At Englands University of Plymouth, Professor Eduardo Miranda has been programming pairs of robots to compose music. Miranda's robots have simple “ vocal cords”(声带)and are programmed to sing and to listen to each other. The robots' unique warbling sounds (颤音) do not perfectly match the human voice, but each machine is exactly sharing music with the other in a new and unique way.
Each robot is equipped with speakers, software that mimics the human voice, a mouth that opens as it “sings,” a microphone for ears, and a camera for eyes. The robots also move. Miranda hopes that by studying his robot vocalists, he can discover something about how and why humans create, perform, and listen to music.
When the robots sing, first one robot makes six random sounds. Its partner responds with more sounds. The first robot analyzes the sounds to see if their sequences (序列)) are similar. If they are, it nods its head and commits the sounds to memory, and the second robot notices and “memorizes” the musical sequence, too. If the first robot thinks the sounds are too different, it shakes its head and both robots ignore the sounds. Then the process continues.
Miranda set up an experiment in which he left the two robots alone in his study for two weeks. When he returned, his little warblers had, by imitating each other, not only shared notes but combined them. The product of their cooperation was far from symphonic, but the robots had begun to combine the notes into their own self-developed “songs”.
With the help of his warbling robots, one of Miranda's goals is to create music that no human would ever compose. Miranda believes the robots are ideal for this purpose because they would not be influenced by any existing musical styles or rules.
1.Which is closest in meaning to the underlined word “mimics” in Paragraph 2?
A.Substitutes. B.Interrupts.
C.Controls. D.Copies.
2.What did the two robots do during Miranda's experiment?
A.They interacted with each other.
B.They ignored the unique sound.
C.They learned to sing better than humans.
D.They committed random sounds to memory.
3.What does Miranda want his robots to do?
A.Sing as well as humans do. B.Create new styles of music.
C.Memorize a variety of music. D.Promote traditional musical forms.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.Future robots. B.Special songs.
C.Music by robots. D.Experiments by Miranda.
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1.What can we know about the Mystery Gift?
A.It is available anytime during April.
B.It is given to the first fifty class applicants.
C.You may choose vouchers or clothing.
D.Each participant of the launch event can get one.
2.When will kids attend the launch event if they are fond of tennis?
A.At 1 p. m. . B.At 3 p. m. . C.At 5 p. m.. D.At 6 p. m..
3.What is the main purpose of the text?
A.To report the sports events. B.To introduce healthy lifestyles.
C.To advertize the sports classes. D.To give advice on making friends.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What is mentioned as a relaxing way?
A.Being concerned about the progress.
B.Thinking about reducing stress.
C.Breathing deeply and slowly.
2.What is one of the most frequent problems during relaxation?
A.Physical condition.
B.Disturbance from outside.
C.Wandering mind.
3.When can you use the relaxing way for a problem situation?
A.After you have 10 practice sessions.
B.When you are picking up the kids.
C.Before your annoyance starts.
4.Who are the probable audience of the talk?
A.Kids. B.Parents. C.College students.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Why was Jane unhappy about living in the dormitory?
A.She disliked the food.
B.She lacked personal space.
C.She had no washing machine.
2.Where did Jane have meals?
A.In the dormitory. B.In her own kitchen. C.In the school canteen.
3.How many hours was the dining hall open every day?
A.Three. B.Five. C.Six.
4.What is the dialogue mainly about?
A.Social activities. B.College life. C.Dorm buildings.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.How do most readers find Island Intrigue” 2
A.Absurd. B.Boring. C.Thrilling.
2.What kind of books do the speakers both like?
A.Horror stories. B.Science fictions. C.Adventures.
3.What will the speakers do?
A.Exchange books.
B.Go to the library together.
C.Fix a time to communicate ideas.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What follows the Guest of Honour's speech?
A.The headmaster's speech.
B.The Variety Show.
C.The baseballl match.
2.What are the speakers talking about?
A.Film shows. B.Sports games. C.School events.
