题目内容
B.quality;quantities
C.quantity;number
D.quantity;numbers
Researchers are placing robotic dogs(机器狗)in the homes of lonely old people to determine whether they can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck, an expert in human-animal relationship, and Nancy Edwards, a professor of nursing, are leading the animal-assisted study concerning the influence of robotic dogs on old people’s depression, physical activity, and life satisfaction. “No one will argue that an older person is better off being more active, challenged, or stimulated(应急的) ,”Edwards points out. “The problem is how we promote that, especially for those without friends or help. A robotic dog could be a solution.”
In the study, the robot, called AIBO, is placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone. Before placing AIBO in the home, researchers will collect baseline data for six weeks. These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activity before and after AIBO. Then, the researchers will review the data to determine if it has inspired any changes in the life of its owner.
“I talk to him all the time, and he responds to my voice,” says a seventy-year-old lady, “When I’m watching TV, he’ll stay in my arms until he wants down. He has a mind of his own.”
The AIBOs respond to certain orders. The researchers say they have some advantages over live dogs, especially for old people. Often the elderly are disabled(行动不便的) and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it. A robotic dog removes(免除) exercise and feeding concerns.
“At the beginning, it was believed that no one would relate to the robotic dog, because it was metal and not furry.” Beck says,“But it’s amazing how quickly we have given up that belief.”
“Hopefully, down the road, these robotic pets could become a more-valuable health helper. They will record their masters’ blood pressure, oxygen levels, or heart rhythms. AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate older people’s minds.”
【小题1】 The purpose of Beck and Edwards’ study is to .
| A.understand human-animal relationship |
| B.find the causes of old people’s loneliness |
| C.make lonely old people’s life better |
| D.promote the animal-assisted research |
| A.note the activities of AIBOs | B.record their feelings and activity |
| C.keep AIBOs at home for 12 weeks | D.analyze the collected information |
| A.It is easier to keep at home. | B.It responds to all the human orders. |
| C.It can help the disabled people. | D.It can watch TV with its owner. |
What happens inside the skull of a soccer player who repeatedly heads a soccer ball? That question motivated a challenging new study of the brains of experienced players that has caused discussion and debate among soccer players, and some anxiety among those of us with soccer-playing children.
For the study, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York selected 34 adults, men and women. All of the volunteers had played soccer since childhood and now competed year-round in adult soccer leagues. Each filled out a detailed questionnaire developed especially for this study to determine how many times they had headed a soccer ball in the previous year, as well as whether they had experienced any known concussions (脑震荡) in the past.
Then the players completed computerized tests of their memory and other learning skills and had their brains scanned, using a complicated new M.R.I. technique which can find structural changes in the brain that can’t be seen during most scans.
According to the data they presented at a Radiological Society of North America meeting last month, the researchers found that the players who had headed the ball more than about 1,100 times in the previous 12 months showed significant loss of white matter in parts of their brains involved with memory, attention and the processing of visual information, compared with players who had headed the ball fewer times.
This pattern of white matter loss is “similar to those seen in traumatic (外伤的) brain injury”, like that after a serious concussion, the researchers reported, even though only one of these players was reported to have ever experienced a concussion.
The players who had headed the ball about 1,100 times or more in the past year were also generally worse at recalling lists of words read to them, forgetting or fumbling the words far more often than players who had headed the ball less.
【小题1】The passage is most probably a______.
| A.news report | B.research report |
| C.story for soccer players | D.text for doctors |
| A.Computerized test. | B.Questionnaire.. |
| C.Scanning. | D.M.R.I. technique. |
| A.significant effect on brain | B.little effect on one’s brain |
| C.nothing to do with the brain injury | D.one’s memory improved |
| A.remembering | B.misunderstanding |
| C.recalling | D.missing |