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?

  Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out.

But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential(潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height.

No doubt you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect or right answer. Generally speaking, kids grow about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up).

Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through.

Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt（高峰）during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later ----between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.

You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty. 

1.. The Chinese for the word “puberty” is 　　　　　　　　　.

   A. 童年时期          B.婴幼儿时期        C.习惯养成期        D. 生长发育期

2. If you want to know how fast and how tall you should grow, _____.

   A. you should have enough exercise   B. you can ask doctors for help

   C. you should save the environment   D. You can record your growth during puberty

3. This passage is mainly about 　　　　　　　　　.

   A. how the genes work in your body           B. when is the time you grow fast

   C. why you look like your parents                D. how you grow to a certain height 

4. After reading this passage, we can explain 　　　　　　　　　.

   A. how good it is to be a doctor             B. how much sleep time we need

   C. why genes can’t decide everything            D. what healthy diet is

5. Which is NOT mentioned in the passage?

   A. Your height most probably depends on how high your parents are.

   B. Girls’ age for starting puberty is usually earlier than that for boys’.

   C. The time showing the first changes of puberty is never noticed.

   D. You may be scared sometimes when you grow too fast.

 

 

  Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out.
But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential(潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height.
No doubt you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect or right answer. Generally speaking, kids grow about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up).
Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through.
Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt（高峰）during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later ----between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.
You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty. 
【小题1】. The Chinese for the word “puberty” is 　　　　　　　　　.

A．童年时期

B．婴幼儿时期

C．习惯养成期

D．生长发育期

【小题2】 If you want to know how fast and how tall you should grow, _____.

A．you should have enough exercise	B．you can ask doctors for help
C．you should save the environment	D．You can record your growth during puberty

【小题3】 This passage is mainly about 　　　　　　　　　.

A．how the genes work in your body	B．when is the time you grow fast
C．why you look like your parents	D．how you grow to a certain height

【小题4】 After reading this passage, we can explain 　　　　　　　　　.

A．how good it is to be a doctor	B．how much sleep time we need
C．why genes can’t decide everything	D．what healthy diet is

【小题5】 Which is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Your height most probably depends on how high your parents are.

B．Girls’ age for starting puberty is usually earlier than that for boys’.

C．The time showing the first changes of puberty is never noticed.

D．You may be scared sometimes when you grow too fast.

My work keeps me in Hong Kong most of the year，but I try to get away for a month in summer，usually in July．Now as you probably know，that’s the main　1　season in Europe．The favorite places for vacations and the famous cities are usually very　2　． But I’m not seeking(寻求) the sun—I can get lots of 　3　in Hong Kong—and I’m certainly not seeking the crowds！So　4　I go on vacation，I buy a Train Pass(a kind of train ticket) that allows me first-class travel on most of the railways of Western Europe．First-class compartments(车厢) are　5　crowded and they are very comfortable．If you’re going on　6　trip, you can take a sleeping train for an extra charge．There are usually dining cars(餐车) in the train．

I find that train travel is restful and　7　．There’s always　8　to see．I particularly(特别地) enjoy　9　through Switzerland and Italy．You can get a very good　10　of what a country is like from a train because you don’t go too fast and you stop quite often．Also train travel is very safe，and I am never sick on a train　11　I am on a ship. Then there are always people to　12　to if you feel like a chat.

The reason that I seldom(很少) travel by plane is quite　13　: because train stations are usually built in the centre．I don’t have to　14　transport(运输工具), transport can be a problem when arriving by　15　．

1.                A．vacation        B．visiting         C．cloudy   D．windy

 

2.                A．quiet          B．useful          C．exciting   D．crowded

 

3.                A．pleasure        B．daylight         C．sunshine  D．money

 

4.                A．when          B．where          C．what D．which

 

5.                A．always         B．hardly          C．certainly  D．nearly

 

6.                A．summer        B．overnight       C．day-time  D．vacation

 

7.                A．cheap          B．expensive       C．interesting D．lonely

 

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

 

9.                A．running        B．walking         C．driving   D．travelling

 

10.               A．view           B．idea           C．seat  D．trip

 

11.               A．rather than      B．or             C．as    D．even though

 

12.               A．talk            B．speak          C．tell   D．say

 

13.               A．easy           B．wrong          C．right  D．simple

 

14.               A．find out        B．worry about     C．wait for   D．take away

 

15.               A．ship           B．train           C．air   D．car

 

 

 

Dear Mom,     I’m sorry that I can’t go back home for Mother’s Day next week.  On that day, I’ll have to go to an important meeting for my boss, who helps me a lot with my work and life here.  But I’ll find time to see you at home soon.     Mom, thank you for everything you’ve done for Tim and me.  After Dad died ten years ago, you had to work in a supermarket in the daytime and in a restaurant at night.  But you always gave us two your love and care.  Though you don’t have to work now, I still remember your coming home and feeling tired many evenings.     Tim is going to finish his studies next month.  He said he would move back from school and look for a job neat home.  I’m glad you won’t live by yourself anymore.  Let’s plan to take a trip in the near future.  It’s been years since the three of us took a trip together.     Happy Mother’s Day.  I love you, Mom. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Best wishes, 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　John   1.What can we learn about John’s mother? (A) She lives by herself now. (B) She still works day and night. (C) She will make a plan to save money. (D) She used to be too busy to care for her children.   2.What do we know from the letter? (A) John has two brothers. (B) John is unhappy with his boss. (C) John has to work on Mother’s Day. (D) Tim will leave home for his job soon.   3.Which is said in the letter? (A) John’s father died at work. (B) Tim will look for a teaching job. (C) John bought a gift for his mother. (D) John hopes to take a trip with his family.