【推荐1】A robot, created by Washington State University (WSU) scientists, could help elderly people with limitations (限制) live independently in their own homes.

The Robot Activity Support System (RAS), uses sensors (传感器) in a WSU smart home to decide where its users are, what they are doing and when they need help with daily activities. It navigates (定位) through rooms to find people on its own, provides video instructions on how to do simple tasks. It can even lead its owner to objects such as his or her medicine or some food in the kitchen.

Now, about 50 percent of adults over the age of 85 need help with every day activities such as preparing meals and taking medicine. Every year the cost for that in the US is nearly 2,000 billion dollars. The number of adults over 85 is expected to double by 2050. Therefore, researchers hope that technologies like RAS and the WSU smart home will cut some of the spending on the health care system by making it easier for older adults to live alone.

RAS is the first robot that researchers have tried to put into their smart home environment. They recently published a study in the journal (专业期刊) Cognitive Systems Research. The study explains how RAS could make life easier for older adults who struggle to live independently.

“While we are still in an early stage (阶段) of development, our results with RAS have been promising,” Minor said, “The next step in the research will be to test RAS’ performance with a group of older adults to get a better idea of this robot.”

1. What can RAS do?

A．Getting medicines for the user.	B．Finding the people by itself.
C．Offering picture instructions.	D．Treating people with limitations.

2. How can we cut the spending on health care system?

A．By making older adults live alone.	B．By using technologies like RAS.
C．By asking for help from the pubic.	D．By struggling against limitations.

3. How do researchers use RAS?

A．They tried to use it in smart home environment.

B．They tried to use it to live independently.

C．They tried to use it to save money for the elderly.

D．They tried to use it to make life easier for adults.

4. What is Minor’s attitude towards the future of RAS?

A．Passive.

B．Anxious.

C．Positive.

D．Doubtful.

【推荐2】It might sound like a terrible dream,but a new design from Dubai-based airline Emirates plans to remove windows from airplanes. Instead of real-life views of clouds and sky, first-class passengers will look out of “virtual(虚拟的)windows,” enjoying projected views of the world passing by. Emirates’ “windows” use real time high-tech camera technology to provide virtual views of the outside world.

Saj Ahmad,Chief analyst at Strategic Aero Research says,”Windowless airplanes sound great-however, in reality, it won’t happen for a number of reasons. For starters,in the event of an emergency,people in the plane often need to look out for reference points. Having visual awareness is important and in a windowless jet, they don’t exist-especially if there is an electrical fault which then means that the ‘electric’ windows do not work and you can’t see outside.” Ahmad was also concerned about passenger comfort. “Passengers simply do love the natural view outside,” he says. “There are also other problems---the change involved would certainly require new tests.”

Other futuristic airplane designs are going the opposite way. Boeing’s Dreamliner ---its most modern design---features large windows. Airbus has also designed a plane with transparent(透明的) walls that is presented at the 2011 Paris Air Show. Embraer has planned the Kyoto cabin, designed for its Lineage 1000E aircraft, which features large windows running along the majority of the walls of the cabin.

There could also be a move towards pilotless planes in the future---but Ahmad applies his doubts about windowless planes to drone-flown(无人驾驶的) planes too. “The idea of windowless planes is possible---that doesn’t mean it will happen,” says Ahmad. “The same applies to drone technology---but that doesn’t mean that tomorrow we’re suddenly going to see all airplanes being flown without pilots.”

1. What will Emirates’ new planes be like?

A．They will be pilotless.

B．They will have open windows.

C．They will present outside views on virtual windows.

D．They will provide all passengers with windowless experiences.

2. What does Saj Ahmad think of the virtual windows?

A．Useful.

B．Expensive.

C．Impractical.

D．Comfortable.

3. How is the third paragraph developed?

A．By giving examples.	B．By making comparisons.
C．By following space order.	D．By explaining cause and effect.

4. What is the future of drone technology according to Saj Ahmad?

A．It needs more skilled engineers.	B．It will take time to develop.
C．It will be widely applied.	D．It is promising.

【推荐3】The dangers of drowsy（昏昏欲睡） driving have been widely known. Now several companies have developed face-tracking technology that can tell when drivers become dangerously sleepy.

Here is how it might work. A camera in your car monitors your facial expression, compares it to a database of expressions and determines if you are likely sleepy or distracted. The car then alerts you to pay attention or pull over.

Affectiva has developed emotion recognition technology that aims to detect when people are just starting to get tired. The idea is to catch the warning signs before drowsiness really strikes. “Actually, when someone is drowsy, that is too late.” Gabi, vice president of Affectiva said. “What if you can see trends in someone’s face about five minutes before they become sleepy?” Affectiva’s program can recognize seven different emotions and 15 facial expressions. Its standards were developed by sifting （筛选） through a database of 4 million faces from 75 countries, said Zijderveld. She suggested that carmakers could coordinate （协调）the program’s facial recognition data with oral reminders, such as sound warnings, or （nonverbal）alerts, like a change of temperature and vibrations （continuous slight shaking movements）.

Eyeris is another company working in facial analytics. Modar Alaoui, the company’s CEO, said that its software detects “eye openness” in addition to other facial indicators. The software can also read head position, which may indicate when someone begins to nod off.

These technologies aren’t the first attempt to fight drowsiness behind the wheel. Inventors came up with the similar device “sleeper beeper” to prevent sleep in cars back in 1983. The sleeper beeper was attached to a driver’s ear and would issue a noisy warning when the driver’s head nodded past a certain point. But the latest software would intervene （干涉） earlier and more effectively.

1. The camera in the car can determine if a driver is ________.

A．cold-blooded	B．near-sighted
C．bad-tempered	D．absent-minded

2. When will drivers be reminded to pay attention or pull over by the face-tracking technology?

A．When they are just beginning to get tired.

B．Five minutes after they become sleepy.

C．When they are really tired.

D．When they are drowsy.

3. It is most likely that the “sleeper beeper” would send out a warning by ________.

A．shaking slightly	B．making noise
C．flashing brilliantly	D．changing temperature

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．The dangers of drowsy driving have been widely known.

B．Inventors have tried out the similar device “sleeper beeper”.

C．Several companies have found some ways to fight drowisness behind the wheel.

D．Face-tracking technology for drowsy driving has been developed by several companies.

【推荐1】It is important to teach your dog to guard you and the other members of your family to fight against danger Here are some tips on how to train your dog to protect you.

    1    

It is very important to introduce your dog to other people and let it interact with them. A good guard dog is friendly to the people around it. This exercise is very important because it will help the dog distinguish between good people and bad people.     2    

Use proper commands

A dog acts according to how it has been trained. The only way to do this is through com- mands and your own body actions and sounds. Command the dog to attack by saying the word “Attack” loudly. Soon, whenever you use the command "Attack!", your dog will understand that it needs to fight the thing you are pointing at.     3     , you must also train it to stop the attack.

Teach night guarding

Teach your dog to keep a check on the house by taking it around the house and making it sniff the area. You will need to do this a couple of times so that the dog understands that it needs to keep a check every night.     4       . It will check the house and return back indoors.

Reward it for its good behavior

Giving rewards such as a pat, a hug, verbal praise "Good dog!" or treats is an excellent way of letting the dog know that you are happy with its behavior.     5       , it is your duty to make sure your dog is rewarded for its good behavior and punished for its bad behavior. Pun-ishment involves scolding the dog by using the command "Bad dog!” or "No, very bad!” This will help the dog learn that it mustn't do certain things.

A．Since you are the master

B．Encourage communication

C．While you are training the dog to attack

D．Train an older dog to protect its master

E．After a few days, the dog will begin to check on its own

F．People who are good will be those who are allowed to come close to it

G．If your dog does not come inside, you will need to command it to get back