Robots in class

    Over 600,000 children in the United States spend their long time in hospital each year．Many of them say that they have difficult in returning to school after hospital stays．Thanks to technology，kids who are sick in the hospital no longer have to miss time in the classroom．

    A program called PEBBLES makes it possible for kids in hospital to take part in classroom discussions by using robot．PEBBLES(Providing Education by Bringing Environments to Students)supplies robots to help kids who are staying in hospital keep up with their classmates．

    For Achim Nurse，a 13-yers-old patient at Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla，New York，PEBBLES helped him so much．When he first learned about the program，he wasn’t so sure it would work．    

   “When I first saw it，it looked difficult，”said Achim．

    However，after 30 minutes of working with the robot，Achim discovered that he had gotten good at operating it．

    The robots work in pairs—一one in the hospital with the student，the other in the classroom．

    The robot in the classroom gives the student in the hospital a feel of“tele-presence．”A live picture of the students is shown on a video screen in the classroom．Meanwhile，in the hospital room，the student knows clear about what is going on in the classroom．

    The robot at the school has four wheels．so it can move around from class to class．Its“face” is an auto-focus(可以自动调焦的)camera．By using a control box，the student call turn the robot’s head，raise its hand，and adjust the volume(音量)．It is even equipped with a scanner(扫描器)and printer，so if the teacher want to have an exercise or testing class，the student can participate from the hospital．

   “The robot is greeted by students in the classroom．It is also greeted by the sick student。”said Andrew Summa，national director of the robot project．

根据短文内容完成下面各题。

1．Try to use the phrase underlined in the first paragraph to make a sentence．

2．Guess the Chinese meaning of“keep up with”．

3．The robot is greeted by students in the classroom．It is also greeted by the student in the hospital．(改写为同义句)

4．According to the passage，we can know that____

  A．We can operate this kind of robot easily．   

  B．the student in hospital cannot adjust the volume by using control box．

  C．The teacher wants to have a test in the class now. Although the student in the hospital has this kind of robot，he also cannot participate it．

5．What do you think of the robot project in the United States? Do you think it can help sick students? What do you think are its limitations?

In the middle of the first term of school, the entire seventh grade was tested for basic skills. Steve hurried through his tests, and continued to dream of other things. His heart was not in school, but in the woods.

One day, Miss White’s impatient voice broke into his daydreams. “Steve! Pay attention!” Steve turned to look at her, fixing his eyes on Miss White, as she began to go over the test results for the seventh grade.

“You all did pretty well,” she told the class, “except for one boy, and it breaks my heart to tell you this, but...” She hesitated, her eyes searching his face. “...The smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class!” She just stared at Steve. Steve dropped his eyes.

After that, it was war! Steve still wouldn’t do his homework. Even as the punishments became more severe, he remained stubborn.

“Just try it! ONE WEEK!” He was unmoved.

“You’re smart enough! You’ll see a change!” Nothing touched him.

“Give yourself a chance! Don’t give up on your life!” Nothing.

“Steve! Please! I care about you!”

Wow! Suddenly, Steve got it! Someone cared about him? Steve went home from school, thoughtful, that afternoon. Walking into the house, both parents were out. He, quickly, gathered up a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, a bottle of water, and this time...his schoolbooks.

?? The following Monday he arrived at school on time, and he waited for Miss White to enter the classroom. She walked in, all smiles! God, she was beautiful!

Miss White, immediately, gave a quiz on the weekend homework. Steve hurried through the test and was the first to hand in his paper. With a look of surprise, Miss White took his paper. Obviously puzzled, she began to look it over. Miss White’s face was in total shock! The smartest boy in the seventh grade had just passed his first test!

From that moment nothing was the same for Steve. Life at home remained the same, but life still changed. He discovered that not only could he learn, but he was good at it!

He discovered that he could understand knowledge and translate the things he learned into his own life. Steve began to go ahead!

1.Steve used to be bad at his lessons because _______.

A．the teacher blamed him from time to time?????

B．he was not a smart boy in his class

C．the test for the seventh grade challenged his confidence???

D．he hadn’t put his heart into his studies

2.The underlined word “stubborn” in the passage probably refers to “_______”.

A．completely unchanged????????? ????????????? B．severely punished

C．careless with the homework????????? D．lost in the test

3.It was the _______that made Steve begin to work hard at his lessons later.

A. his parents??????? ????????????? B．his classmates

C. the teacher????????? ????????????? D．failure in the test

4.Which of the following descriptions is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Steve often helped his parents work in the woods instead of going to school.

B．The teacher punished Steve for his failure in the test for the seventh grade.

C．Steve not only made progress but finally became a good student of the class.

D．Steve was actually a clever boy, but Miss White hadn’t realized it at first.

5.Which of the following words best describes Steve’s teacher?

A. Hardworking.????????????? ????????????? B. Caring.????????????? ????????????? C. Outstanding.????????????? ????????????? D. Strict.

Sometimes we feel good, such as when we get good grades or when something good happens. Sometimes we feel bad, such as when we argue with our classmates or when the teachers criticize us. Both kinds of feelings are common. Of course, we all enjoy good feelings, but when we feel unhappy, sometimes we don’t know what to do about it. Here is a plan that will help you when your feelings are bothering you.

I. ACCEPT your feelings. Say to yourself, “I am sad.” “I am seared.” “I am angry.” “I am embarrassed.” It’s all right to have these feelings.

2. RELAX and have a rest before you act. Take slow deep breaths (呼吸)and relax your body. Imagine that you are in a safe place. You can listen to some music or sing a beautiful song!

3. THINK about ways to help yourself. Thinking helps you do something smart instead of hurting yourself or making things worse.

4. DO something to help yourself. Maybe you can talk to someone, or do something you enjoy. If it doesn’t work, go back to Step3.

1.We feel unhappy when             .

2.If you want to relax yourself before you act, you can           .

3.The underlined part (划线部分) “If it doesn’t work,” in the passage probably means

4.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

5.The passage tells us             .

根据句子中所给的单词首字母或中文提示，填写正确的单词。

1.–I often a        with my mother. What should I do? –Maybe you should say you’re sorry.

2.It is not p         to laugh at others when they make mistakes.

3.–What do your parents do?

–They are b       doctors. They work in the same hospital.

4.Some students feel s        in class because they stay up to search the Internet at night.

5.–What would you do if you had a lot of money?

–I would buy a big house with a beautiful g          for my parents.

6.–Which pair of shoes do you want, the black one or the ___________ (棕色的) one?

–I’d like the black one.

7.–What do you think of the advertising today?

–Some of the advertisements don’t tell the __________ (真相).

8.–How do you feel when you see the national flag of China?–It makes me feel ______ (自豪的) .

9.–Where would you like to travel?

–I’d like to go to the countryside because I love __________ (大自然).

10.–How much are the pants? –They are only __________ (二十) dollars.