Something incredible is happening in a lab at Duke University’s Center for Neuroengineering--though, at first, it’s hard to see just what it is. A robot arm swings from side to side, eerily lifelike, as if it were trying to snatch invisible flies out of the air. It pivots around and straightens as it extends its mechanical hand. The hand clamp shuts and squeezes for a few seconds, then relaxes its grip and pulls back to shoot out again in a new direction. OK, nothing particularly astonishing here--robot arms, after all, do everything from building our cars to sequencing our DNA. But those robot arms are operated by software; the arm at Duke follows commands of a different sort. To see where those commands are coming from, you have to follow a tangled trail of cables out of the lab and down the hall to another, smaller room. Inside this room sits a motionless macaque monkey (短尾猿). The monkey is strapped in a chair, staring at a computer screen. On the screen a black dot moves from side to side; when it stops, a circle widens around it. You wouldn’t know just from watching, but that dot represents the movements of the arm in the other room. The circle indicates the squeezing of its robotic grip; as the force of the grip increases, the circle widens. In other words, the dot and the circle are responding to the robot arm’s movements, And the arm It’s being directed by the monkey. Did I mention the monkey is motionless Take another look at those cables. They snake into the back of the computer and then out again, terminating in a cap on the monkey’s head, where they receive signals from hundreds of electrodes buried in its brain. The monkey is directing the robot with its thoughts. For decades scientists have pondered, speculated on, and pooh-poohed the possibility of a direct interface between a brain and a machine--only in the late 1990s did scientists start learning enough about the brain and signal-processing to offer glimmers of hope that this science-fiction vision could become reality. Since then, insights into the workings of the brain--how it encodes commands for the body, and how it learns to improve those commands over time--have piled up at an astonishing pace, and the researchers at Duke studying the macaque and the robotic arm are at the leading edge of the technology. "This goes way beyond what’s been done before," says neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis, co-director of the Center for Neuroengineering. Indeed, the performance of the center’s monkeys suggests that a mind-machine merger could become a reality in humans very soon. Nicolelis and his team are confident that in five years they will be able to build a robot arm that can be controlled by a person with electrodes implanted in his or her brain. Their chief focus is medical--they aim to give people with paralyzed limbs a new tool to make everyday life easier. But the success they and other groups of scientists are achieving has triggered broader excitement in both the public and private sectors. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has already doled out 24 million to various brain-machine research efforts across the United States, the Duke group among them. High on DARPA’s wish list. mind-controlled battle robots, and airplanes that can be flown with nothing more than thought. You were hoping for something a bit closer to home How about a mental telephone that you could use simply by thinking about talking Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage A．Robot arms are rarely used in industrial production.B．Knowledge about human brain and its signal-processing is the basis of brain-machine interface.C．If a patient wants to have a robot arm, he has to have electrodes implanted in his brain.D．This new technology is of great practical meanin

Peanuts are an important crop in many developing countries. But getting them out of their shells is tiring without a machine. In 2001, a Canadian inventor, Jock Brandis, designed a hand-powered peanut sheller for a village in Mali. It can shell about 56 kilograms of peanuts in one hour. By the end of this year, 20 countries will be using the Universal Nut Sheller and other technologies from the Full Belly Project. This nonprofit group was established in North Carolina in 2003. The aim is to fight hunger and help rural economies with labor-saving agricultural devices that can be reproduced locally. Former Peace Corps volunteer Jeff Rose heads the Full Belly Project. He says a village in Malawi used a single sheller to process 30 tons of peanuts over two months. Selling them raised 16,000. The United States Agency for International Development also provided money, and the village was able to build a water well. That single machine, says Jeff Rose, cost the village just 28 to make. There are two main ways that the group provides its technologies. One is where individuals or groups based in the United States donate 700. In return, they take a kit and build the sheller in a developing country. The second way the group distributes its machines is through partnerships with non-governmental organizations. The Full Belly Project also has a pedal-powered sheller. Now, volunteers are designing a pedal-powered grain crusher. Goals for the future include all the simple technologies needed to make ready-to-use healthy foods to treat malnutrition. 1. What did Jork Brandis invent in 2001? 2. What is the aim of establishing the Full Belly Project in North Carolina? 3. What is the Full Belly Project going to do in the future?1 A A motor-driven corn sheller.B A hand-powered peanut sheller.C A motor-driven peanut sheller.D A hand-powered corn sheIler.2 A Spread the hand-powered shellers in some urban areas.B Invent new technologies to treat malnutrition.C Design some simple devices for processing healthy foods.D Establish the Full Belly Project in other countries.

Traveling and reading will_your life.（使充实,丰富)

_ all my concern, they don't seem to be suffering.AlthoughUnlessSoDespite

B America is a country on the move. In unheard-of numbers, people of all ages are exercising their way to better health. According to the latest figures, 59 percent of American adults exercise regularly-up 12 percent from just two years ago and more than double the figure of 25 years ago. Even non-exercisers believe they would be more attractive and confident if they were more active. It is hard not to get the message. The virtues of physical fitness are shown on magazine covers, postage stamps, and television ads of everything from beauty soaps to travel books. Exercise as a part of daily life did not catch on until the late 1960s when research by military doctors began to show the health benefits of doing regular physical exercises. Growing publicity(宣传) for races held in American cities helped fuel a strong interest in the ancient sport of running. Although running has leveled off in recent years as Americans have discovered equally rewarding — and sometimes safer-forms of exercise, such as walking and swimming, running remains the most popular form of exercise. As the popularity of exercise continues to mount, so does scientific evidence of its health benefits. The key to fitness is exercising the major muscle groups vigorously(强有力地) enough to approximately double the heart rate and keep it doubled for 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Doing such physical exercises three times or more a week will produce considerable improvements in physical health in about three months.1. It can be learnt from the passage that the health benefits of exercise _____.A: are to be further studiedB: are yet to be provedC: are self evidentD: are supported by scientific evidence2. A growing interest in sports developed after _____.A: an increasing number of races were held in American citiesB: research showed their health benefitsC: scientific evidence of health benefits was shown on TV adsD: people got the message from magazine covers and postage stamps3. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?A: Running — A Popular Form of SportB: Scientific Evidence of Health BenefitsC: Different Forms of ExerciseD: Exercise — The Road to Health4. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase "leveled off" in the paragraph 2?A: "reached its lowest level in popularity"B: "stopped being popular"C: "stopped increasing in popularity"D: "become very popular"

Electronic Teaching The potential of closed-circuit television and other new electronic teaching tools is so great that it is fascinating to visualize "the school of tomorrow". Televised lessons will originate from a central building having perhaps four or five master studios. The lessons will be carried into classrooms all over a city, or even an entire country. After a televised lesson has been given, the classroom teacher will take over for the all important "follow-up" period. The students will ask any troublesome questions, and difficult points will be cleared up through discussion. The teacher in the classroom will have additional electronic tools. On the teacher"s desk, the traditional chalk and erasers will have been replaced by a multiple-control panel and magnetic tape player. The tape machines will run pre recorded lessons which pupils will follow by headphones. The lessons will be specifically geared to the students" levels of ability. For instance, while the class as a whole studies history, each student will receive an individual history lesson, directed to his particular level of ability. Should question arise, the students will be able to talk directly to the teacher on individual "intercoms" without disturbing the rest of the class. In this way, the teacher will be able to conduct as many as three classes at the same time. With the rapid development of computer science, students will be aided with specially prepared multimedia software to study their subjects better. Homework will possibly be assigned and handed in via electronic mail system. Students can even take examinations on their computer linked with the teacher"s and get the score instantly. They will get certificates or diplomas if they pass all the required examinations. Experts believe that this type of education will be very popular in the years ahead.In paragraph one, what does "the school of tomorrow" mean?A．The school with a central building.B．The school with four or five master studios.C．The school with television.D．The school with televised lessons and electronic teaching tools.

Bruno Lundby, 39, was one of the ranks of typically low paid, low status workers who fill supermarket shelves, serve fast food, change hotel beds or empty office waste bins, often at unsocial hours and with little expectation of anything better. Lacking formal qualifications, he drifted from the army into odd cleaning jobs. Then, unexpectedly, he found the opportunity for advancement in a management training programme offered by ISS, the Danish support services group. Today he sits in a spotless, air-conditioned office supervising all ISS damage control operations in the greater Copenhagen area. “I couldn’t have imagined getting to where I am today when I started,” he says. “I was surprised to be offered a future at ISS in 1993 when I became a supervisor.” In the past three years, he has been promoted three times. ISS, which employs 272,000 people in 36 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America in cleaning and other contract work, still appears to be an exception in the service sector in offering career progression to workers. The pursuit of customer satisfaction is a strong feature of companies that treat blue-collar staff as more than a commodity. Tesco, the supermarket group that is the UK’s largest private sector employer with 210,000 employees, recently formalised a practice of nurturing management potential among shelf stackers and checkout staff. “The ones who respect customers are the ones who get on,” says Clare Chapman, human resources director. In the past five months, 245 employees have been promoted from general store assistant to section manager, 149 from section manager to senior store team and 33 from senior team to store manager. These staff are coached, assessed and then trained for their new responsibilities. The talent spotting programme applies to all staff, including 45,700 in Tesco’s overseas stores. ISS acknowledges that by offering career progression it has changed the nature of its contract with blue-collar employees, raising expectations on both sides that may not always be met. For Mr Lundby, career progress has induced loyalty to his employer and greater self-esteem. “Personal skills are often more important than high educational qualifications if you have to deal with people every day,” he says. “I’m a practical, not an academic person. I know the business from the bottom. I know the loopholes and the hardships.” 1 It is implied from the passage that Mr Lundby ____ . A has anticipated his condition would be improved B works hard but still has no chance to improve his condition C has been promoted for he has formal qualifications D had some of the toughest, dirtiest jobs before 2 What can we learn about the service sector from the passage? A Blue-collar workers in the service sector have little chance to be promoted. B Workers in the service sector have more chance to be promoted than in other sectors. C Companies in the service sector always treat blue-collar staff as a commodity. D Companies in the service sector seldom pursue customer satisfaction. 3 In Tesco, employees will have a chance to be promoted if ____ . A they are loyal to their employer B they join management training programme C they satisfy their customers D they work hard 4 It can be concluded that when offering career progression to blue-collar employees, ____ . A the company has to increase its expenditure B workers of the company will complain less about their salary C the company will have high expectations D managers of the company will have less responsibility 5 The best title of this passage is ____ . A The Story of Bruno Lundby B Management Training Programme C Career Progression Inducing Self-esteem D From Dead-end Job to Bright Career

Electronic Teaching The potential of closed-circuit television and other new electronic leaching tools is so great that it is fascinating to visualize "the school of tomorrow". Televised lessons will originate from a central building having perhaps four or five master studios. The lessons will be carried into classrooms all over a city, or even an entire country. After a televised lesson has been given, the classroom teacher will take over for tire all-important "follow-up" period. The students will ask any troublesome questions, and difficult points will be cleared up through discussion. The teacher in the classroom will have additional electronic tools. On the teacher’s desk, the traditional chalk and erasers will have been replaced by a multiple-control panel and magnetic tape players. The tape machines will run pre-recorded lessons which pupils will follow by headphones. The lessons will be specifically geared to the students’ levels of ability. For instance, while the class as a whole studies history, each student will receive an individual history lesson, directed to his particular level of ability. Should question arise, the students will be able to talk directly to the teacher on individual intercoms without disturbing the rest of the class. In this way, the teacher will he able to conduct as many as three classes at the same time. With the rapid development of computer science, students will be aided with specially prepared multi-media software to study their subjects better. Homework will possibly be assigned and handed in via electronic mail system. Students can even take examinations on their computer linked with the teachers and get the score instantly. They will get certificates or diplomas if they pass all the required examinations. Experts believe that this type of education will be very popular in the years ahead.Which of the following statements about the function of the teacher in the teaching process is true() A. The teacher will not need to be involved. B. The teacher will still have to play an important role. C. The teacher will only need to press buttons. D. The teacher will be completely replaced by electronic tools.

The homeless woman ended up with stealing food out of _.A. desperatelyB. desperationC. desperatedD. desperate

Passage Two-|||-Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.-|||-Google researchers have used artificial intellige (AI)to teach robots how to move like real animals(in this case,-|||-dogs).They describe their experiment in a blog released this week.-|||-"First,we describe how robots can learn to move like a real animal by imitating their motions, producing fast and fluent-|||-movements like running slowly and hopping.Then,we discuss a system for automating the training of moving skills in the-|||-real world,which allows robots to learn to walk on their own,with minimal human assistance,"shared in the blog Xue Bin-|||-(Jason)Peng,Student Researcher and Sehoon Ha,Research Scientist,Robotics at Google.-|||-They achieved this impressive feat by using something called reinforcement learning (R They began by taking a-|||-reference video recorded from an animal and using RL to get the robot to imitate an animal`s movement.-|||-"By providing the system with different reference motions,we are able to train an animal shaped robot to perform a-|||-diverse set of agile behaviors, ranging from fast walking to dynamic hops and turns.The policies are trained primarily in-|||-simulation(模拟,模仿),and then transferred to the real world using a space adaptation technique that can efficiently adapt-|||-policy using only a few minutes of data from the real robot,"wrote the researchers in their blog.-|||-However,it is a well-known fact that simulators provide a poor approximation of the real world,meaning that-|||-simulations don`t perform well in reality.This is where the researchers decided to use a sample-efficient space ad-|||-technique.-|||-They did so by introducing an element of randomness to the physical parameters(参数)used in the simulation by varying-|||-physical quantities, such as the robot`s mass and friction.This resulted in a machine learning model that could account for all-|||-kinds of small changes and the complications they create-|||-The end result is a robot that moves like a real dog.This kind of work is crucial as it can open opportunities to use robots-|||-to do sophisticated tasks in the real world.-|||-51.What is Google researchers` exper about?-|||-A)Developing the first AI dog like robot.-|||-B)Training robots to move like a real dog.-|||-C)Making a running dog video with AI tech.-|||-D)Designing a new AI device to make robots-|||-52.How did the researchers make the breakthrough?-|||-A)By using bionic technology-|||-B) ykparallel sin B 3-DPsin tsin gtech.-|||-C)By employing the method of RL-|||-D)By applying the 5G technology.-|||-53.Why did researchers decide to use a sample-efficient space adaption technique?-|||-A)Because they hated to experiment on animals.-|||-B)Because they intended to reduce research cost.-|||-C)Because the robotic technology was unable to update.-|||-D)Because simulators don`t simulate the real world well.-|||-54.What have researchers taken into account to simulate the reality?-|||-A)The mass and friction of the robot.-|||-B)The color and sound of the robot.-|||-C)The light and the space of the lab-|||-D)The competence of the operator.-|||-55.Why is the new technology Google developed so important?-|||-A)Because it has shed new light on cloning technology.-|||-B)Because it has opened chances for us to control robots.-|||-C)Because it can promote the application of robotic technology.-|||-D)Because it can enable r do more tasks in the laboratory.