Robots seem to be getting more and more advanced, as these four examples clearly show.
Simon the Robot was developed by the Georgia Institute of
Technology. He's an upper-torso humanoid robot (上躯干机器人).
Simon the Robot can grasp and release objects, clean up a workspace and
interact with humans. In tests, Simon the Robot could tell whether
someone was paying attention to him.
Budgee was created by Five Elements Robotics. With two wheels and a
little basket, he can carry things for you while you are at the shops or in the
park. You can communicate with him by using an app on your phone, and
set basic commands such as the distance he has to walk behind you.
Budgee can hold up to 22 kilograms and fold up into a small package that
weighs just over 2 kilograms.
Paro is a baby seal (海豹) robot that was designed by
Takanori Shibata. He's used on patients in hospitals and nursing
homes. He can respond to sounds, learn a name and even show
emotions such as surprise, happiness and anger. And he's active
during the day and sleeps at night.
Rover was created by a team at Sydney University and has been
used to herd (放牧) cows. The prototype needs to be operated by a
human but in the future they're hoping to develop a fully_automated
version. As well as herding cows, Rover can also monitor animals that
are about to give birth, and gather data on soil. Which of these robots can help us carry things when shopping?
| A．Simon the Robot. | B．Budgee. |
| C．Paro. | D．Rover. |
What can Rover do to help people?
| A．Clean up a workspace. | B．Nurse patients. |
| C．Herd cows. | D．Show emotions. |
Which word has the same meaning as the underlined word “commands” ?
| A．orders | B．purposes |
| C．introductions | D．voices |
What is special about the robot designed by Takanori Shibata?
| A． He is active all day and all night. |
| B． He can talk with patients. |
| C． He looks like a baby. |
| D． He always works in hospitals. |
Where does this passage possibly come from?
| A．sports newspaper. | B．A science magazine. |
| C．A travel guidebook. | D．A shopping advertisement. |
Everyone should work hard more and succeed but it is not wise to get success at the cost of family and health.
There was once a hard-working father. He tried his best to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings attending classes, hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better-paid job. He hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to ①his family ①the best things that money could buy.
Whenever the family complained, he said that he was doing all this for them. But he often wished to spend more time with his family.
②The day came when the father was offered a good job. It paid quite well.
However, the family still did not get to see the father for most of the week. He went on working hard, hoping to get the position(职位) of manager.
The father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted(提升). Excitedly, he decided to hire a maid(女仆) so his wife did not have to do the housework any more. He also felt that their three-room house was no longer big enough. It would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the comfort of a large house. The father decided to further his studies.
As expected, the father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful house. He told his family that he had decided not to work so hard. From then on he was going to devote more time to his family.
The next day, the father did not wake up.
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Making sense of how the US shows humor
Living in a new country gives me many surprises. The first surprise was the way that the US people speak.
One day I saw someone was having a public speech in a square. I thought it would be a serious speech. But I soon found it became a kind of entertainment show.
The speaker told the audience to protect the environment with humorous words. Later he said some people’s behavior didn’t go with their words. He took the example of Taylor Swift’s song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
He said that since Swift doesn’t want to be with the boy any more, she doesn’t need to speak it aloud, she doesn’t need to sing unless she still keeps in touch with that guy. It sounds like she is a hypocrite.
Then he sang the song in a funny way. The audience laughed out loudly. I felt a little angry because Swift is my favourite star. I couldn’t understand why they laughed at Swift.
As time goes on, I find many US people make fun of others. But they don’t mean to hurt them. They do that to show closeness and humour. And people who are laughed at seldom get angry. Now I understand the speaker at the square. Now I’ve got used to the way the US people speak.
It’s easy to find culture shock when you’re in a new place. But everyone should learn to understand different cultures and customs.
| A．teaching people how to give a speech |
| B．calling on people to protect the environment |
| C．giving a singing show in public |
| D．criticizing the US government |
| A．会唱歌的人 | B．真诚的人 | C．虚伪的人 | D．爱护环境的人 |
| A．many US people like to laugh at others |
| B．many US people are friendly and humorous |
| C．the US people get angry at others easily |
| D．the writer doesn’t like the way the US people speak |
| A．The writer went to America and protect the environment. |
| B．Americans show humour in a different way from China. |
| C．It’s easy to find culture shock when you are in a new place. |
| D．Tailor Swift is an American famous singer. |
| A．Differences between the Chinese and the US people. |
| B．In what way the US people speak in public. |
| C．How to get used to life in the US. |
| D．A Chinese girl’s culture shock experience in the US. |
We all have our own ways of sharing our life experiences with others.
Photographers use cameras, artists use brushes, musicians use songs and writers use stories.
Spencer Johnson’s story Who Moved My Cheese? shows changes exist in(存在于)our life. Life changes and so we do. We must change ourselves to face the changing environment, or we will fail.
Just look at the cycle(循环)of the seasons. Trees bud(发芽)in spring and in summer their leaves turn green. In autumn, their leaves start to fall onto the ground. When winter comes, there are no leaves on trees. Next spring the cycle begins again. Since we know there are cycles in nature, we can prepare for them. We know it is colder in winter and hotter in summer, so we can dress properly.
Since we accept the cycles of nature, we should also accept the changes in our life.
We can prepare ourselves for changes by becoming more flexible(灵活的). We can regard the changes in our life as chances. As we keep changing ourselves, we can keep up with the changes in our life.
| A．Stories. | B．Newspapers. | C．Basketballs. | D．Pianos. |
| A．changes exist in our life |
| B．we should move others’ things |
| C．we should use books to share our life experiences |
| D．there are difficulties in our life |
| A．we should wear warm clothes in winter |
| B．we should accept the changes in our life |
| C．we should prepare for the weather |
| D．leaves turn yellow in autumn |
| A．I have no chance to pass the test. |
| B．Exams are hard for me. |
| C．I have bad luck. |
| D．It’s good for me because I know there are more to learn. |
| A．Weather changes in different seasons. |
| B．Who Moved My Cheese? is a good book. |
| C．We should change ourselves when life changes. |
| D．We should not lose heart when we meet with difficulties. |
Many people say that they are working too many hours. They don’t have enough time to relax or to stay with their family.
Work hours are different from one country to another. In France, people spend about 1,646 hours a year at work. In Japan, however, people work about 2,159 hours a year. That means a Japanese worker works 513 more hours a year than a French worker.
Why do people work so many hours? Some people work extra hours because they want to make more money. However, many companies don’t pay overtime. Their workers don’t get more pay for more work. Some people think it’s their duty to work more hours. Some are afraid of losing their jobs if they don’t work more hours.
Many people say that their vacations are too short. In France, people get five weeks of paid vacation a year. In Germany, they get four to six weeks, and in the United States, two weeks. One study shows fewer than half of workers used all their vacation days. In Great Britain, there is a saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” If that is true, there must be a lot of dull people in the world.
| A．513 | B．1,646 | C．2,159 | D．3,805 |
| A．税费 | B．加班费 | C．学费 | D．冷饮费 |
| A．France | B．Germany | C．the United States | D．Great Britain |
| A．No companies offer vacations to their workers. |
| B．Many people say they have enough time to relax. |
| C．Not all companies pay their workers for more work. |
| D．More than half of workers use all their vacation days. |
| A．Many workers have to work long hours. |
| B．Many people have vacations long enough. |
| C．Work hours are the same around the world. |
| D．There are a lot of dull people in the world. |
Live Music---Late Night Jazz
Enjoy real American jazz from Herbie Davis, the famous trumpet(号手). He is known to play well into the early hours, so don’t want to get much sleep.
| PLACE: The Jazz Club DATES: 15---23 June PRICE: ￥100-150 TIME: 10 p.m. till late! TEL: 4668736 |
Scottish Dancing
Scottish dancing is nice and easy to learn. The wonderful dance from England will be given.
| PLACE: Jack Stein’s DATES: 10-20 May PRICE: ￥150 TIME: 7-10 p.m. TEL: 4021877 |
Shows---Anhui Museum
There are 12,000 pieces on show here. You can see the whole of Chinese history.
| PLACE: Anhui Museum DATES: 1Mar-30 Jun PRICE: ￥130 TIME: Mon-Fri 9a.m-5p.m. Saturday 9a.m.-9p.m. TEL: 4886888 |
Your pen friend is coming from Australia to your city for a holiday. You send him this E-mail to tell him something about the hotels.
| SUN HOTEL Dates Prices(a night) 1Oct-31Dec￥168 1Jan-31Mar￥148 1Apr-30Apr(closed) …… 1May-31May￥188 1Jun-30Sep￥208 |
ROSE HOTEL Prices(a night) ￥198 ￥178 …… ￥218 ￥248 |
TEL: 4686788 E-mail: Li Hong@163.com.
| A．4668736 | B．4021877 | C．4886888 | D．4686788 |
| A．3p.m. on Sunday | B．11:30a.m. from Monday to Friday |
| C．10a.m. on Saturday | D．4p.m. on Thursday |
| A．American Jazz | B．Scottish dancing | C．12,000 pieces on show | D．yourself all night |
| A．twelve | B．ten | C．eleven | D．nine |
| A．watch Scottish dancing | B．go to Anhui Museum |
| C．listen to Jazz | D．stay in Sun Hotel for a night |