TOKYO, Japan (AP) – Japan is very serious about
robotics (机器人技术). If the droids are going to fit in, they
probably need to learn the Japanese custom of serving tea. Fortunately,
researchers at the University of Tokyo are exploring just that. In a show this
week, a humanoid(有人特点的)with camera eyes made by Kawada Industries
Inc. poured tea from a bottle into a cup. Then another robot on wheels
delivered the cup of tea in an experimental room that has sensors embedded
in the floor and sofa as well as cameras on the ceiling, to simulate(模仿)life with robot technology.
“A human being may be faster, but you’d have to say
‘Thank you,’” said University of Tokyo professor Tomomasa Sato. “That’s the
best part about a robot. You don’t have to feel bad about asking it to do
things.”
Sato believes Japan, a rapidly aging society where
more than a fifth of the population is 65 or older, will lead the world in
designing robots to care for the elderly, sick and bedridden(卧床不起的).
Already, monitoring technologies, such as sensors that
automatically turn on lights when people enter a room, are becoming widespread
in Japan.
The walking, child–size Asimo from Honda Motor Co.
greets people at showrooms. NEC Corp. has developed a smaller companion
robot–on –wheels called Papero. A seal robot available since 2004 can entertain
the elderly and others in need of fuzzy companionship.
Sato says his experimental room is raising awareness
about privacy questions that may arise when electronic devices(设备)monitor a person’s movements down to the smallest
detail.
On the bright side, the tea – pouring humanoid has
been programmed to do the dishes.
1.What is the best title of this passage?
A.“Thank You” Will Never Be Needed in Japan
B.Monitoring
Technologies Are Widespread in Japan
C.Robot Is
Designed to Care for the Elderly.
D.Robot
technologies are widespread in Japanese daily life.
2.The underlined word “embedded” in the first
paragraph probably means .
A.fixed B.established C.settled D.rooted
3.According to Professor Sato, .
A.the robot
serves tea much faster than a human being
B.the robot
does anything like human beings
C.tea – serving robot helps to form laziness of the aging
society
D.tea – serving robot doesn’t need
any reward for the service
4.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.A robot can
imitate people to complete complicated tasks.
B.A robot has
been programmed to clean the dishes.
C.All the
problems in the aging society can be solved by robots.
D.The number of
aging people is increasing rapidly in Japan.
5.We can infer from the passage that .
A.people are
afraid of being monitored by robots.
B.the
technology of robots has been highlighted in Japan.
C.robots can
completely take the place of human beings.
D.people’s privacy should be strictly protected