Scientists have created a “ human-like robot” that can dance and do the housework.
“ Mahru” has been developed to imitate humans and can move its lips, eyebrows and pupils(瞳孔). The machine can also move its upper and lower body freely and automatically stop itself when walking.
In addition, it has been programmed to give out two kinds of pleasant smells to match its emotions.
The 1.5 tall robot was produced by researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and is the first South Korean- developed machine of its kind.
“‘Mahru’ will open the way for the commercial use of humanoid robots doing housework,” You Bum-Jae, leader of the development research team ,said. “‘Mahru’ can dance while walking on its legs and is able to work in place of a human.”
Through an advanced motion capture (捕获) system, “Mahru” can follow a variety of human movements and move its hands freely enough to deal with any obstacles that may get in its way when walking.
State-funded KIST showed the robot during a presentation at its head office in Seoul.
People here were treated to an entertaining demonstration which saw the robot show off the full range of its skills, most notably s series of dance moves.
The research team added that they had designed another “ Mahru”, this time with sensors(传感器) allowing it to distinguish(分辨) between faces and objects.
The showing of “ Mahru” came a week after researcher in Japan said they had created the “most human-like” robot in the world. A team at robotics department of Osaka University in Japan claimed that “ robogirl”, Repliee R-1, “ looks, moves and interacts (相互作用) like a human, and has silicone(硅胶) skin that feels almost human to the touch.”
【小题1】 “Mahru” made by KIST can do the following things EXCEPT____________

A．dance with other human –like robots	B．move its body freely
C．stop automatically when walking	D．express certain feelings through smells

【小题2】 According to what You Bum- Jae said in Paragraph 5, his research team wants to ________.

A．help robots with doing housework	B．show its scientific power
C．make Mahru offer more fun	D．explore Mahru’s commercial use

【小题3】 When Mahru” meets something in its way, it will be likely to________.

A．go around it	B．turn back quickly
C．deal with it using its hands	D．ask humans for help

【小题4】According to the last paragraph, Repliee R-1 __________.

A．is another Mahru	B．was made by KIST
C．has skin feeling similar to humans’	D．looks like a boy

【小题5】The passage is probably a  __________.

A．news report

B．research report

C．healthy report

D．entertainment report

Almost everyone wants to get smarter. We struggle to improve our  36_ , intelligence and attention. We drink cup after cup of coffee to help us  37_  the day.

 38 __, a new study published in Current Directions in Psychological Science warns that there are 39___ to how smart humans can get.

Each of our body parts develops in a certain way for a reason.  40  _, we are not 3 meters tall  41 _ most people’s hearts are not strong enough to send  42 _  up that high. Scientists say that our thinking ability works in the same way. A baby’s brain size is limited by a series of __43  , such as the size of the mother’s pelvis (骨盆). If our brains developed to be bigger, there could be more  44  during childbirth.

The study of Jews, who have an average IQ much _ 45_  than other Europeans, showed they were more  _46_  to develop diseases of the  _47_  system. This might be because of their increased brainpower.

If intelligence cannot be improved, can we at least get better at _ 48 _ ? Not really, say scientists. They studied  _49_  like caffeine (咖啡因)that improve attention. They found the drugs only helped people with serious  50 _ problems. For those who did not have trouble paying attention, the drugs could have the  51 _ effect. Scientists say that this suggests there is a(n)  52 limit to how much people can or should concentrate.

Our memory is also a “double-edged sword”. People with extremely good memories could  53__ having a difficult life because they cannot  _54 bad things that happen to them.

Thomas Hills, one of the authors of the paper, said that   55  all the problems in trying to get smarter, it’s unlikely that there will ever be a “super mind”.

1.                A．ability          B．character       C．memory  D．emotion

 

2.                A．go through      B．put through      C．get through    D．carry through

 

3.                A．Though         B．Therefore       C．However  D．Meanwhile

 

4.                A．standards       B．measures       C．ranges   D．limits

 

5.                A．At first         B．In addition       C．For example   D．Above all

 

6.                A．until           B．because        C．before   D．so that

 

7.                A．blood          B．information      C．breath   D．strength

 

8.                A．factors         B．reasons         C．aspects   D．effects

 

9.                A．chances        B．deaths          C．choices   D．lives

 

10.               A．smarter        B．better          C．lower D．higher

 

11.               A．likely          B．possible        C．probable  D．sure

 

12.               A．physical        B．bodily          C．personal   D．nervous

 

13.               A．exercising      B．concentrating    C．memorizing D．thinking

 

14.               A．poisons        B．drinks          C．plants     D．drugs

 

15.               A．attention       B．family          C．health D．living

 

16.               A．same          B．opposite        C．different  D．similar

 

17.               A．lower          B．smaller         C．upper     D．higher

 

18.               A．end up         B．make up        C．start up   D．come up

 

19.               A．forget          B．remember      C．perform   D．share

 

20.               A．supposing       B．concerning      C．considering D．regarding

 

 

Will it matter if you don't take your breakfast? Recently a test was given in the United States. Those tested included people of different ages, from 12 to 83. During the experi­ment, these people were given all kinds of breakfasts, and sometimes they got no breakfast at all. Special tests were set up to see how well their bodies worked when they had eaten a certain kind of breakfast. The results show that if a person eats a proper breakfast, he or she will work with better effect than if he or she has no breakfast. This fact appears to be especially true if a person works with his brains. If a student eats fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, he will learn more quickly and listen with more attention to class.
Opposite(相反的) to what many people believe, if you don't eat breakfast, you will not lose weight. This is because people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch, and end up gaining weight instead of losing. You will probably lose more weight if you reduce your lunch and super!
【小题1】During the test, those who were tested were given ________.

A．no breakfast at all	B．very rich breakfasts
C．little food for breakfast	D．different breakfast or none

【小题2】The results of the test show that ________.

A．breakfast has great effect on work and studies

B．breakfast has little to do with a person’s work

C．a person will work better if he has a simple breakfast

D．those working with brains should have much for breakfast

【小题3】The passage mentions that many people believe that if you don't eat breakfast, you will _________.

A．lose weight	B．not lose weight
C．be healthier	D．gain a lot of weight

【小题4】Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

A．Poor breakfasts affect those who work with brains.

B．Morning diet may cause one person to get fatter.

C．Reducing lunch and supper is of less help in weight losing.

D．Eating less in lunch and supper may help to lose weight.

【小题5】According to the passage, if a student does not eat breakfast, ___________.

A．he will fall ill

B．he will not listen to his teacher

C．he will not make progress in his study

D．his mind will work more slowly

No one can avoid being influenced by advertisements. Much as we may pride ourselves on our good taste, we are no longer free to choose the things we want, for advertising exerts a subtle influence on us. In their efforts to persuade us to buy this or that product, advertisers have made a close study of human nature and have classified all our little weaknesses.

Advertisers discovered years ago that all of us love to get something for nothing. An advertisement which begins with the magic word FREE can rarely go wrong. These days, advertisers not only offer free samples, but free cars, free houses, and free trips round the world as well. They devise hundreds of competitions which will enable us to win huge sums of money. Radio and television have made it possible for advertisers to capture the attention of millions of people in this way.

During a radio programme, a company of biscuit manufacturers once asked listeners to bake biscuits and send them to their factory. They offered to pay $10 a pound for the biggest biscuit baked by a listener. The response to this competition was tremendous. Before long, biscuits of all shapes and sizes began arriving at the factory. One lady brought in a biscuit on a wheelbarrow. It weighed nearly 500 pounds. A little later, a man came along with a biscuit which occupied the whole of his car. All the biscuits that were sent were carefully weighed. The largest was 713 pounds. It seemed certain that this would win the prize. But just before the competition closed, a lorry arrived at the factory with a truly colossal biscuit which weighed 2,400 pounds. It had been baked by a college student who had used over 1,000 pounds of flour, 800 pounds of sugar, 200 pounds of fat, and 400 pounds of various other ingredients. It was so heavy that a crane had to be used to remove it from the lorry. The manufacturers had to pay more money than they had anticipated, for they bought the biscuit from the student for $24,000.

1..

. Why have advertisers made a close study of human weakness?

A. They thought it was very interesting to do so.

B. They wanted to persuade the customers to buy their products.

C. They thought it was their duty.

D. They wanted to research how much people spend buying their products.

2..

. Why do advertisers offer free samples and other things to people?

A. They use them to attract people’s attention.

B. Their advertisements have little effect on customers.

C. Different means are being used to cheat people.

D. They produce too many products that can’t be sold out.

3..

 From the last paragraph, we know that the factory failed to expect _______.

A. how many people would take an interest in the competition

B. how many ingredients are needed to bake a large biscuit

C. it was possible to bake a biscuit as large as the student’s

D. the payment wouldn’t be as high as $ 24,000