Not long ago, the only time you could see a robot was when you were reading a novel or watching a movie such as Star Wars (星球大战) . Today, however, a lot of things in science stories have been science facts. Robots are starting to appear in our everyday lives. These robots have different sizes, shapes, and colors. But they all have the same type of man-made “brain”. Leading the robot revolution （革命）are industrial(企业) robots that work in factories. Industrial（工业） robots can do different kinds of jobs that are often boring and sometimes dangerous. Robots are also coming to American homes, though not as quickly as they are entering factories. These robots aren’t as friendly and bright as those you saw in  Star Wars. But, their makers say, today’s home robots “walk”, sense objects(感知物体) in their way (and sometimes knock into them), and even carry objects (which they sometimes drop). Well, nobody is perfect.
We may laugh at home robot today, but some day they may see and hear better than humans do. We humans can only see certain wavelengths（波长） of light, and hear certain sounds. That’s because the abilities of our eyes and ears are limited. Robots, however, need not have the same limits as we have. Robot may also be equipped with devices that pick up information humans can’t. To understand what their sensing devices(传感器) pick up is a hard job. Remember, man—made brains handle(处理)information, including all kinds of data, as zeroes and ones. Imagine the difficulty in trying to explain to a robot what a football looks like—using only zeroes and ones.
【小题1】 From the passage, we can see that factory robots _________.

A．help to improve other types of robots

B．are most active in industrial revolution

C．are playing a more important role than other types of robots

D．are the tallest type among robots

【小题2】 It seems that home robots are __________________.

A．more widely used than factory robots

B．less common than factory robots

C．capable of doing any kind of housework

D．free from making mistakes while performing(执行) duties

【小题3】 Robots may deal with information that humans can’t. Which of the following is not one of the reasons?

A．They do not have so many limits as humans do.

B．They have man-made brains.

C．They may be equipped with a special kind of sensing device.

D．They handle information by using zeroes and ones.

【小题4】The development of robots suggests that _________.

A．science and technology are developing fast

B．people are interested in new inventions

C．machines are more capable than humans

D．robots can be very interesting

【小题5】 According to this passage, present home robots ________.

A．are better than human in seeing and hearing

B．are as capable as those in Star Wars

C．can pick up objects more quickly than humans

D．sometimes perform wrong actions

Not long ago, I opened an interesting e-mail from Jennifer, a friend of mine. “I’ve realized I want to be around people who make me happy,” she wrote, “I’ve been seeing how I feel after communicating with different people and making a mental list of who I feel good about. And you’re on my list.”
Then she invited me — and 11 other women— to a “Movie Night” to be held every six weeks at her house. We’d chat, eat, and watch feel-good movies. She made it clear in her invitation that there was no stress to show up to all or any movie nights. Wonderful! I e-mailed her back immediately. I was in.
Later, Jennifer told me she had some puzzled reactions to her invitation. Though all the women were willing to join, some said they didn’t see themselves as cheerful people. “I’ve told them they didn’t have to be cheerful around me all the time. I invited them because they made me feel happy,” she says.
Research shows that gatherings such as Jennifer’s make sense. In a US study, researchers measured(测量) the happiness of 4739 people at regular intervals (间隔) over 20 years. The study found that a person’s happiness depends on(取决于) the happiness of people they connect with. Amazingly, it also found that happiness spreads not only between direct friends, but also among friends of your friends’ friends! And those good feelings seem to be the most contagious (传染性的) among friends of the same sex.
“People with more supportive friends are less likely to develop sadness,” says Dr Toupey Luft, a psychologist in Penticyon, British Columbia. “Though you can’t choose your family or workmates, you do have control over friendships.” With a little effort, you can add more positive(乐观的) relationships to your social circle. Here’s how…
【小题1】How many people did Jennifer invite?

A．1

B．11

C．12

D．13

【小题2】What kind of things can you do on Jennifer’s movie night?

A．Gathering and measuring happiness among friends.

B．Chatting, eating and watching feel-good movies.

C．Being cheerful all the time.

D．Showing up stress.

【小题3】What do the underlined words mean?

A．有意义

B．有鉴赏力

C．有感觉

D．制造气氛

【小题4】Which of the following is right?

A．Jennifer was puzzled with her invitation.

B．All the women who were invited are cheerful people.

C．Jennifer invited people who are cheerful around her all the time.

D．People with more supportive friends seem to be more positive than people who don’t.

【小题5】Can you guess what will be talked about in the following passage?

A．Why it is important to pick friends who make you feel good.

B．How to make friends who make you feel good.

C．What kinds of friends you should not make.

D．How you can find your social circle.

Not long ago, the only time you could see a robot was when you were reading a novel or watching a movie such as Star Wars (星球大战) . Today, however, a lot of things in science stories have been science facts. Robots are starting to appear in our everyday lives. These robots have different sizes, shapes, and colors. But they all have the same type of man-made “brain”. Leading the robot revolution （革命）are industrial(企业) robots that work in factories. Industrial（工业） robots can do different kinds of jobs that are often boring and sometimes dangerous. Robots are also coming to American homes, though not as quickly as they are entering factories. These robots aren’t as friendly and bright as those you saw in  Star Wars. But, their makers say, today’s home robots “walk”, sense objects(感知物体) in their way (and sometimes knock into them), and even carry objects (which they sometimes drop). Well, nobody is perfect.
We may laugh at home robot today, but some day they may see and hear better than humans do. We humans can only see certain wavelengths（波长） of light, and hear certain sounds. That’s because the abilities of our eyes and ears are limited. Robots, however, need not have the same limits as we have. Robot may also be equipped with devices that pick up information humans can’t. To understand what their sensing devices(传感器) pick up is a hard job. Remember, man—made brains handle(处理)information, including all kinds of data, as zeroes and ones. Imagine the difficulty in trying to explain to a robot what a football looks like—using only zeroes and ones.
【小题1】 From the passage, we can see that factory robots _________.

A．help to improve other types of robots

B．are most active in industrial revolution

C．are playing a more important role than other types of robots

D．are the tallest type among robots

【小题2】 It seems that home robots are __________________.

A．more widely used than factory robots

B．less common than factory robots

C．capable of doing any kind of housework

D．free from making mistakes while performing(执行) duties

【小题3】 Robots may deal with information that humans can’t. Which of the following is not one of the reasons?

A．They do not have so many limits as humans do.

B．They have man-made brains.

C．They may be equipped with a special kind of sensing device.

D．They handle information by using zeroes and ones.

【小题4】The development of robots suggests that _________.

A．science and technology are developing fast

B．people are interested in new inventions

C．machines are more capable than humans

D．robots can be very interesting

【小题5】 According to this passage, present home robots ________.

A．are better than human in seeing and hearing

B．are as capable as those in Star Wars

C．can pick up objects more quickly than humans

D．sometimes perform wrong actions

Not only Jam but also his parents _______ a few interesting places since they came to China.

A．will visit           B．has visited         C．have visited        D．visited

 

B

If you want to find out a piece of information about anything , the best place to search for it is Wikepedia. This online encyclopedia is written by thousands of people around the world. Anyone can add or change the information if he or she finds it not correct or not well written. In this way, people who know a lot about a certain subject can write about it even if they are not university professors.

What is more, Wikepedia includes articles written in about 235 languages. This fact makes it one of the few websites (网站)on the Internet that are truly international. It was started in 2001 by Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales, as a free online English-language encyclopedia project. By April 2008, over 10 million articles had been put on Wikipedia. A quarter of the articles are in English. Wikipedia is also a place where people can find the latest news.

However, Wikipedia has its own problems. There have been many complaints that some of the information on Wikipedia is not accurate and some important subjects are not included. This has led to arguments between the writers of articles. The people running Wikipedia say that the accuracy of the information is improving and that it is one of the top 20 visited websites on the Internet.

So, if you are looking for some information, why not try Wikipedia?

1.Wikipedia is ___________.

A．a computer game                       B．a name of a magazine

C．a free university                        D．an online encyclopedia

2.People who write on Wikipadia__________.

A．know much about a certain subject          B．likes writing different stories

C．should be university professors             D．are usually famous scientists

3.Wikipedia is truly international because_________.

A．everything is written in English

B．the articles are in about 253 language

C．there are over 10 million articles

D．each writer can write in different languages

4.Besides information about different subjects, people can also_____ on Wikipedia.

A．watch interesting movies                 B．send e-mail to friends

C．read about the latest news                D．play exciting games