The global population is living longer,and getting older,which presents new challenges. "The question becomes:who will take care of everyone? While people will always be the best caregivers for people,there just aren't enough people. That's where robotic technology can really make a difference," says Professor Maja Mataric at the University of Southern California. Her group is developing robots to work with stroke patients and elderly people. The research team has found that people react well to a robot gym instructor,and seem to get less frustrated with it than with instructions given on a computer screen. The robot can act as a perfect trainer,with infinite patience. "People say things like 'I prefer this robot to my husband!Can I take it home?'" according to Professor Mataric. "In fact there's a really important point here. As we create these care giving technologies,we're helping not only the people that need the care,but also the people caring for them. We can give them a break,and help them avoid _ ." People are going to have to like,and importantly trust robots before they welcome them into their homes,and several groups around the world are working on making it easier to communicate with them. Much of human communication takes place through body language. Gestures, eye contact , and concepts of personal space are all things that robots are being taught. In learning about how people interact with machines,researchers are also discovering new roles for robots in our lives. Robots can communicate with humans in ways that other technologies can not. "If someone finds the robot to be more persuasive and more reliable,that's going to affect how they interact with it," says Dr Cynthia Breazeal, director of the Personal Robots Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "We can now start to think about fields where it's the social interaction,which is the main means by which a robot helps someone." Dr Breazeal says that means robots could be used in education,learning,and health care,where social... The scientists are presently working hard to help robots _ . A) to use less electricity B) to communicate better C) to react more quickly D) to have more functions
B
(Question)
A "blogger" is a person who writes on an Internet computer Web site called a "blog ".The word "blog" is a short way of saying Web log, or personal Web site. Anyone can start a blog, and they can write about anything they like. There are millions of blogs on the Internet today. They provide news, information,advertisements, advice and ideas for many people who read them. They contain links to other Web sites. And they provide a place for people to write about their ideas and react to the ideas of others. A research company called Perscus has studied more than 300 Web logs. It says that blogs are most popular with teenage girls. They use them to let their friends know what is happening in their lives. The study also says that more than 100,000 bloggers stopped taking part in the activity after a year. However, some people develop serious blogs to present political and other ideas. For example, the Republican and Democratic parties in the southern state of Kentucky recently started their own blogs. And American companies are beginning to use blogs to advertise their products. At the same time, some long-standing blogs have ended. Last week, blogging leader Dave Winer closed his free blog service "weblogs. com". He says the site became too costly to continue. He started the blog four years ago. And thousands of people had written on it. They are now upset because they did not know that the site was closing. One blog that is still going strong is called Rebecca's Pocket. Rebecca Blood created the Web-site in 1999. She wrote about the history of blogs on the site. That article led to a book called "The Weblog Handbook". It has been translated into four languages so far. Ms. Blood says Rebecea's Pocket gets about 30,000 visitors a month. She writes about anything and everything -- politics, culture and movies. She recently provided medical advice. And she wrote about how to prevent people from stealing money from on -line bank accounts. The reason why Rebecca's Pocket is still going strong is that _ . A) it was created by a woman B) it is about the history of blogs C) it provides useful information and advice D) it has editions in at least four different languages
(Answer)
C
Ques: In the last years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei on a large scale repeatedly and occupied large areas of land, for the State of Wei was too weak to defend itself. In 273 B.C., the Qin army launched a more serious attack upon the State of Wei than ever. The king of the State of Wei gathered his officials, and asked with a worried look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. After years of chaos caused by the wars, the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak of resistance. At the critical moment when a large enemy force was bearing down upon the border, most of the officials persuaded the king to peace, at the cost of giving away to the State of Qin the large area of land north of the Huanghe River and south of the Taihang Mountain. However Su Dai, a counselor, did not agree. He hurried up to the king and said, "Your Majesty, they don't think about the interests of the country at all. It is just because they are afraid of death that they ask you to sue for peace by betraying the country. Of course you can temporarily satisfy the ambition of Qin, but it will never stop attacking us until our land is totally given away." He added,"Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried a faggot to put out the fire, only to make the fire fiercer. Isn't it similar to carrying faggots to put out a fire if you agree to sue for peace at the cost of the land of the State of Wei?" Though Su Dai's argument was very convincing, the king accepted the suggestion of those officials and gave away to the State of Qin a large area of the land of the State of Wei. As might be expected, the Qin army attacked the State of Wei in 225 B.C. again, surrounding the capital city Daliang and flooding it by digging open the dykes of the Huanghe River. The State of Wei was finally destroyed. The story is mainly developed by _ . A) time B) logic C) making comparison D) cause and effect
Ans: A
Question: Mary Cassette is one of the first great female American painters. She followed her dreams and became an artist. She was born on May 22, 1844, and lived in Europe for several years as a child . Her family returned to the United States and at the age of 16,Mary attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.Four years later she found she couldn't learn any more in Philadelphia,so her parents sent her back to Europe.There she studied the techniques of the masters in Rome,Seville,Antwerp,and Paris. Mary received the chance of a lifetime in 1877 when the famous French painter,Edgar Degas,asked her to join a group of painters that included now--famous artists like Monet and Renoir.Their style of paintings is called Impressionism .They used primary color1s and short brush strokes in their works.They recognized Mary's powerful talent and invited her to exhibit in the Impressionist art shows. Mary painted what she saw:gardens, and portraits,especially of mothers and children in everyday life.One of her paintings,Young Mother and Two Children,was donated to the White House in 1954 where it hangs today. Mary never married and,in 1877,her parents and sister moved to Europe to join her.Mary devoted much of her time to them for the next 1 8 years.Mary painted until 1914 when her failing eyesight made it impossible to continue.She died in 1926 at the age of 82. What style of paintings influenced Mary Cassette most? A) Realism. B) Impressionism. C) Abstract. D) Expressionism.
Answer:
B