Computers might not be clever enough to trick adults into thinking they are intelligent yet, but a new study, led by Javier' Movellan at the University of Califomia San Diego, shows that a giggling (咯咯笑的) robot is clever enough to get toddlers (初学走路者) to treat it as a peer (同龄人).
The researchers stationed a 2-foot-tall robot Called QRIO in a classroom of a dozen toddlers aged between 18 months and two years. QRIO stayed in the middle of the room using its sensors (传感器) to avoid bumping (碰撞) into the kids. It was programmed to giggle when the kids touched its head, to occasionally sit down, and to lie down when its batteries died.
"We expected that after a few hours, the magic was going to disappear," Movellan says. "That's what was found with earlier robots." But, in fact, the kids remained interested in the robot over several weeks, eventually communicating with QRIO in much the same way they did with other toddlers.
The researchers measured the relationship between the children and the robot in several ways. Firstly, as with other toddlers, they touched QRIO mostly on the arms and hands, rather than on the face or legs. For this age group, "the amount of touching is a good predictor of how you are doing as a social being," Movellan says. 
The children helped the robot up when it fell, and when QRIO's batteries ran out and it lay down, a toddler would come up and cover it with a blanket and say "night, night". However, when QRIO was programmed to spend all its time dancing, the kids quickly lost interest. When the robot went back to its old self, the kids treated it like a peer again.
"The study shows that current technology is very close to being able to produce robots able to develop a special relationship with toddlers," says Movellan. But, he adds, it is not clear yet whether robots can interest older children or adults in the same way.
1. What does the underlined word "stationed" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
A. Hid. B. Observed. C. Placed. D. Named.
2. At the beginning of the experiment, researchers .
A. feared that the robot would harm the toddlers
B. programmed the robot to move freely about the classroom
C. expected the robot to communicate with the toddlers
D. thought the toddlers' interest in the robot wouldn't last long
3. Kids aged between 18 months and two years behave
as social beings by.
A. giggling B: touching C. toddling D. dancing
4. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Giggling robot becomes one of the kids
B. Giggling robot used as a classroom assistant
C. Giggling robot makes kids more active in class
D. Giggling robot attracts more attention from kids
A woman and a man were involved in a car accident on a snowy cold Monday
morning. Both of their cars became totally damaged. But amazingly neither of them was hurt. God works in mysterious ways.
After they got out of their cars, the woman said, “So you are a man. That’s interesting. I’m a woman. Wow, just look at our cars ! There is nothing left, but we’re unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be friends and live together in peace for the rest of our days.”
Flattered, the man replied, “Oh yes, I agree with you completely. This must be a sign from God!”
The woman continued, “ and look at this, here is another miracle. My car is completely destroyed but this bottle of wine doesn’t break. Surely God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune.” Then she handed the bottle to the man.
The man nodded his head in agreement, opened it and drank half the bottle and then handed it back to the woman. The woman took the bottle and immediately put the cap on, and handed it back to the man.
The man asked, “Aren’t you having some?”
The woman replied, “No, I think I’ll just wait for the police
---”What is the result of the accident?
| A．The drivers were badly hurt. | B．The cars were completely destroyed |
| C．the police arrived and saved the drivers. | |
| D．the drivers became good friends |
The woman told the man to drink the wine to ________.
| A．thank God’s help | B．accept her apology |
| C．celebrate their survival | D．calm down and get relaxed |
Which of the following words can best describe the woman?
| A．tricky | B．friendly | C．generous | D．optimistic |
E
Having one of those days or weeks —— when everything seems to trouble you? Even if you do nothing about it, your bad mood will probably go away after some time. But with a little effort, you can forget it much faster —— often within a day or two.
Walk it off
Exercise is the most popular bad-mood buster（破坏者）. A person who’s in a bad mood has low energy and high tension. Taking a fast ten-minute walk, or doing some quick exercises can do wonders towards changing that bad mood.
Tune it out
Listening to your favorite music for a while can also make tension go away quickly, because music starts associations with past positive experiences we’ve had.
Give yourself a pep talk
Stop and listen to what’s on your mind. Bad moods are often started by too many negative thoughts. Write them all down on paper; the pessimistic (悲观的) messages you’ve been giving yourself and then give optimistic answers. (“I still don’t have a job. ‘vs’ I have two interviews next week.”)
Reduce your stress
Relaxation techniques are wonderful mood-lifters. These include deep breathing, stretching and visualizing (想象), all of which sound complicated but aren’t. One easy way to visualize: close your eyes and picture a favorite place, such as the beach. Another simple way to clear up worries is to make a to-do list. One reason for being in a bad mood is feeling you have no options (选择权). By taking control over certain areas, you realize you’re not helpless. You can make changes in your mood and life.
Avoid things that won't improve your mood
TV may not help much. You need to increase your energy level and stimulate something in your mind —— that the TV show “Neighbours” won’t do. And before you reach for that piece of cake and coffee, think about how mood and food are linked. Sugar and caffeine contribute to depressed moods. The better choice? Research shows that carbohydrates, such as potatoes and pasta, produce a calming effect on people who have a desire for them.
72. We learn from the passage that it might help rid us of a bad mood_______.
A. to do nothing about it B. to take a slow walk on the beach
C. to do some exercises with light music D. to talk it to neighbours
73. Why is it suggested that you close your eyes and picture the beach?
A. It is not complicated to do so.B. It is an area to be easily controlled.
C. It helps beat a bad mood. D. It brings us a new technique.
74. TV may not improve your mood because_________.
A. it sometimes shows what happens around you
B. it keeps you stay unmoved
C. it reminds you of eating and drinking
D. it produces a calming effect
75. This passage most probably appears in_______.
A. a book on physical exercises B. a doctor’s handbook
C. a notice about amusement D. a magazine on health
D
It is common to consider learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside the classroom, even from birth and people continue to learn throughout their lives.
Even before they enter school, young children learn to walk, to talk, and to use their hands to use toys, food, and other objects. They use all of their senses to learn about the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells in their environments. They learn how to communicate with their parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and other people important to their world. When they enter school, children learn basic academic subjects such as reading, writing, and mathematics. They also continue to learn a great deal outside the classroom. They learn which behaviors are likely to be rewarded and which are likely to be punished. They learn social skills for communicating with other children. After they finish school, people must learn to deal with many major changes that affect their lives, such as getting married, raising children, and finding and keeping a job.
Because learning continues throughout our lives and affects almost everything we do, the study of learning is important in many different fields. Teachers need to understand the best ways to educate children. Psychologists, social workers, criminologists, and other human service workers need to understand how certain experiences change people’s behaviors. Employers, politicians, and advertisers make use of the principles of learning to affect the behaviors of workers, voters, and consumers.
Learning is closely related to memory, which is the storage of information in the brain. Psychologists who study memory are interested in how the brain stores knowledge, where this storage takes place, and how the brain later outputs knowledge when we need it. In contrast, psychologists who study learning are more interested in behavior and how behavior changes as a result of a person’s experiences.
68. The underlined “siblings” in the second paragraph probably means_________.
A. teachers B. classmates C. doctors D. brothers or sisters
69. Which period of children’s life does they begin to know to behave well according to the passage?
A. After they go into society B. Before they enter school
C. When they are at school D. Before they are born
70. Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
A. As a matter of fact, learning begins with formal school education.
B. Teachers need to understand the best ways to educate their students.
C. People need to understand how certain experiences change their behaviors.
D. Employers should study the principles of learning to manage their workers well.
71. The author mainly tries to tell us________in the last paragraph.
A. learning is only related to memory and experiences
B. psychologists are interested in how the brain stores knowledge
C. psychologists are more interested in a person’s behavior
D. how the relationship between learning, brain and behavior works
C
Disposing (处理) of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it. As more and more people choose to live close together in cities, the waste disposal problem becomes increasingly difficult.
During the eighteenth century, it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dump site. Residents or trash haulers (垃圾拖运者) would transport household rubbish, rotted wood, and old possessions to the site. Periodically some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried. The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by. Factories, mills, and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of. Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted remains into the water. Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.
Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society. The first problem is space. Dumps, which are now called landfills, are most needed in heavily populated areas. Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose. Property is either too expensive or too close to residential neighborhoods. Long distance trash hauling has been a common practice, but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere, cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is nonexistent. Awareness (意识) of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers, ground water, land and air is a price people cannot longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste, however, continues to grow.
Recycling efforts have become common place, and many towns require their people to take part. Even the most efficient recycling programs, however, can hope to deal with only about 50 percent of a city’s reusable waste.
64. The most suitable title for this passage would be__________.
A. Places for Disposing Waste B. Waste Pollution Dangers
C. Ways of Getting Rid of Waste D. Waste Disposal Problem
65. During the 18th century, people disposed their waste in many ways EXCEPT________.
A. burying it B. recycling it C. burning it D. throwing it into rivers
66. What can be inferred from the third paragraph?
A. Farm areas will continue accepting waste from the city in modern society.
B. There is cheap land to bury waste in modern society.
C. It is difficult to find space to bury waste in modern society.
D. Ways to deal with waste in modern society stay the same.
67. The main purpose of writing this article is to _______.
A. draw people’s attention to waste management
B. warn people of the pollution dangers we are facing
C. call on people to take part in recycling programs
D. tell people a better way to get rid of the waste
B
Wild animals seem to have escaped the Indian Ocean tsunami (海啸), adding weight to the idea that they possess a “sixth sense” for disasters, experts said on Thursday. Sri Lanka wildlife officials have said the giant waves that killed over 24,000 people along the Indian Ocean Island’s coast seemingly missed wild beasts, with no dead animals found.
“No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit. I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening,” H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Department said on Wednesday.
The waves washed floodwaters up to 3 km (2 miles) inland at Yala National Park in the southeast, Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife reserve (自然保护区) and home to hundreds of wild elephants. “There has been a lot of evidence about dogs barking or birds migrating before volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. But it has not been proved,” said Matthew van Lierop, an animal behaviour specialist at Johannesburg Zoo. “There have been no specific studies because you can’t really test it in a lab or field setting,” he said. Other authorities agreed with this conclusion. “Wildlife seems to be able to pick up certain phenomenon, especially birds. There are many reports of birds detecting coming disasters,” said Clive Walker, who has written several books on African wildlife.
Animals certainly rely on the known senses such as smell or hearing to avoid danger such as predators(食肉动物). The idea of an animal’s “sixth sense” is a lasting one that the evidence on Sri Lanka’s damaged coast is likely to add to.
60. This passage is mainly about _____.
A. the damage that was caused in the Indian Ocean tsunami
B. why animals can save themselves from natural disasters
C. how to protect the wildlife when disaster happens
D. the different opinions about animals’ natural power
61. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. It has been proved that animals have a sixth sense.
B. Research has been made on the special movements of animals before disasters.
C. It’s generally considered that animals can sense the coming of disasters.
D. It can be tested that animals have the known sense to escape from the disasters.
62. What does the term “sixth sense” in the passage mean?
A. It is the natural ability of animals that can’t save them from danger.
B. It is the animal’s imagination in the brain.
C. It is some hidden power to say in advance that something will happen.
D. It is a kind of sense that is the same as smell or hearing.
63. Which section does the passage most probably appear in a newspaper?
A. Entertainment. B. Discovery. C. Future. D. Culture.