Question

A Japanese telecom company has released a robot that it says has emotions. But rather than run in fear from it, we’ve welcomed it into our homes: Pepper, the “emotional robot,” sold out within a minute of going on sale.

Created by Aldebaran Robotics and Japanese mobile giant SoftBank, Pepper went on sale to the general public in Japan June 20. It is “the first humanoid(类人的) robot designed to live with humans,” Aldebaran says on its website. Pepper costs about ＄1,600. And like all good mobile products, there’s a ＄120 per month data fee, as well as an ＄80 per month damage insurance fee. According to a news release, Pepper can pick up on human emotions and create his own using a “multi-layer neural(神经的) network.” Pepper’s touch sensors and cameras are said to influence its mood, which is displayed on the tablet-sized screen on its chest.

Pepper will sigh when unhappy, and can go around your house recording your family’s daily activity. Aldebaran says Pepper can feel “joy, surprise, anger, doubt and sadness,” but it doesn’t say how strongly it can feel these emotions. What happens when Pepper is having a bad day? Will it, like many humans, become uncooperative? Will it ask for some time alone? What happens if it figures out that its purpose in life is just to engage in small talk? Thankfully, Pepper is only about four feet tall, with roller balls instead of legs, so if it is angry with and even turns on its owners, you’ll be safe if you can make it upstairs.

Aldebaran says in reality, they’re probably quite a few decades away from artificial intelligence that could generate real emotions. Aldebaran wasn’t immediately available for comment on when Pepper will be available outside of Japan, but additional sales are scheduled for July after the first 1,000 units sell out. SoftBank currently uses the robots in its stores as greeters, and it plans to offer Pepper to other stores in the future. Hopefully “boredom” is not an emotion Pepper can feel.

1.According to the author, Pepper ________.

A．is very popular among customers

B．can not only run but also show fear

C．is going to be sold all over the world

D．can deal with many kinds of housework

2.How much do you need to pay for Pepper’s data and damage insurance fee each year?

A．80 dollars.B．120 dollars.

C．1,440 dollars.D．2,400 dollars.

3.Pepper’s height and roller balls are mentioned to ________.

A．introduce its appearance

B．tell Pepper won’t get angry

C．show that safety isn’t a big issue

D．explain robots have strong emotions

4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Pepper cannot produce real emotions.

B．Pepper can feel joy, surprise and boredom.

C．Pepper will be sold in other countries next year.

D．Pepper is being used as waiters in some restaurants.

Answer 1