The global population is living longer，and getting older，which presents new challenges. “The question becomes：who will take care of everyone? While people will always be the best caregivers for people，there just aren’t enough people. That’s where robotic technology can really make a difference,” says Professor Maja Mataric at the University of Southern California.
Her group is developing robots to work with stroke (中风) patients and elderly people. The research team has found that people react well to a robot gym instructor，and seem to get less frustrated with it than with instructions given on a computer screen. The robot can act as a perfect trainer，with infinite(极大的) patience.
“People say things like ‘I prefer this robot to my husband！Can I take it home?’” according to Professor Mataric. “In fact there’s a really important point here. As we create these care giving technologies，we’re helping not only the people that need the care，but also the people caring for them. We can give them a break，and help them avoid burnout.”
People are going to have to like，and importantly trust robots before they welcome them into their homes，and several groups around the world are working on making it easier to communicate with them.
Much of human communication takes place through body language. Gestures， eye contact , and concepts of personal space are all things that robots are being taught. In learning about how people interact(互动) with machines，researchers are also discovering new roles for robots in our lives. Robots can communicate with humans in ways that other technologies can not.
“If someone finds the robot to be more persuasive and more reliable，that’s going to affect how they interact with it,” says Dr Cynthia Breazeal, director of the Personal Robots Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “We can now start to think about fields where it’s the social interaction，which is the main means by which a robot helps someone.” Dr Breazeal says that means robots could be used in education，learning，and health care，where social support is important.Professor Maja Mataric mainly focused on robots’ function of ________.
| A．teaching | B．exploring |
| C．making things | D．giving care |
Why can robots be wonderful trainers in the gym?
| A．Because they are more clever. |
| B．Because they give correct instructions. |
| C．Because they cost less money. |
| D．Because they are more patient. |
The underlined word “burnout” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________”．
| A．feeling tired | B．feeling angry |
| C．getting hurt | D．becoming disappointed |
The scientists are presently working hard to help robots .
| A．to use less electricity | B．to communicate better |
| C．to react more quickly | D．to have more functions |
I vividly remember walking back to my house after collecting the afternoon mails. I saw a credit card statement and or bank statements. It was in that moment that I felt a deep tension.
I realized that even though I had married a man who I adored, I really didn’t have a clear sense of how he handled money and how the two of us were going to combine our different approaches to handing money in our marriage. I was more organized and detailed, but he was more of a laid---hack type. I knew that getting on the same financial page was a key factor in creating a successful marriage and financial future.
I asked my husband if he would be willing to set up a time each week to talk about our finances and develop a plan for getting rid of our credit card debt. My husband said he would be willing to do this. Admittedly, he was skeptical(怀疑)------but willing.
We came to refer to our weekly meetings as our Financial Dates. We didn’t really have a clue as to what we were doing. All we knew was that we needed to give our finances serious attention. Some Dates were filled with tense conversations. Other Dates were filled with laughter, joy and creativity. However, we kept showing up for our Dates and we never gave up. What started out as a means for survival became a powerful connecting thread in our relationship. Something shifted within us.
Instead of our finances becoming a source of divisive（不和的）tension that pulled us apart, they became the glue（粘着剂）that held us together as we became a unified team.
I still recall the day that we excitedly crossed off our last credit card payment on the chart we had created. We had finally arrived. We were free. We had been given wings to fly.
Now, whenever I feel huge stress I ask myself, “ How am I contributing to what is happening right now?” This gives me the great power to take action. Even though my husband and I don’t have any guarantee against future challenges, I am left with something deep within that is unshakable and that can never be taken away----the memory of our past successes and the power to integrate（整合）these lessons in my day—to—day life.Why did the author feel nervous when collecting the afternoon mails?
| A．She was not sure about her marriage. |
| B．She didn’t know how to handle money. |
| C．She could feel the pressure of the huge debt. |
| D．She was reminded of the quarrels in the family. |
Which word can replace the underlined word “laid—back” in the second paragraph?
| A．Relaxed | B．Doubtful | C．Cautious | D．Confident. |
What can we learn from the Financial Dates?
| A．They showed the couple clear direction at first. |
| B．They left the couple nothing but deep sadness. |
| C．They were once interrupted but quickly continued. |
| D．They strengthened the couple’s relationship at last. |
We can infer that when faced with stress the author will___________.
| A．try to change the situation |
| B．focus on what contributes to it |
| C．get power from the memory |
| D．feel free to do what she likes |
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TV Ears patented technology includes a revolutionary noise reduction ear tip, not used in any other commercially available headset. This tip reduces outside noise so that demanding customers. That’s why TV Ears has earned the trust and confidence of audiologists（听觉学家）nationwide as well as world—famous doctors.
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Risk Free Trial! TV Ears comes with a 30---day risk free trial.Special Offer----Now $ 59.95. If you’re not satisfied, return it. Money-back guarantee! Call now! 800-123-7832TV Ears helps you ___________.
| A．improve your sleeping quality. |
| B．listen to TV without disturbing others. |
| C．change TV channels without difficulty. |
| D．become interested in ballgame programs. |
What makes TV Ears different from other headsets?
| A．It can easily set TV on mute. |
| B．Its headset volume is adjustable. |
| C．It has a new noise reduction car tip. |
| D．It applies special wireless technology. |
This advertisement is made more believable by__________.
| A．using recommendations |
| B．offering reasons for this invention |
| C．providing statistics |
| D．showing the results of experiments |
I was on my way home by train. The train’s gentle rocking made me feel sleepy, despite the fact that I was standing with what felt like a building in the bag on my back. I turned slightly to reduce some of the pain in my shoulder and saw the door at the end of the ear.
An obviously homeless man walked through the door. He was dressed in a dirty heavy coat. He dragged a bag that looked thirty times as heavy as mine. He asked people for spare change in the polite, experienced voice of a person who had done this before. I glanced down as I did a quick cheek of my pockets, hoping for spare change to give him that wouldn’t leave me short for the rest of the week. I came up empty and lifted my head just as his path crossed mine. Shrugging apologetically, I told him I had no change, expecting him to move through the door next to me and continue going to the next cars.
However, he stood and stared at me, saying something quietly. Then I realized he was asking me to take him home. Suddenly money didn’t matter that much to this man who lived in poverty without even think of the proper words to say besides “I can’t , I’m sorry.” He asked me , “What’s wrong with my request?” The answer was on my lips before I knew it. I told him that I was not good enough for him.
It was after the man had left that I thought about the answer I had given him and wondered why it felt so right to say so. I realized that I should have requested love over money or food. The fact that he could appreciate something so simple and invisible in more than I could ever have expected of myself.When the author was sleepy and tired, he saw a homeless man on the train__________.
| A．looking for his long-lost friend |
| B．asking people for spare clothes |
| C．begging passengers for some money |
| D．talking about his painful experience |
Which of the following can best describe the author according to Paragraph 2?
| A．Self-centered | B．Kind-hearted |
| C．Hard-working | D．Easy-going |
To his surprise, the author found that the homeless man wanted________.
| A．neither food nor money | B．not money but love |
| C．neither money nor love | D．both shelter and protection |
What did the author learn from the man?
| A．No place is more comfortable than home. |
| B．Friendship can bring two strangers closer. |
| C．People should bravely follow their dreams. |
| D．Love is more precious than money or food.. |
Do women’s minds work the same as men’s? Absolutely not.At least, that is what most men are convinced of.Psychologists view the subject either as a matter or frustration or a joke.Now the biologists have moved into this minefield, and some of them have found that there are real differences between the brains of men and women.But being different, they point out hurriedly, is not the same as being better or worse.
There is, however, a definite structural variation between the male and female brain.The difference is in a part of the brain that is used in the most complex intellectual processes-the link between the two halves of the brain.
The two halves are linked by a trunkline of between 200 and 300 million nerves, the corpus callosum.Scientists have found quite recently that the corpus callosum in women is always larger and probably richer in nerve fibres than it is in men.This is the first time that a structural difference has been found between the brains of women and men and it must have some significance.The question is "What?", and, if this difference exists, are there others? Research shows that present-day women think differently and behave differently from men.Are some of these differences biological and inborn, a result of evolution? We tend to think that is the influence of society that produces these differences.But could we be wrong?
Research showed that these two halves of the brain had different functions, and that the corpus callosum enabled them to work together.For most people, the left half is used for word handing, analytical and logical activities; the right half works on pictures, patterns and forms.We need both halves working together.And the better the connections, the more harmoniously the two halves work.And, according to research findings, women have the better connections.
But it isn't all that easy to explain the actual differences between skills of men and women on this basis.In schools throughout the world girls tend to be better than boys at "language subjects" and boys better at maths and physics.If these differences correspond with the differences in the hemispheric trunkline, here is an unalterable distinction between the sexes.
We shan't know for a while, partly because we don't know of any precise relationship between abilities in school subject and the functioning of the two halves of the brain, and we cannot understand how the two halves interact via the corpus callosum.But this striking difference must have some effect and, because the difference is in the parts of the brain involved in intellect, we should be looking for differences in intellectual processing.Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
| A．Results of scientific research fail to support popular belief. |
| B．Brain differences point to superiority of one sex over the other. |
| C．Biologists are conducting research where psychologists have given up |
| D．The structural difference in the brain between the sexes has long been known. |
The corpus callosum functions in __________.
| A．forming the nerve fibers. |
| B．differing man from woman. |
| C．enabling the brain to work. |
| D．processing the most complex intellectuality. |
According to the passage it is commonly believed that brain differences are caused by ______
| A．social | B．psycological | C．physical | D．biological |
"these differences" in paragraph 5 refer to those in ________.
| A．school subjects |
| B．skills of men and women |
| C．the brain structure of men and women |
| D．activities carried out by the brain |
At the end of the passage the author proposes more work on ________.
| A．the brain structure as a whole |
| B．the functioning of part of the brain |
| C．the distinction between the sexes |
| D．the effects of the corpus callosum |
People around the world are superstitious about numbers; even those ancient Greeks believed that all numbers and their multiples had some mystical significance.
Those numbers between 1 and 13 were in particular to have a powerful influence over the affairs of men.
For example, it is commonly said that luck, good or bad, comes in threes; if an accident happens, two more of the same kind may be expected soon afterwards.The arrival of a letter will be followed by two others within a certain period.
Another belief involving the number three has it that it is unlucky to light three cigarettes from the one match.If this happens, the bad luck that goes with the deed falls upon the person whose cigarette was the last to be lit.The ill-omen linked to the lighting of three things from one match or candle goes back to at least the 17th century and probably earlier.It was believed that three candles alight at the same time would be sure to bring bad luck; one, two, or four, were permissible, but never just three.
Seven was another significant number, usually regarded as a bringer of good luck.The ancient astrologers believed that the universe was governed by seven planets; students of Shakespeare will recall that the life of man was divided into seven ages.Seven horseshoes nailed to a house will protect it from all evil.
Nine is usually thought of as a lucky number because it is the product of three times three.It was much used by the Anglo Saxons in their charms for healing.
Another belief was that great changes occurred every 7th and 9th of a man's life.Consequently, the age of 63 (the product of nine and seven) was thought to be a very perilous time for him.If he survived his 63rd year he might hope to live to a ripe old age.
Thirteen, as we well know, is regarded with great awe and fear.The common belief is that this derives from the fact that there were 13 people at Christ's Last Supper.This being the eve of his betrayal, it is not difficult to understand the significance given to the number by the early Christians.
In more modern times 13 is an especially unlucky number of a dinner party, for example.Hotels will avoid numbering a floor the 13th; the progression is from 12 to 14, and no room is given the number 13.Many home owners will use 12 1/2 instead of 13 as their house number.
Yet oddly enough, to be born on the 13th of the month is not regarded with any fear at all, which just shows how irrational we are in our superstitious beliefs.What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．If one good thing happens, two bad things will follow it. |
| B．If one bad thing happens, two good things will follow it. |
| C．If one good thing happens, two more good things will follow it. |
| D．Three good things and three bad things always come together. |
According to the passage, which of the following groups of numbers will certainly bring good luck to people?
| A．3 and 7 | B．7 and 9 | C．3 and 9 | D．3 and 13 |
What does the underlined word perilous in paragraphy 7 mean:
| A．dangerous | B．instable | C．unlucky | D．unhealthy |
The ill luck associated with 13 is supposed to have its origin in ________.
| A．legend |
| B．popular belief |
| C．religion |
| D．certain customs |
What is the author's attitude towards people's superstitious beliefs?
| A．His attitude is not clear. |
| B．He is strongly critical. |
| C．He is in favour of them. |
| D．He is mildly critical. |