Question

 

       If you grow old in Japan, you will expect to be served food by a robot, ride a voice recognition wheelchair or even possibly hire a nurse in a robotic suit – all examples of cutting-edge technology to care for the country’s rapidly graying population．

       With nearly 22 percent of Japan’s population already aged 65 or older, businesses here have been producing everything from easy-entry cars to remote controlled beds, fueling a care technology market worth some $1．08 billion in 2006．

       At a home care and rehabilitation meeting in Tokyo, buyers crowded round a demonstration of Secom Co’s My Spoon feeding robot, which helps elderly or disabled people eat with a spoon-and-fork-fitted swiveling （转动的） arm．Operating a joystick（操纵杆）with his chin, developer Shigehisa Kobayashi moved the arm toward a block of soft tofu, skillfully getting the fork to break off a bite-sized piece．The arm then returned to a preprogrammed position in front of his mouth, allowing Kobayashi to bite and swallow．

       It is all about allowing people to help themselves, Kobayashi said．The Tokyo-based company has already sold 300 of the robots, which come with a price tag of $3,500．“We want to give the elderly control over their own lives．”

       The rapidly aging population here has caused many concerns: a labor shortage, tax shortfalls and financial difficulties in paying the health bills and pensions of large numbers of the elderly．Moreover, a growing number of older Japanese are spending their golden years away from the care traditionally provided by children and grandchildren．That’s where cutting-edge technology steps in．

1.The underlined word “cutting-edge” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______．

       A．common           B．up-to-date          C．cost-saving       D．important

2.The rapidly graying population in Japan ______．

       A．prevents the development of Japan’s economy

       B．causes a great increase in Japan’s population

       C．strengthens the relationship between family members

       D．promotes the development of Japan’s care technology

3.What does the last paragraph of the passage want to tell us?

       A．The social need to develop robots for the elderly．

       B．The worsening situation of Japan’s aging population．

       C．The development of cutting-edge technology．

       D．The social problems Japan’s aging population has caused．

4.What would be the best title of the passage?

       A．The development of science in Japan

       B．My spoon feeding robot

       C．Robots to help Japanese seniors

       D．Rapidly graying population in Japan

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.C