Question

    In the food industry, it seems, the robot revolution is well underway, with machines mastering skilled tasks that have always been performed by people.

In Boston, robots have displaced _______ and are creating complex bowls of food for customers. In Prague, machines are _______ waiters and servers using an app. In Denver, they’re taking orders. Robots are even making the perfect loaf of bread these days, taking charge of a(n) _______that has remained in human hands for thousands of years.

Now comes Briggo, a company that has created a fully _______, robotic coffee machine that can push out 100 cups of coffee in a single hour -- equaling the _______ of three to four baristas（咖啡师）, according to the company.

Using a mix of Latin American beans, the machine creates _______ cups of coffee that can be ordered via an app, giving customers control over ingredients, flavorings and temperature without any human interaction. The company says no other business in the world has applied as much _______ to “specialty coffee.”

Removing the _______ element from ordering a cup of coffee is one of the company’s primary selling points. “No more lines, no more counter confusion, no more misspelled names,” Briggo’s website says.

Kevin Nater, Briggo’s president and chief executive, said the machine would best fit locations in which _______ is highly valued, like airports and office buildings, where several of the machines currently operate.

“Imagine you’re coming into the security line at the airport, your flight is coming up, and you know that if you want a coffee you’re going to stand in a long line,” said Nater. “From the security line, you can simply order your cup of coffee and pick it up at the coffee haus and make it to your flight ________.”

“I’ve never found anyone who wants to stand in line a long time,” he added. “We’ve just changed the ________.”

But Olive Geib, a 24-year-old barista in Annapolis, Md., remained ________. As coffee is being made by a barista, he said, subtly（细微地）adjusting the ratio of water to coffee bean as flavor develops through refined taste tests, is a crucial part of the process. “All the numbers and data in the world can’t actually tell you how the coffee ________,” Geib said.

Asked whether he was worried about losing his job to a robot, Gerb said, “absolutely not.” He said there’s a ________ group of people who will always seek out the slower, interactive experiences at coffee shops.

“A lot of customers really appreciate watching a barista carefully pouring water or steaming the milk,” he added. “This ________ aspect, the atmosphere and the interaction with the barista, is a big part of the experience of drinking coffee.”

1.A.waitresses B.baristas C.cooks D.machines

2.A.replacing B.recruiting C.restoring D.resisting

3.A.room B.art C.school D.oven

4.A.typical B.inaccessible C.challenging D.automatic

5.A.quality B.output C.time D.cost

6.A.sugar-free B.fruit-flavored C.customized D.professional

7.A.inspiration B.technology C.correction D.strictness

8.A.safety B.stress C.human D.design

9.A.service B.preparation C.reliability D.convenience

10.A.on time B.for real C.in advance D.without notice

11.A.game B.price C.fact D.myth

12.A.nervous B.sad C.annoyed D.doubtful

13.A.looks B.changes C.sells D.tastes

14.A.distinguished B.difficult C.loyal D.lazy

15.A.cultural B.social C.skillful D.mindful

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.D

5.B

6.C

7.B

8.C

9.D

10.A

11.A

12.D

13.D

14.C

15.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。在食品行业，机器人革命似乎正在顺利进行，机器掌握了一直由人类完成的技术任务。文章以Briggo公司推出的一款全自动机器人咖啡机说明了这一点。

1.考查名词词义辨析。句意：在波士顿，机器人取代了厨师，正在为顾客制作复杂的食物。A. waitresses女服务生；B. baristas咖啡师，咖啡吧员；C. cooks厨师；D. machines机器。根据常识可知，食物通常由“厨师”制作。故选C。

2.考查动词词义辨析。句意：在布拉格，机器正在用一种应用程序取代服务员。A. replacing取代；B. recruiting征募，聘用；C. restoring恢复，修复；D. resisting抵抗，抵制。根据第一段中的“with machines mastering skilled tasks that have always been performed by people”可知，机器“取代”了服务员。故选A。

3.考查名词词义辨析。句意：如今，机器人甚至能做出完美的面包，掌控了一项人类掌握了几千年的艺术。A. room房间；B. art艺术，技术；C. school学校；D. oven烤炉，烤箱。制作面包是一项烹饪“技术”。故选B。

4.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：现在，Briggo公司推出了一款全自动机器人咖啡机，该公司称，这款咖啡机可以在一小时内产出100杯咖啡，相当于三到四名咖啡师的产出。A. typical典型的；B. inaccessible难到达的，难接近的；C. challenging有挑战性的；D. automatic自动的，无意识的。根据后面的“robotic coffee machine”可知，这台机器是“全自动的”。故选D。

5.考查名词词义辨析。句意：现在，Briggo公司推出了一款全自动机器人咖啡机，该公司称，这款咖啡机可以在一小时内产出100杯咖啡，相当于三到四名咖啡师的产出。

A. quality质量；B. output输出量，产量；C. time时间；D. cost费用，代价。一小时产出100杯咖啡，这是三到四名咖啡师的“产量”。故选B。

6.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：使用拉丁美洲咖啡豆的混合物，这台机器可以制作出定制的咖啡，顾客可以通过应用程序来订购，这样顾客就可以在不需要人工干预的情况下控制原料、调味料和温度。A. sugar-free无糖的；B. fruit-flavored果味的；C. customized定制的，用户化的；D. professional专业的，职业的。根据后面的“that can be ordered via an app, giving customers control over ingredients, flavorings and temperature without any human interaction”可知，顾客可以通过应用程序来订购，顾客可以在不需要人工干预的情况下控制原料、调味料和温度。由此推知，这台机器制作出的咖啡是顾客“定制的”。故选C。

7.考查名词词义辨析。句意：该公司表示，世界上没有其他公司在“特色咖啡”上使用了如此多的技术。A. inspiration鼓舞，灵感；B. technology技术；C. correction纠正；D. strictness严格。该段前部分提到，这台机器可以制作出定制咖啡，这属于一种“技术”。 世界上没有其他公司在“特色咖啡”上使用了如此多的技术。故选B。

8.考查名词词义辨析。句意：该公司的主要卖点之一是在点咖啡时去掉人为因素。A. safety安全；B. stress压力；C. human人；D. design设计。下一句中提到的“lines(排队)；counter confusion(计数器混乱)；misspelled names(拼错的名字)”，这些都属于“人为因素”。 该公司的主要卖点之一是在点咖啡时去掉人为因素。故选C。

9.考查名词词义辨析。句意：Briggo总裁兼首席执行官凯文•纳特(Kevin Nater)表示，这种机器最适合那些高度重视便利性的场所，比如机场和办公楼，目前有几台机器在这些地方运行。A. service服务；B. preparation准备；C. reliability可靠性；D. convenience方便，便利。根据常识可知，机场和办公楼非常重视的是“便利”，所以这种产量极高的咖啡机非常适合这些地方。故选D。

10.考查短语辨析。句意：在安检线上，你可以点一杯咖啡，然后在咖啡屋取走，然后准时到达你的航班。A. on time按时；B. for real认真的，严肃的；C. in advance提前；D. without notice不预先通知地。根据上一段的介绍可知，这种咖啡机非常便利，所以，你在安检的时候点一杯咖啡，很快就可以从咖啡屋取走，避免了排队等候，这样，你就可以“准时”到达航班。故选A。

11.考查名词词义辨析。句意：他补充说：“我从没发现有人愿意长时间排队。”“我们只是改变了行业规则。”A. game游戏，行业，行当；B. price价格；C. fact事实；D. myth神话。这种咖啡机的出现避免了顾客排队等候，从而改变了这个行业。故选A。

12.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：但奥利文·基卜，一位24岁的安纳波利斯咖啡师，仍然心存疑虑。A. nervous紧张的；B. sad伤心的；C. annoyed恼怒的，生气的；D. doubtful怀疑的。根据该段剩余部分内容可知，咖啡是由咖啡师制作的，在制作过程中，通过精细的口味测试，可以巧妙地调整水与咖啡豆的比例，从而形成咖啡的味道，这是一个至关重要的环节。世界上所有的数字和数据都不能告诉你咖啡的味道。由此推知，奥利文·基卜对于这种咖啡机制作的咖啡的味道心存“疑虑”。故选D。

13.考查动词词义辨析。句意：世界上所有的数字和数据都不能告诉你咖啡的味道。A. looks看；B. changes改变；C. sells卖；D. tastes尝。根据上一句“As coffee is being made by a barista, he said, subtly（细微地）adjusting the ratio of water to coffee bean as flavor develops through refined taste tests, is a crucial part of the process”可知，奥利文·基卜认为，咖啡是由咖啡师制作的，在制作过程中，通过精细的口味测试，可以巧妙地调整水与咖啡豆的比例，从而形成咖啡的味道，这是一个至关重要的环节。由此推知，世界上所有的数字和数据都不能告诉你咖啡的味道。即：世界上所有的数字和数据都不能告诉你咖啡“尝起来怎么样”。故选D。

14.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：他说，有一群忠实的人，他们总是会在咖啡店寻求慢节奏的互动体验。A. distinguished卓越的，杰出的；B. difficult困难的；C. loyal忠诚的；D. lazy懒惰的。根据后面的“who will always seek out the slower, interactive experiences at coffee shops”可知，这些人总是会在咖啡店寻求慢节奏的互动体验，那么，这些人将会是咖啡店的“忠实的”顾客。故选C。

15.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：社交方面，氛围和与咖啡师的互动，是喝咖啡体验的重要组成部分。A. cultural文化的；B. social社会的，社交的；C. skillful熟练的；D. mindful留意的，留心的。根据前一句“A lot of customers really appreciate watching a barista carefully pouring water or steaming the milk”可知，在咖啡店喝咖啡，顾客们会在一定程度参与“社交”，和周围的顾客或咖啡师等互动交流。故选B。