Your next Saturday night takeaway could be brought to you by a robot after a major food delivery company announced plans to use automated vehicles to transport meals. Europe’s biggest online takeaway food company Just Eat has partnered with Starship Technologies to deliver food with robots on the streets of London later this month. “Nobody has ever done deliveries with land-based robots,” said Allan Martinson, the chief operating officer of Starship.
The robot courier can travel up to 4 miles per hour for about 10 miles. It uses a GPS signal and nine cameras to navigate(确定方向). Instead of a person arriving at their door, customers could find themselves receiving a notification(通知) on their phone that says a robot is on its way and a code to unlock the automated courier. “Put the code in, the robot opens up, and there’s your food,” said David Buttress, chief manager of Just Eat.
The robot, which has so far been tested in Greenwich, Milton Keynes and Glastonbury, costs ￡1 to transport within 3 miles, compared with the ￡3 to ￡6 it costs for a human courier. To date 30 robots have driven nearly 5,000 miles without getting into an accident or finding themselves picked on by passers-by. They have driven in more than 40 cities around the world, including London and Tallinn, Estonia.
An initial worry was how the public would react to robots. But Martinson said the public has been calm when passing the delivery machine on the streets. “The most surprising reaction has been the lack of reaction,” said Martinson.
Another significant fear was that people would disrupt(扰乱) the robots, or try to steal them and their contents. To prevent this, the robot is fitted with nine cameras, two way audio, and movement sensors that send a warning if it is lifted off the ground. And it opens only with a pass code provided to the customer via a notification. “It’s much easier to shoplift than it is to steal a robot,” said Martinson.
1.The test of Starship robots shows that ________.
A. they are easy to operate
B. the robot delivery is appreciated in big cities
C. the robot delivery is cheaper than human delivery
D. they can travel for 10 hours continuously
2.Which of the following is one of the worries about Starship robots?
A. People’s indifference to the robots.
B. Safety of the robot delivery.
C. Accuracy of the robot delivery.
D. People’s concern about public traffic.
3.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Great Improvement of Just Eat
B. Global Trend of Food Companies
C. New Robots to Move on the Road
D. Delivery Robots to Replace Takeaway Drivers
Not so long ago, a sailor sailing across the cold waters of the northern Pacific Ocean might have had every chance of being confronted by a sea cow. This cow would have measured 10 meters long, and weighed between five and ten tones. And it would spend most of its day cruising the seas, eating grass growing underwater. The cow in question was known as Steller’s sea cow, which is now extinct.
Today, many people are unaware that such an extraordinary creature once existed, or don’t know its incredible story. But scientists have discovered many fundamental facts about this mystical animal.
Surprisingly, the first recorded sighting of a Steller’s sea cow didn’t happen until 1741, when a sailing expedition was stuck on an uninhabited island, later named Bering Island. The sailor survived by hunting and eating the huge sea cow. Like its modern relatives, the sea cow lived in herds. That and its slow-moving behaviour made it easy to be caught.
Those sailors that escaped Bering Island spread word of the bounty(大量) of meat to be found off its shores. As a result, more and more expeditions came to hunt the animals. One report stated that one sea cow could feed 33 men for a month.
Incredibly, just 27 years after the island and species had been discovered by modern man, the last sea cow was reported killed. That makes the Steller’s sea cow one of the few truly large mammals known to have been driven extinct in the modern age.
1.Which of the following words can be used to describe the Steller’s sea cow?
A. Huge.B. Fierce.C. Aggressive.D. Mild.
2.The underlined word “That” refers to the fact that ________.
A. the sailor escaped Bering Island
B. the sea cow was a kind of social animal
C. more expeditions came to hunt the sea cow
D. one sea cow could feed 33 men for a month
3.In which year did the Steller’s sea cow become extinct?
A. In 1741.B. In 1768.C. In 1785.D. In 1876.
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Why did expeditions hunt the Steller’s sea cow?
B. When did the Steller’s sea cow become extinct?
C. How did the Steller’s sea cow become extinct?
D. What do we know about the Steller’s sea cow?
One of the most popular and enduring myths about depression is that depressed people are sad all the time—and that by extension, people who are happy can’t be experiencing depression, even if they say they are. It is a mistaken version of depression. Depression doesn’t make you sad all the time.
When I’m having a depressive feeling, I’m not walking around in black clothes, and weeping. I go out with friends. I play jokes. I keep working, and have friendly chats with the people I work with. I read books. Above all, I experience moments of happiness. Yet I feel a strange conflicting pressure. On the one hand, I feel like I need to engage in a sort of sadness for people to understand that I really am depressed and that each day is a struggle for me. Because that way I will appear suitably sad, and thus, depressed—and then maybe people will recognize that I’m depressed and perhaps they’ll even offer support and assistance.
On the other hand, I feel an extreme pressure to perform just the opposite, because sad depressed people are boring and no fun, as I am continually reminded every time I speak openly about depression or express feelings of sadness and frustration. I’m caught in a trap where if I don’t perform sadness, I’m not really depressed, but if I express sadness at all to any degree, I’m annoying and boring and should stop being so self-centered. Depression can become your master, but you can slip out from under it occasionally. And many depressed people don’t actually spend it fainting dramatically on the couch and talking about how miserable they are.
1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Sad people are always depressed.
B. Depressed people are sad all the time.
C. Happy people will never feel depressed.
D. Depressed people do not always feel sad.
2.When feeling depressed, the writer usually avoids ________.
A. expressing sad feelings straight
B. going out with friends and relatives
C. having friendly chats with colleagues
D. experiencing moments of happiness
3.What’s the writer’s attitude to being sad and depressed?
A. Positive.B. Negative.C. Indifferent.D. Cold.
4.In the passage, the writer advises depressed people to ________.
A. speak openly about depression
B. hide the depression in the heart and never express it
C. be optimistic and become the master of depression
D. lie on the couch and talk about how depressed they are
Bryan Forbes, who was born in London on 22 July 1926, made his first screen acting appearance in 1918.
He landed supporting parts in several outstanding British films, including An Inspector Calls (1954) and The Colditz Story (1955), but it was not long before screen-writing and directing attracted him behind the camera. Together with Richard Attenborough, he set up Beaver Films in 1959. Its first film, The Angry Silence (1960), was written by Forbes and Attenborough played the lead role.
His directing career began in 1961 with Whistle down the Wind, featuring child star Hayley Mills. Forbes directed many more films in the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1969 he took over as head of production and managing director of EMI—MGM Elstree, and the studio achieved outstanding successes. But it was a torrid time for the company. Troubled constantly by financial difficulties and staffing issues, Forbes quitted in 1971. He then directed The Step ford Wives, based on the novel by Ira Levin, and in 1975 International Velvet, starring Tatum O’Neal, in 1978.
Forbes, who counted the late Queen Mother among his friends, continued directing, writing and acting throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. He also found success as an author with a number of novels, the latest of which, The Soldier’s Story, was published last year.
After Forbes passed away, film critic Mark Kermode said, “Once I had fun—boyish pleasure of telling Bryan Forbes how much I loved Step ford Wives. He was charming and modest. A great loss.”
1.Having played several supporting roles, Forbes began to ________.
A. work as a cameraman
B. make a lead actor
C. build his own company alone
D. write and direct films
2.Which of the following is the first film directed by Forbes?
A. An Inspector CallsB. The Colditz Story
C. Whistle down the WindD. The Angry Silence
3.The underlined word “torrid” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by ________.
A. suitableB. toughC. preciousD. steady
4.Which of the following can be best used to describe Forbes?
A. Talented.B. Well-educated.C. Proud.D. Attractive.
The book which is ________ 100 yuan is not worth ________.
A. cost; buyingB. worth; to be bought
C. worth; buyingD. paid; buying
Two ___________ died in the fire.
A. scores of peopleB. score of people
C. scores of peoplesD. score of peoples
