1 . Computer scientist Mary has an idea for a new robot to help her work with children. How should it look? The robot should have arms to be able to lift things. And if it is going to communicate with people, it will also need a face. Scientists believe that giving a robot a face can make it seem more friendly. Humans would also like to pay more attention to robots with faces. But what kind?
For Mary, she wants to make sure that her new robot doesn’t look too much like a human. She wants people to just treat it as a machine-person. If it looks more like a human than a machine, she thinks users might find it a bit creepy and feel afraid. Mary also believes that robot faces don’t need to look a lot like ours. Her research shows that we can enjoy communicating with robots whether or not they look like humans, because our brains are able to look for faces. Just put two circles on top of a robot’s body, and we will see a face.
Dave feels differently. He believes that although at first we might be afraid when seeing a robot with a lifelike face, we may soon get used to it. If robots are going to work closely with humans, they should look as much like us as possible. After all, faces are an important part of the way we communicate.
To make his robots look as much like real people as possible, Dave invented a special skin (皮肤) for their faces. With this skin, robots can show human-like expressions and appear to be angry, sad, happy or surprised. Dave’s robots are also programmed to copy expressions. How? Just imagine his robot is looking at you. The cameras in its eyes send pictures of your face to its central computer!
1. Why do scientists think a robot needs a face?| A．It will become more beautiful. | B．It can do better in lifting things. |
| C．It will pay more attention to children. | D．It can better communicate with people. |
| A．Uncomfortable to look at. | B．Impossible to touch. |
| C．Boring to talk to. | D．Difficult to understand. |
| A．People should treat robots as humans. |
| B．Robots need to express their own feelings. |
| C．Robots shouldn’t look too much like humans. |
| D．People can easily accept robots with a human face. |
| A．To explain the reasons why robots should have faces. |
| B．To suggest what humans can do with robots with faces. |
| C．To share ideas on what kind of faces robots should have. |
| D．To show how scientists invent robots with different faces. |
A world beyond
Do you know the word “metaverse” (元宇宙)? It seems to be everywhere these days. But, what is it?
The metaverse is a virtual world. We can go inside of it, instead of just looking at it on a screen (屏幕).
Of course, you need to wear special devices (设备), like a VR headset (虚拟现实头盔), glasses and gloves. They can help you see, hear, touch and maybe even smell. In the metaverse, everyone has a digital avatar (数字虚拟形象).
In this virtual world, you can do things that you do in your real life, even more freely and easily. Your location will no longer matter.
Are you tired of taking online classes at home? Jump into the metaverse and enter (进入) a virtual classroom. It could look like a real classroom at school. You can ask your teacher questions and talk with your classmates.
After finishing the class, you may want to take a rest. How about going on a virtual beach vacation with your friends? You can enjoy the sea and play beach volleyball together.
Your family wants to go shopping on weekends. Mom and dad take you to a virtual shopping mall. There, you find a T-shirt and try it on. It looks nice on you. Mom buys it for you. A few days later, the deliveryman (快递员) brings it to your home.
The metaverse also enables (使……能够) you to do things that you can’t do in the real life. Do you want to take a virtual trip to the moon? How about entering the world of the game Minecraft (《我的世界》) and moving the cubes (方块) by your hands? That sounds cool!
1. What does the underlined word “virtual” mean?| A．真实的 | B．虚拟的 | C．美丽的 | D．想象的 |
| A．Special devices | B．Computers | C．People’s glasses | D．Clothes |
| A．free and relaxed | B．serious | C．careful | D．nervous |
| A．education | B．tourism | C．shopping | D．All of the above. |
| A．A real world. | B．A virtual world—metaverse. |
| C．A relaxing class. | D．A popular game—Minecraft. |
3 . Do you know NAO—the first robot that is able to show feelings? It was made by a group of European scientists. “People usually show feelings through their faces or languages, but NAO doesn’t. When NAO is not happy, it puts its head down and looks sad. When it is happy, it opens its arms,”says Lola Canamero, a computer scientist at the University of Her for Shire.
“In the future, NAO can get along with people more naturally and comfortably.”says the scientist.
Scientist programmed NAO of a one-year-old child. It can remember faces and know the rules of good and bad so that NAO can decide what to do, when to show feelings each time.
In hospitals NAO will help doctors, nurses and parents. Children might find a small friendly-looking NAO. “The robot will help the children to relax and tell them what to do so that they can get better quickly.”says Lola.
1. How can NAO show its happiness in the passage?| A．Through its face. |
| B．Through its language. |
| C．By opening its arms. |
| A．A European scientist. |
| B．The future child. |
| C．A one-year-old robot. |
| A．Help people shop online. |
| B．Have a better relationship with people. |
| C．Decide where to show feelings. |
| A．University workers. |
| B．Small friendly-looking robots. |
| C．The children. |
| A．How does NAO work? |
| B．How much is NAO? |
| C．When will scientists make NAO? |
4 . Over the last few centuries, there have been many changes in our lives.
In the old days, planes were not very popular because they could be dangerous and too expensive. Nowadays, more people can travel by plane and get to the other side of the world in just one day.
When it comes to work, people had to work much harder because they did not have the useful tools and instruments that we have now. Today, however, most of the difficult and dangerous work is done by computers and machines.
Imagine people’s living conditions a few hundred years ago. There were no bathrooms or running water in many houses. People shared public bathrooms with strangers. And they had to collect water from faraway places.
Nowadays, every child has the chance to get a good education. In the past, there were fewer schools and the quality of education was much poorer. Now education is free for primary and middle school students. Also, it is much easier to find the educational materials that you need on your mobile phone or your computer instead of going to the library.
With the development of science and technology, our life is much better than it used to be. And we are continuing to create new things to make our lives better and easier.
1、2题完成句子；3题简略回答问题；4题找出并写下全文的主题句；5题将文中画线句子译成汉语。
1. Few people traveled by plane many years ago because
2. Most of the difficult and dangerous work is done by
3. Where can people find educational materials easily?
4.
5.
5 . Scientists are trying to make different robots to help humans. In May this year, scientists at Northwestern University
So how do these robots work? In fact, the scientists can warm them up with lasers (激光). By warming up different
Right now the robots aren’t so
Scientists are now using new technologies and making innovative(创新的) products to give them a hand.
Big data(大数据)
Our smart phones send data to telecom companies(电信公司) around the clock, telling these companies where we have been and where we are going. Chinese telecom companies provide governments with the data.
Drones (无人机)
Drones have played an important role in disinfection(消毒) and preventing cross-infection(交叉感染) in crowded places like hospitals, railway stations and airports.
Robots
| A．Police officers use drones to give warnings. |
| B．Here are some examples. |
| C．They have also been used in public places like restaurants, train stations and airports. |
| D．Robots are good helpers on the front lines. |
| E．They use the data to track(跟踪) traffic flows among different provinces and cities. |
In the past years, it is always believed that robots cannot think like humans. In recent years, with the development of the technology, it seems not difficult for robots to think like us. Some people are worried that might happen in the future.
Where is the robot technology heading (朝向)? Can robots and humans work together?
| Yes—they’re here to help humans Robots were created by humans. Robots do jobs that are too dangerous for people to do by themselves. Although robots might take some people’s jobs, they will create new types of work, and they will probably create more jobs than those they take away. Besides, robots’ programme could actually make them more trustworthy (值得信任的) than humans, because they are not influenced by feelings. |
| No—humans should not trust robots Robots are nearly controlling the world. Jobs that used to be done by humans are now being taken by robots. Although robots are under our control now, that might not always keep the same. An experiment (实验) found that some robots had learned how to lie (说谎) to each other. With the development of AI (人工智能), robots could start to act in their own interests. |
1. Is it difficult for robots to think like humans recently?
2. Who created robots?
3. Why are robots actually more trustworthy than humans?
4. Can robots lie to each other according to the experiment?
5. What will happen with the development of AI?
8 . Imagine a tiny robot crawling（爬）through your body, helping doctors with their work. It’s not from a science novel. Doctors are now using robots to do operations（手术）. This is because robots can do some work that doctors can’t. The robots carry small cameras, which allow doctors to look inside patients’ bodies. The robots also have tiny scissors and other tools. “It’s like having little hands inside the patients,” said Dr. Wang from a hospital in Beijing.
Here’s how they work: The doctor makes a small cut in a patient. Then, the doctor puts the robot through the cut. Next, the doctor controls the robot to reach where it needs to go. Finally, with the help of the robot, the doctor looks inside the patient’s body and begins to work.
The robots have many advantages for doctors and patients. They help cut medical costs and make difficult operations quicker and easier. They allow doctors to operate with less damage（伤害）to patients’ bodies, too. This helps them to heal（治愈）faster.
However, the robots aren’t perfect. They can be expensive. What’s more, they are just tools to help humans, and they must be used by skilled doctors. Even the best robots can’t do everything that humans can do.
Scientists are working to make robots, smarter. Someday, robots may do even more than expected for humans.
1. The robots carry ________ to help doctors look inside patients’ bodies.| A．small cameras | B．little hands | C．common tools | D．tiny scissors |
a. Look inside the patient’s body and begin to work.
b. Control the robot to reach where it needs to go.
c. Put the robot into the patient’s body through the cut.
d. Make a small cut.
| A．d→b→c→a | B．d→c→a→b | C．d→a→c→b | D．d→c→b→a |
| A．The size of the robots. |
| B．The future of the robots. |
| C．The costs of the robots. |
| D．The advantages of the robots. |
| A．Doctors Cut Medical Costs |
| B．Scientists Make Robots Smarter |
| C．Robots Help Doctors with Operations |
| D．Patients Do More than Expected |
Nowadays, more and more service robots have become a part of people’s daily life. According to a recent report, the average annual (年均的) growth of the Chinese robotics industry (机器人行业) over the past five years has reached 22 percent.
Many Chinese companies have made robotic dogs. For example, one company in Hangzhou made a robotic dog and it could carry 3 kilograms of things and it could serve as a running partner for its owner. In 2021, a company also made a robot that was able to “see” and “sense” its environment with face and body recognition (识别) technology. The robot could follow its owner and avoid obstacles (障碍) automatically (自动地).
Robots are now helping people in many ways. They are widely used in houses, acting as people’s personal helpers, such as robot cleaners and cooking robots.
In education, robots are used as great teachers and coaches. Recently, a board game robot was used in Guangzhou. Besides teaching students to play Chinese chess, it could also tell the culture and rules of the game.
Robots are also used in elderly (年长的) care. Some products that could improve old people’s self-care have already been in use on the market.
Now, service robots are made to offer more convenient and intelligent services. Our life will be different with the help of these robots in the future. Do you think so?
1. What percent has the average annual growth of the Chinese robotics industry reached over the past five years?2. Is there a robot that can “see” and “sense” its environment?
3. According to Paragraph 3, what can robots do in houses as people’s personal helpers?
4. In which ways can robots be used according to the passage?
5. What do you think of service robots?
10 . Chinese researchers reached the top of Qomolangma on May 4th, 2022. They set up the world’s highest automatic（自动的）weather station at an altitude（海拔）8,830 meters. The station helps Chinese scientists to directly collect data （数据） from the top of the world’s highest mountain and study the effects of climate（气候）.
Collecting and studying data from Qomolangma is not easy. But the data will give valuable information about the condition of local glaciers（冰川）and mountain snow. The water from the glaciers and mountain snow has been the source（源头）for over 10 main rivers in Asia and it has fed more than 2.5 billion people.
It will also help scientists study and understand the global monsoon system（全球季风系统）, so experts can make proper decisions about climate change and sustainable（可持续的）development.
With the efforts of Chinese government and many years’ hard work by scientists, China has become a global front-runner in fields related to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
阅读短文，根据短文内容判断所给句子正（T）误（F）。1. Chinese researchers reached the top of Qomolangma on May 4th, 2023.
2. Chinese researchers set up the world’s highest automatic weather station.
3. Collecting and studying data from Qomolangma is easy.
4. The station will also help scientists study and understand the global monsoon system.
5. China has become a global front-runner in fields related to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
