A 1.6-meter tall robot may soon become the best friend for lonely elderly peopl

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A 1.6-meter tall robot may soon become the best friend for lonely elderly people，as Chinese scientists are making the final sprint(冲刺)toward its market launch(投放)，said a senior researcher on the robot project on Saturday．
“We are working on testing the exact functions and ways to reduce the cost in preparations for an expected market launch of the robot in two to three years，”said Li Ruifeng，a member of the project．
He said the team hoped to reduce the cost so that the robot can be priced at 30，000 to 50，000 yuan，which is expected to be an affordable price for most of China’s better-off families．
The robot has been developed with the functions of fetching food，medicine，sounding alarms in case of water or gas leakage，sending texts or video images via wireless communications，and even singing a song or playing chess to entertain its masters．
Li said that the robot，developed independently in China, has technology at the same level as those in western labs．
China set about the research of the robot in 2007，when it was listed as a national key project．It is backed by government funding(拨款)．China has the world’s largest elderly population with 159 million people over 60，accounting for 12 percent of its total population． According to a survey by the Ministry of Civil Affairs，more than 10 million caregivers and nurses are needed to attend the elderly population，as most of C

hinese elderly prefer to live their retired lives at home．
61．The passage mainly talked about ．
A．the problems of Chinese elderly population
B．the advantages of the Robot caregivers
C．robot caregivers for the elderly to lilt market
D．the government’s attention to the elderl

y
62．The underlined word “backed” in the last paragraph means     ．
A. supported B．suggested C．controlled       D．stopped
63．From the last paragraph we know that       ．
A．our government pays no attention to the elderly people
B．China has the world’s largest elderly population
C．Chinese elderly people prefer to be looked after by robot caregivers
D．robots are the best friends for the lonely elderly people
64．Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．Robot caregivers will appear in the market in 2 or 3 years．
B．Robot caregivers can help elderly people do everything．
C．The robot needs some technology from western labs．
D．The robot is expected to be bought by every people．
65．The author wrote the passage to        ．
A．advertise a robot caregiver to the elderly
B．tell China elderly not to worry about their life
C．explain how robot caregivers work in the future
D．introduce a newly-developed robot caregiver

答案

小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:B
小题4:A
小题5:D

解析

举一反三

Put an ice cube from your fridge into a glass of water. You have a piece of string(线) 10 centimeters long. The problem is to take out that piece of ice with the help of the string. But you must not touch the ice with your fingers.

You may ask your friends to try to do that when you are having dinner together. There is a saltcellar on the table. You must use salt when you carry out this experiment.

First you put the string across the piece of ice. Then put some salt on the ice. Salt makes ice melt(融化). The ice round the string will begin to melt. But when it melts, it will lose heat. The cold ice cube will make the salt water freeze again.

After a minute or two you may raise the piece of string and with it you will raise your piece of ice!

This experiment can be very useful to you. If, for example, there is ice near the door of your house, you must use very much salt to melt all the ice. If you don’t put enough salt, the water will freeze again.

小题1: We must use _______ when we carry out this experiment.

A．fridge

B．some food

C．a table

D．some salt

小题2: How long will it take to carry out this experiment?

A．More than three minutes.	B．Five minutes or so.
C．Only one minute or two.	D．About ten minutes.

小题3:What is the task of this experiment?

A．Put the ice cube into the glass of water with the help of the string.

B．Take out the ice cube in the glass of water with the help of the string.

C．Take out the ice cube in the glass of water with your fingers.

D．Put some salt on the ice cube and then put the string across it.

小题4:How many things at least are used in this experiment?

A．Three.

B．Four.

C．Six.

D．Seven.

小题5:We can learn something about _______ from the passage.

A．physics

B．biology

C．chemistry

D．maths

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“Around 500,000 years ago, at the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian in Beijing’s suburban Fangshan district, which is about 50 km from the city of Beijing, there lived early human beings,” says a China history textbook.
The textbook now has to be revised. New dating techniques suggest the remains of Peking Man--- found in the 1920s---are over 200,000 years older than previously thought. What’s important about that date, about 770,000 ago, is that this was an ice age on Earth.
Over Earth’s long history, there have been a number of times when ice and snow covered a large part of its surface. Such periods are known as ice ages.
Earth is in an ice age now. It started about 2 million years ago. Despite the many warm periods since then, scientists regard the whole time as one ice age because of the continuous existence of at least one large ice sheet---the one over Antarctica.
The new discovery was made by Chinese and US scientists. It suggests Peking Man is probably our oldest cold weather human being, said Darryl Granger, an atmospheric scientist at Purdue University whose research appears in Thursday’s edition of the journal Nature.
The average yearly temperature at the time in that part of China was around the freezing mark, but it was too dry for an ice sheet, Granger said.
This raises a question. How did Peking Man survive the cold weather?
Rick Potts, a Smithsonian Institution human origins expert who wasn’t involved in the research, raised three possibilities:
First, fire. Early findings showed signs of a fire in Peking Man’s cave. But there has been debate about whether the fire was accidental or controlled.
Second, fur. There is no evidence that Peking Man used simple tools to make more form-fitting clothes, it’s more likely he wore animal fur.
Lastly, he may have developed gradually to handle the cold. Peking Man may have experienced physiological changes that allowed more blood to flow to his hands and legs, Potts said. “People in general who live in colder climates tend to be shorter and wider,” he explained.
Unlike the times of Peking Man today the global temperature is rising due to the greenhouse effect. In the future, could humans develop to handle the warmth just as Peking Man did to fight the cold?
72. According to the new research, Peking Man actually dates back to _______.
A. around 500,000 years ago            B. over 200,000 years
C. about 770,000 years ago             D. about 2 million years ago
73. What is the most important standard for scientists to decide an ice age?
A. The weather conditions.              B. The continuous existence of any large ice sheets.
C. The average yearly temperature        D. The long period of snowfall
74. Which of the following is true of Peking Man?
A. He is the oldest human being           B. He used fire to keep warm
C. He wore form-fitting clothes made from fur with simple tools.
D. He might have been shorter and wider than previously thought.
75. The following are all the possibilities EXCEPT _______ that the Peking Man survived the cold weather.
A. putting up tents to keep the cold out      B. wearing animal fur
C. using fire in their cave                 D. developing gradually to handle the cold.

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The world"s oceans have warmed 50 percent faster over the last 40 years than previously thought due to climate change, Australian and US climate researchers reported on Wednesday. Higher ocean temperatures expand the volume of water, contributing to a rise in sea levels that is submerging small island nations and threatening to great damage in low-lying, densely-populated delta regions around the globe.

The study, published in the British journal Nature, adds to a growing scientific chorus of warnings about the pace and consequences of rising oceans. It also serves as a corrective to a massive report issued last year by the Nobel-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change（IPCC）, according to the authors.

Rising sea levels are driven by two things: the thermal（热）expansion of sea water, and additional water from melting sources of ice. Both processes are caused by global warming. The ice sheet that sits at the top of Greenland, for example, contains enough water to raise world ocean levels by seven metres（23 feet）, which would bury sea-level cities from Dhaka to Shanghai.

Trying to figure out how much each of these factors contributes to rising sea levels is critically important to understanding climate change, and forecasting future temperature rises, scientists say. But up to now, there has been a confusing gap between the projections of computer-based climate models, and the observations of scientists gathering data from the oceans.

The new study, led by Catia Domingues of the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, is the first to reconcile（与…一致）the models with observed data. Using new techniques to assess ocean temperatures to a depth of 700 metres（2,300 feet）from 1961 to 2003, it shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.53 millimetre-per-year rise in sea levels rather than the 0.32 mm rise reported by the IPCC.

64. What happens when the ocean"s temperature rises?

A. It causes sea levels to rise.

B. It causes sea levels to remain constant.

C. It causes sea levels to decrease.

D. It causes sea level to change.

65. Which of the followings would be buried by the rising sea?

A. Small island nations.

B. All coastal cities around the world.

C. People who enjoy holiday on the beach.

D. Low-lying regions.

66. The new study in this passage _____________.

A. shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.32 millimeter-per-year rise in sea levels.

B. did not reveal anything that scientists hadn"t already known.

C. used new techniques to assess ocean temperatures.

D. shows that models contradict the observed data.

67. What was the main finding of the study?

A. Nothing enough is being done about global warming.

B. That ocean waters have warmed faster than scientists had previously thought.

C. That the warming of the world"s oceans is not a threat.

D. A massive report issued last year by IPCC was wrong.

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Japan"s 24-hour convenience stores, already struggling with lagging sales and growth, may soon face yet another threat - moves to limit business hours and close the stores late at night. The district of Saitama, which borders Tokyo, may follow in the footsteps of the western city of Kyoto and urge convenience stores to close during late night hours in an effort to limit carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）emissions, Japanese media reported.

Kyoto, a former capital, wants to persuade convenience and other 24-hour stores to close late at night so as to improve evening views of the city and cut down on energy use. The Nikkei business daily said closures could last from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. The move is strongly opposed by the industry, which fears a bad impact on an already troubled sector also grappling with the specter of a higher tobacco tax, which could hit overall sales.

"Even if we only operate the stores for 16 hours, we can"t stop the refrigerators," said Toshiro Yamaguchi, the president of Seven-Eleven Japan Co, which is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd, at a news conference in Saitama on Tuesday. He said such cuts in operating hours would reduce each store"s profit by 20 percent. "If this happens, our current business model will lose its foundation."

Analysts said that while it is difficult to estimate the potential impact of the move without a concrete plan, their overall impression was that it was likely to be negative. "This could cut profits and lead to less efficient operations and the increased loss of opportunities," said Masafumi Shoda, an analyst at Nomura Securities. "But it depends on the store -- urban stores do better than others. There are some in the countryside that are inefficient."

Some have suggested that if governments were sincere about reducing carbon emissions there were much more efficient methods, such as cutting back on the huge number of automatic vending machines（自动售货机）

68. Which of the followings was the first to try to limit convenience store hours?

A. Saitama B. Tokyo C. Kyoto D. Nomura Security

69. What"s the main goal of the proposal?

A. To give employees more free time.

B. To limit carbon dioxide emissions.

C. To sell more tobacco products.

D. To reduce each store’s profit.
70. How"s the convenience store sector doing in Japan?

A. It is not mentioned.

B. It"s doing great. Business is booming.

C. Not very well.

D. It’s about to close.

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National Geographic Society
17 TH and M Streets N.W., Washington D.C．20036 U.S.A.
The year is 1991．But just for a moment you will feel the centuries roll back.
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Or an ageing Michelangelo standing in the middle of rubble （碎石）, staring at the still unbuilt, sky-size dome （圆顶大厦）above.
You are in St. Peter’s Basilica, heart of one of the most attractive nations in the world …
Dear friend,
Every now and then, you visit a place that leaves a lasting impression – and memories that remain long after you’ve returned home. The Vatican is one of those unforgettable places.
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P.S. Remember, too, that this beautiful volume is a perfect gift for anyone who loves travel, history, or art. But it’s available only by direct order through the society.
53．The part before the letter ________.
A．describes ancient Roman Emperor Charlemagne
B．introduces Vatican City, the independent state in Europe
C．tells about the famous Italian scientist and artist Michelangelo
D．gives an imaginary picture of the grandness of National Geographic Society
54．‘Dear Friend’ is used as a greeting because the writer ________.
A．and the reader know each other very well
B．and the reader have heard about each other
C．would like the reader to trust her
D．would like to get to know the reader
55．What the writer introduces to the reader is based on the volume’s ________.
A．quality of presentation           B．importance of sales
C．historical value                 D．value to collectors
56．The book will appeal to ________.
A．the recipient （接受者）         B．the recipient, his wife and children
C．art historians                   D．traveling salesmen

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