A
Whether in the home or the workplace, social robots are going to become a lot more common in the next few years. Social robots are about to bring technology to the everyday world in a more humanized way, said Cynthia Breazeal, chief scientist at the robot company Jibo.
While household robots today do the normal housework, social robots will be much more like companions than mere tools. For example, these robots will be able to distinguish when someone is happy or sad. This allows them to respond more appropriately to the user.
The Jibo robot, arranged to ship later this year, is designed to be a personalized assistant. You can talk to the robot, ask it questions, and make requests for it to perform different tasks. The robot doesn't just deliver general answers to questions; it responds based on what it learns about each individual in the household. It can do things such as reminding an elderly family member to take medicine or taking family photos.
Social robots are not just finding their way into the home. They have potential applications in everything from education to health care and are already finding their way into some of these spaces.
Fellow robots is one company bringing social robots to the market. The company's “Oshbot” robot is built to assist customers in a store, which can help the customers find items and help guide them to the product's location in the store. It can also speak different languages and make recommendations for different items based on what the customer is shopping for.
The more interaction the robot has with humans, the more it learns. But Oshbot, like other social robots, is not intended to replace workers, but to work alongside other employees. “We have technologies to train social robots to do things not for us, but with us，”said Breazeal.
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇说明文。主要介绍了社交机器人的一些情况。社交机器人在接下来的几年内将会越来越普遍，社交机器人与家用机器人的区别在于它可以与人面对面交流，可以应用于教育、医疗保健等领域。
1．How are social robots different from household robots?
A．They can control their emotions.
B．They are more like humans.
C．They do the normal housework.
D．They respond to users more slowly.
【解析】 推理判断题。根据第一段第二句可以得知，B项所述“它们看起来更像人类”符合题干要求。文中提到它们能识别人类的情绪，而没有提到“它们能够控制自己的情绪”，故A项所述错误；C项“它们能做常规的家务”是描述家用机器人的，不符合题干要求；文中第二段末句提到．..respond more appropriately to the user.即这种机器人在回应使用者时会更贴切，而不是“更慢”，D项所述错误。
【答案】 B
2．What can a Jibo robot do according to Paragraph 3?
A．Communicate with you and perform operations.
B．Answer your questions and make requests.
C．Take your family pictures and deliver milk.
D．Obey your orders and remind you to take pills.
【解析】 细节理解题。根据第三段的第三句及末句可知，Jibo机器人在服从人们的指令的同时也能提醒人们按时吃药，D项所述符合题干要求。A项中的“做手术”在文中未涉及；文中第三段第三句话提到机器人可以回答我们的问题，但没有提到它可以向我们提出请求，故B项所述错误；C项中的“送牛奶”在文中未涉及。
【答案】 D
3．What can Oshbot work as?
A．A language teacher.
B．A tour guide.
C．A shop assistant.
D．A private nurse.
【解析】 推理判断题。根据文中第五段的第二句话可知，Oshbot机器人被应用于商店以服务顾客，故C项“商店营业员”符合题干要求。A项“语言学老师”、B项“导游”与D项“私人保姆”均为干扰项。
【答案】 C
4．We can learn from the last paragraph that social robots will ．
A．train employees
B．be our workmates
C．improve technologies
D．take the place of workers
【解析】 推理判断题。根据末段中的第二句话．..but to work alongside other employees.可知，社交机器人将会成为我们的同事，B项所述正确。A项“培训员工”、C项“改进科技”与D项“取代工人”均不符合原文意思。
【答案】 B
