C．
Creating cloned animals．
D．
Choosing TV programs freely from a“menu”．
(2)
According to the text, some big companies prefer robots to human workers because human workers ________．
[ ]
A．
can work 24 hours a day
B．
often ask for more pay
C．
are not clever enough
D．
are often late for work
(3)
From the 6th paragraph we can infer that ________．
[ ]
A．
there will be no blind and deaf people by 2050
B．
few diseases will attack people
C．
electronic devices will be connected directly to the brain to help each other
D．
medical technology will be more effective by 2050
(4)
What's the author's attitude towards the cloning technology?
[ ]
A．
The author does not agree on the use of cloning technology．
B．
The author thinks human cloning is impossible．
C．
The author does not really support the idea of human cloning．
Cities of the Future