Question

    When Goldie Nejat began developing robots in 2005, she spent much of her time knocking on doors to let people know how her robots worked but few showed interest, "But now, it's different," Says Nejat, "People calling from around the world ask when my robots are going to be ready." Nejať's robots are designed to fill an increasing need: care-giving for the old. The population of the people over age 80 will be 426 million in 2050, three times larger than that now.

Such robots could be especially useful for patients with Alzheimer's disease (老年痴呆症 ). They can help with everyday activities from preparing food to reminding(提醒) the patients of taking their medicine. They can also play games with patients to keep them active.

Some have worried that care-giving robots might reduce (减少 ) human interaction (互动) and cause more humans to lose their jobs. "But the aim is to support human care, not to take the place of it" says Brian Scassellati. He has tested robots with different patients, and found that daily interaction with robots can help children with autism spectrum disorder(自闭障碍症) improve social skills.

As a field grows, scientists aim to understand human-robot relationships better. Do robots offer advantages because they don't have feelings and don't give opinions? Will patients lose interest?

"One thing is clear," Scassellati says, "Robots can provide care for the customers and the need for that will increase in the future. "

1.Nejat's robots are designed to________.

A.work in the factory B.make phone calls

C.take care of the old D.knock on doors

2.The writer starts the passage by________.

A.telling two stories B.comparing two facts

C.raising a question D.giving an example

3.The main idea of Paragraph 3 is________.

A.what the robots can do B.what serious problems the robots cause

C.what the old people can do D.what the old people think of the robots

4.According to Scassellati, we can infer that Nejat's robots ________.

A.will have feelings soon B.can take the place of humans

C.should be produced more D.won't give their own opinions

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.C

【解析】

本文主要讲了Nejat的机器人从无人问津到需求量变大，说明这种照顾老年人的机器人越来越受欢迎。

1.

细节理解题。根据上文Nejať's robots are designed to fill an increasing need: care-giving for the old. Nejat的机器人是为了满足日益增长的需求而设计：照顾老人，故选C。

2.

推理判断题。根据上文When Goldie Nejat began developing robots in 2005, …People calling from around the world ask when my robots are going to be ready." 2005年，当戈迪·尼贾特开始开发机器人时，她花了很多时间上门，让人们知道她的机器人是如何工作的，但很少有人表现出兴趣，“但现在，情况不同了，”来自世界各地的人们问我的机器人什么时候准备好，可知文章开头用两个事实作比较，体现了他设计的机器人越来越满足人们的需求，故选B。

3.

主旨大意题。根据第三段的主题句But the aim is to support human care, not to take the place of it 但其目的是辅助照顾人类，而不是取代它，并举例He has tested robots with different patients…improve social skills. 他用不同患者对机器人进行了测试，发现与机器人的日常互动可以帮助自闭障碍症儿童提高社交技能。可知本段主要讲机器人的主要工作，故选A。

4.

推理判断题。根据"One thing is clear," Scassellati says, "Robots can provide care for the customers and the need for that will increase in the future. " “有一件事是清楚的，”斯卡塞拉蒂说，“机器人可以为客户提供照顾，这一需求在未来会增加。”他说，由此可推断人们对尼贾特机器人的需求会增加，因此机器人的产量也会提高，故选C。