B

    Humans have been keeping animals as pets for tens of thousands of years, but Dr Jean-Loup Rault, an animal scientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, believes new companions are coming: robot pets.

    “Technology is moving very fast,” Rault told ABC News, “The Tamagotchi in the early 1990s was really the first robotic pet, and now Sony and other big companies have improved them a lot.”

     This may not sit well with pet lovers. After all, who would choose a plastic toy over a lovely puppy? But Rault argues that the robotic kind has a lot going for it: “You don’t have to feed it, you don’t have to walk it, it won’t make a mess in your house, and you can go on a holiday without feeling guilty.” The technology also benefits those who are allergic to pets, short on space, or fearful of real animals.

     It’s not clear whether robot pets can replace real ones. But studies do suggest that we can bond with these smart machines. People give their cars names and kids give their toy animals life stories. It’s the same with robots. When Sony stopped its repair service for its robot dog Aibo in March 2014, owners in Japan held funerals.

    As an animal welfare researcher, Rault is concerned about how robotic pets could affect our attitudes towards live animals. “If we become used to a robotic companion that doesn’t need food, water or exercises, perhaps it will change how humans care about other living beings,” he said.

So are dogs and cats a thing of the past, as Rault predicts? For those who grew up with living and breathing pets, the mechanical kind might not do. But for our next generation who are in constant touch with smart technology, a future in which lovely pets needn’t have a heartbeat might not be a far-fetched dream.

4. What does the underlined phrase “sit well with” means?

  A. be refused by                        B. be beneficial to 

C. make a difference to                  D. receive support from

5. What are the advantages of robot pets?

  a. They are plastic and feel smooth.

  b. Owners needn’t worry about them when going out.

c. They can help cure allergies.

d. They save space and costs.

A. ab                B. bc            C. bd             D.cd

6. We can learn from the passage that___________.

  A. Sony is the first company to produce robot pets Aibo.

B. People can develop strong bond with their robot pets.

C. Rault thinks robot pets still have a long way to go.

D. Robot toys may help people care more about living beings.

7. The passage mainly tells us___________.

  A. the advantages of robot toys            B. the popularity of robot pets

C. living pets are dying out.               D. robot pets are coming. 

C

    Lee’s mother Sun became unexpectedly pregnant while married to a disabled man. Doctors told her that because of a medication she had been taking her child would not be normal. She chose to continue with the pregnancy and in 1985 in Seoul, South Korea, little Hee Ah Lee was born with only two fingers on each hand, disfigurement of her legs, and slight brain injury. The hospital told Sun that she could not care for the child at home and her relatives wanted her to place the child for adoption in a foreign country. Sun, however, thought her baby would live a successful life.

   When Lee was a pre-schooler, Sun wanted her daughter to take piano lessons for two reasons. One was that she felt it would help her strengthen her hands so she could hold a pencil. The other was that she felt that if she could master the piano, she could master anything. For six months piano schools turned them down and then the one teacher who did accept the task got discouraged and wanted to quit. It was a three-month contest of wills between mother and daughter that led to a conflict in which Sun actually threw her daughter on the floor in frustration. But Lee got back up on the piano bench and for the first time played a children’s song. That was the turning point and one year later Lee won the grand prize in a piano concert for Kindergartners. It was at the age of 7 that Lee won Korea’s 19th National Handicap Conquest Contest and was presented with her award by the President of Korea.

   Lee has won numerous awards, and is a widely traveled concert pianist with more than 200 appearances. Her first album titled “Hee-ah, a Pianist with Four Fingers” was released in June, 2008.

   Lee speaks highly of her mother for challenging her to master the piano and said that although her training was difficult, “As time went by, the piano became my source of inspiration and my best friend.”

8. Which of the following can best describe Sun?

   A. stubborn and devoted                B. impatient and strict  

C. enthusiastic and hardworking          D. honest and responsible

9. What was probably in Lee’s mind when on the floor?

  A. Learning piano was too difficult for her.

  B. Life was unfair to her.

  C. She would try her best to learn piano.

  D. Her mother didn’t love her any more.

10. When was Lee awarded by the president of Korea?

A. 1985              B. 1992          C. 2008         D. 2007

11. What’s the best title of the passage?

   A. A 4-finger pianist                    B. Love between mother and daughter

   C. Learning piano                      D. An abnormal girl