Whether in the home or the workplace, social robots are going to become a lot more common in the next few years. Social robots are about to bring technology to the everyday world in a more humanized way, said Cynthia Breazeal, chief scientist at the robot company Jibo.
While household robots today do the normal housework, social robots will be much more like companions than mere tools. For example, these robots will be able to distinguish when someone is happy or sad. This allows them to respond more appropriately to the user.
The Jibo robot, arranged to ship later this year, is designed to be a personalized assistant. You can talk to the robot, ask it questions, and make requests for it to perform different tasks. The robot doesn’t just deliver general answers to questions; it responds based on what it learns about each individual in the household. It can do things such as reminding an elderly family member to take medicine or taking family photos.
Social robots are not just finding their way into the home. They have potential(潜在的) applications in everything from education to health care and are already finding their way into some of these spaces.
Fellow Robots is one company bringing social robots to the market. The company’s “Oshbot” robot is built to assist customers in a store, which can help the customers find items and help guide them to the product’s location in the store. It can also speak different languages and make recommendations for different items based on what the customer is shopping for.
The more interaction the robot has with humans, the more it learns. But Oshbot, like other social robots, is not intended to replace workers, but to work alongside other employees. “We have technologies to train social robots to do things not for us, but with us,” said Breazeal.
1.How are social robots different from household robots?
A. They can control their emotions.
B. They are more like humans.
C. They do the normal housework.
D. They respond to users more slowly.
2.What can a Jibo robot do according to Paragraph 3?
A. Communicate with you and perform operations.
B. Answer your questions and make requests.
C. Take your family pictures and deliver milk.
D. Obey your orders and remind you to take pills.
3.What can Oshbot work as?
A. A language teacher. B. A tour guide.
C. A shop assistant. D. A private nurse.
4.We can learn from the last paragraph that social robots will ______.
A. train employees B. be our workmates
C. improve technologies D. take the place of workers
My color television has given me nothing but a headache. I was able to buy it a little over a year ago because I had my relatives give me money for my birthday instead of a lot of clothes that wouldn’t fit. I let a salesclerk fool me into buying a discontinued model. I realized this a day later, when I saw newspaper advertisements for the set at seventy-five dollars less than I had paid. The set worked so beautifully when I first got it home that I would keep it on until stations signed off for the night. Fortunately, I didn’t get any channels showing all-night movies or I would never have gotten to bed.
Then I started developing a problem with the set that involved static(静电)noise. For some reason, when certain shows switched into a commercial, a loud noise would sound for a few seconds. Gradually, this noise began to appear during a show, and to get rid of it, I had to change to another channel and then change it back. Sometimes this technique would not work, and I had to pick up the set and shake it to remove the sound. I actually began to build up my arm muscles(肌肉)shaking my set.
When neither of these methods removed the static noise, I would sit helplessly and wait for the noise to go away. At last I ended up hitting the set with my fist, and it stopped working altogether. My trip to the repair shop cost me $62, and the set is working well now, but I keep expecting more trouble.
1.Why did the author say he was fooled into buying the TV set?
A. He got an older model than he had expected.
B. He couldn’t return it when it was broken.
C. He could have bought it at a lower price.
D. He failed to find any movie shows on it.
2.Which of the following can best replace the phrase” signed off” in Paragraph 1?
A. ended all their programs B. provided fewer channels
C. changed to commercials D. showed all-night movies
3.How did the author finally get his TV set working again?
A. By shaking and hitting it. B. By turning it on and off.
C. By switching channels. D. By having it repaired.
4.How does the author sound when telling the story?
A. Curious. B. Anxious. C. Cautious. D. Humorous.
You might not realize just how much work goes into making a newspaper. Apart from searching for a good story and the endless editing required to correct mistakes, copy editors need to make sure that everything fits perfectly. A good headline tells as much as possible in a short space. There never seems to be quite enough space to express completely what you want to say.
News headlines often focus on the central and most important new information. The relevantly insignificant information might be left out in order to stress the main idea or just to be brief. News headlines are featured by the vivid language. They add something special to attract readers’ eyes. Because the headline aims to describe the main focus of the story in six or seven words, every word counts and accuracy is decisive. For instance, “stab”(刺杀) is a better verb than “kill” because it tells the reader how the criminal did his deed; similarly, “Toyota” is a better noun than “car”. But the make of a good headline is not characterized necessarily by the amount of information in it. For instance, the front-page headline on the Los Angeles Times on September 11—the day New York’s World Trade Center was attacked—simply read “TERROR STRIKES” , all in capitals. While these two words do not describe how, where or why the buildings were attacked, they were accompanied by a half-page photo that captured(捕捉) the event in which around 3,000 people lost their lives.
1.What is vital in making news besides a good story and perfect edition?
A. An appropriate headline. B. A capital headline.
C. Vivid language. D. A brief report.
2.New headlines should be ________.
A. attractive B. countable
C. insignificant D. long enough
3.The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ________.
A. the buildings B. the two words
C. the people D. the twin towers
4.The example of “TERROR STRIKES” is used to support the view that ________.
A. a good headline tells as much as possible in a short space
B. news heading often focus on the central and most important news information
C. a good headline is not marked necessarily by the amount of information in it
D. news headlines are featured by the vivid language
假定你是李华，你的英国朋友Lucy在当地的一所孔子学院（Confucius Institute）学习，你刚获悉她在学院举办的中文诗词（poetry）比赛中荣获一等奖。请你用英语给她写一封电子邮件表示祝贺，并希望她有机会来中国深造。
注意：
1．词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Most people directly link senior high school life with plenty of stress and endless homeworks. However, some interest activities indeed contribute to reduce the pressure. Last week the entertainment department of our Student Union organized the activity in which each class shoot a short movie. Our class chose a story setting in World War II, that showed the preciousness of peace. I think his process was a good lesson that taught to me how to strike a balance between studying or relaxation. Now I determined than ever to treasure everything I have and fight for my future.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。将答案填写在答题卡的相应位置。
In 1.(tradition) Chinese culture, tai chi is often related to the Chinese idea of yin and yang, the idea that one can see two sides in everything. Once 2.a time, Taoist Zhang Sanfeng saw a bird attacking a snake in the Wudang Mountains in Hubei province. The snake’s defense inspired him 3.(create) a set of 72 movements, which used4.(soft) and power from inside to defeat violent force.
For those5.do it, tai chi can be practiced anytime and anywhere without equipment or a gymnasium. And learning to do it6.(correct) gives us a practical way to achieve such things as balance, motor control and rhythm(节奏) of movement. So it7.(believe) that practicing tai chi can in some way help us stand, walk, move and run better.
Tai chi’s benefits certainly go beyond physical ones. For Marleni Calcina from Peru, who 8.(do) tai chi for over 10 years, it’s not only a sport, but also a way of life. And 9.is tai chi that has helped her understand the value of “going slowly”. Now, practicing tai chi is like 10.(speak) with her soul.
