学位英语

第四部分：阅读理解(第31～45题，每题3分，共45分)

下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题，每题后面有4个选项。请仔细阅读短文并根据短文回答其后面的问题，从4个选项中选择1个最佳答案涂在答题卡相应的位置上。

第一篇 Musical Robot Companion Enhances Listener Experience

Shimi, a musical companion developed by Georgia Tech’s Center for Music Technology, recommends songs, dances to the beat and keeps the music pumping based on listener feedback. The smart phone-enabled, one-foot-tall robot is billed as an interactive “musical friend”.

“Shimi is designed to change the way that people enjoy and think about their music,” said Professor Gil Weinberg, the robot’s creator. He will unveil the robot at the June 27th Google I/O conference in San Francisco. A band of three Shimi robots will perform for guests, dancing in sync with music created in the lab and composed according to its movements.

Shimi is essentially a docking station with a “brain” powered by an Android phone. Once docked, the robot gains the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the user’s mobile device.” In other words, if there’s an “app” for that, Shimi is ready. For instance, by using the phone’s camera and face-detecting software, Shimi can follow a listener around the room and position its “ears”, or speakers, for optimal sound. Another recognition feature is based on rhythm and tempo. If the user taps a beat, Shimi analyzes it, scans the phone’s musical library and immediately plays the song that best matches the suggestion. Once the music starts, Shimi dances to the rhythm.

“Many people think that robots are limited by their programming instructions,” said Music Technology Ph. D. candidate Mason Bretan. “Shimi shows us that robots can be creative and interactive.” Future apps in the works will allow the user to shake their head in disagreement or wave a hand in the air to alert Shimi to skip to the next song or increase/decrease the volume. The robot will also have the capability to recommend new music based on the user’s song choices and provide feedback on the music play list.

Weinberg hopes other developers will be inspired to create more apps to expand Shimi’s creative and interactive capabilities. “I believe that our center is ahead of a revolution that will see more robots in homes.” Weinberg said.

Weinberg is in the process of commercializing Shimi through an exclusive licensing agreement with Georgia Tech. Weinberg hopes to make the robot available to consumers by the 2013 holiday season. “If robots are going to arrive in homes, we think that they will be this kind of machines—small, entertaining and fun,” Weinberg said. “They will enhance your life and pave the way for more intelligent service robots in our lives.”

31. Which of the following is true according to the first three paragraphs?

A Shimi is a one-foot tall creator.

B Gil Weinberg is the creator of the musical companion.

C Gil Weinberg is a docking station with a “brain” powered by an Android phone.

D Gil Weinberg can gain the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the user’s mobile device.

32. What does Shimi do if the user taps a beat?

A It stores the beat in the musical library.

B It transmits the beat to the docking station.

C It positions its speakers for optimal sound.

D It selects a perfectly-matched song and plays it in sync with that beat.

33. Which of the following about Shimi is true?

A Robots are limited by their programming instructions, and Shimi is no exception.

B Present apps allow the user to shake their head to alert Shimi to skip to the next song.

C Existing apps allow the user to wave a hand to alert Shimi to turn up/down the volume.

D Shimi can be creative and interactive.

34. What is the main idea of the passsage?

A The research center is developing a stronger and more versatile Shimi.

B Weinberg only expects staffs from Georgia Tech. to develop more apps for Shimi.

C Shimi is not yet technologically ready for commercialization.

D Robots such as Shimi are created for large corporations rather than homes.

35. Which of the following is Weinberg’s conclusion?

A Shimi as a robotic musical companion can be applied to all types of smart phones.

B Human lives will be filled with more fun if Shimi is going to arrive in homes.

C Shimi’s creative and interactive capabilities are appreciated by most of its users.

D Weinberg has reached an agreement with Georgia Tech to commercialize Shimi.

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