Do You Think You Will Have Your Own Robot?

When we watch movies about the future, we sometimes see robots. They are usually like human servants. They help with the housework and do jobs like working in dirty or dangerous places.

Today there are already robots working in factories. Some can help to build cars, and they do simple jobs over and over again.     1     Fewer people will do such jobs in the future because they are boring, but robots will never get bored.

Scientists are now trying to make robots look like humans and do the same things as we do. Some robots in Japan can walk and dance. They are fun to watch. However, some scientists believe that although we can make robots move like people,     2     让它们真正像人类一样思考将是很困难的. For example, scientist James White thinks that robots will never be able to wake up and know where they are.     3     但是许多科学家都不同意怀特先生的观点. They think that robots will even be able to talk like humans in 25 to 50 years.

Some scientists believe that there will be more robots in the future.     4     However, they agree it may take hundreds of years. These new robots will have many different shapes. Some will look like humans and others might look like animals. In India, for example, scientists made robots that look like snakes.     5     If buildings fall down with people inside, these snake robots can help look for people under the buildings. This was not possible 20 years ago, but computers and rockets also seemed impossible 100 years ago. We never know what will happen in the future!

2 . Many kids help parents to do chores in the house. They may empty the dishwasher, put laundry away or take out the trash.     1    , such as 20 minutes to play computer games.

But some people do not think that kids should get rewards (报酬)for doing chores. One of them is Susie Walton, a parenting educator (育儿教育家)and family coach. She believes if kids get rewards, they will think that work isn’t worth doing unless you get something in return.     2    . But they will clean the floor if their parents reward them for it.

“Every house is a team effort,” Walton said. “A home is a living space for everyone in the family. It’s important for kids to see that we all have a responsibility to keep our home clean.”

    3    . They believe that money or other rewards encourage kids to do more chores. It also teaches them real world lessons. They can learn about how we need to work to earn money.

Now, there are also apps that encourage kids to do chores. The apps give kids points and digital(电子的)gifts that can be used either online or in life.

With the app ChoreMonster, kids earn digital points after doing chores. Kids can exchange their points for real rewards, such as time to play video games or a trip to the mall.

“Our goal is to encourage kids so they can earn rewards,” says Chris Bergman, founder of ChoreMonster. “    4    .”