Question

    Robots have taken over many of America’s factories. But can they pick a strawberry? “It’s really hard for robots to match what humans can do,” says Bob Pizter, an expert on robots.

Any 4-year-old kid can pick a strawberry, but machines can’t seem to figure it out. Pizter says the hardest thing for them is finding the fruit. Pizter’s strawberry-picking robot is rolling into a strawberry field. This well-designed device drives itself. It’s as big as a bus, long enough to straddle (跨越) a dozen rows of strawberries at once. Powerful computers are sitting on top. Underneath, there are high-definition cameras to find the berries, and robotic claws ready to pick them.

“Nobody’s telling it what to do,” explains Paul Bissett, the chief operating officer of Harvest CROO Robotics. “It’s remembering its path down the row. It’s remembering where all these plants are.” It knows all this, thanks to the super-accurate GPS. Its computer brain contains a map showing the locations of every strawberry plant in the field. The action of machinery is truly impressive, but the baskets are still practically empty. Pitzer says the robots are able to find and pick more than 50 percent of ripe berries. That’s not yet up to human standards. A typical worker, he says, manages to pick anywhere from 60 to 90 percent of the berries. Also, he admits, the machine is slower than human hands. On the other hand, it has some advantages. It can work right through the night. Two years later, he says, this machine will be in the fields working for real. “There are weaknesses to work out, but it’s getting there. We’re close.” he says.

Strawberry companies are putting millions of dollars into this project. The reason, Gary Wishnatzki, the owner of Wish Farms says, is that it’s getting more and more difficult to find enough people to pick his berries. “The fact of the matter is, if we don’t solve the problem of this labor shortage with automation, the industry is facing a big challenge ahead. The price of fruit is going to be much higher,” Jose Santos, the leader of the farm, says.

Jose is pretty convinced, though, that picking strawberries will always require people. The machines will break down, he points out. In fact, he’s looking on the bright side. “You could afford to give people a day off if you have machines behind you,” he says.

1.According to the passage, the strawberry-picking robot __________.

A.can work extra hours B.relies on GPS only to find berries

C.runs on petrol just like a bus D.picks both ripe and unripe berries

2.What do people mentioned in the passage think of the strawberry-picking robot?

A.It will lead to the price of strawberries rising.

B.It keeps human workers working through night.

C.It is not very efficient at the moment but promising.

D.It will completely take the place of human workers.

3.We know from the article that __________.

A.robots have been widely used in farming

B.it seems hard for robots to exactly locate strawberries now

C.robots can surely perform any work better than human workers

D.with the help of robots, strawberry companies have already earned much

4.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A.The working principle of strawberry-picking robots.

B.Farmers’ expectations for strawberry-picking robots.

C.The present state of strawberry-picking robots.

D.The differences between humans and strawberry-picking robots.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了摘草莓机器人的目前的优点和缺点：效率不高，但可以长时间工作，其缺点也可以改进。未来需求大，前景广阔。

1.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“It can work right through the night.”可知，机器人可以整夜工作。A（它可以加班）表达此意。故选A。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中的“Pitzer says the robots are able to find and pick more than 50 percent of ripe berries. That’s not yet up to human standards. A typical worker, he says, manages to pick anywhere from 60 to 90 percent of the berries. Also, he admits, the machine is slower than human hands.”可知，摘草莓的机器人比人手慢，没有达到人类采摘草莓的标准。由此可以推知，它效率不高。根据第三段中的“On the other hand, it has some advantages. It can work right through the night. Two years later, he says, this machine will be in the fields working for real. “There are weaknesses to work out, but it’s getting there. We’re close.” he says.”可知，这种机器人有弱点需要克服，但这些弱点很快就会被克服。这种机器人非常有前景。两年之后，就会被投入使用。我们离此目标不远了。由此推知，综上，C（它目前不是很有效，但很有前途）表达此意。故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段中的“It’s remembering its path down the row. It’s remembering where all these plants are.” It knows all this, thanks to the super-accurate GPS. Its computer brain contains a map showing the locations of every strawberry plant in the field. The action of machinery is truly impressive, but the baskets are still practically empty. Pitzer says the robots are able to find and pick more than 50 percent of ripe berries. That’s not yet up to human standards.”可知，由于超级精确的GPS，机器人知道所有草莓的位置。机器的作用确实令人印象深刻，但篮子实际上仍然是空的。Pitzer说，机器人能够发现和采摘超过50%的成熟浆果。这还没有达到人类的标准。由此推知，虽然机器人配备有精确的GPS，但实际上，它们并不能精确地定位草莓的位置，从而导致采摘率不高。故选B。

4.主旨大意题。第一段直接了当的提出：机器人真的很难达到人类采摘草莓的水平。第二段和第三段主要介绍了草莓采摘机器人的特点和优缺点（效率不高，但可以长时间工作）。最后两段对草莓采摘机器人前景的展望（未来需求大，前景广阔）。结合选项，C（草莓采摘机器人的现状）最能概括主题。故选C。