1 . A robot created by Washington State University (WSU) scientists could help elderly people with dementia (痴呆) and other limitations live independently in their own homes.

The Robot Activity Support System, or RAS, uses sensors installed in a WSU smart home to determine where its residents are, what they are doing and when they need assistance with daily activities. It navigates (定位) through rooms and around obstacles to find people on its own, provides video instructions on how to do simple tasks and can even lead its owner to objects like their medication or a snack in the kitchen.

“RAS combines the convenience of a mobile robot with the activity detection technology of a WSU smart home to provide assistance in the moment, as the need for help is detected,” said Bryan Minor, a postdoctoral researcher in the WSU School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Currently, an estimated 50 percent of adults over the age of 85 need assistance with every day activities such as preparing meals and taking medication and the annual cost for this assistance in the US is nearly $2 trillion. With the number of adults over 85 expected to triple by 2050, researchers hope that technologies like RAS and the WSU smart home will relieve some of the financial strain on the healthcare system by making it easier for older adults to live alone.

RAS is the first robot researchers have tried to incorporate into their smart home environment. They recently published a study in the journal Cognitive Systems Research that demonstrates how RAS could make life easier for older adults struggling to live independently.

“While we are still in an early stage of development, our initial results with RAS have been promising,” Minor said. “The next step in the research will be to test RAS’ performance with a group of older adults to get a better idea of what prompts, video reminders and other preferences they have regarding the robot.”

As is known to all, art     1     (influence) by the customs and faith of a people. Styles in Western art have changed many times.

In the 5th century, the art of the Middle Ages came into being and the main aim of     2     (paint) was to represent religious themes.     3     a result, some pictures at this time were full of religious symbols,     4     (create) a feeling of respect and love for God. During the   Renaissance,   people   began   to concentrate     5     (little) on religious themes and adopt a more humanistic attitude     6     life. In the late 19th century, some painters became the Impressionists. And they were the first painters     7     (paint) outdoors. Paintings can reflect the     8     (develop) of civilization, and it is interesting to predict     9     styles of paintings there will be in the future.     10     not try to visit some art galleries to appreciate different styles of paintings?

I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn't be late for! I found myself at a checkout counter behind an elderly woman seemingly in no hurry as she paid for her groceries. A PhD student with not a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers. I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upcoming evening. I did not want to be late for this date.

We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversation between strangers. The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It was a nice smile—warm and reassuring(安慰的)-and I returned her gift by smiling back.

''Must be a special lady, whoever it is that will be getting those beautiful flowers," she said.

''Yes, she's special," I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out. ''It's only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling she's the one'' jokingly, I added, ''The only problem is that I can't figure out why she'd want to date a guy like me. ''

''Well, I think she's very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is obviously in love with her," the woman said. ''My husband used to bring me flowers every week-even when times were tough and we didn't have much money. Those were incredible (难以置信的)days； he was very romantic and-of course-I miss him since he's passed away. ''

Para. 1 There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her.

Para. 2 It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased.

There is a common fear of the number 13. It’s a number just like any other,     1     there are horror movies about it; some buildings     2     (intention) have no I3th floor; and plenty of couple avoid gating married on the13th of the month.

What makes this number so scary? Historians have pointed a few potential     3     (reason) about the origin of this fear, the most popular of which is that there were 13 diners at the Last Supper. The 13th lo arrive was Judas,       4     betrayed Jesus.

Actually, there are no problems with the number     5     (it). Maybe 13 is next to the number 12, and that makes it look bad. In many ancient cultures, 12     6     (consider) to be a perfect number. Most ancient civilizations based their systems of telling time around the number 12, There are 12 hours on a clock, and 12 months in a year. Twelve is also     7     largest number that also has one syllable (音节) in English. As the number immediately following this “perfect” one, 13 seemed imperfect,     8    (inspire) unease throughout the ancient world.

So far, both myth and math     9     (combine) to make this particular number scarier than any other. The uneasiness about the number,     10     ( date) bark to ancient times, has been developed over the years.

I am kind and generous. I am always ready to give hand to a stranger whenever possible.

There are many reasons why helping others are good. Not only does it give us a great sense of satisfaction, but this satisfaction can result from a sense of belonging. I learnt this lesson by helping a total stranger out last Friday.

I was riding a bike back home while I came across an old man lying in the middle of the street with a basket full of things beside me. See this, I quickly came to him and help him stand up. I was happy to see he was not serious injured. The old man was too grateful that he was moved to the tears.

Helping others is really the easiest thing to make one happy!

Best wishes.

Yours,