4.TOKYO-Lonely astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) may soon be getting a robot friend from Japan.
Japan's space agency is considering putting a talking humanoid (有人的特点的) robot on the ISS to watch the work while astronauts are asleep,monitor their health and stress levels and communicate to Earth through the micro-blogging site Twitter.
Japan's space agency JAXA announced this week that it is looking at a plan to send a humanoid robot to the space station in 2013 that could communicate with the ground through Twitter-primarily feeding photos,rather than original ideas-and provide astronauts with"comfort and companionship".
Following up on US NASA's"Robonaut"R-2 program,which is set for launch on the Discovery shuttle next week,the Japanese robot would be part of a larger effort to create and refine robots that can be used by the elderly,JAXA said in a statement.
Japan is one of the leading countries in robotics and has a rapidly aging society with one of the world's longest life expectancies.
Improving robot communication capabilities could help elderly people on Earth by providing a nonintrusive (无干扰的) means of monitoring the robot owner's health and vital signs and sending information to emergency responders if there is an abnormality,JAXA said.
"We are thinking in terms of a very human-like robot that would have facial expressions and be able to talk with the astronauts,"said JAXA's Satoshi Sano.
The robot was being developed with the advertising and communications giant Dentsu Inc and a team at Tokyo University.
The NASA project has a human-like head,hands and arms and uses the same tools as station crew members.The"Robonaut"called R-2 is intended to carry out maintenance tasks in the station's Destiny lab.
NASA says it hopes that humanoid robots could one day stand in for astronauts during spacewalks or perform tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans.
For now,the﹩2.5 million NASA robot is limited to activities within the lab.
60.According to the passage,a humanoid robot,put on the ISS,shall carry out the tasks exceptD.
A.take care of the ISS sometimes
B.keep an eye on the health of the astronauts
C.keep in contact with Earth
D.get a friend for astronauts from Japan
61.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to this passage?A
A.The robot program will eventually benefit the elderly.
B.R-2 program is in the charge of Japan's JAXA.
C.NASA is planning to communicate with the space station through Twitter.
D.Japan has the largest number of elderly people.
62.From the passage we can knowB.
A.many Japanese universities joined in the robot program
B.future astronauts will become less lonely and more comfortable with the help of the robot
C.robots could completely take the place of human astronauts in the future
D.the robot program,having cost﹩2.5 million,can carry out all tasks.
分析 本文讲述日本一个航空机构打算发明一个能帮助宇航员的机器人,介绍了机器人可做的一些工作.
解答 60-62 DAB
60 D 细节题.由第二段"…to watch the work while astronauts are asleep,monitor their health and stress levels and communicate to Earth through the micro-blogging site Twitter."可知机器人的任务不包括与宇航员交朋友,故正确答案为D.
61 A 细节题.由第四段"the Japanese robot would be part of a larger effort to create and refine robots that can be used by the elderly,"可知A项正确.
B项,由第四段"Following up on US NASA's'Robonaut'R-2 program,"可知B项错误.C项,由第三段可知通过 twitter 与空间站联系的计划由日本而不是美国提出,所以C项错误.D项,文中没有相关内容,所以D项错误.故正确答案为A.
62 B 细节题.由倒数第二段"NASA says it hopes that humanoid robots could one day stand in for astronauts during spacewalks or perform tasks too difficult or dangerous for humans."可知B项正确.A、C项,文中没有相关内容,所以A、C项错误.D项,由最后一段"For now,the $2.5 million NASA robot is limited to activities within the lab."可知D项错误.故正确答案为B.
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