Ever wondered why your virtual（虚拟的）home helper doesn't understand your questions？Or why your navigation app took you on the side street instead of the highway？In a study published April 21st in the journal Science，Italian researchers，Arianna Pipitone and Antonio Chella，designed a robot that "thinks out loud".
To explore how inner speech might influence a robot's actions，the researchers built a robot called Pepper that speaks to itself.It has the ability to reason and think.They then asked people to set the dinner table with Pepper according to etiquette（礼仪）rules.In one experiment，the user asked Pepper to lay the napkin at the wrong place，going against the rules.Pepper started asking itself a series of self﹣directed questions and concluded that the user might be mistaken.To be sure，Pepper confirmed the user's order，which led to further inner speech.
"Ehm，this situation troubles me.I would never break the rules，but I can't make the user unhappy，so I'm doing what he wants，" Pepper said to itself，laying the napkin where it was required to be.Through Pepper's inner voice，the user can learn Pepper was facing a difficult situation and solved it by prioritizingthe user's order.
Comparing Pepper's actions with and without inner speech，Pipitone and Chella discovered the robot had a higher task﹣completion rate when having self﹣dialogue.
However，some people find the robot spends more time completing tasks when it talks to itself.The robot's inner speech is also limited to the knowledge that researchers gave it.Pepper's designers still say their work provides a framework（构架）to further explore how self﹣dialogue can help robots focus，plan，and learn. "In some ways，we are creating a generational（世代的）robot that likes to chat.From navigation apps and the camera on your phone to medical robots in the operation rooms，machines and computers alike can take advantage of this chatty feature，" says Chella.
（1）Why does the writer ask two questions at the very beginning of the passage？
| A． |
To draw the reader's attention to the topic. |
| B． |
To show the writer likes electronic products |
| C． |
To tell the reader about the history of robots. |
| D． |
To prove the writer often faces trouble in life. |
（2）Why was Pepper asked to lay the napkin at the wrong place？
| A． |
To see how much time Pepper spent laying the napkin. |
| B． |
To confirm how popular Pepper was among its users. |
| C． |
To test how many etiquette rules Pepper remembered. |
| D． |
To study how self﹣dialogue might influence Pepper's actions. |
（3）What does the underlined word "prioritizing" in Paragraph 3 mean？
| A． |
repeating. |
| B． |
dealing with…first. |
| C． |
going against. |
| D． |
complaining about. |
（4）What can we infer from the passage？
| A． |
The designers are proud of their work about Pepper. |
| B． |
Pepper has already been in use in the operation rooms. |
| C． |
Pepper's inner speech depends on its user's communication skills. |
| D． |
With or without inner speech，Pepper could complete a task equally well. |
任务型阅读（共5小题，每小题2分，计10分）
Chria Hass invented a basketball training tool for children . At that time , he was only 9 years old.
One day, when Chris was playing basketball with his friends, he saw them miss many easy shots(投篮)。Chris was the son of a basketball coach and he knew much about the best way of shooting. After showing it to his friends, he came up with a good idea. He thought that he could invent a tool for his friends. In this way, they could practice shooting in a right way.
After he went home, he told his father the idea. With his father’s help, Chris started to carry out his plan. He took a basketball and painted two hands on it. The hands showed people the best way to hold a _____ while trying to shoot. Then he joined in an invention competition at his school with the invention, but he didn’t win. He was sad but didn’t give up. With the help of his parents, he patented ( 获得专利权) the invention and tried to sell it.
Sadly, Chris couldn’t sell his invention until one year and a half later, a sports company bought it. The company brought the invention to market and a lot of people could practice shooting with its help.
1题完成句子；2题简略回答问题；3题将文中横线处空缺的一个单词写在下面的横线上；4题找出并写下全文的主题句；5题将文中划线句子译成中文。 After showing how to shoot to his friends, Chris ______ the good idea of inventing a tool for his friends.
How long did it take Chris before he sold his invention?
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What do you think of a “ talking kitchen”? A French Digital Kitchen has been developed at Newcastle University in the UK. It teaches students how to cook French food and speak French at the same time. For the first time, students can learn a language by the following cooking steps.
All grammar and _____ have been carefully chosen to make sure the users can understand French well. After learning for some time, the users can test themselves by doing a short test on the computer.
The kitchen project was started by Professor Paul Seedhouse. He became interested in the idea after he visited another kind of talking kitchen. He said, “ The purpose of the French Digital Kitchen is to make learning a language more interesting and more educational.”
How does the kitchen work? There is a computer in the kitchen. With this computer, the users can first choose a French recipe（ 食谱） that they want to follow. Using information in the computer, the kitchen starts to guide the users how to make a French dish. If you follow the instructions on the computer, it moves on to the next. If you go wrong, the program goes back and repeats the recipe or information. At any time, the users can also ask the kitchen to repeat the recipe or any information..
The new kitchen can be used in school, universities and even people’s homes. The researchers will also be developing the European Digital Kitchen, for the next three years.After reading the passage, we know the Digital Kitchen _________.
| A．is a “talking kitchen”. |
| B．teaches students English. |
| C．was developed in France. |
| D．cooks all food for people |
Which of the following can be properly put in “_______”?
| A．food | B．vocabulary | C．recipe | D．instructions |
Paragraph 3 mainly tells us that _______________.
| A．how the kitchen works. |
| B．where the kitchen can be used |
| C．when the kitchen can be bought |
| D．why the kitchen project was started. |
If the users don’t follow the instructions on the computer, the kitchen __________.
| A．chooses another recipe. |
| B．goes on to the next step. |
| C．repeats the recipe or information |
| D．stops working at once. |
The passage is written to____________________
| A．show you how the computer works. |
| B．introduce a French Digital Kitchen |
| C．teach you how to cook French food |
| D．tell you the importance of language learning. |
Better Time for Teenagers to Keep Healthy
| Things to do |
Brushing teeth |
Drinking milk |
Going to bed |
Eating fruits |
| Common time |
After getting up or before sleeping |
During breakfast |
Around 23:00 |
After meals |
| Time from experts’ suggestions |
3 minutes after meals |
Before sleeping |
Around 21:00 |
An hour before meals |
| Advantages |
To reduce germs（细菌）in the mouth |
To keep bones strong and help sleep well |
To be good for a deep sleep |
To keep the body strong |
| Warm tips |
Brush the tongue while brushing teeth |
Avoid drinking it when having a stomach-ache |
Sleep for at least 8 hours every night |
Wash carefully before eating them |
Teengers are used to drinking milk__________ according to the information above.
| A．before sleeping | B．during breakfast |
| C．3 minutes after meals | D．around 21:00 |
Teenagers often go to bed _______hour(s) later than the time the experts suggest.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
________ and ________ are helpful to keep teenagers strong according to the information above.
| A．Drinking milk ; eating fruits |
| B．Going to bed ; brushing teeth |
| C．Eating fruits ; reducing germs |
| D．Drinking milk ; brushing teeth |
If a teenager goes to bed at the time based on the experts’ suggestion, the earliest time for him to get up will be_________ in the morning.
| A．5:00 | B．6:00 | C．7:00 | D．8:00 |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the information above?
| A．Some experts suggest washing fruits carelessly an hour before meals. |
| B．To brush the tongue after meals is good for a deep sleep. |
| C．People should sleep for at least 9 hours every night. |
| D．Teenagers with a stomachache had better avoid drinking milk. |
Gabriel Garcia Marquez , who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, passed away at the age of 86 on April 17, 2014. The world paused (停顿)to remember the cultural giant.
Garcia Marquez was born in Colombia, but he spent most of his adult life in Mexico City. As one of the most famous writers, he was widely regarded as “a giant of 20th- century literature.” Garcia Marquez wrote in a style called “ magical realism(魔幻现实主义).” In such works, people live a daily life in a certain period of time in history. But meanwhile , magical things happen to them.
Garcia Marquez is best known for his 1967 novel, One hundred years of Solitude （《百年孤独》）, which has sold about 50 million copies. It tells the tale of the small and isolated town of Macondo which was separated from the outside world- of its founding and its troubled history over a hundred years. The story is a metaphor(暗喻)for the development of Colombia since the 19 century. As Colombian President Juan Manuel Santons said, Garcia Marquez wrote about “the essence(本质) of the Latin American beings.”Garcia Marquez was born in _________.
| A．1914 | B．1928 | C．1967 | D．1982 |
We can know from paragraph 2 that Garcia Marquez __________.
| A．was born in Mexico City. |
| B．spent most of his abult life in Colombia. |
| C．had a writing style called “magical realism.” |
| D．was famous but lived a simple daily life. |
The underlined word “ isolated “ means _________.
| A．隔绝的 | B．安逸的 |
| C．喧嚣的 | D．繁华的 |
Which of the following is NOT true about Garcia Marquez？
| A．He was the writer of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. |
| B．His novel One Hundred years of Solitude was a great success. |
| C．He was widely known as “ a giant of 20th- century literature.” |
| D．Magical things happened to him during his stay in Mexico City. |
The writer quotes （引用）from the President to __________.
| A．Praise Garcia Marquez for his achievement. |
| B．show the deep sadness of the President. |
| C．explain the writing style of Garcia Marquez. |
| D．describe the character of Garcia Marquez. |
I’m John. My father is a factory worker. He comes from America. My mother is a teacher. She’s English．She can speak some Chinese. She is an English teacher at schoo1. I’m a student in my mother’s schoo1. At school I can play with my Chinese friends. We can play football, basketball and table tennis. My mother can play the piano（弹钢琴） and tennis(网球). She can also sing well.John’s father is ______.
| A．in a school | B．in a factory |
| C．in a hotel | D．in a hospital |
John’s mother is from ______.
| A．America | B．China |
| C．England | D．Japan |
John can ______.
| A．sing | B．play the piano |
| C．play tennis | D．play table tennis |
John’s mother can ______.
| A．play football and sing |
| B．play basketball and the piano |
| C．play tennis and table tennis |
| D．play the piano and sing |
______ can speak some Chinese.
| A．John | B．John’s mother |
| C．John’s father | D．John’s friends |