A new walking, talking robot from Japan which has black hair and a woman’s face that can smile will attend a fashion show. It has trimmed down（减少）to 43kg, but it still hasn’t reached the safety standards required to share the catwalk with human models.

Developers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, a government-backed organization, said their “cybernetic（全自动控制的）human” wasn’t ready to help with daily housework or work side by side with people—as many hope robots will be able to do in the future.

“In technology, it hasn’t reached that level,” said Hirohisa Hirukawa, one of the robot’s developers. “Even as a fashion model, people in the industry told us she was short and had a rather ordinary figure.”

For now, the 158 cm tall black-haired robot named HRP-4C—whose predecessor（前任）had weighed 58 kg — will mainly serve to draw and entertain crowds. Developers said the robot may be used in amusement parks or to perform human movement, as an exercise instructor, for instance.

 HRP-4C was designed to look like an ordinary Japnese woman, although its silver-and-black body reminds people of a space suit. It will appear in a Tokyo fashion show — without any clothes — in a special part just for the robot next week.

The robotic framework（框架）for  HRP-4C, without the face and other coverings, will go on sale for about 20 million yen（日元） each. Its programming technology will be made public so other people can come up with fun moves for the robot, the scientists said.

Japan is one of the leading robotics industries in the world, and the government is pushing to develop the industry as a road to growth.

What do we know about HRP-4C’s predecessor?

A．It is shorter than HRP-4C .    B．It is cleverer than HRP-4C .

C．It is taller than HRP-4C .     D．It is heavier than HRP-4C .

According to the passage, how many of the following could HRP-4C do?

a． drawing pictures   

b.  walking and talking

c.  doing housework

d.  working with people

e.  smiling

A．2                B．3            C．4            D．5

Which of the following about HRP-4C is TURE?

A．It wears a space suit.         

B．Its price is 20 million dollars.    

C．It can be used as an exercise instructor.       

D．As a fashion model, it has a perfect figure.

HRP-4C’s programming technology will be made public to        .

A．make money                       B．make new frameworks     

C．let other people improve it          D．help make new face and coverings

What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The purpose of making HRP-4C.    B．Robotics industry in Japan.     

C．A new Japanese robot.                D．Japanese and robots.

C
With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills （泄露） on people, nature, and the environment．
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
Of all of today's environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term．
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run I
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power （太阳能） , electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world's millions of cars were 10% more efficient （高效的）—and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient ?we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．
63．What is the passage mainly talking about?
A．Oil spills pollution．    B．What oil pollution is．
C．Oil tanker accidents.             D．How to reduce oil pollution.
64．How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?
A．By giving a description．   B．By making an argument．
C．By giving an example．          D．By drawing a diagram．
65．What does the underlined word "risk" in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A．Transportation depending more on oil．
B．Poisonous oil breaking down naturally．
C．Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea．
D．More environmental damage being caused．
66．Which suggestion, is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?
A．We should build safer tankers in the near future．
B．We should develop new technologies to cut oil use．
C．Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines．
D．Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea．

A new walking, talking robot from Japan which has black hair and a woman’s face that can smile will attend a fashion show. It has trimmed down（减少）to 43kg, but it still hasn’t reached the safety standards required to share the catwalk with human models.
Developers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, a government-backed organization, said their “cybernetic（全自动控制的）human” wasn’t ready to help with daily housework or work side by side with people—as many hope robots will be able to do in the future.
“In technology, it hasn’t reached that level,” said Hirohisa Hirukawa, one of the robot’s developers. “Even as a fashion model, people in the industry told us she was short and had a rather ordinary figure.”
For now, the 158 cm tall black-haired robot named HRP-4C—whose predecessor（前任）had weighed 58 kg — will mainly serve to draw and entertain crowds. Developers said the robot may be used in amusement parks or to perform human movement, as an exercise instructor, for instance.
HRP-4C was designed to look like an ordinary Japnese woman, although its silver-and-black body reminds people of a space suit. It will appear in a Tokyo fashion show — without any clothes — in a special part just for the robot next week.
The robotic framework（框架）for  HRP-4C, without the face and other coverings, will go on sale for about 20 million yen（日元） each. Its programming technology will be made public so other people can come up with fun moves for the robot, the scientists said.
Japan is one of the leading robotics industries in the world, and the government is pushing to develop the industry as a road to growth.
【小题1】What do we know about HRP-4C’s predecessor?
A．It is shorter than HRP-4C .    B．It is cleverer than HRP-4C .
C．It is taller than HRP-4C .     D．It is heavier than HRP-4C .
【小题2】According to the passage, how many of the following could HRP-4C do?
a． drawing pictures
b.  walking and talking
c.  doing housework
d.  working with people
e. smiling

[A]. As we know, Beijing is an international city and many foreigners come to visit Beijing. The taxi drivers think it is kind to greet the foreigners in English. They need someone who can teach them English at night when they are not so busy.
[B]. Tom is crazy about on-line games that he cannot focus on his study like before. Now he often misses school in order to play games, and tell lies to his teachers and parents. He needs someone's help and advice.
[C]. Mane, a old woman, has to walk two miles to the nearest supermarket because she doesn't know which bus to take. Since she does not know words, she can not write out a shopping list and even can’t recognize the goods because she couldn’t read.
[D]. "Helping hand" organization will hold an event to help the starving（饥饿的） children in Africa. Those who take part in it will go without food for 30 hours in order to raise money for the poor children.
[E]. "Green Earth" cares a lot for the animals in danger. This summer holiday a lot of events will be organized to call on people to protect animals.
[F]. A group of young children in a remote village in southwest China are in great need of teachers. The villagers hope to have a teacher who can stay for at least a year, because they know knowledge can change the children's future.
以下是乐于提供帮助的人员信息介绍，请匹配他们与所对应的帮助对象。
（ ）1. Stephen: Last summer I joined in a training program and became a literacy(识字，读写能力) volunteer. When I found what other people's lives were like because they could not read, I realized the true importance of reading.
（ ）2. Ben: After graduation I plan to spend a year helping those poor children and improving their lives. You know, education is important to poverty relief(扶贫)
（ ）3. Susan: I'm a foreign student in Beijing University studying Chinese. I’d like to get in touch with Chinese people and get to know more about China. Although my study is busy, I can be free at night and at the weekends.
（ ）4. Tim: I understand young people's problems and I know how to listen patiently to others and offer some advice. But I can only spend two to three hours a day at night to help others.
（ ）5. Lisa: I burst into tears when I saw those children who are dying because of lack of food in a TV program. I realized how lucky I am with enough food and a good chance to get education. I hope I can do something for them.

 A well-known English magazine invited five people to answer a series of

questions. One of the questions is: Do you enjoy foreign food? Match the name of each person to one of the statements given below.

56. John Harvey:

  In fact if you go out to a restaurant, it’s very difficult to find the “British” cooking, but you can find almost anything else: French, Italian, Chinese, Indian and so on. London is full of foreign restaurants. I love trying “new dishes.” I think you can understand a lot about another culture from its food.

57. Jo Baker:

  I like foreign food, but not all. I particularly do not like Indian food, although I quite enjoy a mild curry I make myself. I like most European dishes, but Spanish food is quite low down on my list. However, I think you have to travel a long way to beat good old English cooking. What can be nicer than the aroma of a piece of beef roasted in the oven, surrounded by crisp roast potatoes and served with piping hot Yorkshire puddings, vegetables and gravy? From my point of view, I think foreign food is all right when you are abroad. You see, that’s just part of the enjoyment of travelling to another country. Foreign food is also fine for an odd night out to restaurant, but for every day please give me good old English food.

58. Gabby Macadam:

  On the whole I enjoy foreign food, but having said that I can think of dozens of foreign dishes which I simply can’t stand. You see, they have fish in some way or other and I never eat fish in any form. I have found that many foreign dishes are served with a kind of sauce. I think it is the accompanying sauce that hides all sorts of problems. I am not so sure that I would be as fond of them as I am if they were served without the sauce.

59. Len Dangerfield:

  When we English people travel abroad, we always make a great fuss about studying the menu but always end up with steak. You see, when I’m abroad I always miss our home cooking. I mean, I’m used to English food. Sometimes I do go to restaurant to taste some exotic dishes, but most of the time I still prefer to have English food. You know, it’s always difficult to get used to food in other countries.

60. Peter Hawke:

  I like foreign food. I particularly like Indian food. Well, I’m married to an Indian girl. She is a good cook. I’m so lucky to have her cook for me every day. I think Indian food as well as other foreign foods is generally tastier and spicier than English food. Traditional English dishes, like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and fish and chips, are quite well-known abroad. But I must say as a nation we are not particularly good at catering. As far as I’m concerned, I think we should learn to cook more interesting dishes and make our food tastier and more varied.

A. Cooking varies from country to country even though the basic gradients may be very much the same.

B. I can’t stand those foreign dishes which contain fish in some way or other, and I’m not so sure that I’m fond of many foreign dishes which are served with a kind sauce.

C. I think foreign food is all right when you are abroad, but for every day, traditional English food is always my first choice.

D. Foreign dishes can be tasted occasionally, but I find it difficult to adjust to the tastes. So I still prefer English food.

E. I love foreign food, and I think people can understand a lot about another culture from what they eat.

F. English people should learn to cook more attractive dishes and make their food more delicious and varied.