Almost Human?

Scientists are racing to build the world’s first thinking robot .This is not science fiction：some say they will have made it by the year 2020.Carol Packer repots.

Machines that walk，speak and feel are no longer science fiction.Kismet is the name of an android(機(jī)器人)which scientists have built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT).Kismet is different from the tradition。al robot because it can show human emotions.Its eyes.Ears and lips move to show when it feels happy.sad or bored.Kismet is one of the first of a new generation of androids—robots that 100k like human beings—which can imitate human feelings.Cog，another android invented by the MIT, imitates the action of a mother Howere, scientists admit that so far Cog has the mental ability of a two.year.old.

The optimists(樂觀主義者)say that by the year 2020 we will have created humanoids(機(jī)器人)with brains similar to those of an adult human being.These robots will be designed to look like people to make them more attractive and easier to sell to the public.What kind of jobs will they do? In the future，robots like Robonaut ，a humanoid invented by NASA，will be doing dangerous jobs，like repairing space stations They will also be doing more and more of the household work for US.In Japan，scientists are designing androids that will entertain US by dancing and playing the piano.

Some people worry about what the future holds：will robots become monsters(怪物)?Will people themselves become increasingly like robots? Experts predict that more and more people will be wearing micro-computers，connected to the Internet，in the future.People will have micro-chips in various parts of their body，which will connect them to a wide variety of gadgets (小裝置).Perhaps we should not exaggerate(夸大)the importance of technology，but one wonders whether , in years to come，we will still be falling in love，and whether we will still feel pain.Who knows?

41 Kismet is different from traditional robots because

A it thinks for itself.

B it is not 1ike science fiction.

C it Can 100k after two-year—olds.

D it seems to have human feelings

42 What makes Cog special?

A It looks 1ike a mother.

B It behaves 1ike a child.

C It can imitatee behavior of a mother

D It has a huge brain

43 In aboutl5 years’ time from now , robots

A will become space designers

B will look like monsters.

C will behave 1ike animals

D will think like humans

44 In the future robots will also

A explore space.

B entertain people

C move much faster.

D do all of the housework.

55 What is the writer’s attitude to robots in the future?

A Critical.

B Hostile

C Objective

D Enthusiastic

參考答案

41 D 該題問的是Kismet與其他傳統(tǒng)的機(jī)器人的區(qū)別。第二段第三句提到它可以顯示人的表情，這是它有別于其他機(jī)器人的地方，故D為答案。

42 c 該題問的是機(jī)器人cog有什么特別之處?第二段倒數(shù)第二旬提到它可以模仿母親的動(dòng)作。故c為答案。

43 D 答案在第三段第一句話中。

44 B 該題問題是未來的機(jī)器人還能干什么?第三段最后一句提到“…will entertain us by dancing and play the piano。故B正確。

45 c 該題問的是作者對未來機(jī)器人的態(tài)度是什么。從最后一段的內(nèi)容可以看出作者的態(tài)度是客觀的，故c正確。