第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）

What if you arrived home to find a delicious hot meal waiting for you，prepared by your very own kitchen robot? It might sound like science fiction，but professors at the university of Tokyo have taken the first steps toward making that scenario a reality．The team recently introduced a humanoid kitchen robot that can pour tea and other drinks into cups and serve them to guests．When teatime is over，the robot can also wash the dishes and put them away．

In California，another interesting kitchen robot has been developed．Called the Ready-bot，it can pick up objects and either store them in cabinets or put them in the trash．It also carries a separate floor-cleaning robot that can operate by itself．Unlike the Japanese robot，Readybot is not humanoid．Instead，it looks more like a large box with arms and wheels．[来源:Z|xx|k.Com]

Readybot was created by engineers and designers who established a club called the Readybot Challenge．They believe that in the future millions of robots will be needed in homes to perform ordinary household tasks．Readybot is just the first step in their plan to create a robot that can tackle jobs not only in kitchens but in other rooms of homes and in offices as well．

Clearly there are technological hurdles to overcome before robots can cook a complete dinner，and there are also many safety concerns．Not everyone（especially parents）would be comfortable with the idea of robots in their house，manipulating hot pans and sharp knives．The European Commission recently funded a project to study these concerns．

56．What does the writer imply about the Japanese robot?

A．It performs fewer functions than readybot can．

B．it looks more like a person than Readybot does．

C．It speaks more languages than Readybot does．

D．It costs 1ess to manufacture than Readybot does．

57．Where do the engineers and designers hope that Readybot will operate in the future?

A．On spacecraft                                                      B．In automobiles

C．On playgrounds                                               D．At companies

58．What does the writer imply about parents?

A．They have shown tremendous interest in kitchen robots．

B．They don’t have strong opinions about kitchen robots．

C．They might think that kitchen robots could be dangerous．

D．They can’t wait to buy kitchen robots for their homes．

59．According to the writer，what has the European Commission done for the project?

A．It has built factories                                                B．It has printed manuals

C．It has hired workers                                                D．It has provided money

 

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A little boy was visiting his grandparents on their farm．He was given a slingshot （弹弓） to play with out in the woods．He  36  in the woods, but he could never hit anything．Getting a little  37   , he headed back for dinner．As he was  38   back he saw Grandma's pet  39   ．Just out of impulse （冲动）, he let the slingshot  40  ,

hit the duck right in the head and killed it．He was shocked and  41   ．

In a panic, he hid the  42   duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said  43   ．After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the  44   ．" But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he  45 to help in the kitchen．" Then she 46   to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny washed the dishes．Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing．Before they left, Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I  47   Sally to help me make supper．"Sally just smiled and said, "Well, you needn't worry about it  48   Johnny told me he wanted to help．"She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally went  49   and Johnny stayed to help．After several days of doing both his  50   and Sally's, he finally couldn't  51   it any longer．He came to Grandma and admitted that he had  52   the duck．

Grandma knelt down(蹲下), gave him a  53   , and said, "Sweetheart, I know．You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the  54   thing, but because I love you．I forgave you．I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a  55   of you．If you make a mistake, just be brave to admit to it and promise not to make it again．In that way, everyone will forgive you．"

A．worked        B．practiced   C．climbed    D．searched

A．pleased        B．worried    C．puzzled     D．discouraged

A．turning       B．looking     C．walking    D．falling

A．dog           B．duck        C．cat         D．rabbit

A．rise           B．leave       C．stop        D．fly

A．sad         B．lucky       C．angry       D．excited

A．happy         B．hungry     C．fat         D．dead

A．anything       B．something C．nothing     D．everything

A．clothes        B．dishes       C．hands       D．floors

A．wanted        B．managed C．tried       D．willing

A．shouted        B．explained C．talked       D．whispered

A．command     B．request     C．need        D．allow

A．until          B．because    C．while       D．although

A．fishing        B．swimming C．climbing  D．shopping

A．exercise        B．lesson      C．problem    D．housework

A．accept         B．afford       C．stand(忍受)D．support

A．hurt           B．killed       C．hidden      D．wounded

A．kiss           B．surprise    C．gift         D．suggestion

A．strange        B．terrible     C．serious      D．whole

A．enemy         B．winner      C．slave        D．leader

Eddie’s father used to say he’d spent so many years by the ocean, breathing seawater. Now, away from that ocean, in the hospital bed, his body began to look like a beached fish. His condition went from fair to stable and from stable to serious. Friends went from saying, “He’ll be home in a day,” to “He’ll be home in a week.” In his father’s absence, Eddie helped out at the pier (码头), working evenings after his taxi job.

When Eddie was a teenager, if he ever complained or seemed bored with the pier, his father would shout, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?” And later, when he’d suggested Eddie take a job there after high school, Eddie almost laughed, and his father again said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?” And before Eddie went to war, when he’d talked of marrying Marguerite and becoming an engineer, his father said, “What? This isn’t good enough for you?”

And now, regardless of all that, here he was, at the pier, doing his father’s labor.

Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. It is not until much later, as the heart weakens, that children understand: their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit on top of the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.

Finally, one night, at his mother’s urging, Eddie visited the hospital. He entered the room slowly. His father, who for years had refused to speak to Eddie, now lacked the strength to even try.

“Don’t sweat it, kid,” the other workers told him. “Your old man will pull through. He’s the toughest man we’ve ever seen.”

When the news came that his father had died, Eddie felt the emptiest kind of anger, the kind that circles in its cage.

         In the weeks that followed, Eddie’s mother lived in a confused state. She spoke to her husband as if he were still there. She yelled at him to turn down the radio. She cooked enough food for two. One night, when Eddie offered to help with the dishes, she said, “Your father will put them away.” Eddie put a hand on her shoulder. “Ma,” he said, softly, “Dad’s gone.”

         “Gone where?”

1.In Paragraph four, the writer indicates that __________.

A. Children like moving away from their parents

B. Children often feel regretful because they leave their parents

C. Children wouldn’t have achieved so much without their parents’ support

D. Children can never understand how much their parents have devoted to them

2. The underlined sentence “Don’t sweat it” (Para. 6) probably means __________.

A. Don’t touch it                                              B. Don’t give it up

C. Don’t let him down                                   D. Don’t worry about it

3.Which of the following shows the right order of the story?

a. Eddie’s father died.

b. Eddie married Marguerite.

c. Eddie worked as a taxi driver.

d. Eddie was bored with his father’s job.

A. dbca                        B. dcab                        C. bcda                        D. bacd

4.From the last paragraph, we learn that __________.

A. Eddie’s mother liked to listen to the radio

B. Eddie’s mother missed her husband so much that she was at a loss

C. Eddie and his wife lived in his mother’s apartment

D. Eddie often helped his mother wash the dishes

 

    It was a bright spring afternoon when Fieda told me she wouldn’t need me any more. I had just finished my four-hour work － 36    up and down the stairs of her three-storey home, cleaning the floor and washing the dishes. She was 37    jeans and a sweater, sitting at the table I had just 38    . a pile of papers spread around her. Her husband’  39    was going to be reduced by thirty percent. And they were trying to live as if it had 40   happened. I felt sorry for her. but I also felt a sense of 41   .

     I had been cleaning Freda’s house for five years and had 42    an unexpected relationship with the family. It was not just 43    I had become an expert at scraping（刮掉）dirt stuck to their wooden floor, 44    that I had learned exactly how to place toys on the girls’ beds. It was  45    than that, for I felt I had become a part of their 46   .Freda stayed at home with the kids, 47    I would often see her in the morning 48   them to school. And I’d be there when they 49   home at lunch for sandwiches and piano practice. I had 50   them grow up. Now I was tired, but the  51 thing was that I still wanted to keep scraping away the dirt and dust for the family.  

     I left Freda’s house that day, wondering about the 52     of my relationship with my clients（主顾）. Who am I  53    them? As a matter of fact, I’m  54     an employee － the lowest kind of employee. But I’m also a trusted  55   of the family. I can’t help worrying about what happens around me.

36.A.stepping         B.coming                    C.jumping              D.moving

37.A.hanging               B.making                     C.wearing                    D.changing

38.A.cleaned               B.washed               C.swept                       D.brushed

39.A.duty                    B.money                      C.work                        D.pay

40.A.already                B.seldom                     C.never                       D.yet

41.A.regret                  B.surprise                    C.fear                          D.loss

42.A.started                 B.developed           C.improved            D.broken

43.A.why                     B.what                        C.that                          D.which

44.A.but                      B.and                          C.or                            D.for

45.A.less                     B.least                         C.more                        D.most

46.A.life                      B.story                        C.activity                     D.experience

47.A.as                        B.so                            C.since                        D.however

48.A.taking                  B.bringing                    C.meeting                    D.calling

49.A.left                      B.returned                   C.went                        D.marched

50.A.found                  B.noticed                     C.watched                    D.realized

51.A.possible         B.great                       C.proper                      D.strange

52.A.meaning               B.nature                      C.result                       D.importance

53.A.for                  B.to                         C.with                         D.at

54.A.hardly            B.certainly                 C.probably                   D.merely

55.A.member         B.person                     C.relative              D.companion

Whenever we do something wrong, Jesus Christ sees it. He loves us and doesn’t say it. Perhaps he’s wondering how long we’ll keep our mind suffering. A little boy named Johnny was visiting his grandparents on their farm and he was given a slingshot(弹弓) to play with out in the woods. He        for some time but he could never hit the target he had set for himself. Getting a little       , he walked back to the farmhouse for dinner. As he was _        back, he saw Grandpa’s pet duck. Just out of       , he let the slingshot fly , hitting it in the head ,and killed it. In a panic, he         the dead duck in the woodpile, only to see his sister Sally        be watching him. Sally had seen all this, but she said _   _ . After lunch that day Grandma said, “Sally, it’s your turn to wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” And then she spoke _     to him, “Remember the duck？” So Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if        wanted to go fishing, but Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help me make supper.” But Sally just smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right because Johnny told me he was too       to help you. And she whispered again, “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny        to help make supper. After several days of doing both his       and Sally’s, Johnny finally couldn’t      it any longer. He came to his Grandma and told her that he had killed the duck .Grandma smiled and gave him a big __    . “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was watering the flowers at the window        I saw you shoot my duck with the slingshot, and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I      you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally     _ of you.”

In reality, no matter how      __ or how uncomfortable it is to admit our wrongdoing, we should always choose to       it and work it through instead of running away from it. Hard as it is, it        us and makes us who we are.

1.A. promoted         B. exercised          C. practiced              D. consumed

2.A. delighted        B. upset                   C. amazed            D. scared

3.A. running          B. rushing      C. heading                   D. leaving

4.A. sympathy       B. pride        C. impulse            D. politeness

5.A. hung           B. presented            C. protected          D. hid

6.A. should                        B. shall                       C. must                        D. might

7.A. nothing         B. everything          C. something         D. anything

8.A. loudly          B. softly                   C. guiltily         D. innocently

9.A. Sally            B. Johnny         C. the children         D. Grandma

10.A. reluctant              B. willing        C. curious               D. cautious

11.A. kept up                B. held back             C. left behind     D. stayed behind

12.A. chores                B. homework          C. games                   D. sports

13.A. accept                B. stand               C. withdraw          D. allow

14.A. hug                  B. blow               C. reward              D. award

15.A. whereas               B. as           C. while                D. when

16.A. appreciate             B. admire                  C. forgive           D. Force

17.A. put the blame         B. make friends        C. put pressure    D. make a slave

18.A. doubtful               B. grateful            C. harmful            D. painful

19.A. reject                 B. control     C. face               D. witness

20.A. develops               B. shapes                  C. ruins               D. prepares