Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white dress,but not the wedding conductor,because she was fixed on her chair. The wedding was led by "IFairy",a 1.5meter tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic hair. Sunday's wedding was the first time a marriage had been led by a robot,according to manufacturer,Kokoro Co. "Please lift the bride's veil ," the robot said in a tinny voice,waving its arms in the air as the newlymarried couple kissed in front of about 50 guests. The wedding took place at a restaurant in Hibiya Park in central Tokyo,where the IFairy wore flowers and directed a rooftop ceremony. Wires led out from beneath it to a black curtain a few feet away,where a man clicked commands into a computer. Japan has one of the most advanced robotics industries in the world,with the government actively supporting the field for future growth. Industrial models in factories are now standard,but recently Japanese companies have been making a push to inject robots into everyday life. Honda makes a walking childshaped robot,and other firms have developed robots to entertain the elderly or play baseball. Kokoro,whose corporate goal is to "touch the hearts of the people",also makes giant dinosaur robots for exhibitions and lifelike Android models that can smile and laugh. The company is a subcompany of Sanrio Co.,which owns the rights to Hello Kitty and other Japanese characters. "This was a lot of fun. I think that Japanese people have a strong sense that robots are our friends. Those in the robot industry mostly understand this,but people mainly want robots near them to serve some purpose," said the bride,Satoko Inoue,36,who works at Kokoro. The IFairy sells for about 6.3 million yen ($68,000) and three are in use in Singapore,the US and Japan,according to company spokeswoman,Kayako Kido. What does the text mainly convey? A) Robot wedding conductors are becoming popular. B) The manufacturing industry in Japan is booming. C) The Japanese pay a lot of attention to robots. D) Robots are increasingly entering everyday life.
D
(Question)
I'd always dreamed of exploring Africa, ever since I read my first Tarzan(<<>> )comic as a child. Finally, in 2004, to celebrate my 60thbirthday, I went to Tanzania to experience a safari and climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Seated next to me on the flight was Tanzania's minister of water and wildlife development. We talked for thousands of miles, and he arranged me to visit a school. When I toured the school, I was shocked. The leaky roofs turned the dirt floors into mud during the rainy season, and the walls couldn't keep out the heat, cold or bugs . The school was in need of all material goods, but the kids possessed great human spirit. It broke my heart that these children had to struggle to survive, so I asked the headmaster what it would cost to feed them. As little as 20 cents per child per day, he told me. Immediately I got home, I founded Kids of Kilimanjaro. Since then we've grown to provide hot lunches for nearly 13,000 schoolchildren every day. The free lunch program has eased a major problem the youngsters face. I know a good education could really make a difference in these children's lives. My parents always stressed the importance of education. I paid my own way through college in Tokyo by teaching English to students and businesspeople. After attending university I moved to San Francisco, when I was 25 years old. In 1978 I realized my American dream when I founded my own company. My success all started with a good education. It's amazing that something as simple as a nutritious lunch can change and enrich so many lives. Giving young people a better, healthier life can inspire them to go all the way through college and lead a movement that transforms their country. The author believes education is important because _ . A) his parents always stressed the importance of education B) a good education contributes to his success C) he paid his own way through college by teaching English D) he's trying to realize his American dream
(Answer)
B
Ques: We thought we had it all---a beautiful house, three healthy children and one more on the way, two cars, a couple of four-wheelers for entertainment---and we loved it. Then, the market turned and my husband's job at a construction company was gone. The company was closing down for good.We both started looking for jobs right away, but there weren't any to be found. With each passing day we were getting increasingly worried and we continued to work together in order to pull our family through. _ I felt feelings of admiration for my husband that I hadn't felt in years. That's why it was so hard for me to watch him blame himself for our present situation. I continually asked him to stop, but he seemed to want to punish himself for not having a job. Finally, one afternoon I pulled him aside and said, "We have four healthy children and each other. That's what's important. That makes you a rich man." " But what if we lose the house? They'll hate me--you'll hate me," he replied. I smiled at him and put my hands on both sides of his face to make him look me in the eye. "No matter where we live I will be happy -as long as I have you." I smiled again. In all the struggling together I had found that deep love for him that I had on the day we said "I do". I could see his shoulders and neck relaxed. He held me close and we were able to talk and plan and dream together in a way that we hadn't for quite some time. It was a turning point for us as a couple and a family. We are still struggling for out better life, but I consider us well-off because we have something that money can't buy and no one can take away from us. We can learn from the passage that _ . A) they both found good jobs at last. B) both of them were worried about joblessness. C) her husband was to blame for the unemployment D) they didn't love each other when they got married
Ans: B
Question: Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholders. She became known as "Mumbet" or "Mum Bett." For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashley's wife tried to strike Mumbet's sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious, she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued for her freedom. While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom---- the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution. Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants . One of her great-grandchildren was W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founder of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights. Mumbet's tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: "She was born a slave and remained a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal." Why did Mumbet run away from the Ashleys? A) She found an employer B) She wanted to be a lawyer C) She was hit and got angry D) She had to take care of her sister
Answer:
C