24. A. opinion　　　 　　 B. attitude　　　 C. influence　 　　　　 D. answer

23. A. look forward to　 B. look down on 　　 C. look up to　 　　　 D. look back on

22. A. change　　　　 　 B. refuse　　　 　　 C. keep　　　　 　　 D. invent

21. A. affairs　　　　 　　 B. questions　　 　 C. troubles　　 　　 D. problems　　　　　　　　

55. We can infer from the passage that 　　　　.

　　　　 A. people are afraid of being monitored by robots.

　　　　 B. the technology of robots has been highlighted in Japan.

　　　　 C. robots can completely take the place of human beings.

　　　　 D. people’s privacy should be strictly protected

54. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　　　 A. A robot can imitate people to complete complicated tasks

　　　　 B. A robot has been programmed to clean the dishes

　　　　 C. All the problems in the aging society can be solved by robots.

　　　　 D. The number of aging people is increasing rapidly in Japan.

53. According to Professor Sato, 　　　.

　　　　 A. the robot serves tea much faster than a human being

　　　　 B. the robot does anything like human beings

　　　　 C. tea – serving robot helps to form laziness of the aging society

　　　　 D. tea – serving robot doesn’t need any reward for the service

52. The underlined word “embedded” in the first paragraph probably means 　　　.

　　　　 A. fixed　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. established　　　　　　　 C. settled　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. rooted

51. What is the best title of this passage?

　　　　 A. “Thank You” Will Never Be Needed in Japan

　　　　 B. Monitoring Technologies Are Widespread in Japan

　　　　 C. Robot Is Designed to Care for the Elderly.

　　　　 D. Robot technologies are widespread in Japanese daily life.

50. It can be concluded from the passage that _______.

　 A. we should not believe what we see or hear.

　 B. things moving downward are more noticeable.

　 C. people sometimes may have wrong ideas about ordinary phenomena.

　 D. adults are not as good as children in observing certain natural phenomena.

C

TOKYO, Japan (AP) – Japan is very serious about robotics (机器人技术). If the droids are going to fit in, they probably need to learn the Japanese custom of serving tea. Fortunately, researchers at the University of Tokyo are exploring just that. In a show this week, a humanoid(有人特点的)with camera eyes made by Kawada Industries Inc. poured tea from a bottle into a cup.Then another robot on wheels delivered the cup of tea in an experimental room that has sensors embedded in the floor and sofa as well as cameras on the ceiling, to simulate(模仿)life with robot technology.

“A human being may be faster, but you’d have to say ‘Thank you,’” said University of Tokyo professor Tomomasa Sato. “That’s the best part about a robot. You don’t have to feel bad about asking it to do things.”

Sato believes Japan, a rapidly aging society where more than a fifth of the population is 65 or older, will lead the world in designing robots to care for the elderly, sick and bedridden(卧床不起的).

Already, monitoring technologies, such as sensors that automatically turn on lights when people enter a room, are becoming widespread in Japan.

The walking, child–size Asimo from Honda Motor Co. greets people at showrooms. NEC Corp. has developed a smaller companion robot–on –wheels called Papero. A seal robot available since 2004 can entertain the elderly and others in need of fuzzy companionship.

Sato says his experimental room is raising awareness about privacy questions that may arise when electronic devices(设备)monitor a person’s movements down to the smallest detail.

On the bright side, the tea – pouring humanoid has been programmed to do the dishes.