Robots that can chat，find misplaced glasses，draw aeroplanes and play with your children are attracting thousands of visitors during an expo in Tokyo as Japan adapts to changes in society．
Robots，such as the sound．sensitive Chapit，answer simple questions and even joke with people to help them fight loneliness and stay alert in old age．
Japan has one of the world’s fastest-ageing societies and the government predicts that by 2050 the proportion of people over 65 will reach 40 percent．”Many older people in Japan live alone and have no one to talk to，”said Kazuya Kitamura representative of the expo organizer．“Communication robots accompany people and don’t mind listening to the same stories over and over again．”
Matsumoto’s“Personal Mobility Robot，”equipped with four cameras and a sensor to recognize the user's centre of gravity, is designed to help elderly move around without pressing buttons．using joysticks(操纵杆)or rotating wheels as in traditional wheelchairs．
The robot can also help find misplaced glasses by identifying them with a sensor．
Other robots，such as the award-winning“DiGRO”can support busy parents who have little time to play with their children．The robot can use the Internet to find a simple image and then draw pictures，keeping children company while parents work．
While Chapit，a relatively simple robot，managed to attract a corporate partner many researchers，such as Kiyoshi Matsumoto，a professor at the University of Tokyo，struggle to attract sponsors for more expensive projects．
“We have developed a robot that can assist many people，but we still haven’t found a sponsor,”said Matsumoto，who added that the cost of the machine，if mass-produced，would be comparable to that of a car．”In the current economic environment there are few companies willing to invest in such a costly project，”he said．It can be inferred from the text that_______．
| A．many children lack love from parents |
| B．robots helpful to the old will be in great demand |
| C．robots are the most useful to children |
| D．robots do better than people in healthcare |
It is difficult to find sponsors for robots because______.
| A．Japan is suffering economy depression |
| B．the robots are of poor design |
| C．the production of robots costs a lot |
| D．the future market is worrying |
What is the author’s attitude towards the robots referred to?
| A．Unsatisfied． | B．Doubtful． |
| C．Favorable． | D．Regretful． |
When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she. I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人). I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs. Tan...”
And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me cheek already two week lone.”
And then, in perfect English I said, “I’m getting rather concerned .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”
Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately, I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.
When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.Why was the author’s mother poorly served?
| A．She was unable to speak good English. |
| B．She was often misunderstood. |
| C．She was not clearly heard. |
| D．She was not very polite. |
From Paragraph 2, we know that the author was .
| A．good at pretending |
| B．rude to the stockbroker |
| C．ready to help her mother |
| D．unwilling to phone for her mother |
After the author made the phone call, ___________.
| A．they forgave the stockbroker |
| B．they failed to get the check |
| C．they went to New York immediately |
| D．they spoke to their boss at once |
What does the author think of her mother’s English now?
| A．It confuses her. |
| B．It embarrasses her. |
| C．It helps her understand the world. |
| D．It helps her tolerate (容忍) rude people. |
We can infer from the passage that Chinese English .
| A．is clear and natural to non-native speakers |
| B．is vivid and direct to non-native speakers |
| C．has a very bad reputation in America |
| D．may bring inconvenience in America |
A man once said how useless it was to put advertisements in the newspaper. “Last week,” he said, “my umbrella was stolen from a London church. As it was a present, I spent twice its worth in advertising, but didn’t get it back.”
“How did you write your advertisement?” asked one of the listeners, a merchant.
“Here it is,” said the man, taking out of his pocket a slip cut from a newspaper. The other man took it and read, “Lost from the City Church last Sunday evening, a black silk umbrella. The gentleman who finds it will receive ten shillings on leaving it at No. 10 Broad Street.”
“Now,” said the merchant, “I often advertise, and find that it pays me well. But the way in which an advertisement is expressed is of extreme importance. Let us try for your umbrella again, and if it fails, I'll buy you a new one.”
The merchant then took a slip of paper out of his pocket and wrote: “If the man who was seen to take an umbrella from the City Church last Sunday evening doesn’t wish to get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No.10 Broad Street. He is well known.”
This appeared in the newspaper, and on the following morning, the man was astonished when he opened the front door. In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colors, and his own was among them. Many of them had notes fastened to them saying that they had been taken by mistake, and begging the loser not to say anything about the matter.What is an advertisement? _______________.
| A．A news item. |
| B．Public opinions. |
| C．One way to voice one’s view. |
| D．A public announcement on papers, TV, etc. |
The result of the first advertisement was that ______________.
| A．the man got his umbrella back |
| B．the man wasted some money advertising |
| C．nobody found the missing umbrella |
| D．the umbrella was found somewhere near the church |
The merchant suggested that the man should _______________.
| A．buy a new umbrella |
| B．go on looking for his umbrella |
| C．write another and better advertisement |
| D．report the police |
“If it fails, I’ll buy you a new one,” suggested that the merchant
_______________.
| A．was quite sure of success |
| B．wanted to buy him a new umbrella |
| C．didn’t know what to do |
| D．was rich enough to buy one |
The story is mainly about _________________.
| A．a useless advertisement |
| B．how to make an effective advertisement |
| C．how the man lost and found his umbrella |
| D．what the merchant did for the umbrella owner |
Earth is the third planet from the sun.It is one of the four inner planets.The other three inner planets are Mercury,Venus,and Mars.The inner planets are also called the rocky planets,because they are made of rocks.
Earth is often called the “Water Planet”,because it is the only planet in our solar system which has liquid water on its surface.About 70% of the surface of Earth is covered by water! The other part of Earth is made up of continents and islands which have different landforms on them.Examples of landforms are mountains and plains.Plants and animals can live on Earth,because it has so much water.
Earth spins very quickly compared to other planets.It only takes Earth 24 hours to spin around its axis one time.One Earth day is 24 hours long!Earth orbits the sun in 365 days! This makes one Earth year 365 days long!
Earth is the only planet in our solar system where humans,other animals,and plants can live.There is plenty of water to drink or to live in.Water is present on Earth in its big oceans and in the air! Clouds are made of water vapor.The atmosphere has a lot of oxygen in it for animals to breathe,but the rest of our “air” is made up of water vapor,nitrogen,carbon dioxide,and other gases.The air is perfect for plants to grow.Earth temperature is not the same in all places,but the temperature is just right for plants,animals,and humans in most places on Earth.
Like the other inner planets,Earth has volcanoes.Volcanoes on Earth are different from those on other planets,because they still erupt.Scientists think that there may be active volcanoes on other planets and moons in our solar system,but they are still studying this.
Earth has one planet which we call the Moon.The surface of the Moon has many craters on it These were caused when meteorites hit it.It has many volcanoes on it which do not erupt anymore.We can see the moon at night without using a telescope.It is the closest space object to our planet,Earth.Earth is called the Water Planet,______.
| A．because animals need water |
| B．the water makes it look blue from space |
| C．it has liquid water on its surface |
| D．Earth is the third planet from the sun |
It takes Earth ______to orbit the sun in one year.
| A．24 hours | B．24 days | C．365 days | D．360 days |
Life exists on Earth,______.
| A．because the water,air,and temperature are just right |
| B．there is water vapor in clouds |
| C．Earth is the planet closest to the sun |
| D．earth has volcanoes |
Humans have observed and explored the oceans since ancient times.But it wasn’t until the 19th century that the scientific study of oceans began.The first major scientific expedition,and the one that firmly established the field of oceanography,was the around-the-world voyage of H.M.S. Challenger.Setting out from England in 1872,the Challenger spent almost three and a half years gathering a wealth of information about seawater,sea life,and the ocean floor.Major oceanographic expeditions since then have included the South Atlantic voyage of the German ship Meteor in 1926 and the Deep-Sea Drilling Project from 1968 to 1983.Many individuals also have played important roles in advancing our understanding of oceans,beginning with Matthew Fontaine Maury in the mid-1800s;his work on oceanography and navigation led to a uniform system of weather reporting at sea.Since Maury’s time,oceanography has progressed rapidly.Early oceanographers had to contend themselves with tossing buckets overboard to see what they might haul in.Today’s oceanographers are equipped with space images,supercomputer models,and deep-sea robots that can crawl along the seafloor.As they set goals for the future,some oceanographers even dream of doing research in permanently manned stations on the bottom of the oceans.Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Humans didn’t explore the oceans until the 19th century. |
| B．Maury first established the field of oceanography. |
| C．Maury spent a lot of time in studying seawater,sea life,and the bottom of the ocean. |
| D．Many individuals also plays a very important part in advancing our understanding of oceans,such as Maury. |
How many expeditions are mentioned in this passage?
| A．Four. | B．Three. | C．Five. | D．Two. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．The process of the oceanography has stopped at one time. |
| B．Maury’s work on oceanography contributes a lot to weather reporting at sea. |
| C．Nowadays the equipment for studying the oceans needs improving,because it is out of date. |
| D．The expeditions in the past had great difficulty and made a lot of efforts in order to study the oceans. |
If women are mercilessly exploited(剥削) year after year,they have only themselves to blame.Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion,they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores.Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.When you come to think of it,only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe(衣柜) packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.
Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste.Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn.Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way,waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have.Skirts are lengthened or shortened;neck-lines are lowered or raised,and so on.No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society.Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth,comfort and durability(耐用).They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort,as long as they look right.There can hardly be a man who hasn’t at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day,or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.
When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion,the conclusions to be drawn are obvious.Do the constantly changing fashions of women’s clothes,one wonders,reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability?Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers.Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability?That is for you to decide.Designers and big stores always make money .
| A．by mercilessly exploiting women workers in the clothing industry |
| B．because they are capable of predicting new fashions |
| C．by constantly changing the fashions in women’s clothing |
| D．because they attach great importance to quality in women’s clothing |
To the writer,the fact that women change their old-fashioned dresses is seen as .
| A．a waste of money |
| B．a waste of time |
| C．an expression of taste |
| D．an expression of creativity |
The writer would be less critical if fashion designers placed more stress on the of clothing.
| A．cost | B．appearance |
| C．comfort | D．suitability |
According to the passage,which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．New fashions in clothing are created for the commercial exploitation of women. |
| B．The constant changes in women’s clothing reflect their strength of character. |
| C．The fashion industry makes an important contribution to society. |
| D．Fashion designs should not be encouraged since they are only welcomed by women. |
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