Imagine a cat that does not need someone to clean up after it keeps an older person company and help them remember to take their medicine. That is the shared dream of the toy maker Hasbro and scientists at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The researchers received a $3-million-dollar award from the National Science Foundation for a special project. They want to find ways to add artificial intelligence, or A.I., to Hasbro’s “Joy for All” robotic cat.
The cat has already been for sale for two years. Though priced over 1000 dollars, it sold quite well. It was meant to act as a “companion” for older people. Now the project is aimed at developing additional abilities for the cat. Researchers at Brown’s Humanity-Centered Robotics Initiative are working to decide which activities older adults may need the most. They hope to make the cat perform a small number of activities very well. Such activities include
finding lost objects and reminding the person to take medicine or visit their doctor. They also want to keep the cost down to just a few hundred dollars.
It is an idea that has appealed to Jeanne Elliott. Her 93-year-old mother Mary Derr lives with her in South Kingstown. Derr has dementia (痴呆). The Joy for All cat that Elliott bought this year has become a true companion for Derr. The cat stays with Derr and keeps her calm while Eliot is at work. Elliott said a robotic cat that helps her mother to remember to take her medicine and be careful when she walks would be greater.
The researchers are trying to learn how the improved cats will complete helpful activities and how they will communicate. They say that they do not want a talking cat, however. Instead they are trying to design a cat that can move its head in a special way to successfully communicate its message. In the end, they hope to create an exchange between the human and the cat in which the human feels the cat needs them. By doing so, the researchers hope they can even help prevent feelings of loneliness and sadness among elderly people.
1.What’s the purpose of the project?
A. To relieve the pain of the elderly.
B. To promote the sales of a medicine.
C. To help make the robotic cat smarter.
D. To invent a robotic cat for the elderly.
2.Compared with the old model, the new robotic cat will be ________.
A. cheaper
B. smaller
C. more talkative
D. more expensive
3.What does Paragraph 3 intend to tell us?
A. The more functions of the cat, the better.
B. The cat gives much help to the elderly.
C. There is no cure for dementia at present.
D. Mary Derr would have died without the cat.
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A. A talking cat is quite popular among the elderly.
B. Feelings of sadness among the elderly are unavoidable.
C. Each family can afford such a cat in the future.
D. The feeling of being needed is vital to the elderly.
Many kids help out around the house with chores(家庭杂务) such as emptying the dishwasher， putting laundry away， and taking out the trash. In exchange， some kids get allowances(补贴) or other rewards such as extra computer time.
But some people do not think that kids should get rewards for doing chores. Susie Walton， a parenting educator and family coach， believes that by rewarding kids， parents are sending a message that work isn't worth doing unless you get something in return. “Running any kind of household is a team effort，” Susie said，“a home is a living space for everyone in the family. It's important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities in the house， and that families decide together how they want their home to look， and how they are going to keep it looking like everyone wants it to look.”
Other people believe that getting a cash allowance or other rewards motivates kids to do chores， and it also teaches them real world lessons about how we need to work to earn money. There are also new applications that give kids points and digital gifts that can be redeemed(兑取) either online or in the real world. With the Chore Monster app kids earn digital points by completing chores that they can turn in for real-life rewards such as extra Xbox time or a trip to the mall. “Our goal is to encourage kids to earn rewards” says Chris Bergman， founder of Chore Monster，“Kids need positive reinforcement(强化) to help motivate them.”
What do you think? Should kids be rewarded for doing chores? Or should kids help out around their homes without getting anything in return? Write a 200-word response. Send it to tfkasks4you@timeforkids.com. Your response may be published in a future issue of Time For Kids. Please include your grade and contact information of your parent or teacher if you want your response to be published. The deadline for responding is February 18.
1.How does the author start the passage?
A.By listing some evidence.
B.By presenting some facts.
C.By comparing different views.
D.By stating his own experiences.
2.Which statement is true according to Susie Walton?
A.Kids should be rewarded for doing chores.
B.Parents decide what kids can do for the family.
C.Kids have the responsibility to share housework.
D.Kids can get extra computer time for doing chores.
3.The purpose of writing the text is to .
A.invite readers to express their opinions
B.inform readers of two different opinions
C.call on readers to reflect on their behavior
D.present the author's viewpoint about parenting
I used to be crazy about the hunting season. The excitement of waiting for a prey(猎物)and the pride of showing off the kill fascinated me. However, everything changed after that cold morning.
Early on that day of the late fall, I set off alone for the woods, packing a gun, a bottle of hot coffee and three thick sandwiches. After finding the fresh deer’s tracks in the snow, I settled down behind a little bush.
I sat there for about an hour. It was then that I saw him. A deer, a big beautiful deer! There was no cover nearer to him than 30 yards. Surely I couldn’t miss! I waited for him to realize I was there. I waited for him to be shocked and run away. But he fooled me completely. He came towards me! He was curious, I suppose, or maybe he was stupid---how else can you explain it? Well, that deer walked right up to where I was sitting. Then he stopped and looked at me!
What happened next is hard to believe, but it’s true. And it all seemed quite natural. Just as when a friendly young deer comes near you, I reached up and scratched his head. And he liked to be scratched. In fact, he practically asked for more. Then, I fed him my sandwich! Yes, I know what a deer eats, but that deer ate my sandwich. Well, he finally went his way, down the hill and up the deer trail. Shoot him? Not me. You wouldn’t have either, not after that. I just watched him go.
When I was about half way back, I heard two shots, followed by a dull slam(撞击)a few seconds later. Those two shots usually mean a kill. I had forgotten there were other hunters that day.
Those hunters would never know they could have scratched his head.
1.Why didn’t the author kill the deer?
A.He preferred to shoot a shy deer. B.He was fooled by the tricky deer.
C.He was sympathetic for the deer. D.He was too shocked to shoot the deer.
2.What most probably happened to the deer in the end?
A.Other hunters shot the deer to death.
B.Other hunters scratched the deer’s head too.
C.The deer managed to escape from being shot.
D.The deer would become friends with the author.
3.What’s the best title of this text?
A.A Hunting in Late Fall. B.A Lovely Deer.
C.The Cruel Killing. D.The Last Hunting.
假定你是李华，计划邀请你的英国朋友David春节期间来你家做客，请你用英文给他写一封信，内容 包括：
1. 一道包饺子，跟你的家人共进晚餐；
2. 询问合适时间等。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。作文中共有10处语言 错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧)）并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
The Chinese New Year festival, which is my most favourite time of year, lasted for 15 days. At midnight on New Year's Eve, every door and window in the house is opened to let the old year leaving. We eat dumplings and set off fireworks. Children were given little red envelopes with luckily money inside. In the last day we have the Lantern Festival, that we go out at night carrying paper lanterns. During the festival, they drop in at relatives' and friends' houses bringing gifts or red envelopes, and greeting one another with "Happy New Year". This is special way for us to express good wish to each other.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Whether you are someone who smiles a lot1.not, there is always room for improvement. Research 2.(show) that when someone smiles, a number of feel-good neurotransmitters are released(释放)in the body and these are linked with lower heart rate, lower blood pressure, better sleep and 3. (little) stress. It would appear that 4. physical act of smiling makes our brain think we are happy — even if we are not and just like that, it brings about a physiological response that makes5.(we) feel better and more relaxed.
I think we have experienced how infectious a smile can be and we 6. (attract) by the energy of shiny happy people laughing. So while I appreciate there is not always something to smile about, I think that being able to smile at ourselves is a quality worth 7.(develop). Even an internal smile or a case of faking it until you make it is most8.(definite) a good investment to develop a sense of 9.(satisfy) from within.
My new thing for the next month or so is to try and smile more often. Why don't you try that too and let me know10.you get on?
