Can robots be creative? British art gallery owner Aidan Meller thinks so. He hopes to begin answering that question with a robot called Ai-Da. Meller is watching the building of all Ai-Da’s parts by engineers at Engineered Arts, a company based in Cornwall, England. The engineers believe the robot will be able to make pictures of people from sight with a writing instrument in her hand. Meller wants the robot to perform like a human artist.
After seeing Ai-Da’s head being carefully brought to life by specialists who were connecting individual hairs to form eyebrows, Meller said, “She’s going to actually be drawing and we’re hoping to then build technology for her to paint.” But also as a performing artist, “she’ll be able to communicate with audiences and actually get messages across, asking those questions about technology today,” he added.
Ai-Da’s robotic head may still be separate from her body, but her movements are very alive. Cameras in each of her eyeballs recognize human body parts. Ai-Da will make eye contact and follow you around the room, opening and closing her mouth as you do. If you get too close, the robot will back away, closing and then opening her eyes as if in shock.
The specialists are using the company’s Mesmer lifelike robot technology to create her head. Once finished, Ai-Da will have a mixed-race appearance, with long dark hair and manmade skin. The teeth and skin inside her mouth will come from a 3-D printer. Marcus Hold works at Engineered Arts. He said Mesmer “brings together the development of software mechanics and electronics to produce a lifelike face with lifelike gestures in a small human sized package.”
Ai-Da will make her first public appearance at an exhibition called “Unsecured Futures” at the University of Oxford. Some of her pictures are expected to appear at another show in London later this year.
1.How will Ai-Da do when you get very close to her?
A.Keep still. B.Step back.
C.Run away. D.Speak aloud.
2.Which of the following is Ai-Da good at?
A.Taking care of the old. B.Communicating with persons.
C.Doing housework. D.Making up like humans.
3.What may be the best title for the text?
A.Ai-Da, a Creative Robot B.Meller, a Great Engineer
C.Ai-Da Makes Painting Easier D.Meller Helps Robot Cleverer
假定你是李华，是学校英文报“Advice”栏目的编辑。你收到一封署名为Miss Worried的来信。信中该同学诉说了自己的困扰：本学期期中考试后经常感到压力大晚上睡不好，使正常的学习和生活受到了影响。请用英文给该同学写一封回信。内容包括：
1. 表示理解并给予安慰；
2. 提出建议并说明理由。（至少两条建议）
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头与结尾已为你写好。
Dear Miss Worried,
I’m sorry to know that you’re having difficulty falling asleep.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I hope you’ll find them useful.
Yours,
Li Hua
单词拼写
1.We should never __________ (忽视) young children’s education.
2.He did not think she could __________ (认出) his car in the snow.
3.He can speak English as __________ (流利) as an Englishman.
4.The fashion from country to country may show the c__________ differences.
5.In that big fire, all their houses were completely d__________, so they had to build new ones.
6.It took a long time for him to r__________ from a bad cold.
7.I would __________ (感谢) it if you could give me an early reply.
8.He himself was __________ (不安的) because he’d been lying.
9.I felt I __________ (值得) better than that.
10.Visitors p__________ the beauty of the scenery.
11.The parents, whose son was lost for several days, __________ (遭受) a lot.
12.Taking proper and __________ (定期的) exercise can help you have a good shape.
13.Lucy was a __________ into her dream university, which made her feel excited.
14.If you have a dream, d__________ yourself to it and finally your dream will come true.
15.Titanic was a British ship that s__________ into the North Atlantic Ocean.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
I am fond of my sister 1. she has one serious shortcoming. She can be 2. (real) stubborn. Although she didn’t know the best way of getting to places, she insisted that she 3. (organize) the trip properly. Now I know that the proper way is always her way. I kept asking her, “When are we leaving and when are we coming back?” I asked her whether she 4. (look) at a map yet. Of course she hadn’t; my sister doesn’t care about 5. (detail).
So I told her that the source of the Mekong is in Qinghai Province. She gave me a 6. (determine) look - the kind 7. said she would not change her mind. When I told her that our journey would begin at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres, she seemed to be excited about it. When I told her the air would be hard 8. (breathe) and it would be very cold, she said it would be an interesting experience. I know my sister well. Once she has made up 9. (she) mind, nothing can change it. Finally, I had to give 10..
I had seen my “old” friend working at our local Walt - Mart for several months. She always stopped to say hi, then ________ off saying she had to get back to work.
Through our brief conversations, I discovered she had been down a pretty ________ road but somehow had remained a positive and cheerful ________ to life. She was living in an apartment building, which was ________ for alcohol and drug problems, but that was all that she could ________. A few weeks later there was a fire at the apartment and all residents had to move. As she ________ said, it could be worse but ended with a positive point about her ________.
I felt a pull in my heart to do something to help, because I had been in her ________ once or twice but my life and taken a turn for the ________.
One day I had a few Christmas ________ in my car from work. I pulled one out and ________ it to her. I placed a gift of cash inside the card-more cash than I had ever given anyone but the ________ in my heart said, “Yes! Do it!” When my friend ________, I said, “Here is a card for you,” and we hugged. She opened it and tears came to her eyes.
Seeing her happiness, I ________ figured out how I was ________ to help her. What she did next made me know I had done the right thing. She phoned me ________ to thank me again and said, “It was too much, so I ________ it with two other women at work who were not going to have Christmas gifts ________ their children either. I hope you don’t ________.”
My heart was filled with ________ knowing I had done something that was passed on right where it was meant to go.
1.A.turned B.gave C.hurried D.put
2.A.rough B.direct C.broad D.shallow
3.A.opinion B.view C.attitude D.thought
4.A.designed B.known C.punished D.praised
5.A.apply B.afford C.offer D.live
6.A.never B.seldom C.almost D.always
7.A.position B.business C.dream D.situation
8.A.boat B.shoes C.coats D.house
9.A.better B.farther C.richer D.healthier
10.A.presents B.cards C.boxes D.letters
11.A.explained B.transported C.addressed D.lent
12.A.power B.desire C.dream D.pull
13.A.stood out B.showed up C.broke in D.came across
14.A.frequently B.constantly C.finally D.generally
15.A.supposed B.forced C.intended D.permitted
16.A.later B.yet C.ever D.only
17.A.rewarded B.donated C.delivered D.shared
18.A.in B.to C.for D.with
19.A.regret B.mind C.refuse D.forgive
20.A.sorrow B.anger C.honor D.joy
Top Tips for Better Writing
There are many different types of writing, such as essays, letters and speeches. Whatever your reason is and whatever your style, there are some universal tips that will help you improve your writing:
Be clear about your purpose
The most basic question to ask yourself before you start is why you are writing. In an essay or assignment, your purpose is to convey information and draw conclusions. But if you are writing a business report, you may want to make recommendations(建议). 1.
Start with a plan
2.The result is often disjointed writing with parts that don’t connect. Whatever you are writing, creating a clear plan is the first step to getting your message across quickly and in the most effective way.
Guide readers through what you write
Your task is to help readers understand your message quickly and precisely.3.Each sentence, each paragraph should be relevant to what comes before and what comes after. You should use words and phrases that connect to show these connections.
4.
Your aim in writing is to communicate ideas and information to other people, and you must keep that in mind with every word and sentence you write. Constantly ask yourself who you really write the information for.
Write for the ear, not for the eye
Once you’ve finished a draft of your speech, practice reading it out loud. 5.Revise so you are more comfortable giving your speech. You want to sound natural, no matter what the occasion is.
A. Write for readers, not yourself
B. Write for the aim, not for the words
C. It sounds robotic, and employers hate it.
D. Far too often people write without a plan.
E. You’ll hear anything that sounds awkward.
F. Whatever it is, keep your purpose in mind at all times to avoid going off topic.
G. To do this, it is necessary to show them clearly how the different parts relate to each other.
