Thedancersstandmotionlessattheirpositionandtheroomgrowssilent.Butasthemusicstarts,theybegantomove,bending,turningandwavingtheirfansgracefullyastheyperform.atraditionalJapanesedance.YoshihiroKurokiwatchesinsilence,occasionallymakingnotes.Butasthedanceends,hebeamswithhappiness.Theperformancehasbeenflawless.
TherehavebeenmanyperformancesoftraditionalJapanesedancesoverthecenturies,butthisoneisunique,becauseitisperformednotbyhumandancersbutbyrobots.AndtheperformancetakesplacenotinadancestudiobutinalaboratoryofSonyCorp.'sEntertainmentRobotCo.inShinagawa,Japan,whereKurokiisgeneralmanager.Heisthemastermindbehindaseriesofevenmorecapablehumanoidentertainmentrobots,startingwiththeSonyDreamRobot,orSDR,in1997,uptothecurrentQRIOin2003.
Thesedelightfulmachinesareonly58cmtall,aboutthesizeofanewborninfant,weighabout7kg,andmovewith38degreesoffreedom,eachwithitsownservomotor(辅助马达).
QRIO'spredecessor,theSDR4X,announcedin2002,canwalk,dance,sing,speak,recognizefaces,andunderstandcontinuousspeech.Eachrobothastwocharge-coupled-devicecamerastodetectcolorandpositionandcanlocateacoloredball,movetowardit,andkickitintoagoal.Italsohascontactsensorsinseveraljointstoavoidpinchingrealhumanfingers.Seeingtherobotperform,itisdifficulttorememberthatthereisnosentience(知觉)behindthoseglasseyes.
练习题:
Choosecorrectanswerstothequestion:
1.Whichofthefollowingisthemostsuitabletitleofthispassage?
A.NewEntertainmentRobotsProducedinJapan.
D.AnExtraordinaryPerformanceinSony'sLab.
2.YoshihiroKuroki______.
A.isexcitedwhentherobotsareperformingatraditionalJapanesedance
B.keepssilentbecauseheisalittleunsatisfiedwiththenewproduct
C.witnessesthecreationofaseriesofentertainmentrobots
D.isanexecutivemanagerofSonyCorp.
3.WhichaspectoftherobotsisNOTmentionedinthepassage?
A.Thevividnessoftheirmotion.
B.Theirpleasantappearance.
C.Theirsmartdesigningprinciples.
D.Theircommunicativeability.
4.TheSonyDreamRobotwas___
A.thefirsthuman-likeentertainmentrobotdevelopedbytheSonyCorp
B.ascapableastheQRIOofspeaking,dancing,singingandwalking
C.largestamongalltheentertainmentrobotdevelopedbytheSonyCorp
D.thefirstentertainmentrobotsoldatthemarketbytheSonyCorp
5.Therobotcanlocatecoloredballsbymensof____
1.[A]主旨大意题。标题需要既全面又突出地概括文章的主题。本文先是描述“舞蹈演员”,然后揭晓这是些“机器人”(第2段第1句),接着对Sony公司的一些机器人产品进行详细介绍。选项A比较全面地概括了文章内容。选项B、D只是涉及细节,不能全面地概括本文的内容。而C又过于笼统,不具有针对性。
2.[C]事实细节题。选项C符合第2段最后一句“Heisthemastermindbehindaseriesof...robots...”。仔细阅读有关的细节信息会发现,第1段第3句可帮助否定选项A。第1段最后两句可帮助否定选项B。另外,根据第2段倒数第2句可否定选项D。
3.[D]事实细节题。全文分四段,分别讨论机器人三方面的特点:第1段和第2段描述机器人舞蹈演员栩栩如生的表演,即选项A;第3段描写它们的外表,即选项B;第4段介绍它们巧妙的设计,即选项C;只有选项D是没有提到的,故为答案。
4.[A]推理判断题。该句中的分词结构“startingwith...”表明theSonyDreamRobot是第一个人形娱乐机器人,因此选项A正确。文章在最后一段的第1句提到两种能说话、跳舞的机器人,但没有提到SDR是否和它们一样,由此可否定选项B。在第3段讨论机器人大小的时候也没有提到SDR体型最大,因此选项C不正确。选项D在文中没有讨论到。
5.[B]事实细节题。该句中“two…camerasto...”的结构表明这两个摄像头可以用于定位,所以选项B正确。选项A在该句中也有提到,但它只是摄像机的工作机制,而不是用于定位的装置。选项C在下一句提到,但与题干提到的定位功能无关。选项D在文中并未提及。