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 |
MOOCs, an acronym（缩写）for “massive open online courses,” mark an important, possibly revolutionary, development in education．These courses are online, free of charge, and open to anyone in the world who has a laptop and an Internet connection．Moreover, they are mainly offered by elite universities like Standford, Berkeley, Harvard and Columbia．
The courses, like normal college courses, are sequenced（按顺序排好）by difficulty, enabling students to progress from beginners to the advanced．The courses cover not only a broad range of technical subjects such as math and computer science, but also courses in the social sciences and the humanities （人文学科）．
Though MOOCs are not offered for credit and degree, many students enroll in the courses for real skills or knowledge which they can put to some practical use．Some students even form online study groups, or in-person groups with students who live nearby．
The format seems superior to the traditional school class．The average quality of the lecturer is much higher, because students do not have to stick with a mediocre（平庸的） lecturer．
Besides, students can scroll back or forward—in short, they can go at their own learning speed, which they cannot do in a live lecture．And, of great importance, they do not have to travel anywhere to attend an online lecture．One can obtain a first-class American college education wherever he or she lives and however little money he or she has．
There is a problem of asking questions of the lecturer in a class of ten thousand students, but some MOOCs have solved it by allowing students to post questions online for a vote, and only the most popular questions are put to the lecturer．
In a knowledge era, lifelong learning is not confined to a traditional classroom．Of course, students enrolling in MOOCs cannot be compared with those who are in traditional universities, but we need to rethink what a “students” is．
Students in MOOCs are very clever, have work experience, and in many cases, have already developed a set of core competences．Moreover, they also offer unique international perspectives that would be the envy of any school classroom．Which of the following statements is NOT true about MOOCs?
| A．The word “MOOCs” is an acronym for “Massive open online campuses．” |
| B．Anyone who has a computer and an Internet connection can take MOOCs． |
| C．MOOCs are usually offered by first-class universities in the world．． |
| D．MOOCs may be a breakthrough in the development of education． |
Students enroll in MOOCs mainly for ________．
| A．credits | B．degrees | C．skills | D．study groups |
MOOCs seem to have an advantage over traditional school classes because________．
①the average quality of the lecturer is higher
②students can travel to many places when taking MOOCs
③students can learn at their own study pace
④there is a problem of asking questions in traditional classes
| A．①② | B．②③ | C．①③ | D．②④ |
Which word is the best to describe students enrolling in MOOCs?
| A．Mediocre | B．Creative |
| C．Practical | D．Competent |
Which of the following words does not have the same meaning as the underlined word “perspectives”in the last Paragraph?
| A．Vision | B．View | C．Outlook | D．Scenery |
At 4：53 pm．on January 12, United Nations aid worker Jens Kristensen was at his desk reading documents on the third floor of the Christopher Hotel, which served as UN headquarters in PortauPrince, when he felt a tremor（震颤）．Four seconds later, the earthquake hit．
“In a split second, I considered whether to run for the door or hide under my desk，” says Kristensen, 48．“The door was closed, and I thought that maybe it was too far and I would be caught under falling debris（杂物）, so I hid under the table．” A bookshelf topped onto his desk, protecting him from being crushed by rubble and trapping him in a tiny pocket．“I was confined as if in a small coffin，” he says．It was so dark, and it didn’t matter if his eyes were open or closed．He used the light from his mobile phone to see around him．He found, among other items, a jar of instant coffee．“I had no food or water, only the coffee to suck on if I needed it．”
At about 6：30 am．on January 17, an oil leak silenced the building’s generators, and Kristensen was able to hear muffled voices above where he was buried．“I thought, I was too tired to bang and shout．But then I realized, I had to take every chance．This could be one．” So he called out．Six hours later, Kristensen saw his rescuers’ faces．“It was so amazing．I felt I had received a second birthday，” he recalls．
Dehydration（脱水） and pains but with only a bruise and a scratch, Kristensen took three days to recover．The UN lost more than 90 people in Haiti．But Kristensen says that the outpouring of love helps heal the pain “The genuine happiness of people toward me here has been wonderful．You feel part of a larger family．”When the earthquake struck, Jens Kristensen decided to ________．
| A．read documents in the office |
| B．stay under the desk |
| C．run out of the room quickly |
| D．catch the falling debris |
What protected Jens Kristensen from being injured by falling bricks?
| A．The bookshelf． | B．The desk． |
| C．The door． | D．The pocket． |
When Jens Kristensen heard the voices, he came to know that ________．
| A．he couldn’t have the chance to survive the earthquake |
| B．his parents arrived here to save him at once |
| C．he was able to ask for help from rescuers |
| D．he was so tired and he couldn’t say anything at all |
According to the last paragraph we can know that Jens Kristensen felt ________．
| A．fortunate | B．grateful | C．popular | D．courageous |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．The rescuer’s day |
| B．An aid worker’s life |
| C．A dangerous adventure |
| D．Kristensen’s experience in an earthquake |
Promised yourself to quit smoking in the new year, but just can't stop lighting up? You're not alone, with an Australian survey showing that only 3 percent of smokers who made such resolutions stuck with them．
An online poll of just over 1,000 people, conducted ahead of the launch of a video game designed to help smokers quit, showed one in four Australians made New Year's resolutions to quit —— but more than half went back on their word within a week．Some 15 percent lit up within hours of making the pledge, the survey showed,
The research revealed that seven out of ten smokers have tried to kick the habit at some point．
"Our research shows that the majority of smokers in Australia want to quit but are struggling to stick to their resolution．For most people, the desire to stop smoking is not enough, "Edward Fong, general manager of Ubisoft, the videogame manufacturer selling the anti— smoking software, said in a statement．
According to the survey, Australian smokers light up an average of 13．8 cigarettes every day or 5,037 cigarettes a year．There are currently 2．63 million smokers in Australia, which equates to 16 percent of the population over the age of 18, with women on average making more attempts to quit than men．The World Health Organization says smoking kills about 4 million people each year, causing a quarter of deaths related to heart disease．The organization estimates that by 2030, more than 8 million people will die from tobacco - related causes each year, mainly in developing countries．According to the passage, _______ succeeded in giving up smoking．
| A．most of the smokers | B．None of the smokers |
| C．a few of the smokers | D．a quarter of the smokers |
The research shows that ______．
| A．some 70% of smokers have quitted smoking |
| B．about 15% of smokers give up smoking only a few hours |
| C．the number of men smokers are more than that of women ones |
| D．all the smokers want to quit smoking |
What is the population over the age of 18 in Australia?
| A．2．63million． | B．4 million． |
| C．16．44 million． | D．8 million． |
The number of smokers dying from tobacco — related causes each year by 2030 is．
| A．about one million | B．about two million |
| C．more than 4 million | D．more than 8 million |
Where do you suppose this passage is probably taken from?
| A．Health magazine． | B．Evening paper． |
| C．Office Report． | D．Science-Journal． |
Do you love music? I’d like to introduce you to a band today．The Lumineers is a band based in Denver, Colorado．The group released its first album The Lumineers in April, 2012．Recently, the record went gold, meaning 500, 000 copies had been sold．That is really a large number．Critics have mostly praised the album The Lumineers．Some have called the album’s sound “expansive”, and its songs “creative”．
The most popular song from the album is Ho, Hey．It is Number One on three Billboard singles charts rock, adult Pop and alternative．A lot of people think of Ho, Hey as a love song．And The Lumineers say it is．But lead singer and guitarist （吉它手） Wesley Schultz says it is also about his personal struggles when he was living and working in New York City．
The three members of The Lumineers were excited when asked to perform at the Grammy nominations （提名） concert．But they were also very surprised when they were named as Grammy nominees．The band is up for（被提名） Grammy awards as Best New Artist and Best Americana Album．Drummer Jeremiah Fraites told reporters, “We had no idea．”
Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz grew up in New Jersey and have been playing music together for about eight years．They found cellist （大提琴手） Neyla Pekarek, a native of Denver, after they moved to that city．Neyla Pekarek told one reporter that the band’s style developed naturally．She said it came from a lot of writing, experimenting and making changes to let the lyrics tell the stories they were meant to tell．
We leave you with one of those stories．This is Stubborn Love from the album The Lumineers．Hope you’ll enjoy their staging．
What do we know about the album The Lumineers from Paragraph 1?
| A．It includes some old songs． |
| B．It didn’t sell well at first． |
| C．It was released recently． |
| D．It is a great success． |
By listening to Ho, Hey, we can learn something about ________．
| A．Wesley Schultz’s struggles in New York City |
| B．the happy times of Wesley Schultz as a singer |
| C．three Billboard singles charts in New York City |
| D．a touching love story that happened in New York City |
What is implied about The Lumineers in Paragraph 3?
| A．They didn’t expect they would be nominated Grammy awards． |
| B．They didn’t want to perform at the Grammy nominations concert． |
| C．They were very calm when told they were nominated Grammy awards． |
| D．They were surely to win the Grammy award for Best Americana Album． |
What is this passage mainly about?
| A．People’s opinions on the album The Lumineers． |
| B．The struggles of a band named The Lumineers． |
| C．A song from a famous band in the United States． |
| D．A band that has been nominated Grammy awards． |
Where is this passage probably taken from?
| A．A newspaper． | B．A radio program． |
| C．A magazine． | D．A textbook． |
When I was ten my dad helped me buy my first ten-speed bicycle from Allen．I put up $60 of my grass cutting and snow shoveling （铲） money and my dad put up the other half I would pay him back over the next six months．Although it was not in the latest style, it was my ticket to the adult world．
I spent that summer and autumn riding happily．My sister Liz, a prisoner（囚犯，俘虏） of her five-speed bicycle, never had a chance to keep up．Just before the Christmas deadline to pay my dad back, we were hit with several snowstorms．This allowed me to shovel enough driveways （车道） to pay off my debt．I was now officially a bike owner; it was a feeling unlike any other．
On that Christmas morning, my dad gave me a used portable （便携式的） record player．I was excited．However, my joy was short-lived after my dad called my sister to the kitchen．“We have one more gift for you．” he said as he opened the door that led to the garage．There, on the steps, stood a new ten-speed bicycle．
“It’s not fair,” I complained．“I worked so hard for my bike．and it’s not even new．Then Liz gets a new bike．She didn’t have to do anything for it．” My dad smiled．“She didn’t have to do anything for it because it’s not really for her,” he said．What did that mean? I didn’t want her bike．
By spring Liz and I were riding all over town together now that she could keep up．As we grew, Liz and I became true friends．
Still I wasn’t smart enough to figure out what my dad meant until years later．That new bike was not a gift for Liz — it was a gift for me．He’d given me the gift of my sister’s company, the ability to stay together rather than drift apart （逐渐疏远） in the face of my ability to travel．He gave me my best friend．
What do we know about the author’s bike?
| A．It was worth $120． |
| B．Allen bought it for him． |
| C．It was very fashionable． |
| D．He didn’t like it actually． |
Why did the author think he was officially a bike owner?
| A．He had paid off his debt． |
| B．He had learned to ride a bike． |
| C．He could also own Liz’s bike． |
| D．He could sell his bike to Liz． |
Why was the author’s Christmas joy short-lived?
| A．His sister got a new record player． |
| B．His father didn’t care about him． |
| C．The record player wasn’t new． |
| D．His sister got a better gift． |
Hearing his father say “it’s not really for her （Paragraph 4）”, the author probably felt___．
| A．moved | B．satisfied |
| C．puzzled | D．disappointed |
The author finally realized that ________．
| A．the new bike actually belonged to him |
| B．the new bike wasn’t bought by his father |
| C．his father actually gave him a more valuable gift |
| D．his father loved his sister more as a matter of fact |