(2015·云南昆明三中高三诊断)It’s a safe bet that a robot made your car and your computer.Pretty soon，they could be making your bed and breakfast too.
Increasingly，engineers are saying that robots are going to move out of research departments and into your home.Companies including Sony and General Electric are working on designs for small robots.Products like the Roomba，a robot that can clean floors，are flying off the shelves.
What’s behind this new robot revolution? It’s partly a matter of technology.Devices that can recognize and respond to a human voice have been developed so people can find robots with such function in the market.There are now a few different ways for robots to move around.They can walk，crawl(爬行) or ride on wheels.Robots are being made smaller and smaller.They are also becoming more and more energyefficient.
A bigger part of the story is on the demand side.From the day the television remote control was invented，people around the world have searched for new ways to be lazy.Take into consideration that more and more people can afford robots，and the time seems ripe to introduce robots to the average family.
To be sure，robots that walk on two legs and talk like people are still a long way off.However，robots that do basic housework such as cleaning or gardening are sure to come out soon.One thing is certain—when these robots do come into our homes，it will change things forever.
【解题导语】 本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了机器人的最新发展动态。
1.What is already on sale according to the passage?
A.A robot that can make your bed.
B.A robot that can do gardening.
C.A robot that can walk on two legs and talk like people.
D.A robot that can recognize and respond to a human voice.
解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第一段第二句可排除A项;根据最后一段第一、二句可排除B、C两项;根据第三段中的“Devices that can recognize and respond to a human voice have been developed...in the market.”可知D项正确。
2.What does the 4th paragraph mainly talk about?
A.The public will be particular about robots.
B.It is too early for robots to be sold to ordinary families.
C.Right now robots are too expensive for ordinary families.
D.The demand also contributes to the new robot revolution.
解析：选D。段落大意题。根据文章第四段的内容可知，该段主要介绍的是消费者的购买力和需求对机器人发展的推动作用。故选D。
3.Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?
解析：选B。文章结构题。第一段引入话题;第二段介绍了机器人的发展趋势;第三、四段分别从科技的角度和消费者的需求和购买力的角度分析了机器人变革的幕后因素;最后一段则侧重于作者的预测。
B
According to a new US study，couples who expect their children to look after them in old age should hope they have daughters because daughters are twice as attentive as sons overall.
The research by Angelina Grigoryeva，from Princeton University，found that，while women provide as much care for their elderly parents as they can manage，men do as little as they can get away with and often leave it to female family members.
Her analysis of the family networks of 26,000 old Americans concluded that gender(性别) is one of the most important things that decide whether or not people will actively care for their elderly parents.
In a paper presented at the annual conference of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco，she concludes that simply having a sister makes men likely provide less care.
Using data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study，a study which has been tracking a crosssection of over50s for the last decade，she calculated that women provide an average of 12.3 hours a month of care for elderly parents while men offer only 5.6 hours.
“Sons reduce their relative caregiving efforts when they have a sister，while daughters increase theirs when they have a brother.”
“This suggests that sons pass on parent caregiving responsibilities to their sisters.”
In the UK，the 2011 Census showed that there are now around 6.5 million people with caring responsibilities，a figure which has risen by a tenth in a decade.
But many are doing so at the risk of their health.The census showed that those who provide 50 hours or more of care a week while trying to hold down a fulltime job are three times more likely to be struggling with ill health than their working counterparts who are not carers.
【解题导语】 本文是一篇说明文。研究表明，在照顾年迈的父母方面，性别差异影响着子女照顾父母时间的长短。其中，女儿比儿子更愿意付出时间照料年迈的父母。家中有姐妹的男士常常将照看老人的责任推给其姐妹。但是很多承担照顾老人的责任的子女自身都有潜在的健康问题。
4.According to the passage，what’s the most important factor to predict if people will actively care for the elderly?
A.Education. B.Gender.
C.Career. D.Income.
解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第三段中的“...concluded that gender(性别) is one of the most important things that decide whether or not people will actively care for their elderly parents.”可知，预测人们是否会主动照顾老年人的最主要因素是性别。故选B。
5.The US study finds that ________.
A.having a sister makes men less likely to look after their parents
B.sons are twice as likely as daughters to care for parents in old age
C.sons and daughters seem to give equal care to their parents
D.sons are unwilling to leave caregiving responsibilities to their sisters
解析：选A。细节理解题。根据第四段“In a paper...in San Francisco，she concludes that simply having a sister makes men likely provide less care.”可知，美国社会学家Angelina Grigoryeva得出结论，家中有姐妹的男士对父母的照顾可能会更少，与A项内容一致。故A项正确。
6.What does the author stress in the last paragraph?
A.People should give up their job to care for the elderly.
B.Many care providers work longer hours than others.
C.Many care providers have potential health problems.
D.People shouldn’t pass on caring responsibilities to others.
解析：选C。推理判断题。根据最后一段主题句“But many are doing so at the risk of their health.”及下文可知，在最后一段作者着重指出很多护理提供者都有潜在的健康问题。故选C。
7.The author develops the text by ________.
A.explaining social networks of careers
B.describing people’s experiences
C.comparing different gender behavior
D.analyzing various researches and data
解析：选D。写作手法题。通读全文可知，作者在第三、五、八段给出了研究的数据，接着在相应数据段落的下一段分析得出结论。由此可推知，这篇文章是以分析各种研究和数据得出相关结论的写作手法展开的。故选D。
