Robots have proved to be valuable tools for soldiers, surgeons and homeowners hoping to keep the carpet clean. But in each case, they are designed and built specifically for the job. Now there is a movement under way to build multipurpose machines-robots that can move about in changing environments such as offices or living rooms and work with their hands.

All-purpose robots are not, of course, a new idea. “It’s been five or 10 years from happening for about 50 years,” says Eric Berger, co–director of the Personal Robotics Program at Willow Garage, a Silicon Valley organization. The delay is in part because even simple tasks require a huge set of capabilities. For a robot to fetch a mug, for example, it needs to make sense of data gathered by a variety of sensors–laser scanners identifying potential blocking objects, cameras searching for the target, force feedback in the fingers that grasp the mug, and more. Yet Berger and other experts are confident that real progress could be made in the next decade.

The problem, according to Willow Garage, is the lack of a common platform for all that computational effort. Instead of enlarging the capabilities of a single machine, everyone is designing robots and the software to control them, from the ground up. To help change this, Willow Garage is currently producing 25 copies of its model PR2 (for “Personal Robot 2”), a two–armed, wheeled machine that can switch off the electricity, open doors and move through a room. Ten of the robots will stay in–house, but 10 more will go to outside research groups, and everyone will share their advances. This way, Berger says, if you want to build the robotic equivalent (等同物) of a Twitter (推特网站), you won’t start by constructing a computer. “you build the thing that’s new.”

31．The robots are mentioned to do some specific jobs EXCEPT in          .

       A．battle fields      B．operation room      C．people’s houses       D．wild fields

32．The multipurpose robot may be identified as a machine that            .

       A．can move about in changing environments and work with their hands

       B．can make sense of data gathered by a variety of sensors

       C．has a huge set of abilities to finish all the simple tasks

       D．has identifying laser scanners, searching cameras and force feedback

33．According to Willow Garage, we will make real progress in building all-purpose robots if ___________ .

       A．everyone is designing robots and the software to control them

       B．they can produce 25 copies of its model PR2

       C．people can enlarge the capabilities of a single machine

       D．people can start by constructing a computer

34．Willow Garage is currently producing 25 copies of its model PR2 so as to _________ .

       A．design robots and the software to control them

       B．change the way of new robot construction research

       C．open doors and go to outside research groups

       D．go through the room and stay in-house

35．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

       A．To build all-purpose robots is an absolutely new movement under way.

       B．Building all-purpose robots was delayed because of its complexity.

       C．The idea to build all-purpose robots appeared about 50 years ago.

       D．Everyone will share their advances for they are all-purpose robots.

       Today just as technology changed the face of industry, farms have undergone an “agricultural”. On the farm of today, machines provide almost all the power. One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock to buy, when to sell their products, and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog(肉猪) producers, grain farmers, potato farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs.

Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farms depend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.

Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a human being. Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make shocking changes in farming before the end of the century. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear（修剪） sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into the barn, then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when the milking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The complete change of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long.

67．According to the passage, computers can not help farmers decide _______.   

       A．how much money they can earn from their products   

       B．whether to plant a certain kind of crop   

       C．when to sell their products   

       D．what livestock to raise

68．Which of the following statements is true?   

       A．Farmers in the future will depend totally on computers.    

       B．Farmers mainly use machines on their farms at present.   

       C．Both computers and robots have been in use on today’s farms.  

       D．Students at agricultural colleges must take computer classes because they can do nothing without the help of computers on today’s farms.

69．According to the engineers,          will be done by robots in the near future.

       A．all farm work          B．milking cows

       C．some farm work             D．most of the farm work

70．What is the best title for the whole passage?   

       A．Computer, Farmers’ Best Friend            B．The Agricultural Revolution 

       C．Farmers in The Future          D．Computers and Robots