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 microblogging 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” R2 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 humanlike 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 humanlike head, hands and arms and uses the same tools as station crew members. The “Robonaut” called R2 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.
1. According to the passage, a humanoid robot, put on the ISS, shall carry out the tasks except ________.
A. keep in contact with Earth
B. get a friend for astronauts from Japan
C. take care of the ISS sometimes
D. keep an eye on the health of the astronauts
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to this passage?
A. NASA is planning to communicate with the space station through Twitter.
B. Japan has the largest number of elderly people.
C. The robot program will eventually benefit the elderly.
D. R2 program is in the charge of Japan's JAXA.
3.From the passage we can know ________.
A. robots could completely take the place of human astronauts in the future
B. the robot program, having cost $2.5 million, can carry out all tasks
C. many Japanese universities joined in the robot program
D. future astronauts will become less lonely and more comfortable with the help of the robot
Mountaineers have noted that as they climb, for example, up to the 12,633foot Humphreys Peak in Arizona, plant life changes greatly. In the Sonoran Desert, one climbs into a pine forest at 7,000 feet and a treeless tundra(冻土带) on the top of the mountain. It may seem that plants at a given altitude are associated in what can be called “communities” －groupings of species. The idea is that over time, plants that require particular climate and soil conditions come to live in the same places, and are frequently to be found together. Scientists study the history of plant life and build up a picture of how groups of plants have responded to climate changes and how ecosystems develop. But are these associations, which are real in the present, permanent?
A great natural experiment took place on this planet between 25,000 and 10,000 years ago, when small changes in the earth’s orbit caused great sheets of ice to spread from poles. These glaciers(冰川) covered much of North America and Europe to depths of up to two miles, and then, as the climate warmed, they retreated. During this retreat, they left behind newly uncovered land for living things to occupy, and as those living things moved in they laid down a record we can read now. As the ice retreated and plants started to grow near a lake, they release pollen(花粉). Some would fall into the lake, sink to the bottom and mix with the sand. By drilling into the lake bottom it is possible to read the record of the plant life around the lake. The fossil record seems clear; there is little or no evidence that entire groups of plants moved north together. Things that lived together in the past don’t live together now, and things that live together now didn’t live together in the past. Each individual living things moved at its own pace. The fossil record seems to be telling us that we should be thinking about preserving species by giving them room to move about－to respond to environmental changes.
1.According to the passage, the movement of individual species of plants ________.
A. occurs in groups
B. often depends upon the formation of lakes
C. does not occur in groups
D. depends upon climate and soil conditions
2. All of the following are true EXCEPT ________.
A. The ice age occurred when there were small changes in the orbit of the earth
B. fossil records seem to indicate that plants will be preserved if they have enough room to move
C. fossil records clearly show that entire groups of plants are unlikely to have moved together
D. in the ice age glaciers covered the world to depths of up to two miles
3.The underlined word “which” refers to ________.
A. the responses of plants to climate changes
B. the current theories of ecosystems
C. the development of ecosystems
D. plant life changes
4.The second paragraph is intended to ________.
A. support the main idea of the first paragraph
B. answer the question raised in first paragraph
C. make suggestions about responding to environmental changes
D. stress the importance of preserving species
Wherever she goes, Molly leaves her mark. Without saying a word, she speaks to people with her kind eyes. Even when she walks away, she leaves an impression. Molly's mark is a smile, stamped into the ground by the horseshoe at the bottom of her false leg．
A few years ago, Molly was badly attacked by a dog. The dog bit all four of Molly’s legs and left large cuts in her face. Molly's owner, Kate Harris, took her to an animal hospital. Doctors there were able to save Molly’s life, but soon one of her legs became very infected (感染).
At first, doctors thought Molly would have to be put to sleep. But Molly changed their minds. This pony, doctors noticed, shifted her weight, and rested her good leg from time to time. Doctors knew that Molly had amazing intelligence, and that she wanted to live.
Several doctors operated on Molly, and removed her infected leg. A false leg was made for her. The leg was a hollow cast with a pole at the bottom for balance. Doctors gave Molly a special horseshoe at the bottom of the leg. This horseshoe she had had a stamp of a smile face in it!
After the operation, Molly walked around on all four legs, as if nothing had ever happened to her! Now, with every step she takes, she stamps a smile in the dirt. But she leaves her mark in other ways, too.
Kaye Harris took Molly to the false leg center. There were children there who, like Molly, had artificial arms or legs. They were amazed to see a pony with a false leg. Molly made them smile and gave them hope. Soon, Molly began to visit schools, nursing homes, army bases and hospitals. A book was even written about Molly!
1.Molly is the name of a__________.
A. dog B. horseC. parent D. child
2.Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. Molly can speak to people in kind words.
B. Kay Harris took Molly to a children’s hospital after the attack.
C. In the beginning, doctors had planned to end Molly’s life.
D. Molly sometimes leaves smiling marks on people’s faces.
3.What is unique about Molly?
A. Molly has a false leg with a horseshoe shaped like a smiling face.
B. Molly ran a race and won the first prize.
C. Molly often visits places such as schools and parks.
D. Molly has become a symbol of hope for people of all ages.
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
Canadian smart－phone maker Research In Motion(RIM), which makes the BlackBerry, says it's back. The company is ____ to reclaim a market it once dominated by ____ two new devices. The last few years have been a painful time for the company as customers deserted its platform in ____ of newer and more ____ devices. This may be the company's last chance to ____ a vital player in an increasingly crowded market place.
Two brand new devices are perhaps a fresh ____ for a company that has seen its global market share ____ from 20 percent three years ago to just over 3 percent today.
For BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, it's another chance to remake a faded ____. “We have ___ been on a journey of transformation, not only a journey to transform our business and our brand, ____ one that I truly ____ transforms mobile communications into true mobile computing，” he said.
The company promises the same ____ level of network security the BlackBerry is known for, ____ a fast new browser and a more intuitive operating system. The Z10 ____ much like the touch－screen phones popularized by its competitors(竞争者), but the Q10 maintains the “qwerty” keyboard that has become BlackBerry's trademark.
Besides the technical and cosmetic(外观上的) updates, Heins says the company will no longer be called RIM or Research In Motion.
“Our customers use a BlackBerry, our ____ work for BlackBerry and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry. From today on, we are BlackBerry ____ in the world，” he said.
Shareholders will be watching if customers ____ the new devices. The company's stock has dropped as much as 90 percent in the last four years as it lost ____ to competitors. But company shares have doubled in the last four months as anticipation(预期) ____ for the new models.
Analysts say the new devices could make or ___ a company, which many people praise for starting the technological revolution in smart－phones.
1.A. refusing B. tryingC. urging D. pretending
2.A. introducingB. reviewingC. rejectingD. discovering
3.A. favor B. charge C. honorD. defense
4.A. popularB. expensiveC. complicated D. familiar
5.A. replaceB. react C. remainD. reset
6.A. record B. dilemma C. end D. start
7.A. lose B. increase C. rise D. fall
8.A. brand B. trade C. technique D. phone
9.A. speciallyB. definitely C. doubtfully D. essentially
10.A. and B. orC. but D. so
11.A. agreeB. believe C. suspectD. deny
12.A. high B. average C. backward D. normal
13.A. except forB. regardless ofC. despiteD. along with
14.A. soundsB. smells C. looksD. finds
15.A. employees B. consumersC. relativesD. competitors
16.A. howeverB. wheneverC. nowhereD. everywhere
17.A. adaptB. adjust C. adoptD. advocate
18. A. landB. ground C. soil D. earth
19.A. droppedB. changed C. remainedD. grew
20.A. desertB. abandon C. breakD. deny
---If you focus on what you've left behind, you'll never be able to see what lies ahead.
--- That’s it.
A. I can’t agree with it.
B. You’ve got a point there.
C. You’ve got me there.
D. Action speaks louder than words.
---He ought to have been warned of the danger.
---, but he wouldn’t listen to me.
A. Yes, he ought to. B. So he was.
C. So it was with him. D. So he did.
