It has been a year since I first saw UBTech’s Walker robot at CES 2019. I was blown away by its ability to perform many tasks.
A year later, it had come a long way, gaining much better motor skills and the ability to maintain balance. During a CES 2020 demo, UBTech showed how far Walker had come. The robot walked over to a table, picked up a bottle opener and used it to remove the cap from a bottle of soda. It picked up the bottle and a glass and poured the liquid in, without spilling. During the demo, Walker also performed a number of serious Yoga poses, including standing on one foot and leaning back.
UBTech said that the ability to pour drinks required visual servo technology using its cameras to judge the position of objects. The same methods allowed Walker to uncap a marker and draw a picture of a flower on a piece of paper at another point in the demo.
All of the betterment was made via software as UBTech hasn’t made any physical adjustments to the robot since we saw it last year. On the inside, the robot uses a combination of a few different operating systems on these internal PCs, including Ubuntu, ROS and Android. Its battery promises up to 2 hours battery life after a 2-hour charge time.
UBTech continues development on this pioneering robot, but doesn’t have public launch date. The company is targeting Walker toward the home, with an emphasis on helping seniors or just doing house cleaning. To make it stable enough to adapt to all these different conditions is a huge challenge. However, if development of Walker continues, this robot could eventually be a game-changer.
1.How did the author feel when first seeing the robot?
A.Amazed. B.Proud.
C.Awkward. D.Disappointed.
2.What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
A.The demos of CES 2019. B.The improvements of the robot.
C.The robot’s motor ability. D.The robot’s ability to remain steady.
3.What enables the robot to draw pictures?
A.The cap of the marker. B.The ability to pour drinks.
C.The using of more cameras. D.The system of position judging.
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.The robot is stable enough to help the old.
B.The robot has been available to the public.
C.Our life could be greatly influenced by the robot.
D.The basic concept of robot making will be changed.
Every two or three months, Thyago Ohana goes out on the busy streets of Vienna with a sign saying “Free Hugs”. The handsome 32-year-old Brazilian, who works in international trade at India’s Vienna embassy, chooses a popular site, like the historic shopping street, Kaemtner Strasse. There he opens his arms to anyone who wants a hearty embrace (拥抱).
He does it because back in 2012, when he was feeling very stressed and anxious during a visit to Paris, a stranger gave him a free hug. He’s never forgotten how it filled him with unexpected calm and joy.
For those who take up his offer, the hug makes them laugh and smile. But sometimes it does more, as when an elderly woman in a tour group stopped and watched him. The group moved on, but she remained and asked, “Can I have a hug?” “Of course you can!” said Thyago who wrapped his arms round her. When they broke their embrace, she kept holding onto his shoulders and looked into his eyes. “Thank you,” she said. “I can’t remember the last time I was hugged this way.”
It’s a memory that still makes Thyago emotional. “It was a really powerful moment of human connection. It’s why I keep doing it.”
Of our live senses, our sense of touch is the one that is most easily taken for granted. “A child can be born blind or deaf and they will grow up just fine,” says David J Linden, author of Touch. The Science of Hand, Heart and Mind. “Yet if a baby is lacking in loving social touch for the first two years of life, then all sorts of disasters unfold.” That’s one reason why when babies are born, they are now usually placed on their mother’s skin.
Linden says however you do it, “maximizing touch in your life is a good thing”— whether holding hands, petting a dog, going to the hairdresser, hugging our kids, our partners or even a stranger.
1.Why did Thyago Ohana offer free hugs to strangers?
A.He longed for calm and joy.
B.He felt stressed and upset.
C.He wanted others to feel connected and cared.
D.He hoped to help others cure their diseases.
2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5 suggest?
A.Our sense of touch isn’t so important.
B.Our sense of touch is undervalued.
C.Our sense of touch does no good to us.
D.Our sense of touch is thought highly of.
3.What does David J Linden think of social touch?
A.The way of offering social touch counts.
B.Offering hugs is the best way to get social touch.
C.Blind kids will be cured as long as they get enough social touch.
D.Many problems can be tracked back to babyhood short of social touch.
4.Where is this text most likely from?
A.A health magazine. B.A research paper.
C.A guide book. D.A biology textbook.
Towner Art Gallery，the contemporary art museum，presents a unique programme of major exhibitions of contemporary and historic visual art. Towner’s new home in the heart of the Cultural Quarter has repositioned its exhibitions and activities where they can be enjoyed by all. Wheelchairs can be provided for visitors with mobility difficulties. Assistance dogs are welcome.
Opening：From 1 0 a. m. to 5 P. m.
Prices：One paying exhibition per year；all other exhibitions are free
Location：10-minute walk from Eastbourne Railway Station
Here is something you’re likely to enjoy at Towner Art Gallery.
Towner Tours
Enjoy a tour of the exhibitions with the help of your guide. You may also book a group tour for 10 or more people at a time convenient for you，for￡2 per person.
Opening：Daily except weekends
Towner Cafe Bar
Urban Ground is the perfect spot to enjoy a delicious Direct Trade coffee made from Union Hand Roasted beans. Treat yourself to one of their freshly prepared light lunches.
Opening：Daily except Saturdays and Sundays
Coastal Culture Trail
The De La Wart Pavilion in Bexhill，Jerwood Gallery，and Towner—three of the most exciting visual art galleries in the UK—share a 20-mile stretch of East Sussex coastline， which—less than 90 minutes from London—is the perfect destination for a weekend getaway. You can start from the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings and follow it to Towner Art Gallery or in reverse(相反).
Opening：Daily
Tiny Towner Drop-in
This is a welcoming space for under-5s and their parents and caregivers to play and explore together.
Opening：Every Tuesday
1.Where is Towner Art Gallery?
A.In Bexhill. B.In Hastings.
C.In London. D.In Eastbourne.
2.Which will be a wonderful choice for a weekend tour?
A.Towner Tours. B.Coastal Culture Trail.
C.Tiny Towner Drop-in. D.Towner Cafe Bar.
3.What do we know about Towner Art Gallery?
A.Its exhibitions are all charged. B.It is open every day.
C.It favors the disabled. D.It offers free group service.
阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。
Jack was gone.
For six years, Jack had lived four floors directly below him. If it hadn’t been for the fire escape, the two best friends could have seen each other by sticking their heads out of their bedroom windows.
Every summer had been filled with bike rides and baseball, but last summer—the summer of Cyclops—had been the best.
Kyle and Jack had created the pulley contraption (滑轮), which Jack named Cyclops, from old bicycles, a backpack and a long rope. It ran beside the fire escape, and anything that fit into the pack could be slid from Kyle to Jack and back again. Cyclops had exchanged messages, comics and even chocolate cookies between windows.
Three days ago, Jack said good-bye to Kyle, saying his family was moving. Cyclops’ backpack rested on the fire escape outside Jack’s empty bedroom.
Staring at the ceiling over his bed, Kyle felt sad and lonely. Zzzoop! Kyle ran to the window, only to find Cyclops rushing toward him. ‘‘Jack?” he shouted. Kyle opened the backpack and found a note “This is cool. Did you make it?” Disappointed, he threw the note away and closed the window, muttering (咕哝着) to the faceless stranger in Jack’s room, “Forget it.”
Minutes later, Kyle ran his eyes over Cyclops. Having read one page of his favorite comic, he looked at it again. He wrote a note. “Who are you?” Zzzooop! “I’m Max.” “I’m Kyle. How old are you?”
Cyclops whirred (呼呼地响), carrying notes between Kyle and Max. They discovered they would be in Mrs. Parker’ fifth grade class next year. They both loved riding bikes and playing baseball but hated strawberry jam.
Kyle sent three cookies and a note down. Cyclops ran between the windows as Kyle and Max made crucial decisions, like how to go to the zoo, when and where to meet. “Feel like going to the zoo tomorrow? Zzzooop! “OK.”
Para. 1: Early the next morning, Kyle got ready and his mom smilingly held the door open.
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Para. 2: It was a girl that was pushing the bike and approaching him.
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假定你是李华，学校每年传统的“英语话剧比赛”因新冠疫情 (Coronavirus epidemic) 改为下周六在线举行，请你写邮件邀请外教Mike在线担任评委，内容包括：
1. 比赛的安排；
2. 比赛的意义；
3. 邀请及感谢。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Last week European Union leaders 1. (urge) to support re-wilding efforts by environmental activist groups, including the World Wildlife Fund.
“Re-wilding” is a conservation effort aimed at returning land 2. its more natural, undeveloped state. This movement is growing in 3. (popular) around the world, especially in cities and towns where lawns (草地) covers most areas. Replacing lawns with diverse native plants can help support wildlife like bees and other insects.
Native plants can grow in any conditions so there is no need to introduce foreign plants when there 4. (be) so many other options. Part of the process of re-wilding means 5. (change) the way most people attend to their green spaces. For example, it is not a good idea to clean up your garden 6. (immediate) at the end of the growing season. It is better to leave dead plants as they are. Birds 7. favorite food is seeds appreciate it when you don’t deadhead flowers. Less cutting of plants and grass lets pollinators (授粉者) get to flowers, and 8.(fall) leaf collection should be limited, too. The remains of the garden and lawn provide food and shelter for important insect life.
No area is too small, and every space we can leave for nature to blossom (开花) is 9. (value). So you’d better tell neighbors about your re-wilding project, 10. they might misunderstand your effort as simple laziness.
