(素材选自21st CENTURY READING Book 1)
社交机器人
Nexi is one of a new generation of robots. It moves on wheels and can pick up objects. But robots like Nexi are more than just entertaining toys.
Nexi, a social robot created by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) , can express human emotions. Roboticists at MIT call Nexi a "social robot". A social robot is a robot that can communicate like a human. Nexi can look sad, mad, and even bored. Some social robots can also "read" our facial expressions. Roboticists believe that it won't be long before we have social robots in our homes, helping us live better lives.
Autom is another social robot developed at MIT. Autom is a robot health coach. It has a screen where you enter information about what food you ate that day or how much you exercised. Autom has a face with eyes that move. It speaks with a synthesized voice. Autom gives you advice about your diet and exercise and drives you to do better.
In a test, Autom helped people lose weight better than other ways of recording diet information. Roboticists think this is because Autom used facial expressions and words of encouragement. In other words, Autom communicated like a real person. In fact, many people who used Autom gave the robot a new name and talked to it. When robots use human expressions and body language, people reply to them a lot like they reply to people.
In the future, humans may communicate with social robots just like they do with other people. Let's wait and see what will happen in the future!
1.What can't Nexi do according to the passage?
A.Walk on foot. B.Pick up things.
C.Express human emotions. D.Communicate like a human.
2.What does the underlined word "emotions" mean in Chinese?
A.表情 B.行为 C.喜好 D.情感
3.How will our life be if we have a social robot at home?
A.Busier. B.Easier. C.Poorer. D.Richer.
4.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE about Autom?
A.Autom's eyes can move. B.Autom speaks with a person's voice.
C.Autom always does exercise with people. D.Autom often encourages people to lose weight.
5.What's the best title for the text?
A.How to use a robot B.The life in the future
C.Two kinds of robots D.A group of great scientists
本周是动物保护周，学校广播站要求大家写一篇题为"My ways to protect animals"的小短文向大家宣传保护动物的知识。请根据以下要点和要求，写一篇英语短文。
1. 要点：1)描述动物现状；2)关于保护动物你的方法是什么；3)呼吁大家保护动物。
2. 要求：1)文中不能出现真实姓名或学校名称；2)词数100左右。
My ways to protect animals
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[素材选自21st CENTURY READING]
救助受伤的小鹿
Emily and her parents live in a big city. They like to get close to nature, so they go to the countryside on vacation 1. time to time.
Last summer, they went to a small village on vacation. They got on well with the people there and had a good time.2. was a family of deer living in the nearby wood. Emily named the baby deer Angel and often played with it. One day, the mother deer stopped Emily and stood there looking at Emily sadly. Suddenly it ran to the wood, but kept looking back 3. Emily. Then it walked a little further and looked back again. Emily was kind and helpful. She thought 4.it probably needed her help. Emily asked her father to go with her.
Following the mother deer, they found Angel in the wood.5. leg was broken. They took Angel back home and took good care of it. A few days later, Angel got well and could walk around the yard. Soon it went back to the wood.
好人自有天助
At the beginning of time, the earth was warm and people did not need fire.They ate raw _____. But slowly, the world grew _____. People got together in their cold homes and were freezing.
One day, a beautiful bird with a bright orange tail came to tell them, “You need to have fire so that you can warm your houses and _____ your food. I have fire and will give it to you.” said the bird.
But the bird did not give it _____. It said, “I will give it only to people who know what it is _____ others. Do you agree？” asked the bird.
Everyone _____. So the bird said, “See this orange on my tail? Bring some dry wood. When you touch my tail _____ the wood, you will have fire.” The people came quickly with dry wood, _____ the bird flew away. _____ chased after it. But the bird was fast, and people could not catch it. They fell down ______ and into lakes as they chased the fire bird.
As the fire bird was flying away, it______ a young woman sitting alone with a very old man. It landed beside them and said, “______ aren't you chasing after fire like all the rest？” The woman said, “This is my grandfather. He is ______， and I must care for him. That is all.”
The bird came close to the woman. “______ a sick orange tail, ” said the bird, “for you are the only one among your people worthy of the great ______．”
And so, fire came to the people.
Word Bank: raw 生的 tail 尾巴 chase 追赶
1.A.food B.dessert C.fruit D.vegetables
2.A.warmer B.colder C.better D.worse
3.A.choose B.buy C.cook D.sell
4.A.slowly B.luckily C.happily D.easily
5.A.help B.to help C.helped D.helping
6.A.agreed B.laughed C.cried D.left
7.A.about B.with C.before D.after
8.A.and B.or C.but D.so
9.A.Someone B.Anyone C.No one D.Everyone
10.A.houses B.mountains C.trees D.buildings
11.A.noticed B.helped C.reminded D.heard
12.A.What B.Why C.Where D.When
13.A.boring B.heavy C.lazy D.sick
14.A.Touch B.Pass C.Enjoy D.Receive
15.A.decision B.habit C.gift D.activity
Dust storms appear when strong wind blows sand and dirt from a dry surface. Strong dust storms may cause deaths and hurts. 1.
Be careful of dust storm warnings
Dust storms very probably happen on hot summer days. 2. You should listen to the local TV or radio before traveling, and consider changing or giving up your trip if dust storms are predicted.
Be prepared
If you are in a place where storms happen often, you should be prepared. 3. A pair of glasses is also needed to protect your eyes.
Stay inside
4.Because you will not be able to see hidden dangers. So if you're in a house, don't go out and just stay inside.
Protect yourself from flying objects
Cover your body as much as possible in a dust storm. 5. Therefore, you should try to stay low, and close to the ground, and protect your head with your arms or a backpack.
A.Do not move around when a dust storm comes.
B.It's not safe for people to travel during this period.
C.A strong wind of dust storms can carry heavy objects.
D.Carry a mask to keep dust and dirt away from your face.
E.So it's necessary to know how to protect yourself from dust storms when you meet them.
[素材选自One Story A Day Book 2]
西红柿——水果还是蔬菜?
Tomatoes are one of the world's oldest foods. They were discovered by the Indians of South America thousands of years ago. The first tomatoes were very small. By the time the Europeans brought them to Europe in the 1500s, they were larger. They looked more like the tomatoes we eat today.
When tomatoes first arrived in Italy, they were known as "love apples". Italians believed that if you ate a tomato, you would easily fall in love.
In the United States, people believed that tomatoes were poisonous, and that you would die immediately after eating one. It wasn't easy to persuade people otherwise.
That is, until 1820, when Robert Johnson decided to prove that people were wrong. He announced that he would publicly eat one bushel of tomatoes—about 50. A huge crowd showed up to watch. They were sure that Mr. Johnson was going to die. Of course, he survived. And the tomato went on to gain a big place in the American diet.
In the beginning, people argued whether a tomato was a fruit or a vegetable. From a purely scientific point of view it is a fruit. A fruit is the ripened ovary of any plant that makes seeds. However, this didn't stop most people from calling it a vegetable. They reasoned that tomatoes are eaten with the main meal—just like vegetables.
They are not eaten as dessert, like other fruits such as apples or bananas. Therefore, people thought the tomato must surely be a vegetable. Fruit or vegetable, tomatoes have survived a long time. They are not likely to disappear any time soon. They are just so good to eat.
1.What did Italians think of tomatoes?
A.They thought tomatoes were harmful to humans.
B.They regarded tomatoes as "love apples".
C.They didn't know tomatoes were fruit or vegetables.
D.They thought tomatoes were fruit.
2.Which paragraph proved tomatoes were safe?
A.Paragraph 2. B.Paragraph 3. C.Paragraph 4. D.Paragraph 5.
3.Tomatoes were fruit ________.
A.because it was from a purely scientific opinion
B.because they were discovered thousands of years ago
C.because tomatoes were eaten with the main meal—just like vegetables
D.because tomatoes were not eaten as dessert
4.What does the underlined words "ripened ovary" mean in Chinese?
A.茎 B.根 C.花蕊 D.子房
5.What's the best title for the text?
A.The history of tomatoes B.The value of tomatoes
C.The benefits of eating tomatoes D.The difference between fruit and vegetables
