Scientists are developing a new kind of machine to take the place of humans. The
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Scientists are developing a new kind of machine to take the place of humans. These machines can do jobs in places that are too dangerous for humans. For example, they are being developed to work in nuclear power center, deep under the oceans and in outer space.
John Marrit, a psychologist(心理学家) in Williamsburg Massachusetts, helped develop the new machine. This is how they work. A machine is placed in an area far away from the person who operates it. The person wears special hard hat with television screens and sound equipment. The screens and sound equipment let the person see and hear exactly what the machine is seeing and hearing. Mr. Marrit says this gives the person the feeling of being in the same place as the machine. The idea, he says, is being there without going there. The person uses an electronic control to make the machine move. The machine copies the person’s movements exactly. If the person raises his right arm, the machine raises the right arm, too. This means an expert can do a dangerous job while staying in the safe place. For example, a person can direct the machine to destroy a bomb without going near the bomb himself.
小题1:The new kind of machine being introduced in the passage is _______.| A．in existence | B．only an idea | | C．being tried out | D．being researched and developed |
小题2:The machine _______.| A．follows the person’s order | | B．is controlled by a computer | | C．does exactly what the person does | | D．is controlled by a television on the person’s head |
小题3:The difference between such a new machine and a robot is that _______.| A．the new machine is more difficult to make than a robot | | B．the new machine is more difficult to be controlled | | C．a robot is controlled by man indirectly | | D．a robot can’t be used in places too dangerous or faraway |
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答案
小题1:D
小题2:C
小题3:A |
解析
试题分析：科学家正在开发一种代替人的机器，这种机器能代替人们从事一些危险 的工作。
小题1:判断题。 从第 1 句话 Scientists are developing a new kind of machine to take the place of humans 可以看出，既然是正在开发当中，那肯定还未形成。选D
小题2:语义理解题。从第 2 段中The machine copies the person’s movements exactly 可以看出机器人做的是人类做的事情， 明显看出为什么选 C 的原因。A 项有一定的干扰性，但这种机器是人通过电控开关控制的， 所以应排除。选C
小题3:判断题。这种机器还在开发当中，而机器人则有几十年历史了，可知这种机器人更加难制作，由此可以肯定答案应该选 A。 |
举一反三
Australian scientists are trying to give kangaroo-style stomachs to cattle and sheep in order to cut the greenhouse gases they send out，which is thought to be responsible for global warming．
Thanks to special bacteria in the stomachs，kangaroo flatulence（肠胃气胀）contains no methane（甲烷）and scientists want to transfer that bacteria to cattle and sheep which produce large quantities of the harmful gas．
While the usual image of greenhouse gas pollution is a huge factory chimney pushing out carbon dioxide，farm animals’ passing wind contributes to a surprisingly high percentage of total emission（排放物）in some countries．
“Fourteen percent of emissions from all sources in Australia is from methane from cattle and sheep，’’said Athol Klieve，a senior research scientist with the Queensland state government．
“And if you look at another country such as New Zealand，which has got a much higher agricultural base，they are actually up around 50 percent，”he said．
Researchers say the bacteria also make the digestive process much more efficient and could potentially save millions of dollars in feed costs for farmers．
But it will take researchers at least three years to isolate the bacteria before they can even start to develop a way of transferring it to cattle and sheep．
Another group of scientists，meanwhile，has suggested Australians should farm fewer cattle and sheep and just eat more kangaroos．And about twenty percent of health-conscious Australians are believed to eat the national symbol already．
“It’s low in fat，it’s got high protein levels and it’s very clean in the sense that basically it’s the free-range（放养的）animal，”said Peter Ampt of the University of New South Wales’s institute of environmental studies．
小题1:The passage mainly talks about ________.| A．a better way to prevent air pollution | | B．the danger of methane from farm animals | | C．possible solutions to protecting environment | | D．a recent research on global warming |
小题2: Scientists intend to put the bacteria into cattle and sheep in order to ________.| A．prevent them from sending out harmful gases | | B．promote Australian farming | | C．protect Australian ecosystem | | D．make the most of the special bacteria |
小题3:Another possible solution to the problem is ________.| A．to reduce the number of animals raised on farms | | B．to eat more kangaroos rather than keep more sheep and cattle | | C．to eat more plants rather than beef and mutton | | D．to grow more trees to absorb carbon dioxide |
小题4:From the passage we learn that ________.| A．it is easy to transfer the bacteria to cattle and sheep | | B．farm animals are to blame for global warming in some countries | | C．cattle and sheep produce more methane than kangaroos | | D．less cattle and sheep are raised in New Zealand |
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We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1000 years to decompose. Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.
The 16-year old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute,
has discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(分解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair, a $10 000 prize, a $20 000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.
Burd"s strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms (微生物). If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.
With this goal in mind, he ground plastic bags into a powder and concocted(调制) a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth. Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control. Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.
The inputs are cheap: maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.
“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me. One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags. The answer: not much. So I decided to do something myself.” said Daniel Burd.
小题1:Daniel Burd won first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair because________.| A．he found a new kind of microorganism | | B．he contributed much to environmental protection | | C．he found a way to degrade plastics in shorter time | | D．he could encourage microbes growth in an easier way |
小题2:Daniel Burd exposed one plastic sample to dead bacteria to ________.| A．make the live bacteria work better | | B．test how effective his method was | | C．know which bacteria worked faster | | D．control the temperature in the process |
小题3:Maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because ________.| A．plastics can get hot easily | | B．microbes can produce heat themselves | | C．much carbon dioxide is produced | | D．the temperature can be controlled |
小题4:Daniel Burd got his idea from ________.| A．his school textbook | B．the failure of researchers | | C．his everyday work | D．the practice of other people |
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A victim of climate change
A polar bear"s dead body found on the Arctic island of Svalbard, the northernmost part of Norway, has shocked experts who say climate change may be to blame for the death. The starved polar bear in Norway was said to be in good bones by the time a group of explorers came across its body in July．
The bear is thought to have been heading north in a desperate search for sea ice that would allow it to hunt for seals．"From his lying position in death, the bear appears to simply have starved to health in April when the Norwegian Polar Institute examined and labeled it． However, the animal was reduced to skin and bones and died where he dropped," polar bear expert Dr. Ian Stirling, a professor at the University of Alberta said, "He had external suggestion of any remaining fat, having been reduced to little more than skin and bone．"
Stirling believes the bear starved to death as a result of a lack of sea ice which the animals use as a platform for hunting seals． That may also explain why the 16-year-old male bear was found about 155 miles north of where it was seen in April．
Arctic sea ice reached a record low in 2012, according to a report released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that pointed to continued signs of climate change．
The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently classifies polar bears as vulnerable on its Red List of Threatened Species．
小题1:How did Stirling know the reason for the death of the polar bear?| A．By the food he ate． | B．By doing further experiments． | | C．By observing other polar bears． | D．By his lying position in death． |
小题2:The underlined word "vulnerable" probably means _____．| A．easily hurt | B．difficult to hunt | | C．dangerous | D．amazing |
小题3:What is the author"s attitude to the incident?| A．Favorable． | B．Uncaring． | | C．Doubtful． | D．Concerned． |
小题4:Where does this text probably come from?| A．A novel． | B．A guidebook． | | C．A news report． | D．An advertisement． |
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Can we give a hand to those endangered animals? Yes, we may only do a little bit, but together our small actions add up to a lot.
1. Protect wildlife habitat.
Perhaps the greatest threat that faces many species is the widespread destruction of habitat. Cutting down forests, farming, and development all result in loss of wildlife habitat. In areas where rare species live, habitat destruction can quickly force a species to extinction. By protecting habitat, entire communities of animals can be protected together naturally. Parks and reserves are now all too often the only habitats that are left untouched by habitat destruction.
2. Reduce the threat of invasive (入侵的) species.
The spread of non-native species has greatly reduced native populations around the world. Invasive species compete with native species for resources (资源) and habitat. They can even prey on native species directly, forcing native species towards extinction.
3. Place decals (贴花纸) on windows.
It is reported that as many as one billion birds in the United States die each year because of collisions (碰撞) with windows. You can help reduce the number of collisions simply by placing decals on the windows in your home and office.
4. Slow down when driving.
Many native animals have to live in developed areas and this means they must move in human-living areas. One of the biggest obstacles (障碍) to them is that created by roads. Roads divide habitat and present a constant risk to any animal attempting to cross from one side to the other. So when you’re out and about, slow down and keep an eye out for wildlife.
小题1: What would be the best title for this passage?| A．How animals go to extinction | | B．The importance of protecting wildlife | | C．What to do to help save wildlife | | D．How to protect wildlife habitat |
小题2:By writing the underlined sentence, the writer means that _____.| A．more parks and reserves should be built | | B．we should have more habitats free of destruction | | C．there is a need for improvement in parks and re-serves | | D．parks and reserves are good examples of protecting wildlife |
小题3:People are advised to put decals on windows to _____.| A．decorate the houses and beautify the environment | | B．protect the windows from birds hitting | | C．attract more birds to make homes nearby | | D．avoid birds hitting the windows by mistake |
小题4:The underlined phrase “prey on” in the passage means _____.| A．drive away | B．live with | C．kill for food | D．fight with |
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“Get your hands off me, I have been stolen,” the laptop, a portable（便携式的）computer, shouted. That is a new solution to laptop computer theft: a program that lets owners give their property a voice when it has been taken.
The program allows users to display alerts（警报）on the missing computer’s screen and even to set a spoken message. Tracking software for stolen laptops has been on the market for some time, but this is thought to be the first that allows owners to give the thief a piece of their mind.
Owners must report their laptop missing by visiting to a website, which sends a message to the model: a red and yellow “lost or stolen” sign appears on its screen when it is started. Under the latest version(版本) of the software, users can also send a spoken message.
The message can be set to reappear every 30 seconds, no matter how many times the thief closes it. “One customer sent a message saying, ‘You are being tracked. I am right at your door’,” said Carrie Hafeman, chief executive (主管) of the company which produces the program, Retriever.
In the latest version, people can add a spoken message. For example, the laptop’s speakers will say: “Help, this laptop is reported lost or stolen. If you are not my owner, please report me now.”
The Retriever software package(软件包), which costs $29.95 (￡21) but has a free trial period, has the functions of many security software programs. Owners can remotely switch to an alternative password if they fear that the thief has also got hold of the access details.
If a thief accesses the internet with the stolen laptop, Retriever will collect information on the internet service provider in use, so that the police can be alerted to its location.
Thousands of laptops are stolen every year from homes and offices, but with the use of laptops increasing, the number stolen while their owners are out and about has been rising sharply.
Other security software allows users to erase（删除）data remotely or lock down the computer.
小题1:The expression “to give the thief a piece of their mind” can be understood as “_______”.| A．to give the thief an alert mind | | B．to express the owners’ anger to the thief | | C．to remind the thief of his conscience | | D．to make the thief give up his mind |
小题2:Different from other security software, Retriever can ______.| A．record the stealing process | | B．help recognize the lost laptop | | C．lock down the computer remotely | | D．send a spoken message |
小题3:One function of the program is that it allows the owner to ______ at a distance.| A．change some access details for switching on the laptop | | B．turn on the laptop by using the original password | | C．operate the laptop by means of an alternative password | | D．erase the information kept in the stolen laptop |
小题4:Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?| A．With no Retriever, thousands of laptops are stolen every year. | | B．A new software provides a means to reduce laptop theft. | | C．Retriever has helped to find thieves and lost computers. | | D．A new program offers a communication platform with the thief. |
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