Robots that can chat，find misplaced glasses，draw aeroplanes and play with your children are attracting thousands of visitors during an expo in Tokyo as Japan adapts to changes in society．
Robots，such as the sound．sensitive Chapit，answer simple questions and even joke with people to help them fight loneliness and stay alert in old age．
Japan has one of the world’s fastest-ageing societies and the government predicts that by 2050 the proportion of people over 65 will reach 40 percent．”Many older people in Japan live alone and have no one to talk to，”said Kazuya Kitamura representative of the expo organizer．“Communication robots accompany people and don’t mind listening to the same stories over and over again．”
Matsumoto’s“Personal Mobility Robot，”equipped with four cameras and a sensor to recognize the user's centre of gravity, is designed to help elderly move around without pressing buttons．using joysticks(操纵杆)or rotating wheels as in traditional wheelchairs．
The robot can also help find misplaced glasses by identifying them with a sensor．
Other robots，such as the award-winning“DiGRO”can support busy parents who have little time to play with their children．The robot can use the Internet to find a simple image and then draw pictures，keeping children company while parents work．
While Chapit，a relatively simple robot，managed to attract a corporate partner many researchers，such as Kiyoshi Matsumoto，a professor at the University of Tokyo，struggle to attract sponsors for more expensive projects．
“We have developed a robot that can assist many people，but we still haven’t found a sponsor,”said Matsumoto，who added that the cost of the machine，if mass-produced，would be comparable to that of a car．”In the current economic environment there are few companies willing to invest in such a costly project，”he said．It can be inferred from the text that_______．
| A．many children lack love from parents |
| B．robots helpful to the old will be in great demand |
| C．robots are the most useful to children |
| D．robots do better than people in healthcare |
It is difficult to find sponsors for robots because______.
| A．Japan is suffering economy depression |
| B．the robots are of poor design |
| C．the production of robots costs a lot |
| D．the future market is worrying |
What is the author’s attitude towards the robots referred to?
| A．Unsatisfied． | B．Doubtful． |
| C．Favorable． | D．Regretful． |
Some American high schools are for students with special interests, like science or the arts. New York City even has a program for those interested in the food service industry, called Food and Finance High School.
New York also has what are called international high schools, or internationals, for immigrant students. They must be new learners of English who have been in the United States less than four years. The first school opened in nineteen eighty-five. The city will begin the new term next month with ten.
New York works with a nonprofit organization, the Internationals Network for Public Schools. Support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has helped the network expand. The network says the graduation rate was seventy percent last year in the four New York schools open long enough to have graduating classes. That, compared with twenty-three percent for English language learners in all of the city schools.
Over all, New York officials recently reported that the city’s four-year graduation rate, reached fifty-two percent last year. At the same time, they reported that the city’s dropout rate fell below fifteen percent. The Internationals Network says its schools have an average dropout rate of just five percent.
Claire Sylvan is the executive director of the group. She says students drop out mainly because their families need them to work or because parents arrange marriages for girls.
The Internationals Network mainly helps find teachers and trains them in the teaching method of the internationals. Claire Sylvan says the teaching approach is to have students use their different strengths to help each other. They work in small groups, but she says they are not grouped by ability. She says the students discuss issues, then produce a product like a paper, a play, a poster or a report. They learn English as they work.The international high school in New York is __________
| A．for immigrant students with special interests |
| B．for new immigrant students who have been living in New York less than four years |
| C．for new learners of foreign language from around the world |
| D．for new young learners of English language living in the US less than four years |
The international high schools in New York _______
| A．have been opened for less than 20 years and set a good example |
| B．can bring great profit for the Internationals Network for Public Schools |
| C．will expand from having one school to having ten |
| D．have given great support to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
Which of the following shows the graduation rate of the schools of the International Networks last year in the four New York schools?
One of the reasons why some students drop out of school is that _____.
| A．their parents can’t afford to pay for the education |
| B．they have to help their parents with the work |
| C．girls are forced to make money for their families |
| D．they have trouble in passing all kinds of exams |
Claire Sylvan would agree with all the following statements EXCEPT _____.
| A．with the help of the network, the students can find right teachers. |
| B．students use their different strengths to help each other |
| C．students can be divided into different classes according to their ability |
| D．students can discuss with each other and finish their work by themselves |
Most people I meet want to develop more harmonious and satisfying relationships. But we may not realize that this can only be achieved by partnering with two new and strange allies(盟友)：uncertainty and confusion. Most of us aren’t trained to like confusion or to admit we feel hesitant and uncertain. In our schools and organizations, we place value on sounding certain and confident.
As life continues to speed up, I believe our changing world requires less certainty and far more curiosity. I’m not suggesting we let go of our beliefs, but that we become curious about what someone else believes. As we become open to the disturbing differences, sometimes we discover that another’s way of interpreting the world is actually essential to our survival.
For me, the first step in becoming curious is to admit that I’m not succeeding in figuring things out by myself. If my solutions don’t work as well as I’d like, I take these as signs that it’s time to begin asking others what they think. I try to become a conscious listener, actively listening for differences.
There are many ways to listen for differences. Lately, I’ve been listening for what surprises me. This isn’t easy — I’m accustomed to sitting there, nodding my head as someone voices his opinions. But when I notice what surprises me, I’m able to see my own views more clearly, including my assumptions.
If you’re willing to be disturbed and confused, I recommend you begin a conversation with someone who thinks differently from you. Listen for what’s different and what surprises you. Try to stop the voice of judgement or opinion and just listen. At the end, notice whether you’ve learned something new.
We have the opportunity many times a day to be the one who listens to others and the one who is curious rather than certain. When we listen with fewer judgements, we always develop better relationships with each other. It’s not differences that divide us. It’s our judgements that do. Curiosity and good listening bring us back together.
As I consider partnering with confusion and uncertainty, I’m learning that we don’t have to agree with each other in order to think well together. There is no need for us to be joined at the head. We are already joined by our hearts.According to the passage, when communicating with others, most of us try to behave___.
| A．hesitantly and confusedly |
| B．honestly and harmoniously |
| C．responsibly and actively |
| D．confidently and convincingly |
According to the author, in order to cope with our changing world, we should ______.
| A．reconsider traditional beliefs before accepting them. |
| B．learn to interpret other people’s behavior. |
| C．become more curious about other people’s opinions. |
| D．try to develop more harmonious relationships with others. |
What does the passage advise you to do when you hear different ideas?
| A．We should let go of our beliefs. |
| B．We should admit that we are not succeeding in figuring out things. |
| C．We should be accustomed to sitting there and listening. |
| D．We should listen and find out the valuable points |
What do the underlined sentences in the passage imply?
| A．We should listen more and judge less. |
| B．We should make decisions based on sound judgement. |
| C．Differences among people separate them. |
| D．It is important to seek common ground and reserve differences. |
Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude to uncertainty and confusion?
| A．Favorable. | B．Resistant. | C．Curious. | D．Doubtful. |
When the evening is coming, my dear son and I are preparing for the tape time. “Shoes on,” I remind 9-year-old Sam. “Snakes are always waiting for the chance to kiss you. But with our feet stepped into my car, we are safe.” We take blankets and cups of milk and head out to the shelter that serves as our garage. This has become our bedtime habit.
I press “play.” A motherly voice fills the car. My mother and my aunt send us books on tape obtained from secondhand shops or rescued from the back of drawer. Maybe no one in England lays cassettes anymore, but I still love them.
Sam rests on his seat. He’s sitting in the front seat. I am listening to the cassette. But I am also thinking. In a month’s time, my boy will be 10. Next year, he will be 11. And so it will go on, until he leaves me and his father and his sister to live out his own stories---as it is only right and proper he should.
Will he think back to the times when he sat in the dark in a car in Africa, listening to tales of Wales in World War Ⅱ, the finest lady detective of Botswana, or a country he has visited, and tells me he finds them “very interesting”? Will he think , when he is grown-up, the poor mum always makes the ancient tape player which is out of date work?
I like to believe that he will recall those wonderful moments. By then, perhaps, my child will realize a deep love of sharing and understanding by listening to the old tape player. I hope Sam will think that these evenings we spend in the car are a story themselves. It is his own first chapter. In time my boy will ease off the hand brake and roll out into the world. Until then, I’ll keep pressing “play”.What habit did the writer and her son develop?
| A．To play outside in the evening |
| B．To listen to tapes in a car |
| C．To drive in the evening |
| D．To read books together at night |
How does the author think about Sam’s leaving the family in the future?
| A．Interesting. | B．Common and natural. |
| C．Absurd. | D．Unbearable. |
In paragraph4, the two questions can prove that ________.
| A．playing with children is fun for parents |
| B．listening to stories is a good way to enjoy life |
| C．children need to ask questions in reading |
| D．Listening experiences will be part of Sam’s life |
The best title for the passage may be “_______”.
| A．A gift of a story player |
| B．A childhood full of love and story |
| C．Deep love for the tape player |
| D．The future life of our children |
Thousands of hungry birds left the countryside of Britain in the bitter winter to find food and warmth in urban gardens. The move included species such as the redwing and the fieldfare, almost unknown outside rural areas
The hard situation of farmland birds has been revealed in the latest survey of bird populations from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds released today.
The redwing has an obvious stripe over the eye and a red flash on the flanks (侧翼), while the fieldfare has a grey head, a peach underbelly, and a distinctive dark band on the tail.
Graham Madge, the society's spokesman, says, “For many urban birdwatchers the sight of these striking species is a real treat. Many people have never imagined there being such an amazing chance.”
“Frozen ground prevented them from getting food in the countryside and they have been saved from starvation in towns，” he added.
He says the unusual sight this year somewhat tempered the frustration felt at the suffering of small garden birds such as robins and wrens. These birds are sensitive to cold and must eat almost continuously to stay alive. Data from people who took part in the society's Big Garden Birdwatch recorded sightings in 280，000 gardens during the last weekend of January, with the goldcrest down 75 percent, the longtailed tit down 27 percent, and the coal tit down 20 percent. The study highlighted the need for food to be left out for birds during winter.
The redwing and the fieldfare are relatively unknown outside the eastern part of the country. The research shows, however, that they moved to the other side of the country where the climate is generally mild in winter and that many for the first time have reached Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. The number of redwing sightings was up 185 percent, those of the fieldfare 73, and of the yellowhammer 68.
Another surprise garden “guest” this year was the blackcap. This robinsized, silvergrey bird was rare in Britain 50 years ago, but increasing numbers now arrive each year from Germany and Austria.How did the urban birdwatchers probably feel when seeing the hungry birds?
| A．Excited. | B．Worried. |
| C．Annoyed. | D．Motivated. |
Which of the following can best replace the underlined word “tempered”？
| A．Prevented. | B．Relieved. |
| C．Explained. | D．Increased. |
According to the passage, Cornwall is perhaps ________.
| A．a village in eastern Britain |
| B．a city in western Britain |
| C．a village in western Britain |
| D．a city in eastern Britain |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The tough living conditions of some British birds. |
| B．The various species of Britain's garden birds. |
| C．The changes of some bird's population in Britain. |
| D．Unusual bird visitors in Britain's urban gardens. |
Sports is not only physically challenging, but it can also mentally challenging. Criticism from coaches(trainers), parents, and other teammates, as well as pressure to win can create too much anxiety or stress for young athletes. Stress can be physical, emotional, or psychological, and research has showed that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.
The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can, for example, learn how to cooperate with others, make friends, and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware, at all times, that their feedback（反馈）to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parents’ and coaches’ criticisms to heart and find a flaw in themselves.
Coaches and parents should also be cautious(careful) that youth sport participation does not become work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today’s youth sport setting, young athletes may be worried more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game, many parents and coaches focus on the outcome and find fault with youngsters’ performances. Positive reinforcement should be provided in spite of the outcome. Research shows that positive reinforcement motivates and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again, criticism can create high levels of stress, which can lead to burnout.According to the passage sports is positive for young people in that_____.
| A．it can help them learn more about society |
| B．it teaches them how to set realistic goals for themselves |
| C．it enables them to find flaws in themselves |
| D．it can provide them with valuable experiences |
Many coaches and parents are in the habit of criticizing young athletes _________.
| A．without realizing criticism may destroy their self-confidence |
| B．in order to make them remember life’s lessons |
| C．believing that criticism is beneficial for their early development |
| D．so as to put more pressure on them |
According to the passage parents and coaches should_______.
| A．help children to win every game |
| B．pay more attention to letting children enjoy sports |
| C．enable children to understand the positive aspect of sports |
| D．train children to deal with stress |
The author’s purpose in writing the passage is_______.
| A．to persuade young children not to worry about criticism |
| B．to emphasize the importance of positive reinforcement to children |
| C．to discuss the skill of combing criticism with encouragement |
| D．to teach young athletes how to avoid burnout |