Technology is making life easier for some dairy farmers.They use robotic systems to milk their cows.Cows are trained to follow a series of paths that lead to milking stations.Only one cow at a time can enter a station. Once inside,the cow is rewarded with food.As the cow eats,a robotic arm cleans and connects the animal to the milking machine.A few minutes later,milking is complete.The gate is opened,the cow is released and the next cow enters. The robotic systems are designed to operate 24 hours a day.The cows get to decide when they want to be milked.Cows are milked an average of about three times a day.Some are milked four to six times a day. The cows wear collars around their necks that identify them to the system.A computer keeps records on their eating and milking.A cow is released from the station if the computer decides it should not be milked. The automated system also measures the temperature and color of freshly produced milk.Milk is thrown away if it does not pass the tests. Professor Plaut believes the systems will appeal especially to the next generation of farmers.She means young people who are more interested in technology and less interested in working all the time on the farm.Still,she says the price of robotic milking systems will continue to limit their use. Doug and Tina Suhr have more than 100 cows on their family farm.Last year it became the fourth farm in southeast Minnesota to get a robotic milking system.A recent story in a local agricultural newspaper said the first robot cost 175 000 dollars.The second cost 150 000. Doug told AgriNews that wages that would have been paid for one employee in five years will pay for one robot.He says the increase in milk production reaches a high of more than six kilograms per cow per day. According to Doug,what is the wage of an employee? A) 150 000~170 000. B) 750 000. C) 150 000~30 000. D) 30 000--32 000
D
(Question)
Julianna Huth, a second grader at Green Primary School, in Green, Ohio, is a fan of the digital world. The 8-year-old enjoys e-books at home and at school. "It's just cool that you can read on your IPad," said Julianna, who started using e-books when she was 6. "It's more fun and you learn more from it." Children would say that books on e-readers are fun. They include music, cartoons and other interactive functions that make reading a book feel like playing a video game. But is it better than a book? Julianna's teacher, Kourtney Denning, thinks highly of e-books. "Traditional books aren't good enough anymore," she said. "We have to transform our learning as we know it." Julianna's mother, Cathy Ivancic, said that electronic devices like the IPad were new and fun and gave children the motivation to read, including those who didn't like reading. Some people, however, are suggesting a closer look, especially for younger children learning to read. "Read traditional books with your child. We don't have any evidence that any kind of electronic device is better than a parent," said Julia Parish-Morris, who has studied e-books and how children interact with them. Ms. Parish-Morris and educators are concerned that children can be distracted by the cartoons and gamelike features within e-books. Keeping a focus on the story is important in developing reading and writing skills. "The most important thing is sitting and talking with your children," said Gabrille Strouse, a professor who has studied e-books. "Whether you're reading a book or an e-book, co-interacting, co-viewing is the best way for them to learn." Lisa Guernsey, director of the early education initiative at the New America Foundation, says conversations about how events of a story relate to(......) the child's own life, or asking open-ended questions about what happened, are examples of natural dialogue. But this kind of interaction is often different with e-books , she said, and in some cases, disappears. "We are seeing some evidence that parents expect... Which of the following would Lisa Guernsey most probably agree with? A) E-books can help children develop early reading skills. B) Parents and children don't tend to read e-books together. C) E-books replace parents' role in their children's reading. D) Parents prefer e-books to traditional books.
(Answer)
B
When times get tough, we all look for ways to cut back. When we're hungry, we eat at home instead of going out. We take buses instead of taxis. And we wear our old designer jeans just a few months longer. With college expenses at all-time highs, high school students are eager to do anything to cut the cost of a university education. One cost-cutting proposal is to allow college students to get a bachelor's degree in three years instead of four. Educational institutions have been actively exploring ways to make the learning process more efficient. But there's a question: Would the quality of undergraduate education suffer? Few US universities have formally approved a "three-year degree" model. I doubt that mainstream North American colleges will carry out a three-year curriculum any time soon. For one thing, most universities already allow highly qualified students to graduate early by testing out of certain classes and obtaining a number of college credits. In addition, at famous universities, the committee who determine which courses are required and which courses are electives are unlikely to suddenly "throw out" one quarter of the required credits. Professors will resist "diluting " the quality of the education they offer. In my opinion, a quality four-year education is always superior to a quality three-year education. A college education requires sufficient time for a student to become skilled in their major and do coursework in fields outside their major. It is not a good idea to water down education, any more than it's not a good idea to water down medicine. If we want to help students find their way through university, we should help them understand early on what knowledge and skills they need to have upon graduation. We should allow students to test out of as many courses as possible. We should give them a chance to earn money as interns in meaningful part-time jobs that relate to their university studies, such as the five-year co-op program at Northeastern University. ks5uks5u We can infer that _ . A) the author is a college professor B) the author thinks the cost of a university education is too high for people to afford C) the author considers the university education quality very important D) the author pays special attention to the all-round development of college students
C