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-aging 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 |
【改编】What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To attract people to visit the new kind of robot |
| B．To find the investment of the robot. |
| C．To persuade people to buy the robot. |
| D．To introduce a new kind of robot. |
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。
注意：1. 每空格1个单词。2.所有答案写在答题纸指定位置，否则不计分。
Searching for the truth
Collecting and writing news is like researching in history: the best information comes from those who were there at the time. So if' we want to study the history of China in the sixth century AD, we look at the writings of the people who lived then. They are called the primary sources because they tell us what it was like to live then. People at a much later date who write about the same events are called the secondary sources. For example, when we read the original writings of Jia Sixie on agriculture, we are reading a primary source; when we read about Jia Sixie in our textbook we are reading secondary source because the passage was written about him and his ideas many years after he died.
When we make news, we use primary and secondary sources. We can see this most clearly in TV programmes. As we watch the news on TV, the person presenting the programme in the studio is the secondary source( because he tells us about the news) and the reporter in Iraq or Washington is the primary source (because he is telling us about what is actually happening there). Without these reporters acting as primary sources, you would never find out what really happened in a war, earthquake, sports meeting, concert or festival. These reporters explain what is happening, so we have a clearer idea of what is going on there. They often take photographers with them who act as primary source by giving pictures of events.
In a newspaper, the position is different because these two roles are often combined. This means a reporter who investigates a story may be the same person who writes it. If this happens, the reporter is both the primary and the secondary source. But the photographer who works with him/her is still a primary source.
One of the reasons that it is important to separate primary and secondary sources is that they help us to decide what is a fact and what is an opinion. A fact is something that everybody agrees has happened. An opinion is somebody's idea of what happened. So facts and opinions are often mixed in any report, whether in a newspaper or on TV.
What have you learnt from the above passage?
| Primary Source |
Primary sources are the writing of' the people who lived at (1)________time and offer an inside view of a particular event. |
| Secondary source |
Secondary sources are the writings of the people who write about the same events at a much later date with explanation and analysis (2)_________ on primary sources. |
| News on TV |
The TV (3)__________ in the studio is the secondary source while the reporter on the (4) ____________ is the primary source. |
| News in a newspaper |
A newspaper reporter can be both primary and secondary source if he collects the information and then (5) ___________ the news. But the photographer(6) _________ with the reporter is always a primary source. |
| Fact |
A fact is something that everybody agrees has happened. In other (7)____________, it is something that is (8) ___________. |
| Opinion |
An opinion is somebody's idea of what (9)___________ on. |
| Conclusion |
Primary and secondary sources are both important for (10)_______ the truth. |
Kuss Middle School serves students in Fall River, Mass. , a former mill town that has struggled economically for decades. Students at Kuss have struggled, too, usually falling short of making the academic progress required under the No Child Left Behind law.
Then, last year, the school experimented with extending the school day. Teachers got paid at a higher hourly rate.
Students weren't thrilled at first with leaving school at 4:15 p.m. instead of at 2:20 p.m. But the added hours gave them more time for physical education and let them select special interest classes. By the end of the year, student scores had risen by enough to enable Kuss to make the progress required under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The only surprise is that more districts haven't lengthened school schedules set decades ago to accommodate (适应) a farm economy rather the information economy of today.
| School days The USA ranks 36th of 40 industrialized nations in average weekly instructional time. Selected countries: 1) Thailand--30.5 hours 2) Korea--30.3 hours 7) China--26.5 hours 14) France--24.6 hours 15 ) UK--24.6 hours 16) Mexico--24.2 hours 23 ) Japan--23.8 hours 26)Canada--23.6 hours 36)USA--22.2 hours 40)Brazil--19 hours |
New research suggests the time is ready for a change:
Matched against 39 other developed countries, the United States is near the bottom in the rankings of average weekly instructional time in school. Measured over 12 years, students in the top-scoring countries spend the equivalent of a full extra year in school.
US students perform poorly on math and science tests compared to their international peers, according to a US Education Department comparison released earlier this month. In math, American 15-year-old scored near the bottom among the study's 30 developed countries.
Most countries that boost the number of minutes spent on math instruction find pay offs in improved math scores, according to a study released this month by the Brookings Institution. Small increases in the school day are more effective than a longer school year, the report concluded.
The most encouraging news about the benefits of extending the school day comes from Massachusetts, where an experiment with 10 schools, including Kuss, appears to be working. Those 10 schools lengthened their instructional days by 25% and boosted their state scores in math, English and science at all grades.
Perhaps the concept won't work everywhere. Certainly, it won't instantly be popular. But it's obvious that a problem exists or that adding class time seems to help.What is the main idea of the above passage?
| A．Experiments with extended school hours produce academic gains. |
| B．Kuss Middle School sets a good example for US education. |
| C．Academic progress has achieved under the No Child Left Behind law. |
| D．Information age calls for more instructional lime at all schools. |
A longer school day is suggested for the following reasons except that _________.
| A．students from many developed countries spend more time at school |
| B．American students do a bad job at science subjects |
| C．teachers are paid at a higher rate with time added |
| D．a longer school day works better than a longer school year |
Which statement is true of Kuss Middle School?
| A．Kuss Middle School lies in where a farm economy is changing to an information one. |
| B．Kuss Middle school has joined the federal "No Child Left Behind" progrann |
| C．Neither teachers nor students are happy with the longer school day. |
| D．Adding class time functions at Kuss Middle School. |
The writer has expressed ____________.
| A．a positive attitude towards adding school time |
| B．a negative attitude towards adding school time |
| C．a changing attitude towards adding school time |
| D．a right attitude towards adding school time |
Honesty may well be the policy, but it often deserts us when no one is watching, psychologists report today. Experiments with an honesty box to collect payments for hot drinks show that people are better at paying up when under the gaze(注视) of a pair of eyes. The surprise was that the eyes were not real, but photographed.
Researchers at Newcastle University set up the experiment in secret. They attached a poster to a cupboard of mugs above an-honesty box alongside a kettle ,with tea, coffee and milk. Over 10 weeks, they alternated each week between images of eyes and pictures of flowers.
Dr. Bateson, a behavioral biologist and leader of the study, said that even though the eyes were not real they still seemed to make people behave more honestly. They effect may arise from behavioral characteristics that developed as early humans formed social groups that increased their chances of survival. Individuals had to co-operate for the good of the group, rather than act selfishly.
"If nobody is watching us, it is in our interests to behave selfishly. But when we think we're being watched,we should behave better, so people see us as co-operative and behave the same way towards us, "Dr. Bateson said.
"We thought we'd get a slight effect with eyes, but it was quite striking how much difference they made. Even at a subconscious(潜意识的) level, it seems people respond to eyes, and that might be because eyes send a strong biological signal we have evolved(进化) to respond to."
The finding, which researchers believe sheds light on our evolutionary past, could be turned to practical use. The psychologists say images of eyes could promote ticket sales on public transport and improve monitor systems to prevent antisocial behavior.This passage is mainly about _______________.
| A．the policy of honesty |
| B．an honesty box to collect money |
| C．evolution on honesty |
| D．an experiment on honesty |
The reason for doing the experiment secretly is that the researchers _____________.
| A．wanted to get a comparatively more exact result |
| B．had known they wanted to do something illegally |
| C．meant to get the co-operation of their colleagues |
| D．intended to sell the hot drinks at a higher price |
People behave honestly under watchful gaze of eyes because _____________.
| A．they want to leave a good impression |
| B．they fear to be laughed at by others |
| C．they've got the nature through evolution |
| D．they take the photo for a real pair of eyes |
The underlined phrase" sheds light on" in the last paragraph means _____.
| A．causes somebody to become cheerful |
| B．makes something easier to understand |
| C．comes upon something by accident |
| D．brings something into the broad daylight |
You can be proud of yourselves, even if you can only make one or two of these green changes. The goal here is to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which are closely associated to the big problem of global-warming.
| Strategy 1: Bring your own cup to Starbucks |
|
| You'll get a 10-cent discount, and it's one less paper cup to end up in a dustbin. |
The store won't create more waste when they throw away a cup. |
| Strategy 2: Turn off your computer |
|
| When in standby mode, your PC is still using energy. |
Turning off a monitor for 40 hours a week may only save $ 5 a month, but it reduces CO2 by 750 pounds. |
| Strategy 3: Reuse plastic bags |
|
| Instead of throwing away 100 billion plastic bags a year, try and get a second, third, or tenth use out of them. Better yet, next time you shop, try a reusable bag. |
You're reducing pollution. The amount of oil it would take to make just 14 plastic bags would run your car for one mile. |
| Strategy 4: Use recycled paper in the bathroom |
|
| Most of the toilet paper we use is made from trees found in forests previously untouched by humans. |
If every household replaced one roll of toilet paper with a recycled one,424,000trees would still be standing. Look for eco paper towels too. |
| Strategy 5: Buy energy-efficient appliances(电器) |
|
| Replace the old fridge with an Energy Star appliance and you'll use 15 percent less energy. It might be a little expensive to buy, but you'll save money on your electricity bills and help the environment. |
If we all used one Energy Star appliance at home, it would be like planting 1.7 million acres of new trees. |
| Strategy 6: Plant a tree |
|
| Adding green to your garden is beautiful and earth-pleasing. |
Just one tree will help make cleaner air and save the environment from 5, 000 pounds of hot carbon dioxide each year. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Strategies to Save Money |
| B．Ways to be Earth-Friendly |
| C．Strategies to End Global-Warming |
| D．Ways to Limit Carbon Dioxide |
According to the writer, what will happen if our PC is switched off when not in use?
| A．It will help to save a large amount of money. |
| B．It will help to reduce a great deal of CO2. |
| C．It will save the amount of oil that runs your car for a mile. |
| D．It will be like planting 1.7 million acres of new trees. |
Which strategies suggest recycling or reuse of things?
| A．Strategies 1 & 3. | B．Strategies 2 & 5. |
| C．Strategies 3 & 6. | D．Strategies 4 & 5. |
What benefits do these strategies have in common?
| A．They all help reduce the use of energy like electricity. |
| B．They all cut down the amount of the use of paper. |
| C．They all result in producing less greenhouse gases. |
| D．They all aid to preserve our trees and forest. |
Trying to leave work at the office is proving to be a challenge for many British workers，with research showing that heavy workloads，conflicts and bosses all make an appearance in dreams．
Work-related issues are the number one topic featuring in dreams，with colleagues invading shut．eye time more than celebrities．More than 20 per cent surveyed admitted that they regularly dream about their boss．One in three dreams about work when they are stressed in their job and a quarter stated that they dream about a colleague if there was a conflict with them earlier that day．
Of the 2,000 people surveyed，20 per cent dreamed more if they were under pressure or stressed．The research found that the average person dreams most nights，with only 12 per cent saying they never dream．However, dreams often leave people confused，with 52 per cent saying they do not make sense and 60 per cent wishing they could know what they mean．
Commenting on the survey carried out by One Poll for Premier Inn hotels，dreams expert Davina MacKail said：“Whether we are asleep or awake．a problem with a colleague or stress at work can really affect us．More than half of the nation stated that their dreams don’t make sense so I have worked with Premier Inn to make a Dream Dictionary to help dreamers to understand why they dream what they do and what those dreams mean．”
A spokesman for Premier Inn said：“It is really important to try to unwind after a hard day at work but that is easier said than done if something is playing on your mind．”What Can we infer about the British workers?
| A．Most of their dreams are work-related． |
| B．Some of them dream about work every night． |
| C．They dream of their colleagues more than their boss． |
| D．Their dreams involve work more than anything else． |
The survey shows that most people．
| A．dream more under pressure |
| B．never dream at all |
| C．don’t understand their dreams |
| D．interpret their dreams well |
Davina MacKail expects people to use his Dream Dictionary when they．
| A．have had a dream |
| B．want to prevent dreams |
| C．feel stressed and need relaxation |
| D．do research about dreams |
According to the spokesman for Premier Inn，it’s hard to relax if we．
| A．dream about work while asleep |
| B．keep thinking hard |
| C．have sounds ringing in the mind |
| D．sleep in a noisy environment |