Question

    The world’s elderly population is increasing. The number of older people ---those age 60 years or older ---is expected to double by 2050 and is growing faster than all younger age groups across the globe. That comes with an increasing need for caregivers which can provide 24-hour care, not only at hospitals or nursing homes, but also at private homes.

Already, caregiving robots are programmed to ask questions a nurse would ask and can keep an eye on patients for falls. These robotic assistants are expected to become increasingly marketable and reach 450,000 by 2045 because of the expected caregiver shortage in the USA.

“Unluckily, the hard structure of present caregiving robots prevents them from a safe human-robot interaction(互动), limiting their assistance to only social interaction and not physical interaction,” said Ramses Martinez, an assistant professor in Purdue’s College of Engineering . “After all, would you leave babies or old people in the hands of a robot?”

Recent advances in material science have enabled the production of soft robots with deformable (可变形的) bodies or the ability to reshape when touched , but today the complex design prevents the use of this technology at home .

However, Martinez and other researchers have developed a new design method which shows promise in enabling the production of soft robots using a 3D printer.

“The soft machines move like humans. Their ability to change their body structure and movement to adapt ( 适应 ) to a wide variety of environments will improve caregiving greatly,” says Martinez .

The researchers are looking for partners to test and bring their technology to market.

1.What does the underlined word “That” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A.The younger age group

B.The group of older people

C.The population across the globe

D.The growth of the elderly population

2.What is the disadvantage of the present caregiving robots?

A.They can’t provide safe physical interaction

B.They can’t communicate with patients

C.They can’t watch patients for falls

D.They can’t provide 24-hour care.

3.What do we know about Martinez’s new design method?

A.It requires a special kind of 3D printer.

B.It makes the production of soft robots simpler.

C.It has been put onto the market.

D.It is hard for users to master.

4.What is the text mainly about?

A.The robot industry in the future

B.Effects of population ageing

C.Robots for the elderly created with 3D printers

D.The development of caregiving robots

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。本文主要内容是随着全球老龄人口逐渐增加，对护理人员的需求也在增加，但护理人员短缺，机器人助手的市场需求量将会越来越大，但目前机器人助手的存在的硬结构阻碍了它们与人的安全互动的问题，有望被Martinez 等人提出3D打印机制作的机器人的方法所解决。

1.词义猜测题。根据第一段的The world’s elderly population is increasing.（世界老年人口正在增加。）和That comes with an increasing need for caregivers which can provide 24-hour care, not only at hospitals or nursing homes, but also at private homes.（与此同时，对护理人员的需求也在增加，他们不仅可以在医院或疗养院提供24小时护理，而且还可以在私人疗养院提供。）可推知，因人口老龄化与之而来的是医疗护理和疗养需要的增加，故此处的that指的是老年人口的增长，故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段的Unluckily, the hard structure of present caregiving robots prevents them from a safe human-robot interaction(互动)（不幸的是，目前的看护机器人的硬结构阻碍了它们与人的安全互动）可知，目前的看护机器人的缺点是他们无法提供安全的身体互动。故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据第五段的Martinez and other researchers have developed a new design method which shows promise in enabling the production of soft robots using a 3D printer.（Martinez和其他研究人员已经开发出一种新的设计方法，这种方法有望使使用3D打印机生产软机器人成为可能。）可知，Martinez的新设计方法使生产软机器人更简单。故选B。

4.主旨大意题。通读全文和文章中多次出现的关键词caregiving robots可知，本文主要内容是随着全球老龄人口逐渐增加，对护理人员的需求也在增加，但护理人员短缺，机器人助手的市场需求量将会越来越大，但目前机器人助手的存在的硬结构阻碍了它们与人的安全互动的问题，有望被Martinez 等人提出3D打印机制作的机器人的方法所解决。由此可知，C项（给老年人的3D打印机制作的机器人）可以概括本文内容，故选C。