When you think of robots, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Do you think of science fiction movies like Star Wars, where robots of all shapes and sizes are part of daily life? The word “robot” itself comes from a play written in 1920 by Karel Capek. In the play, people create robots to do some everyday tasks.
Today, most robots don’t look human. Modern robots take many forms and are good at many things, from sweeping the floors in your home to working in factories. They are even exploring the surface of the moon. But there is an interesting irony(讽刺) in the world of robotics which describes a surprising problem: What humans find easy is extremely complicated for a robot. However, what humans find difficult is pretty easy for a robot. For example, picking up clothes in a messy room is simple for people. But that kind of chore is very hard for a robot. Another example is the game of chess. People might find it difficult to win the game of chess all the time. But robots like Alpha-Go can be programmed to play it very well.
This is because robots are very good at doing things in controlled environments. However, moving through a room filled with random(随机的) objects is hard for robots, along with picking up objects of different shapes and sizes without damaging them. In short, it is very difficult for them to deal with certain types of variables.
It turns out that one of the most difficult things to improve in robots is their ability to control objects. Luckily, great progress is being made in the development of robots. On the one hand, exciting developments in making human-like hands and legs are underway. On the other hand, the biggest progress might result from using virtual learning(虚拟学习) to “teach” robots through computer simulations(模拟). In this way, robots can “guess” what to do without an order when they meet unfamiliar things in the real world.
Soon, robots may be able to do those things that humans find simple. That means big changes in what robots can do and how they can help us with daily tasks. Robots might make movies a reality.
1. What’s the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To give an example. |
| B．To present the topic. |
| C．To explain what robots are. |
| D．To show how robots develop. |
| A．Playing chess. |
| B．Washing the dishes. |
| C．Making cars in factories. |
| D．Gathering up clothes in a mess. |
| A．They will cause further problems for people. |
| B．They will deal with new things depend on orders. |
| C．They can hardly develop until they look like human. |
| D．They can benefit people more by making improvements. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】A cloned black-footed ferret(雪貂), Elizabeth Ann, born on Dec.10, 2020, has become the first successful clone of an endangered animal in the US and has turned a new page in animal protection.
Black-footed ferrets are one of the most endangered animals in North America, with fewer than 500 in the wild. But in the early 1900s, they were widespread throughout the American West. Later, the ferrets disappeared with their primary food source, prairie dogs(土拨鼠) dying out.
Fortunately, thanks to the cloning technology, Elizabeth Ann came to the earth. She was cloned from Willa, a ferret who died in 1988. Willa’s genes(基因) were saved for years since the cloning technology was not perfect enough at that time. “The theory of genes showed the genetic value that Willa could bring to her babies.” Ryan Phelan, who was working in the project, told CNN. “But it was a promise to see this type of ferret pass on that has led to the successful birth of Elizabeth Ann. If Elizabeth Ann can reproduce later on, the number of the ferrets may grow, which helps them stand stronger against natural risks, CBS news reported. However, the effects of cloning remain unclear, according to CNN.
Elizabeth Ann will not be put into the wild and will stay in the lab where she was born so researchers can study her, according to BBC. The team is now working on producing more “Elizabeth Anns” in the coming months. Besides that, researchers also point out the importance of protection for ferrets’ living places.
1. What can we know about the black-footed ferrets from the text?| A．They lead a happy life in the wild. | B．They have no chance to pass on. |
| C．They are in danger of dying out. | D．They can protect themselves well. |
| A．the harm of hunting | B．the shortage of food |
| C．the change of genes | D．the pollution of water |
| A．providing enough food | B．changing living places |
| C．keeping them in the lab | D．using the cloning technology |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．Effects of Cloning Technology | B．Ways of Protecting Animals |
| C．Cloning for Animal Protection | D．Research for Wild Animals |
【推荐2】What’s going to happen in the future? Will robots control our planet?
Digital money
We need to pay with cash for everything we bought. Now when we use a credit card to shop online, money is spent without us seeing it.
Bionic (仿生的) eye
A blind eye can no longer sense light, but a bionic eye can use a camera to “see” the environment and send data to the mind.
Unlike a human driver, a self-driving car won’t get distracted (分神) by a phone call, the radio or something outside the window. Sensors (探测器) and cameras on the car would allow it to stick strictly to the rules of the road and keep a safe distance from other cars. This would greatly reduce the number of road accidents. You could even take a nap while the car drives itself. In the future, driverless cars would be widely accepted.
| A．That means we are already using digital money. |
| B．Will computers become smarter than us? |
| C．Self-driving cars |
| D．Now the bionic eye only allows patients to see lights and unclear shapes. |
| E．It’s no longer something only in a science fiction movie. |
【推荐3】Drones(无人机) can do a lot of things for us: taking photos, delivering(递送) things from packages(包裹) to pizzas to beer and following wild animals. But they have other uses now.
Can you believe it? Drones can serve people coffee. US company IBM has made this kind of drone. It can deliver coffee to sleepy people. The drone can know when to bring a person a cup of coffee by studying his or her data. Then, the drone will fly to the person. There is a special device(设备) under the drone. It helps the drone to give people coffee. The drone can also learn about people’s coffee-drinking habits and predict when they need their next cup of coffee.
★ One company in Africa uses drones to deliver medicine and blood fast and they have saved many people’s lives. The drones are able to fly at a speed of up to 60 miles per hour. When they are near the destination(目的地), the doctors will receive a message and wait nearby. The drones drop off the package and then return to their home.
A 92-year-old hunter in Virginia was lost and had to spend a night in the forest. The police searched(搜索) for him all night but failed to find him. Luckily, a drone tracked(追踪) him down in 20 minutes. Also, drones helped the firefighters know about the fire in the wildfire fight.
1. The drone made by a(n) ______ company can learn about people’s coffee-drinking habits.| A．British | B．African | C．American | D．Australian |
| A．People like using drones for different reasons. | B．Drones can fly very fast. |
| C．Drones play an important part in our life. | D．Drones can also save lives. |
| A．发现 | B．决定 | C．失败 | D．成功 |
| A．Doctors use drones to save animals’ lives in Africa. |
| B．Drones can deliver anything in the future. |
| C．A drone helped find a 92-year-old missing man. |
| D．The drones can help make coffee at home. |
| A．Drones can serve people coffee. | B．Drones can save lives. |
| C．Drones can find the missing people. | D．Drones have many uses. |
【推荐1】World Sleep Day is on March 21 this year. How is your sleep these days? The CMDA (中国医师协会) asked 2,000 people in China about their sleep. About 36 percent of them often sleep badly.
The study also finds that many students have only 5 hours of sleep a day. What makes their sleeping time so short? The most important reason is homework. It seems that they always have endless homework to do.
But bad sleeping habits also play a role. Do you like to have a look at your mobile phone before going to bed? It reports that 60 percent of people check on their phones before they sleep. They read news, check their WeChat or talk with QQ friends.
It’s important for us to get enough sleep. We’ll feel tired and think slowly without enough sleep. And tired kids are often unhappy, too. We can’t change our school time. But there are still ways to get better sleep. Stay away from Coke and coffee at night. They make it hard to fall asleep. Watch fewer TV series, leave your mobile phone and computer on your desk. Then you will improve your sleep. And you will live a better and healthier life.
1. How many people have bad sleep among the people who are asked by CMDA?| A．About 270. | B．About 360. | C．About 720. | D．About 1,280. |
| A．Homework. | B．Bad sleeping habits. |
| C．Talking with QQ friends. | D．Drinking too much Coke and coffee. |
| A．Boring. | B．Exciting. | C．Difficult. | D．Much. |
| A．Televisions, mobile phones and computers are bad for your sleep. |
| B．To get enough sleep, it’s best to ask the school to change the time. |
| C．Bad sleeping habits can make us feel tired and think slowly. |
| D．Many Chinese students sleep for 5 hours a day according to the study. |
| A．The information about World Sleep Day. |
| B．The CMDA carried a survey. |
| C．Why we have bad sleep and how to improve our sleep. |
| D．Students have too much homework to do. |
阅读下列短文，并做每篇短文后的题目。从每小题所给的四个选项中，选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳答案，并将答题卡对应题目所选的选项涂黑。
A
The very first capsule hotel to be opened in Shanghai has attracted many budget travelers with its prices, even though it is not fully operational yet.
The hotel consists of 68 "capsules", each 1.1-meters high, 1.1-meters wide and 2.2-meters long. The basic rate is 28 Yuan ($4.22) per person, plus an additional 4 Yuan an hour. The hotel also offers a package of 68 Yuan for 10 hours and 88 Yuan for 24 hours.
All of the capsules are imported from Japan where capsule hotels originated，and each is equipped with independent sockets, clocks, lights, TV and wireless Internet service. The hotel also has a public lavatory(洗手间)，shower room, smoking room and shared guest room.
"This is a huge bargain compared with other budget hotels in Shanghai," said Ta Zan, the owner of the hotel. Ta used to stay at capsule hotels in Tokyo during his undergraduate years and worked at a capsule hotel while he was doing his MBA in Japan in 2005, so he knows how they work and how to make guests feel comfortable.
He based the hotel on capsule hotels in Japan but he has made some special changes based on Chinese guests' habits. "In Japan capsule hotels are usually equipped with bathtubs, but in China people are more willing to take a shower, so we have the shower room," he said. He has also separated the capsules into three snoring (打鼾的) zones so that guests who often snore won't disturb others. Like most of capsule hotels in Japan, the one in Shanghai is for men only.
But the idea of staying in such a compact space is not appealing to everyone. "I feel the idea is like putting a person in a coffin (棺材), and the price is also not that appealing. A bed at a youth hostel in Shanghai costs about 60 Yuan per night," said Wang Lei, a student from Beijing.
1. The first capsule hotels in the world appeared in .
| A．Shanghai | B．Japan | C．Beijing | D．America |
| A．28 | B．60 | C．68 | D．88 |
| A．Dear | B．Cheap. | C．Close. | D．Clean. |
| A．it serves men as well as women |
| B．its capsule is much larger |
| C．it has a shower room |
| D．it has no snoring zones |
| A．everybody considers the capsule hotel a nice place to stay |
| B．all the capsules of the hotel were made in China |
| C．each capsule of the hotel has a private lavatory |
| D．no guest has ever stayed in the capsule hotel |
The westerners like travelling. They think travelling and outdoor activities are the parts of their lives. They work hard to save money, but their main purpose(目的) is to travel.
Most western students often make use of their vacation to camp. There are thousands of camp interesting bases(基地) in western countries. They can swim, go fishing, attend lectures, and take part in many other recreational(娱乐性的) activities there. It can help them wrest from the secrets of nature, train(训练) their viability(生存能力), and teach them how to be self-reliant (自立).
1. Some westerners like to ______ at home during their vacation.
| A．clean their rooms | B．cook their meals |
| C．work in the garden and watch TV | D．go fishing |
| A．under some trees | B．near the city |
| C．near the sea | D．in the restaurants |
| A．Working hard | B．Travelling | C．Saving money | D．Going camping |
| A．取得 | B．保守 | C．认识 | D．探索 |
| A．how the westerners spend their vacation |
| B．the westerners have more vacation days than us |
| C．different views on vacation between the westerners and the easterners |
| D．teach the western students how to be self-reliant |
【推荐1】Recently, China has announced the list of the first five national parks.
Each of them is divided into two parts—the core (核心) protection area and the general control area. In the core protection area, only research and surveillance (监视) in science are allowed. And the general control area is open to the public, allowing travel activities such as camping and hiking. In the future, national parks are expected to be natural classrooms. People can learn about different kinds of animals and plates through eco-friendly (环保的) travel activities.
The national parks can also be helpful to local people. The building of these national parks provides many jobs for local people. People living in or around the parks can work as park rangers (护林员) and guides. They can also sell some eco-friendly things with local color. So their yearly incomes (收入) will grow a lot.
Then let’s take a look at the five national parks.
| Three River-Source National Park on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (青藏高原) is the largest national park in China. Because it is home to the sources of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers, people call it “China’s water tower”. |
| Northeast China Tiger and Leopard (豹) National Park is in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces. It covers an area of 14, 100 square kilometers. It is our country’s biggest and only place for wild Siberian tigers and Amur leopards to live in. |
| Wuyi Mountain National Park in Fujian Province is a UNESCO natural and cultural heritage site (遗址). The forest makes up over 96 percent of the park. The park is the paradise of birds, the kingdom of snakes and world of insects. You can also see the Danxia landform there. |
| Giant Panda National Park connects panda habitats in Sichuan Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Inside the park are more than 1,600 wild giant pandas. They make up over 70 percent of the pandas in China. |
| Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park is the largest tropical forest in China. There are more than 400 kinds of plants that can only be found in Hainan. The world’s only 35 Hainan gibbons (长臂猿) live there. |
| A．Building the national parks only needs rangers and guides. |
| B．Farming makes local people improve their yearly incomes. |
| C．Visitors can buy anything with local color in the national parks. |
| D．Local people can get many advantages from the national parks. |
| A．perfect place | B．happy feeling | C．good example | D．sweet smile |
| A．The beautiful scenes of nature | B．The home of animals and plants |
| C．The introduction to the five national parks | D．The relationships among the five national parks |
Running is becoming popular these days. Many of us run for our health. Doctors say many heath problems come from these bad habits: eating too much, drinking too much, smoking too much and not having enough exercise.
Doctors tell us, “Eat less, don’t smoke and exercise more. Running is good exercise because it helps build a strong heart. It also helps most people lose weight (重量). One 68-year-old woman runs three times a week. She runs to lose weight.
Running is good for our health in other ways, too. Many runners say running makes colds and other small health problems go away. Running is our doctor. Running can also help people to relax. So today men and women of all ages enjoy running.
1. Few people are running for their health these days.2. Many health problems come from eating, drinking, smoking too much and not having enough exercise.
3. Running can help many people lose weight.
4. Many runners say running can make colds go away.
5. Only young people enjoy running.
【推荐3】Bike-sharing has swept across China, with an increasing number of people choosing bike riding instead of driving. The bike that the service company provides has GPS or Bluetooth on it, and people can easily find them. Those bikes can be easily unlocked with a smart phone and left anywhere in public. Bike-sharing allows people to borrow a bike from one place and return it at another place easily.
In some cities, we can see more and more people riding this kind of sharing-bikes. It’s very convenient to use the bikes if you have a smart phone. Before riding these bikes, you have to download such an APP on your smart phone. Then what you need to do is to find a nearest bike through the APP, scan the QR code on the bike or connect your phone with the bike over a Bluetooth wireless connection. You will find the bike can be unlocked itself. Then you can enjoy your trip. What’s more, the greatest advantage of bike-sharing is that you can easily find one and never worry about where to park it. The cost of riding depends on the time that you spend. Normally, every hour you ride, you need to pay one yuan. It doesn’t cost so much, does it?
At the same time, some people park the bikes in their own homes. Besides, some people don’t value the bikes. Hundreds of bikes are found destroyed every month. Now service companies are trying to solve the problem like being stolen.
Technology and science have changed our social lifestyles. We have to say bike-sharing brings us more convenience without doubt. And we also hope that people can not only enjoy it but also put it to good use.
1. ________ makes it possible for people to know where there is a sharing-bike nearby.| A．The APPs | B．The smart phones | C．The GPS and Bluetooth | D．The service company |
| A．浏览 | B．扫描 | C．审视 | D．细查 |
| A．have a smart phone and download an APP | B．download an APP and pay for the trip |
| C．unlock the bike and download an APP | D．find a nearest bike and borrow it from anyone |
| A．Bike-sharing makes it easy for some people to go out. |
| B．Sharing-bikes may be stolen. |
| C．We can return the sharing-bike in a different place. |
| D．We pay 1 yuan each time when we use the sharing-bike. |
| A．science textbook | B．website news report | C．tourist guide | D．dictionary |
【推荐1】A team of engineers at Harvard University has been inspired by Nature to create the first robotic fly. The mechanical fly has become a platform for a series of new high-tech systems. Designed to do what a fly does naturally, the tiny machine is the size of a fat housefly. Its mini wings allow it to stay in the air and perform controlled flight tasks.
“It’s extremely important for us to think about this as a whole system and not just the sum of a bunch of individual components (元件),” said Robert Wood, the Harvard engineering professor who has been working on the robotic fly project for over a decade. A few years ago, his team got the go-ahead to start piecing together the components. “The added difficulty with a project like this is that actually none of those components are off the shelf (现货供应) and so we have to develop them all on our own,” he said.
They engineered a series of systems to start and drive the robotic fly. “The seemingly simple system which just moves the wings has a number of interdependencie(相互依赖) on the individual components, each of which individually has to perform well, but then has to be matched well to everything it’s connected to,” said Wood. The flight device was built into a set of power, computation (计算), sensing and control systems. Wood says the success of the project proves that the flying robot with these tiny components can be built and manufactured.
While this first robotic flyer is linked to a small, off-board (外置的) power source, the goal is eventually to equip it with a built-in power source, so that it might someday perform data-gathering work at rescue sites, in farmers’ fields or on the battlefield. “Basically it should be able to take off, land and fly around,” he said.
Wood says the design offers a new way to study flight mechanics and control at insect-scale. Yet, the power, sensing and computation technologies on board could have much broader applications. “You can start thinking about using them to answer open scientific questions, you know, to study biology in ways that would be difficult with the animals, but using these robots instead,” he said. “So there are a lot of technologies and open interesting scientific questions that are really what drives us on a day-to-day basis.”
1. The difficulty the team of engineers met with while making the robotic fly was that ______.| A．they had no model in their mind | B．they did not have enough time |
| C．they had no ready-made components | D．they could not control flight tasks |
| A．consists of a flight device and a control system |
| B．can just fly in limited areas at the present time |
| C．can collect information from many sources now |
| D．has been put into wide application |
| A．The robotic flyer is designed to learn about insects. |
| B．Animals are not allowed in biological experiments. |
| C．There used to be few ways to study how insects fly. |
| D．Wood’s design can replace animals in some experiments. |
| A．Father of Robotic Fly | B．Inspiration from Engineering Science |
| C．Robotic Fly Imitates Real Life Insect | D．Harvard Breaks Through in Insect Study |
【推荐2】I'm Mike. One day, I was so angry with my parents and I left home, saying I would never go back. I was angry because my parents didn't want to buy me a bike.
I didn't even realize（意识到）that I took both my father's shoes and his wallet. As I made my way to the bus station, I felt some pain（痛）in my foot. I found that the shoe had a hole（洞）in it.
There were no buses around. Not knowing what to do, I looked into my dad's wallet. To my surprise, there wasn't much money inside. I also found a note（纸条）from his manager. It asked him to wear nicer-looking shoes to the office.
I remembered my mother asking him to buy a pair of new shoes, but he said that his shoes should last another six months at least.
I started to walk home. I then realized that when I left, my dad's motorbike was not there. I wanted to cry. I ran home as fast as I could.
When I got home, my dad was there waiting for me. I couldn't help crying. I hugged him tightly and said, "I'm sorry, Dad. I don't need a bike."
That's when I realized just how much pain and hardship our parents go through（经历）sometimes, and how great their love for us is. Everyone should do a better job of remembering this from time to time.
1. Why was Mike angry with his parents?| A．Because they didn't want to buy him new clothes. |
| B．Because they didn't want to buy him a bike. |
| C．Because they said he should study harder. |
| D．Because they didn't love him very much. |
| A．His father didn't work for a long time. |
| B．His father didn't care about（在乎）wearing nicely. |
| C．His father bought himself a pair of new shoes. |
| D．Their family was going through a hard time. |
| A．Mike's father didn't like his job. |
| B．Mike's father wasn't friendly. |
| C．Mike's father didn't wear nice shoes. |
| D．He didn't want Mike's father to work there. |
| A．It is important to understand and love our parents. |
| B．Good parents will buy anything for their children. |
| C．We should always keep our hardship in heart. |
| D．We can't ask our parents to buy anything at all. |
【推荐3】Jack is an able (能干的) worker. He can do all the work in the factory and often helps his boss (老板), Mr King. So his boss likes him and he gets much money. But he likes drinking and spends most money on the drinks. When he drinks much, he can’t control (控制) himself. His wife tells him to stop drinking, but he doesn’t listen to her. She has to leave him. Now he lives in a poor and old house alone.
One Saturday evening, Jack feels very cold in his house. He can’t stay there and goes into a bar. He drinks a lot, but he doesn’t have enough money with him. Of course, he can’t pay for the drinks. The boss of the bar doesn’t let him out, so he begins to break the glasses and tables. A girl calls the police station and soon some policemen get there. They have to take Jack to the station.
“What do you bring me here for?” the angry drunkard (酒鬼) shouts.
“We bring you here for drinking.” answers a policeman.
“That’s great!” Jack says happily. “Then when shall we start?”
1. Jack can get much money because ________.| A．he is the boss | B．he works in the factory for a long time |
| C．the boss likes him | D．he is able enough to help the boss |
| A．he doesn’t like her | B．he gets no money in the factory |
| C．he doesn’t stop drinking | D．he doesn’t do any housework at home |
| A．Jack drinks too much | B．The policeman wants to see Jack |
| C．Jack’s house is too cold | D．Jack doesn’t pay for the drinks |
| A．the policeman will drink with him | B．the policeman will pay for his drink |
| C．the policeman will make friends with him | D．the policeman will give him some money |
| A．Jack doesn’t know why the policemen bring him to the police station. |
| B．Jack is good at his work. |
| C．Jack’s house is very cold. |
| D．The policemen often bring Jack to the police station because he often drinks too much. |
