Question

Standing in line for the latest iPhone at the Apple store, queuing for tickets to Wimbledon or even just waiting at the post office might just have got a lot easier. Japanese car-maker Nissan announces that it has just the thing to relieve the painful legs of tired queuers.

   The new system of ‘self-driving’ chairs is designed to detect when someone at the front of the queue is called, and automatically move everyone else one step forward in line. The new invention is shown off in a company video, which shows a busy restaurant with patrons waiting outside.

   In the video, diners are sitting in a row of chairs, but will not have to stand when the next hungry diner is called to a table. Instead, the chairs, equipped with autonomous technology that detects the seat ahead, move along a path toward the front of the line. When the person at the front of the queue is called, the empty chair at the front can sense it is empty and so moves out of pole position. Cameras on the remaining chairs then sense the movement and follow automatically.

   The system, which is similar to the kind used in Nissan's autonomous vehicle technology, will be tested at select restaurants in Japan this year, Nissan said. “It appeals to anyone who has queued for hours outside a crowded restaurant: it eliminates the boredom and physical pain of standing in line,” Nissan added.

   Although Tokyo has some 160,000 restaurants, long queues are not uncommon. Chosen restaurants that meet the criteria will be able to show the chairs outside their restaurant next year. Nissan also released a short video showing the chairs being used in an art gallery, moving slowly in front of the various paintings to let viewers appreciate the art without the need to stand up.

1.What can we know about “self-driving” chairs from the text?

A. They are in hot demand like iPhones.

B. They are intended for queuing diners.

C. They are the inventions of a car company.

D. They are completely different from vehicle technology.

2.Which enables the chairs to detect the seat ahead?

A. Pole position.

B. Autonomous technology.

C. Camera equipped on them.

D. Sensors equipped along the path.

3.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “eliminates” in Paragraph 4?

A. rids.     B. ignores.      C. steals.       D. hides.

4.What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A. Queuing is a rare scene outside Japanese restaurants.

B. “Self-driving ” chairs are the most useful in art galleries.

C. Japanese people prefer eating in restaurants to at home.

D. “Self-driving” chairs haven’t been in official use in restaurants.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：文章介绍了一种能消除长时间排队带来的无聊和身体上痛苦的一种新型发明装置“自驱椅”及其具体使用。

1.，C项正确，技术是日本汽车制造商日产公司发明的；根据第二段The new system of ‘self-driving’ chairs is designed to detect when someone at the front of the queue is called, and automatically move everyone else one step forward in line.可知，A、B两项错误；根据第四段The system, which is similar to the kind used in Nissan's autonomous vehicle technology可知，D错误。故选C。

2.B。

3.划线词语eliminate“消除”，与A项同义，故选A。

4.，这种椅子还没有被正式在饭店使用，故选D。

考点：考查科技发明类短文阅读。

【名师点睛】

关于词义猜测题

做这种类型的题，要根据词、词组、句子所在的语境上下文来判断其意义。因此熟练掌握一些猜词技巧是做好这类题的关键。命题者在出这类题时惯用常规词义来麻痹考生，我们要特别注意熟词生义，切不可脱离语境主观臆断。

下面结合文本及近几年高考试题，对词义猜测的技巧加以解读。

1.根据定义或上下文解释进行猜测

有时短文中出现一个需要猜测其意义的词或短语，下面接着出现其定义或解释，这就是判断该词或短语意义的主要依据。例如：It will be very hard but also very brittle—that is, it will break easily.从后面that is(也就是说)的解释中我们可以了解到brittle 是“脆”的意思。

2.根据同位关系进行猜测

阅读中出现的难词有时后面紧跟一个同位语，对前面的词进行解释，这时可利用同位关系对前面或后面的词义或句意进行猜测。例如：The “Chunnel”, a tunnel(隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.此句中a tunnel connecting England and France是Chunnel的同位语。因此，The “Chunnel”就是英法之间的海底隧道。

3.根据构词法(前缀、后缀、复合、派生等)进行猜测

在英语中，有很多词可以在前面加前缀，在后面加后缀，从而构成一个词，乍看起来，这个词可能是新词，但掌握了一定的构词知识，就不难猜出它的词义。例如：“Our parties are aimed for children 2 to 10,” Anaclerio said, “and they’re very interactive and creative in that they built a sense of drama based on a subject.”文中interactive是由前缀inter-(相互的)和active(活动的，活跃的)而构成的，同时根据上下文的意思可以判断，该词的含义应是“互动的”。

4.根据转折或对比关系进行猜测

根据上下句的连接词，如but, however, otherwise等就可以看到前后句在意义上的差别，从而依据某一句的含义，来确定另一句的含义。另外，分号也可以表示转折、对比或不相干的意义。例如：A child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun.从前后两句的意思可以看出，hassle和a basket of fun肯定是近乎相反的意义。所以不难判断hassle的意思是“困难，麻烦”。