Robots that can chat，find misplaced glasses，draw aeroplanes and play with your children are drawing thousands of visitors’ attention during an expo in Tokyo as Japan adapts to changes in society.

Robots，such as the sound?sensitive Chapit，answer simple questions and even joke with people to help the lonely fight loneliness and stay active in old age.

“Many older people in Japan live alone and have no one to talk to，” said Kazuya Kitamura，a representative of the expo organizer.“Communication robots accompany people and don’t mind listening to the same stories over and over again.”

While Chapit，a relatively simple robot，managed to allure a corporate partner，many researchers，such as Kiyoshi Matsumoto，a professor at the University of Tokyo，struggle to interest sponsors for more expensive projects.

Matsumoto’s “Personal Mobility Robot”，equipped with four cameras and a sensor to recognize the user’s centre of gravity，is designed to help the elderly move around without pressing buttons，using joysticks(操纵杆) or rotating(转动) wheels as in traditional wheelchairs.

The robot can also help find misplaced glasses by identifying them with a sensor.

“We have developed a robot that can assist many people，but because of the high cost，we still haven’t found a sponsor，”said Matsumoto，who added that the cost of the machine，if mass?produced，would be comparable to that of a car.

“In the current economic environment there are few companies willing to invest in such a costly project，” he said.

Other robots，such as the award?winning “DiGRO” can support busy parents who have little time to play with their children.

The robot can use the Internet to find a simple image and then draw pictures，keeping children company while their parents work.

Japan has one of the world’s fastest?ageing societies and the government predicts that by 2050 the proportion of people over 65 will reach 40 percent.

1.The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by ________.

A．strike? B．exclude

C．connect? D．attract

2.Personal Mobility Robot can help people ________.

A．find misplaced glasses

B．move around with pressing buttons

C．use joysticks

D．rotate wheels

3.It is difficult to find sponsors for the robots because ________.

A．Japan is suffering economy depression

B．the robots are of poor design

C．the production of robots costs a lot

D．the future market is worrying

4.It can be inferred from the text that ________.

A．many children lack love from parents

B．robots helpful to the old will be in great demand

C．robots are the most useful to children

D．robots do better than people in healthcare

Dear Peter,

How are you doing?

I’m writing to tell you that my uncle Li Ming is going to your city for a conference, and I’ve asked him to bring you the Chinese painting you’ve asked for before.

Also, I’d like you to do me a favor. Would you please meet my uncle at the airport and take him to his hotel since this is his first visit to the U.S.? Thank you in advance!

His flight number is CA985, and it will arrive at 11:30 am, August 6. My uncle is tall and he is wearing glasses. And he will be in a blue Jacket.

Looking forward to your reply.

Yours,

Li Hua

Spanish men will have to learn to change diapers and do dishwashing under the terms of a new law designed to strike a blow.

The law, due to be passed this month, is likely to cause a revolution in family affairs in a country where 40% of men reportedly don’t do housework at all. It will oblige men to “share domestic responsibilities and the care and attention” of children and elderly family members, according to the draft approved by the Spanish parliament’s justice commission.

“This will be a good way of reminding people what their duties are. It is something feminists (女权主义者) have been wanting for a long time,” said Margarita Uria, of the Basque Nationalist Party, who was behind what is an amendment to a new divorce law.

Failure to meet the obligations will be taken into consideration by judges when determining the terms of divorces. Men who refuse to do their part may be given less frequent contact with their children.

Spanish women spend five times longer on housework than husbands. Even when both have jobs outside the home, Spanish women still do three times as much work in the house.

“It is not just about housework, though,” said Ms. Uria.

A study five years ago by Spain’s Center for Sociological Investigation concluded that fathers spent an average of 13 minutes each day looking after their children.

Only 19 % of Spanish men thought it was right for mothers of school-age children to have a full-time job. More than a third thought mothers should not work outside the home at all.

The Change to the Spanish legal code will see domestic obligations added to a list of marital(婚姻的) duties that currently includes fidelity, living together and helping one another.

That should guarantee that, when the law—which will also make divorce proceedings faster and easier—is voted on in parliament in the next few weeks, the obligation to share domestic chores will be added to the statute books.

1. What is the percentage of Spanish men who don’t do any housework?

2.About the new law, which of the following is NOT true?

3.According to the fourth paragraph, which of the following is TRUE?

4.What is the general topic of the passage?

单词拼写 (共7分，每小题1分)

63. The children find it hard to a______ to the new surroundings when moving to the new school,

64. When he was very young, the boy was very i____________, doing a lot of things all by himself.

65. All my classmates agreed to the plan but I was o_________ to it.

66. The menu in the restaurant usually v_______ from season to season.

67. Charles Dickens was one of the greatest n___________ of the 19th century.

68. During my a_________, he will be in charge of this department.

69. All he had done was i_________ , so he was put in prison.

Spanish men will have to learn to change diapers and do dishwashing under the terms of a new law designed to strike a blow.
The law, due to be passed this month, is likely to cause a revolution in family affairs in a country where 40% of men reportedly don’t do housework at all. It will oblige men to “share domestic responsibilities and the care and attention” of children and elderly family members, according to the draft approved by the Spanish parliament’s justice commission.
“This will be a good way of reminding people what their duties are. It is something feminists (女权主义者) have been wanting for a long time,” said Margarita Uria, of the Basque Nationalist Party, who was behind what is an amendment to a new divorce law.
Failure to meet the obligations will be taken into consideration by judges when determining the terms of divorces. Men who refuse to do their part may be given less frequent contact with their children.
Spanish women spend five times longer on housework than husbands. Even when both have jobs outside the home, Spanish women still do three times as much work in the house.
“It is not just about housework, though,” said Ms. Uria.
A study five years ago by Spain’s Center for Sociological Investigation concluded that fathers spent an average of 13 minutes each day looking after their children.
Only 19 % of Spanish men thought it was right for mothers of school-age children to have a full-time job. More than a third thought mothers should not work outside the home at all.
The Change to the Spanish legal code will see domestic obligations added to a list of marital(婚姻的) duties that currently includes fidelity, living together and helping one another.
That should guarantee that, when the law—which will also make divorce proceedings faster and easier—is voted on in parliament in the next few weeks, the obligation to share domestic chores will be added to the statute books.
【小题1】 What is the percentage of Spanish men who don’t do any housework?