【推荐1】With coronavirus (新冠肺炎)outbreaks at different stages around the world, in many countries lockdowns are being carefully eased off while urging citizens to keep on practicing the social distancing rules. Singapore is trying a new way of carrying it out--a robot dog.

The government has arranged Spot, a yellow and black robotic dog made by Boston Dynamics Company, at one local park. The same robot has been previously seen dancing to hit song “Uptown Funk.”However, 2020 is an extremely difficult year and the company is trying to assist the national coronavirus-control effort. In turn, the job has been handed over to Spot.

The four-legged robot dog patrols(巡查) the park and broadcasts a pre-recorded message to encourage visitors to observe safe distancing measures. As it walks around the park, the dog says in a female voice, "Let's keep Singapore healthy. For your own safety and for those around you, please stand at least one meter apart. Thank you.

Spot is one of the world's most advanced robots and unlike wheeled robots, it is capable of going pretty much anywhere a dog can go and can walk up to three miles per hour over different areas, making it ideal for operation in public parks and gardens. Furthermore, it is remotely controlled and has cameras with 360-degree vision and analytic tools to scan the surroundings and help officials estimate the number of people gathering in the park.

For now, the pilot project is currently set to run in a limited trial for two weeks at one park during off-peak(非高峰)hours. But if all goes well, authorities will consider expanding the program to improve enforcement(强制)of social distance throughout on Singapore

Spot is also being used in other ways during the public health crisis beyond just patrolling a park. The government says it's also using Spot in another capacity- at a local isolation facility where the robot helps bring medicine to patients.

1. What do we know about Spot in the passage?

A．It's a dog-like robot that can speak.

B．It’s a robot that can sing a popular song.

C．It’s a wheeled robot that can walk anywhere.

D．It's a robot newly invented during the pandemic(流行病).

2. How does Spot carry out its duty in the park?

A．It enforces people to follow the rules.	B．It warns visitors against littering anywhere.
C．It works day and night to patrol the park .	D．It politely reminds people to keep apart.

3. What is mainly talked about in paragraph 4?

A．The robot dog's basic equipment.	B．Some smart features of the robot.
C．The working condition of the robot.	D．The experiment process of the project.

4. What’s the main idea of the passage ?

A．A robot dog is used for social distance.

B．Boston Dynamics is making a new type of robots.

C．The coronavirus is coming into Singapore.

D．Singapore leads the top in fighting the crisis

【推荐2】Having a microchip implanted in a man's brain may be common in sci-fi movie plots, but it may soon become an actual possibility.

Elon Musk -a US tech tycoon, founder of Space X- has been working on this technology.On Aug 28, Musk gave a display of the chip, which was implanted into the head of a pig named Gertrude.

The chip, developed by Musk's company Neuralink, is the size of a coin.But don't let its size fool you.The tiny chip has over 3,000 electrodes (电极) attached to flexible threads, which can monitor about 1,000 neurons (神经元).It collects neural signals from an area of the brain, and then transmits those signals wirelessly to nearby computers, according to MSN.That enabled researchers to monitor Gertrude's brain activity while she was walking around in the display.

Though the technology is still in its early stage, it is encouraging for humans. This technology would solve a lot of brain injuries and is essential for Al symbiosis (共存关系), which will allow the human brain to combine with an artificial intelligence.

When the device can be applied to humans, its main goal will be to help those who have mobility difficulties.Musk hopes this technology can also be used to help those with hearing and eyesight issues.

Although such a device could repair those problems, putting it into practice is by no means a piece of cake.Currently, the device can transmit signals from about 500 neurons in the pig's brain.Compared to 80 billion neurons in a human brain, this number is tiny.And to cover the whole human brain also means the electrodes have to be much smaller.

Also, implanting the chip into the brain poses a potential danger.There is a risk of the immune system attacking this foreign body.

Right now, the hope of controlling the brain via controlling a few neurons seems overly optimistic."There are many technological challenges ...to overcome before Neuralink can put its devices to the purposes," Yuan Lanfeng, an associate professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, told China Daily.

1. What do we know about Elon Musk's microchip?

A．It was inspired by sci-fi movie plots.	B．It is able to collect wireless signals.
C．It is tiny in size but powerful in function.	D．It has been implanted into a human's brain,

2. What does the underlined word “that" in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The operation of the chip in Gertrude’ s brain.

B．The attachment of electrodes to flexible threads.

C．The development of neurons inside Gertrude's brain.

D．The transmission of signals from a nearby computer

3. What is the major target of the microchip?

A．To monitor animals’ brain activity.

B．To help people with mobility issues.

C．To develop a cure for immune system problems.

D．To contribute to the research on Al technologies.

4. How does Yuan Lanfeng feel about implanting the chip into the human brain?

A．Disapproving.

B．Indifferent.

C．Optimistic.

D．Concerned.

【推荐3】Dr. Michael Prager, a leading Botox expert, said that a growing number of women are developing something called “computer face”. He also mentioned that professionals who worked long hours in front of a screen were ending up with saggy jowls(颚骨), “turkey neck” and deep-set wrinkles on their forehead and around their eyes.
The Botox expert said that, of all his clients, office workers were most likely to show premature(过早的)signs of ageing. “If you are one of the unfortunate people who frown(皱眉)while you are concentrating on the screen then, over time, you will inevitably end up with frown lines,” Dr. Prager said. “What is perhaps more surprising is the number of women with saggy jowls because they are sitting in one position for so long. If you spend most of the time looking down then the neck muscles shorten and go saggy, eventually giving you a second neck. “
Dr. Prager, who has a practice near Harley Street in London, said he encourages his clients to put a mirror next to their computer so they can see if they are frowning at the screen. “When people are stressed or thinking hard about something, then they will often put on a ‘grumpy(脾气暴躁的)face’ without even knowing what they are doing. When my clients put a mirror next to their desk, they are often shocked by the angry, frowning face which stares back at them.”
He said, “The women I am seeing at the moment have only been using computers at work for the last decade or so. But women in their 20s have grown up with them and use them for every single task. I think the problem is going to become much, much worse. In another ten years, they could be looking quite awful.”
Dr. Prager said there were several simple steps which could avoid “computer face” such as regular screen breaks and stretching the neck muscles. And, of course, there was always Botox. He said that, after a couple of sessions of Botox, the habit of “grumpy face” could be broken.
1. In what way do women develop a “computer face”?

A．Frowning every now and then.

B．Concentrating on computers frequently.

C．Working for too long in front of a screen.

D．Sitting in the same place for a long time.

2. According to the passage, which of the following are signs of ageing?

A．Saggy jowls and short necks.

B．Turkey neck and frown lines.

C．Deep-set wrinkles and angry faces.

D．Second neck and stressed muscles.

3. From the last 2 paragraphs, we can learn that ______.

A．“computer face” is avoidable

B．we should give up using computers

C．we should break the habit of “grumpy face”

D．the younger generation is worse at computers