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(同伴) 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.
Standing in front of the “Chilkoot Trailhead” sign for 15 minutes, I didn't take one step. I was afraid of bears. That's what was keeping me from walking the trail alone. I had hiked through black-bear country back home in Colorado, but now I was in Alaska, home to the fierce brown grizzly bear.
Fortunately, a friendly couple arrived and asked me to take their picture. We started talking and soon were walking the trail together. I was relieved. Ron and Carol were from Alaska and they taught me how to stay safe in bear country.
I had finally started my hike along the famous Chilkoot Trail, where more than 115 years ago, thousands of gold miners had walked. I was writing a book about the Klondike Gold Rush, and I wanted to follow in the footsteps of the miners to know what it was really like.
Ron, Carol, and I walked through the forest. As I was looking around at the beautiful scenery in the forest, I tripped (绊倒) over a big tree root and injured my ankle (脚踝). Fortunately, my ankle felt better in the morning, and we followed the trail. We went to bed early that night because the following day would be the toughest hike of all.
At dawn, we started hiking up the steep (陡峭的), green valley. Icy glaciers covered the mountains above. Soon we were as high as the clouds and could see only 20 feet in front of us. Finally, we reached the top of the Chilkoot pass and saw a Canadian flag moving in the heavy wind. Hours later, we arrived at our campground.
The following morning, my ankle was feeling fine, and my fear of bears had mostly disappeared. I said good-bye to Ron and Carol and walked alone for the next two days. Without seeing any bears the entire trip, I finally arrived at Bennett Lake. I rode the old train down to the town of Skagway and checked into my hotel.
While relaxing in my comfortable bed in the hotel, I thought of the miners from the Klondike Gold Rush. When the miners reached Bennett Lake, they had to cut down trees, build boats, and travel 500 miles down dangerous rivers and lakes. Then, when they finally reached the goldfields, they had to start digging.
The first summer job is often a signal that you're on your way to adulthood, and it's also a method for earning money to pay for what you dream of. It's never too early to start considering the future. Now, here are some good choices for you!
Retail (零售) Sales
Retail offers plenty of opportunity for teens who are looking for a job. This type of work can pay from $10 to $15 an hour depending upon the duty you are expected to take on. It can also be great for teens who are friendly and enjoy talking to other people. For more information, call us at 111-222-3333.
Food Service
A job in the food service industry is a natural fit for sociable teens who enjoy communicating with the public. It allows employees to work as part of a team while learning about following instructions. It also comes with the opportunity to earn between $8 and $10 per hour. Just call 111-222-3533 for more information.
Babysitter
This job requires someone who is highly responsible. Though it pays generally between $6 and $8 hourly, it also requires a lot of patience. This is a great choice for teens who wish to make a career in teaching, child care, social work or any other field that makes use of social skills or requires interaction with kids. Got a question? Just call 111-222-3336.
Housekeeping
This type of work can bring in about $5 an hour and it will allow teens to learn responsibility and develop their organizational skills. The summer sees an upswing in the tourism industry, so hotels are often looking for more housekeeping staff, and parks often need more people to assist with keeping public areas clean and organized as well. Telephone: 111-222-3330.
Hannah Levine decided she wanted to give hugs to all of the children and families in need at local hospitals.
Because she couldn't give them one by one, Levine, then a sixth-grader, decided she would use her talents(才能) to do the next best thing. She began to knit(编织) hats, scarves, and blankets for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford. Her creations also went to Bundle of Joy, a program that provides newborn baby items for families in need, and to Knitting Pals by the Bay, a local organization that provides hand-knitted caps to cancer patients.
“I love to knit, and I thought it would be a great idea to make all these handmade items for kids and adults who need them. It would be like a hug for them,” Levine explained.
Levine started the project about a year ago. “I think it's just really fun to do, and it keeps me busy,” said Levine, now 13.
Once she got started, Levine realized that her project could be much bigger than the goods she was able to produce with just her own hands. So she sent emails to her school and communities(社区), asking for knitted donations(捐赠物) to the project she named “Hannah's Warm Hugs”. She also posted advertisements at Starbucks and other locations in her area. The warm goods began to gush in.
“It was amazing; more strangers than people she knew started dropping donations at our door,” said Levine's mother, Laura Levine. “We ended up with this huge box of items she was donating.”
The knitted items numbered in the hundreds. Levine made her first round of donations around Hanukkah (an eight-day Jewish holiday in November or December) and later received thank-you letters from the organizations. Levine is still knitting, and she said the project will continue.
“It has turned into a bigger thing than she had thought,” her mom said. “It made her feel pretty good; it made us feel pretty good.”
Tom goes everywhere with Catherine Green, a 54-year-old secretary. He moves around her office at work and goes shopping with her. "Most people don't seem to mind Tom," says Catherine, who thinks he is wonderful. "He's my fourth child," she says. She may think of him and treat him that way as her son, buying his food, paying his health bills and his taxes, but in fact Tom is a dog.
Catherine and Tom live in Sweden, a country where everyone is expected to lead an orderly life according to rules laid down by the government, which also provides a high level of care for its people. This level of care costs money.
People in Sweden pay taxes on everything, so aren't surprised to find that owning a dog means yet more taxes. Some people are paying as much as 500 Swedish kronor in taxes a year for the right to keep their dog, money that is spent by the government on dog hospitals and sometimes medical treatment for a dog that falls ill. However, most such treatment is expensive, so owners often decide to offer health and even life premium for their dog.
In Sweden dog owners must pay for any damage their dog does. A Swedish Kennel Club official explains what this means: if your dog runs out on the road and gets hit by a passing car you, as the owner, have to pay for any damage done to the car, even if your dog has been killed in the accident.
I went to complete some incomplete business this afternoon. I 1 the car and was walking towards my destination (目的地), when from a distance I saw a (n) 2 man walking towards me in the opposite direction.
As we came close, I saw that he was walking 3 in measured steps and there was a look of pain on his face. He was not feeling 4, which I could clearly see. I moved on, wanting to go 5 and complete my 6 work.
I soon 7 my destination, completed my work and was 8 where the car was parked, when 9 from a distance I saw the same man sitting on the road. I went up to him.
I bent down and saw that he was tired and 10. I was concerned and asked him where he stayed 11 my intention was to 12 him home in my car. He gave me the name of the place where he stayed, 13, the name didn't seem familiar and I didn't want to spend too much time 14 the place, considering the condition of my elderly friend. I 15 on the opposite side of the road were a few auto rickshaws (自动人力车).
I knew the auto rickshaw drivers were the best 16 to unknown places. I called one of the auto rickshaws over and told the 17 to take my friend to his place. After a brief conversation with the man, the driver had a fairly good idea of the direction he had to take to reach the 18. I asked him about the 19 and gave him the money.
My friend 20 his hand and said softly, “Thank you!” I waved back to the stranger who briefly came, touched my life, and moved away, never to be seen again.
Last Christmas, the circus owner, Jimmy Gates, (decide) to take some presents to a children's hospital. Dressed up Father Christmas and accompanied by a 'guard of honour' of six pretty girls, he set off down the main street of the city (ride) a baby elephant called Jumbo. He should have known that the police would never allow this sort of thing. A policeman approached Jimmy told him he ought to have gone along a side street as Jumbo was holding the traffic. Jimmy agreed to go at once, Jumbo refused to move. Fifteen policemen had to push very hard (get) him off the main street. The police had difficult time, but they were most amused. 'Jumbo must weigh a few tons,' said a policeman afterwards, 'so was fortunate that we didn't have to carry him. Of course, we should arrest him, as he has a good record, we shall let him off this time.'
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均限一词。
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
My friend Alice loved diving very much and she dreamed of become a professional diver one day. However, at an age of 14, she got a disease which caused her to become complete deaf. Many people thought a person was deaf would not be able to dive well and advised him to give up. But Alice had thought differently. She went to school on the morning and then spent every afternoon diving. It was really difficulty for a deaf girl to dive. Therefore, she kept practising every day. So far she has won several gold medal and is still trying hard to achieve more.
