Larry Belmont worked for a company that made robots. Recently it had begun experimenting with a household robot, 1.which was going to be tested out by Larry's wife, Claire.
Claire didn't want to have the robot in her house at first, especially when her husband would be 2.absent(absence) for three weeks. The robot's name was Tony and he seemed more like a human 3.than a machine. He was tall and handsome with smooth hair and a deep voice although his 4.facial(face) expression never changed.
On the second morning Tony brought Claire breakfast and then asked her whether she needed help dressing. She felt 5.embarrassed(embarrass) on hearing this and quickly asked him to go out, for it was 6.disturbing(disturb) and frightening that he looked so human.
7.With the passing of time, she began to trust him while Tony was helpful to make her smarter and her home more elegant. Tony gave Claire a new haircut and changed the makeup she 8.wore(wear). When the clerk in the shop was rude to her, she rang Tony 9.up for help. Tony even made her to be an envy of the women. Before the time for Tony to be taken away to the company, Claire fell 10.in love with Tony. Eventually Tony had to be rebuilt, for the company won't allow such an absurd thing to happen.
Ⅰ.阅读理解
A
Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was fixed to her chair.
The nuptials at this ceremony were led by “I–Fairy”， a 4–foot (1.5–meter) tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails(辫子). Sunday's wedding was the first time that a marriage had been led by a robot, according to manufacturer Kokoro Co.
“Please lift the bride's veil(面纱)，” the robot said in a tinny voice, waving its arms in the air as the newlyweds kissed in front of guests.
The wedding took place at a restaurant in Hibiya Park in central Tokyo, where the I–Fairy wore a wreath of flowers and directed a rooftop ceremony. Wires led out from beneath it to a black curtain a few feet away, where a man clicked commands into a computer.
Japan has one of the most advanced robotics industries in the world, with
the government actively supporting the field for future growth. Industrial models in factories are now standard, but recently Japanese companies are making a push to inject robots into everyday life.
Honda makes a walking child–shaped robot, and other firms have developed them to entertain the elderly or play baseball. Kokoro, whose corporate goal is to “touch the hearts of the people”， also makes giant dinosaur robots for exhibitions and life–like android models that can smile and laugh. The company is a subsidiary(附属公司) of Sanrio Co., which owns the rights to Hello Kitty and other Japanese characters.
“This was a lot of fun. I think that Japanese have a strong sense that robots are our friends. Those in the robot industry mostly understand this, but people mainly want robots near them that serve some purposes，” said bride Satoko Inoue, 36, who works at manufacturer Kokoro Co.
The I–Fairy sells for about 6.3 million yen ($57,000) and three are in use in Singapore, the US and Japan, according to company spokeswoman Kayako Kido.
语篇导读 本文为说明文，介绍了能主持婚礼的机器人I–Fairy是如何主持婚礼以及其市场前景。
1．The underlined word “nuptials” in Paragraph 2 can best be replaced by ________.
A．conductors C．robots
B．brides D．weddings
解析 D 词义猜测题。根据第三段可知，机器人主持的是婚礼。由此可猜测，nuptial的同义词是wedding，意为“婚礼”，故选D项。
2．What can we learn from what bride Satoko Inoue said? A．A robot has been widely used to serve the people in Japan. B．It's very interesting to work with a robot in her company. C．Japanese consider a robot can do many things like their friends. D．People need robots that can help them in some ways.
解析 D 推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的people mainly want robots near them that serve some purposes可知，人们需要机器人能够在某方面帮助他们。原文中的want对应D项中的need, serve some purposes对应help them in some ways，故选D项。
3．Which of the following can be the best title for the passage? A．I–Fairy, a Robot Conducts Wedding in Tokyo B．The Development of Robots
C．All Kinds of Robots in Japan D．Wedding Customs in Japan
解析 A 标题归纳题。通读全文可知，本文主要介绍了在日本机器人如何主持婚礼，并介绍了机器人的发展前景，故选A项。
B
Are You a Saver or a Spender?
4．________ This old saying calls attention to the wisdom of saving money. “Putting money away for a rainy day” is another way to talk about saving for the future.
People who hate to spend money are known as “tightwads”， while those who like to get the most value for their money are called“thrifty”. 5.________ A spendthrift is someone who spends wastefully. People like that are often said to spend money “like a drunken sailor” or “like there's no tomorrow”．
In the United States, people who want to start a savings account have different choices of where to put their money. 6.________ Credit unions are cooperatives for people who have some kind of connection. For example, the members might work for a university or a government agency. Most credit unions are non–profit organizations.
Credit unions, banks and other financial institutions pay interest on savings accounts. But the interest rates are low. Certificates of deposit(存款) pay higher returns. With a certificate of deposit, a person agrees not to withdraw the money for a certain period of time. This term could be anywhere from a few months to several years. 7.________ People can withdraw their money early, but they have to pay a penalty(罚金)．
In a number of countries, people have been saving less over the years. It is reported that in 2000, Americans had a household savings rate of 7%. 8.________ Many European countries have higher rates, but Americans save more than families in Japan.
A．People are willing to save money for the future. B．A penny saved is a penny earned.
C．Before gold, even kings take off their bats. D．These include banks and credit unions.
E．Longer terms and larger amounts pay higher interest. F．A thrifty person is different from a spendthrift.
G．This year the rate is expected to be a little more than 2%.
语篇导读 本文为说明文，向我们普及了最基本的金融知识。
4．解析 B 总分关系。B项A penny saved is a penny earned引出全文说明的对象，故选B项。
5．解析 F 顺承关系。F项中的thrifty和spendthrift与上下文中的关键词对应，故选F项。
6．解析 D 诠释关系。本段下文Credit unions are...是对D项credit unions的解释。而D项中的banks又是上文说到where to put their money最常见的地方，故选D项。
7．解析 E 递进关系。本段主要讲到存款利息与存款时间的长短和所存金额大小有关，故选E项(时间长、金额大的存款利息高)。
8．解析 G 递进关系。本段主要讲述存款率。G项与存款率相关，且与上下文联系密切，故选G项。
Ⅱ.完形填空
I was told just now in the hospital that I was having a Bell's palsy attack, a condition in which the face muscles tighten because of stress. During the long car ride home, all I could think about was my coming interview. But now I could not even__1__ myself in the mirror and my lips were unable to open normally. Surely all the other applicants would have the__2__， I concluded.
However, I wouldn't let my own self–consciousness__3__ me. Not now, not when I had__4__ so hard for so long to be given this opportunity. This was the kind of position I'd dreamed of for all these years.“Mom, __5__ me off on Jacob Street. I'm going to the__6__.”
“Honey, I don't think you should. You look...__7__，” she said, ever so gently. I knew she was__8__.But if I didn't, I'd always__9__ if I could have gotten my dream job.
“No, Mom, take me there.”
__10__， she took me where I wanted to go.
“Hello，” a gray–haired man sitting behind the large desk__11__ me.“Miss Jenkins？”
“Yes. Please excuse me. I'm having a Bell's palsy attack. My doctor explained to me that it would last a few days. I came right from the__12__.”
“You're very__13__ to come when you're in such a state，” he__14__， after a pause.
He spent a few minutes looking through my__15__.“Is everything on here__16__？” he asked.
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