If you grow old in Japan, you will expect to be served food by a robot, ride a voice recognition wheelchair or even possibly hire a nurse in a robotic suit – all examples of cutting-edge technology to care for the country’s rapidly graying population．
With nearly 22 percent of Japan’s population already aged 65 or older, businesses here have been producing everything from easy-entry cars to remote controlled beds, fueling a care technology market worth some $1．08 billion in 2006．
At a home care and rehabilitation meeting in Tokyo, buyers crowded round a demonstration of Secom Co’s My Spoon feeding robot, which helps elderly or disabled people eat with a spoon-and-fork-fitted swiveling （转动的） arm．Operating a joystick（操纵杆）with his chin, developer Shigehisa Kobayashi moved the arm toward a block of soft tofu, skillfully getting the fork to break off a bite-sized piece．The arm then returned to a preprogrammed position in front of his mouth, allowing Kobayashi to bite and swallow．
It is all about allowing people to help themselves, Kobayashi said．The Tokyo-based company has already sold 300 of the robots, which come with a price tag of $3,500．“We want to give the elderly control over their own lives．”
The rapidly aging population here has caused many concerns: a labor shortage, tax shortfalls and financial difficulties in paying the health bills and pensions of large numbers of the elderly．Moreover, a growing number of older Japanese are spending their golden years away from the care traditionally provided by children and grandchildren．That’s where cutting-edge technology steps in．
1.The underlined word “cutting-edge” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______．
A．common B．up-to-date C．cost-saving D．important
2.The rapidly graying population in Japan ______．
A．prevents the development of Japan’s economy
B．causes a great increase in Japan’s population
C．strengthens the relationship between family members
D．promotes the development of Japan’s care technology
3.What does the last paragraph of the passage want to tell us?
A．The social need to develop robots for the elderly．
B．The worsening situation of Japan’s aging population．
C．The development of cutting-edge technology．
D．The social problems Japan’s aging population has caused．
4.What would be the best title of the passage?
A．The development of science in Japan
B．My spoon feeding robot
C．Robots to help Japanese seniors
D．Rapidly graying population in Japan
Below is a page from TV guide:
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8:30 PM
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Outlook
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Outlook is back with a new series of reports to keep you up-dated with all that’s new in the world of entertainment．Stories go all the way from the technical to the romantic from stage to screen．There will be reports of the stars of the moment, the stars of the future and the stars of the past．The director with his new film, the designer with the latest fashion, and the musician with the popular song are part of the new Outlook．The program is introduced by Fran Levine． |
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9:00 PM
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Discovery
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When a 10-year-old boy gets a first class degree in mathematics or an 8-year-old plays chess like a future grand master, they are considered as geniuses．Where does the quality of genius come from? Is it all in the genes（基因） or can any child be turned into a genius in the future, what should they do? In this 30-minute film, Barry Johnson, the professor at School of Medicine, New York University will help you discover the answer． |
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10:00 PM |
Science/Health
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Is it possible to beat high blood pressure without drugs? The answer is “yes”, according to the researchers at Johns Hopkins and three other medical centers．After a study of 800 persons with high blood pressure, they found that after 6 months, those devoted to weight-loss exercise and eating low-salt, low-fat food lost about 13 pounds and became fitter．Plus 35% of them dropped into the “normal” category．This week, Dr．Alan Duckworth will tell you how these people reduce their blood to a level similar to what’s achieved with Hypertension drugs． |
1.The main purpose of writing these three texts is ________．
A．to invite people to see films
B．to invite people to topic discussions
C．to attract more students to attend lectures
D．to attract more people to watch TV programs
2.Who will be most probably interested in Discovery?
A．Parents who want to send their children to school of medicine．
B．Children who are good at mathematics．
C．Parents who want their child to become another Albert Einstein．
D．Children who are interested in playing chess．
3.In Science/Health, “Johns Hopkins” is _______．
A．a famous university B．a medical center
C．a well-known doctor D．a drug company
4.According to the third text, which of the following has almost the same effect as Hypertension drugs?
A．Exercise plus a healthy diet． B．Loss of thirteen pounds in weight．
C．Six months of exercise without drugs． D．Low-salt and low-fat food．
I’m from the South Bronx．At 7, my neighborhood was the beginning and end of my universe．It was a small town to me．Everyone knew each other, so if you got into trouble in school, chances are that your mom knew about it before you got home．I felt watched over and safe．
But just before I turned 8, things began to change．I watched two buildings on my block burn down．I remember seeing my neighbor Pito go up and down the fire escape to get people out．Where were the firemen? Where was the truck? Somebody must have called them．
That same summer, after serving two tours in Vietnam, my brother was killed in the South Bronx．He was shot above the left eye and died instantly．
People who could moved out of the neighborhood , and all I wanted to do was get out, too．I used education to get away from there and got good at avoiding the topic of where I was from．To be from the South Bronx meant that you were not a good person．It felt like a stain （污点）．
After college, I didn’t want to come back to the South Bronx, but in order to afford graduate school, I had to．I was almost 30 and could only afford to live at my parents’ home．It felt like a defeat, and I hated it．
At the same time, the city was planning a huge waste facility here, and no one seemed to care -- including many of us who lived here．They were like, “Well, it’s a poor community; what’s the difference?”
After that, I realized it’s just as important to fight for something as it is to fight against something．So we dreamed up a new park on the site of an illegal waste dump – and after many community clean-ups, along with $3 million from the city, we have one．And it’s a glory．It was the seed from which many new plants for our community have grown．
Today, the South Bronx is no longer a stain; it’s a symbol of honor for me．I believe that where I’m from helps me to really see the world．Today, when I say I’m from the South Bronx, I stand up straight．This is home, and it always will be．
1.From Paragraph 2 and 3 we can learn that ______．
A．the author felt watched over and safe
B．the author’s brother was a bad man
C．the author’s neighbor Pito was braver than a fireman
D．the author felt his hometown was not a safe place to live in
2.The author went back to the South Bronx after college because ______．
A．he couldn’t afford to live without his parents’ help
B．he loved his hometown and wanted to work there
C．he was defeated in studies at college
D．he almost reached the age of 30
3.The underlined sentences （Paragraph 2） imply that ______．
A．the author wondered where the firemen and the truck were
B．the author wanted someone to call the firemen
C．the firemen didn’t come to help although called
D．the firemen didn’t find a place to park the truck
4.What does the author want to convey in the passage?
A．You can make a difference to your hometown if you act．
B．The South Bronx is a beautiful place to live in．
C．Great changes have taken place in the South Bronx recently．
D．Everyone should love his hometown all his life．
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意， 然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项标号涂黑。
As a child, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons at my grandfather’s farm． 1by miles of winding stone walls, the house provided 2hours of fun for a city kid．
I can still remember one 3when I was eight years old．I’d wanted 4anything to be allowed to climb the walls surrounding the property．The walls were old; some stones were 5, others loose．Still, my desire to scramble （爬）across those walls 6so strong that finally, one spring weekend, I took all my 7and entered the living room, where the 8had gathered after Sunday dinner．
“I, I wanna climb the stone walls,” I said hesitantly． 9a chorus （齐声）went up from the women in the room．“Heavens, no!” they cried．“You’ll hurt yourself!” I wasn’t too 10; the response was just as I’d expected．But 11I could leave the room, I was 12by my grandfather’s loud voice．“Now 13just a minute,” I heard him say．“Let the boy climb the stone walls． 14, he has to learn to do things for himself．”
For the next two hours I climbed those old walls and had the time of my 15．Later when I told my grandfather about my 16, I’ll never forget what he said．“Fred,” he said, smiling, “you made this day a （an） 17day just by being yourself．Always remember, there’s only one person in this whole world like you, and I like you exactly as you are．”
Many years have passed since then, and today I 18the television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, seen by millions of children．There have been 19over the years, but one thing 20the same: my suggestion to children at the end of almost every visit．“There’s only one person in this whole world like you,” the kids can hear me say, “and people can like you exactly as you are．”
1.A．Covered B．Surrounded C．Extended D．Spread
2.A．meaningless B．short C．endless D．imaginable
3.A．morning B．afternoon C．evening D．daytime
4.A．more than B．as well as C．rather than D．other than
5.A．remaining B．left C．tight D．missing
6.A．built B．went C．grew D．turned
7.A．trouble B．mind C．courage D．heart
8.A．adults B．relations C．men D．women
9.A．Soon B．Hurriedly C．Frequently D．Immediately
10.A．excited B．sad C．disappointed D．pleased
11.A．after B．before C．as D．when
12.A．encouraged B．asked C．allowed D．stopped
13.A．keep up B．hold on C．hold up D．keep on
14.A．Anyway B．However C．Therefore D．Thus
15.A．childhood B．play C．life D．Sunday
16.A．action B．adventure C．story D．happiness
17.A．special B．interesting C．common D．beautiful
18.A．own B．like C．hold D．host
19.A．jobs B．events C．adventures D．changes
20.A．remains B．develops C．becomes D．seems
-- How much do I owe you for lunch?
-- ________ ．It’s nothing．
A．Come on B．Go ahead C．With pleasure D．Forget it
It was not until she got to the classroom ________ Lily realized she had left her textbook in the dormitory．
A．that B．where C．when D．before
