1 . Those concerned that robots are taking over the world can rest easy-for now. Though the androids have proved useful at performing ordinary tasks, they are not ready for prime time. At least that appears to be the case at Japan’s cutting-edge Henn-na Hotel chain where over half of the robot staff is being replaced by humans.
The first Henn-na Hotel opened in July 2015, where guests were greeted and checked-in by either a family-friendly English-speaking dinosaur robot or a Japanese-speaking humanoid. Autonomous robots stood ready to help guests carry luggage to their rooms, while a cute doll-shaped android called Churi, placed inside each room, provided them with information about nearby attractions. Even the hotel’s garbage cans were robotic.
Not surprisingly, the lodging, recognized in 2016 as the world’s first robot-staffed hotel by Guinness World Records, drew in curious visitors from all around the world.
But as the years have passed, the hotel’s main draw — its employees — are becoming less of a novelty (新颖) and more of a bother. Also as the robots are “aging”, they are costing more to repair and maintain. Earlier this month, the hotel chain’s parent company H. I. S. announced that it had decided to “fire” over half of the robot employees and replace them with humans. Among them are the chain’s two robot receptionists. In addition to scaring young guests, they are also unable to photocopy guests’ passports-a requirement when checking into a Japanese hotel--forcing human employees to step in each time. Also, out are the cute Churi robots, which have proved unable to answer even the simplest questions and annoyed guests by interrupting their conversations.
While this is a setback, the company’s officials are not discouraged. They plan to continue with their ambitious expansion plans and believe the human-robot interaction is a learning process.“When you actually use robots, you realize there are places where they aren’t needed.” said one of the officials.
1. What could robots in the first Henn-na Hotel do?| A．Offer guests traffic information. | B．Help guests pack their luggage. |
| C．Greet guests in English or Japanese. | D．Direct guests to check in at the front desk. |
| A．They cause trouble to customers. | B．They ignore instructions. |
| C．They annoy human employees. | D．They are beyond repair. |
| A．They think highly of their interaction with customers. |
| B．They are against the use of state-of-art equipment. |
| C．They plan to hire more cute Churi robots. |
| D．They’ve realized the limitations of robots. |
| A．Robot Employees-Ready for Prime Time |
| B．Japanese Hotel Chain Expands Ambitiously |
| C．Robot Employees-a New Novelty for Hotels |
| D．Japanese Hotel Chain “Fires” Robot Employees |
2 . Robots will have taken over most jobs within 30 years leaving humanity facing its “biggest challenger ever” to find meaning in life when work is no longer necessary according to experts.
Professor Moshe Vardi, who works in Rice University, says that many middle-class professionals will be assisting the work of machines within the next few decades leaving workers more leisure（休闲）time than they have ever experienced and as a result, the rise of robots could lead to unemployment rate greater than 50 percent.
“We are approaching a time when machines will be able to do better than humans at almost any task,” said Vardi, “Robots are doing more and more jobs that people used to do. I believe that society needs to face question before it’s upon us. If machines can do almost any work humans can do, what will humans do? The question I want to put forward is, ‘Does the technology we are developing finally benefit mankind?’”
Prof. Vardi said existing robotic and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies were already getting rid of a growing number of middle-class jobs and that pace of advancement in the field is increasing.
But Prof. Vardi is not sure that a workforce of human like robots will be good for mankind. “A typical answer is that if machines will do all our work, we will be free to pursue leisure activities,” he said. “I do not find this a promising future, as I do not find the idea of leisure-only life appealing. I believe that work is essential to human well-being.” He added, “Humanity is about to face perhaps its greatest challenge ever, which is finding meaning in life. If machines can do all the work or even 50 percent of the jobs that we used to do, what will people do?”
1. According to the text, what is human’s “biggest challenge ever”?| A．The most challenging jobs. |
| B．Seeking the significance of life. |
| C．The rise of unemployment rates. |
| D．No necessary work for humanity. |
| A．Whether robotic and AI technologies are good for humans. |
| B．Whether robots can rule humans within 30 years. |
| C．The unemployment rate is increasing greatly. |
| D．The development of robots is rapid enough. |
| A．Realistic and comfortable. |
| B．Unpleasant and unattractive. |
| C．Entertaining and pleasing. |
| D．Disgusting and annoying. |
| A．will be in short of labor force |
| B．can have a surplus of products |
| C．have to face fierce competition |
| D．may lose the value of life |
3 . It’s 8 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2028, and you are headed for a business appointment 300 miles away. You step into your circle, two passenger aircushion car, press a series of buttons and the national traffic computer notes your destination, figures out the current traffic situation and signals your car to slide out of the garage. Hands free, you sit back and begin to read the morning paper — which is flashed on a flat TV screen over the car’s dashboard. Tapping a button changes the page.
The car speeds up to 150 mph in the city’s countryside, and then hits 250 mph in less builtup areas, driving over the smooth plastic road. You fly past a string of cities, many of them covered by the new domes (圆屋顶) that keep them evenly climatized all year round. Traffic is heavy, typically, but there’s no need to worry. The traffic computer, which sends and receives signals to and from all cars on the road between cities, keeps vehicles at least 50 yds apart. There hasn’t been an accident since the system began.
Suddenly your TV phone buzzes. A business partner wants a sketch of a new kind of impeller your firm is putting out for sports boats. You reach for your case and draw the diagram with a pencilthin infrared flashlight (红外线闪光灯) on what looks like a TV screen lining the back of the case. The diagram is sent to a similar screen in your partner’s office, 200 miles away. He presses a button and a fixed copy of the sketch rolls out of the machine. He wishes you good luck at the coming meeting and signs off.
Ninety minutes after leaving your home, you slide beneath the dome of your destination city. Your car slows down and heads for an outercore office building where you’ll meet your colleagues. After you get out, the vehicle parks itself in a garage to await your return. Private cars aren’t allowed inside most city cores. Moving sidewalks and electrams (电车) carry the public from one location to another.
1. The traffic computer in your car can ________.| A．keep your car at a safe distance from other cars |
| B．keep your car at the same speed in different situations |
| C．keep your car receiving signals of TV programs |
| D．keep your car driving avoiding heavy traffic |
| A．To prevent people from being wet in the rain. |
| B．To stop the climate of the cities changing violently all year. |
| C．To protect the travelers against the strong sunshine. |
| D．To make the city have the same weather all year. |
| A．No accidents will happen because of heavy traffic. |
| B．The sidewalk can move itself up and down. |
| C．The road is built with the plastic material. |
| D．The car parks itself on a dome to wait for your return. |
| A．you are lucky to sell products of your company |
| B．you receive best wishes from your business partner |
| C．you can do business with a newly invented pencil |
| D．you can do business even on the road in the future |
4 . The year 2117 will be an eventful one for art. In May of that year in Berlin, the philosopher-artist Jonathon Keats’ “century cameras”— cameras with a 100-year-long exposure (曝光)time—will be brought back from hiding places around the city to have their results developed and exhibited. Six months after that, the Future Library in Oslo, Norway, will open its doors for the first time, presenting 100 books printed on the wood of trees planted in the distant past of 2017.
As Katie Paterson, the creator of the Future Library, puts it: “Future Library is an artwork for future generations.” These projects, more than a century in the making, are part of a new wave of slow art intended to push viewers and Participants to think beyond their own lifetimes. They aim to challenge today’s short-term thinking and the brief attention spans of modern consumers, forcing people into considering works more deliberately. In their way, too, they are fighting against modern culture—not just regarding money, but also the way in which artistic worth is measured by attention.
In a similar fashion, every April on Slow Art Day, visitors are encouraged to stare at five works of art for 10 minutes at a time—a tough task for the average museum visitor, who typically spends less than30seconds on each piece of art.
Like the Future Library, the century cameras are very much a project for cities, since it’s in cities that time runs fastest and the pace of life is fastest. “Since I started living in a city, I’ve somehow been quite disconnected,” Anne Beate Hovind, the Future Library project manager, who described how working on the library drew her back to the Pace of life she knew when she was growing up on a farm in her youth, told The Atlantic magazine.
1. According to the first paragraph, what will NOT happen in2117?| A．A camera which was produced 100 years ago will be exhibited. |
| B．The Future Library will be open to the public for the first time. |
| C．Photos with a 100-year exposure time will be developed and exhibited. |
| D．Books printed on the wood of trees planted in 2017 will be displayed. |
| A．They consider works deliberately. |
| B．They spend little time on Works. |
| C．They spend much money on works. |
| D．They stare at works for 10 minutes at a time. |
| A．To advocate creating works of art slowly. |
| B．To protect works of art from being damaged. |
| C．To promote works of art for modern culture. |
| D．To encourage people to pay more attention to works of art. |
| A．It’s discouraging |
| B．It’s dull |
| C．Its developed. |
| D．It’s busy |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（
），并在其下面写出该加的词。删除：把多余的词用斜线（
）划掉。修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
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With the development of science and technology, intelligent robots will be wide used in the future. At home, robots will help people do some housework and taking care of the elderly, babies and patients. In addition to these task, robots will even be able to play the chess and do exercise with people. In factories, robots will be used to perform some dangerous jobs avoid accidents.
Robots will change our future life by many ways, what will make it more colorful and comfortable. Therefore, we shouldn’t depend on intelligent robots too much, for they were made to help humans rather than replace us. As helpers of we humans, robots should be used properly.
