Question

    Your next Saturday night takeaway could be brought to you by a robot after a major food delivery company announced plans to use automated vehicles to transport meals. Europe’s biggest online takeaway food company Just Eat has partnered with Starship Technologies to deliver food with robots on the streets of London later this month. “Nobody has ever done deliveries with land-based robots,” said Allan Martinson, the chief operating officer of Starship.

The robot courier can travel up to 4 miles per hour for about 10 miles. It uses a GPS signal and nine cameras to navigate (确定方向). Instead of a person arriving at their door, customers could find themselves receiving a notification on their phone that says a robot is on its way and a code to unlock the automated courier. “Put the code in, the robot opens up, and there’s your food,” said David Buttress, chief manager of Just Eat.

The robot, which has so far been tested in Greenwich, Milton Keynes and Glastonbury, costs £ 1 to transport within 3 miles, compared with the £3 to £6 it costs for a human courier. To date 30 robots have driven nearly 5,000 miles without getting into an accident or finding themselves picked on by passers-by. They have driven in more than 40 cities around the world, including London and Tallinn, Estonia.

An initial worry was how the public would react to robots. But Martinson said the public has been calm when passing the delivery machine on the streets. “The most surprising reaction has been the lack of reaction,” said Martinson.

Another significant fear was that people would disrupt (扰乱) the robots, or try to steal them and their contents. To prevent this, the robot is fitted with nine cameras, two way audio, and movement sensors that send a warning if it is lifted off the ground. And it opens only with a passcode provided to the customer via a notification. “It’s much easier to shoplift than it is to steal a robot,” said Martinson.

1.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “courier” in Paragraph 2?

A.deliverer B.collector

C.provider D.guide

2.According to the text, the Starship robot ________.

A.opens up upon hearing the code

B.travels 10 miles per hour at most

C.finds its way by means of GPS and cameras

D.sends a message to the customer upon arrival

3.Which of the following is one of the worries about Starship robots?

A.Safety of the robot delivery.

B.Accuracy of the robot delivery

C.Peoples indifference to the robots.

D.People’s concern about public traffic.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A.Great Improvement of Just Eat

B.Global Trend of Food Companies

C.New Robots to Move on the road

D.Delivery Robots to Replace Takeaway Drivers

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.A

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇新闻报道。文章介绍了Starship Technologies公司研制的在伦敦街道递送食物的机器人，该递送食物的机器人有望替代外卖司机。

1.词义猜测题。根据第二段第三句中“Instead of a person arriving at their door, customers could find themselves receiving a notification on their phone that says a robot is on its way”可知，顾客们会发现他们收到的是手机上的一则通知而不是有人送货上门，通知上面说机器人已经在路上了。所以courier应该有“递送货物”的含义。A项deliverer正有“快递员”的意思，故A项正确。B项意为“收藏者”。 C项意为“提供者。D项意为“导游”，均不符合题意。故选A项。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段第二句“It uses a GPS signal and nine cameras to navigate”可知，the Starship robot使用GPS信号和九个照相机来进行导航，即the Starship robot可以通过GPS和照相机确定行进路线。故选C项。

3.细节理解题。根据题干可知关键词为worries，对应答案区域为第四段和第五段。根据第四段第一句“An initial worry was how the public would react to robots.”可知，公众对于机器人的反应是首要担心，但是根据第四段第二句话“But Martinson said the public has been calm when passing the delivery machine on the streets.”可知，这个首要担心并不存在，因为公众对此很淡定。根据第五段第一句“Another significant fear was that people would disrupt (扰乱) the robots, or try to steal them and their contents.”可知，另一个很重要的担心是人们会打扰或偷机器人及机器人送的东西，即担心机器人的安全。故选A项。

4.标题判断题。根据文章第一段第二句 “Europe’s biggest online takeaway food company Just Eat has partnered with Starship Technologies to deliver food with robots on the streets of London later this month.”可知，文章讨论的是Starship Technologies公司研制的在伦敦街道递送食物的机器人。下文详细说明了机器人的性能、花费和问题所在。即文章主要介绍了一种可以递送食物的机器人。因此D选项（递送食物的机器人即将替代外卖司机）符合文意，可以作为文章标题。“Just Eat公司的巨大改善”并不是文章想要主要表达的内容，故A错误；“食品公司的全球趋势”与文章内容无关，故B错误。文章想要表达的一个重点是机器人可以递送食物，而“在道路上移动的新机器人”此选项并没有包含此重点，故C错误。故选D项。