1 . Imagine a cat that does not need someone to clean up after it keeps an older people company and helps them remember to take their medicine. That is the shared dream of the toy maker Hasbro and scientists at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The researchers received a $ 3-million-dollar from the National Science Foundation for a special project. They want to find ways to add artificial intelligence, or AI, to Hasbro’s “Joy for All” robotic cat.
The cat has already been for sale for two years. Though priced at over 1,000 dollars, it sold quite well. It was meant to act as a “companion”(陪伴) for older people. Now the project is aimed at developing additional abilities for the cat. Researchers are working to decide which activities older adults may need the most. They hope to make the cat perform a small number of activities very well. Such activities include finding lost objects and reminding the older people to take medicine or visit their doctor. They also want to keep the cost down to just a few hundred dollars.
It is an idea that has appealed (有吸引力) to Jeanne Elliott. Her 93-year-old mother Mary Derr lives with her in South Kingstown. Derr has dementia (痴呆). The Joy for All cat that Elliot bought this year has become a true companion for Derr. The cat stays with Derr and keeps her relaxed while Elliott is at work. Elliot said a robotic cat that helps her mother to remember to take her medicine and be careful when she walks would be greater.
The researchers are trying to learn how the improved cats will complete helpful activities and how they will communicate. They say that they do not want a talking cat, however. Instead they are trying to design a cat that can move its head in a special way to successfully communicate its message. In the end, they hope to create an exchange between the human and the cat in which the human feels the cat needs them. By doing so, the researchers hope they can even help prevent feelings of loneliness and sadness among elderly people.
1. What’s the purpose of the project?| A．To reduce the pain of the elderly. |
| B．To increase the sales of a medicine. |
| C．To help make the robotic cat smarter. |
| D．To invent a robotic cat for the elderly. |
| A．It will be on sale in two years. |
| B．It may be cheaper in the future. |
| C．Its abilities will be made simpler for the elderly. |
| D．It can tell the activities that older adults need the most. |
| A．The cat gives much help to the elderly. |
| B．The cat works well to talk with the patient. |
| C．The cat can make the dementia patient less painful. |
| D．The cat should be designed to satisfy patients’ need. |
| A．Each family can afford such a cat in the future. |
| B．A talking cat is quite popular among the elderly. |
| C．Feelings of sadness among the elderly are unavoidable. |
| D．The feeling of being needed is important to the elderly. |
2 . How I Turned to Be Optimistic
I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt＇s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.
The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times. ”
My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.
From my experiences I have learned one important rule: Almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.
1. How did the author get to know America?
| A．From her relatives. | B．From her mother. |
| C．From Books and pictures. | D．From radio programs. |
| A．confused | B．excited |
| C．worried | D．amazed |
| A．often lost her way |
| B．did not think about her future |
| C．studied in three different schools |
| D．got on well with her stepfather |
| A．She worked as a translator. |
| B．She attended a lot of job interviews. |
| C．She paid telephone bills for her family. |
| D．She helped her family with her English. |
| A．her future will be free from troubles |
| B．it is difficult to learn to become patient |
| C．there are more good things than bad things |
| D．good things will happen if one keeps trying |
