爱华网
话题专练
一
Robots are coming into people's lives these days．Robots help people a lot．Japanese housekeeping robots can move chairs，sweep the floor，take away dirty dishes and put dirty clothes in washing machines．Intel，the famous computer maker，has developed a self-controlled robot called Herb．Herb can do simple things that people tell it to do，such as cleaning up waste．
Recently a large robot named "Probo" has been helping children to feel less worried in hospital．Probo has a touch screen on its stomach．The screen teaches children how to use Probo．The green robot's face can make expressions to show how medical operations will make the child feel．"The main aim of this project is to make emotional communication(情感交流) with children，" said Jelle Saldien，one of the researchers．
Probo was invented by Ivan Hermans，president of the Anty Foundation．He had the idea after seeing the film I，Robot．Probo's green head and short nose are fully automated(使自动化)．Its touch screen can show different emotions，such as pleasure and sadness，and can also "see" the expressions on human faces and make eye contact．
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。
( ) 1．Herb that the famous computer maker developed is _______．
A．a man-controlled robot
B．a self-controlled robot
C．a Japanese baby
D．a very large robot
( ) 2．Probe was invented in order to _______．
A．look after children in hospital
B．teach children how to use it
C．show expressions to children
D．make emotional communication with children
( ) 3．_______ made Ivan Hermans have the idea about inventing "Probo"．
A．Herb
B．Children in hospital
C．Film I，Robot
D．I don't know
( ) 4．The author implies(暗示) that _______．
A．the Japanese robot can help children to do their homework
B．Herb can help people to do housework
C．robots will take the place of people in the future
D．Ivan is an inventor and the president of his country
( ) 5．It can be learned from the passage that _______．
A．people are not allowed to touch Probe's stomach
B．Probe has two kinds of feeling：happiness and sadness
C．when a boy is happy，Probe can know how he feels
D．Probo is one of the robots in the film I，Robot
答案：
1．B 根据短文第一段中“has developed a self-controlled robot called Herb．”可知，Herb 是一种自控机器人。
2．D 根据短文第二段最后一句 make emotional communication with children 可知，创造“抱抱”机器人的主要目的是同孩子进行情感交流。
3．C 根据短文最后一段内容可知，Ivan Hermans 是在看了 I，Robot 这部影片后，得到的创造“抱抱”机器人的灵感。
4．B 从整篇文章来看“机器人可以为人们做家务”，所以确定选 B。
5．C 根据短文可知，机器人 Probo 可以触摸；“抱抱”机器人不仅只有两种表情：它不同于 I，Robot 影片中的机器人。根据短文可知，“抱抱”机器人可以根据人的面部表情判断人的喜怒哀乐，故选 C。 二
Kobian，a Japanese robot，which can express seven human emotions，has been made by researchers at a university of Japan．
The robot can express seven different feelings，including happiness，surprise，sadness and dislike．In order to use different poses to match the mood，Kobian uses motors in its face to move its lips，eyelids and eyebrows into different positions．
To express happiness，for example，the robot puts its hands over its head and opens its mouth and eyes wide．
To show sadness，Kobian hangs its head and holds a hand up to its face in a gesture of sadness．
Kobian can also walk around，check its environment and do some work．It is hoped it will be a good helper for humans．
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。
( ) 1．Kobian can express _______ human emotions．
A．5 B．6 C．7 D．8
( ) 2．Kobian can use _______ to match the mood．
A．face
B．eyelids and eyebrows
C．lips
D．motors in different positions
( ) 3．How does Kobian express sadness?
A．It can put its hands over its head and cry．
B．It can hang its head and hold a hand up to its face in a gesture of sadness．
C．It can fall down its tears．
D．It can open its mouth and eyes wide．
( ) 4．The last paragraph mainly tells us _______．
A．Kobian can walk around
B．Kobian can check its environment
C．Kobian can do some work
D．Kobian will be a good helper for humans．
( ) 5．Which of the following is NOT right?
A．Kobian is made in Japan．
B．Kobian does some housework for human beings．
C．Kobian can use expressions to its heart．
D．Kobian can express seven human emotions，but it won't take the place of human beings． 答案：
1．C 短文中一、二两段都提到了这一点，可以表达七种人类情感。
2．D 根据短文第二段最后一句内容可以确定本题答案。
3．B 根据短文第四段的内容可以确定答案。
4．D 根据最后一段内容可以看出，机器人能帮人类做很多事情，希望将来成为人类的好帮手。
5．C 通读全文可以看出，机器人虽然能在很多方面代替人类工作，但是它没有思想，只是人类的工具。
三
Have you ever wished to have an umbrella that makes your hands free? Alan Kaufman has come up with the "Nubrella"．which means "new"+"umbrella"．It is the first truly hands-free umbrella in the world．The inventor says that it stops rain，wind and snow and can keep your head，face and hair dry．
"I never planned to invent a product．I just noticed a problem and came up with a solution，" said the inventor．The idea for the invention began on one rainy day．Mr．Kaufman was standing in one of his stores．He began to look at people's umbrellas．He found that they had to try very hard to keep their umbrellas in the right place．At that moment an idea came into his mind．He ran to his desk and drew a picture．In this way，the Nubrella was born．
One cool feature of the Nubrella is that you don't hold it like a normal umbrella；you wear it．The shoulder straps(肩带) of the Nubrella allow people to be fully hands-free，so when walking in the rain with the Nubrella，you are able to use your cell phone or drink a hot cup of coffee．Also，the Nubrella will never be inverted(颠倒) in the wind．The new umbrella is far safer than traditional ones，because it has no sharp points．
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。
( ) 1．"Nubrella" is a kind of _______ umbrella．
A．normal
B．hands-free
C．traditional
D．paper
( ) 2．How can you use the "Nubrella"?
A．You can wear the shoulder straps of the Nubrella．
B．You can put the Nubrella on your head．
C．You can use your hands to control it．
D．You can put it on your bike．
( ) 3．Which of the following is NOT right?
A．"Nubrella" means "new"+"umbrella"．
B．The idea of the new umbrella came from the rainy day．
C．When you are walking in the rain，you'd better take the Nubrella．
D．If you go out with the Nubrella in the rain，you'd drink a hot cup of coffee．
( ) 4．It can be learned from the passage that _______．
A．Alan Kaufman often uses umbrellas in everyday life
B．the new kind of umbrella was invented by an umbrella store owner
C．the inventor thought for a long time before inventing the Nubrella
D．you can do other things with your hands when using the Nubrella
( ) 5．In writing this passage，the author mainly intends(意图) to _______．
A．introduce this new kind of umbrella to people who are selling umbrellas
B．tell the readers about a great inventor named Alan Kaufman
C．tell the readers about a new invention that is very useful
D．tell the readers that the inventor didn't want to invent anything
答案：
1．B 根据短文第一段中“It is the first truly hands-free umbrella in the world．”可知，这种伞是—种可以不用手打的伞。
2．A 根据短文最后一段内容可知，这种伞带有肩带，用时可以戴在肩膀上，不需要用手。
3．D 根据短文最后一段内容可知，使用这种伞时，手可以同时做其他事情，不一定都要喝热咖啡。
4．D 通读全文，可以从中了解到“使用这种伞时，手可以同时做其他事情”，所以很容易确定答案。
5．C 作者写这篇文章的意图是向人们介绍这种新伞的好处。
四
News One
Recently a cloned dog named Ruppy became the world's first transgenic(转基因的) dog．She and four other dogs all gave off red light under certain conditions．
A team led by Byeong-Chun Lee in Korea created the dogs．Lee and researcher Woo Suk Hwang were also part of the team that created the first cloned dog，Snuppy，in 2005．
"This new experiment should open the door for transgenic dogs to be models of human illness，" said one of the team members，Che Myong Ko．"The next step for us is to make a true illness model．"
News Two
A company in Japan has said they will soon sell a new kind of T-shirt．The T—shirt can protect people from knives．It is more than three times stronger than cotton because it is made of a special kind of material．This material is thick enough to protect you，but it is not too heavy to make you look like you are wearing protective clothing．This material is like the one that is used in body armor，but it is lighter and can be washed by a washing machine．
