We can infer from the text that robots now （）.

A．are clever enough to make good soups
B．know the rules for working with humans
C．cannot work well when kept behind gates
D．do not understand human expressions of pain

It’s 8.00 am. James Butters gives ]8-month-old Thomas his milk, then breakfast. After getting Thomas into his outdoor clothes, they head for the park to watch birds and play on the grass. With hitch time drawing near, they’re back home for an afternoon of drawing, playing with cars, maybe watching some children’s programs.

James isn’t Thomas’ dad. He is a nanny (保姆)--a man nanny, obviously, interestingly termed a "manny"--specially trained and in his third nannying position. At 27, he cares for Thomas, and another boy of a similar age. "It’s much freer than an office job," he says, "and you’re getting to see children develop and grow. You become very close to them, for sure. I don’t think I’m special or better than a woman nanny; everyone has their own method. But I’m unusual. Friends laughed when I started studying nursery nursing. In my class, I was the only man among 70 women. Somehow, I made it," he said.

Although it’s not yet common to find men in traditional (传统的) nannying courses, things are changing. In the United States, parents are employing young mannies, sometimes to care for babies, but more often as active role models to get junior away from the TV and the computer. From rollerblading (轮滑) friends to summer swimming mannies, these are the big brothers who are always willing to play, largely because they’re paid for it.

It is catching on here in Britain, too. Earlier this year, Nofland nanny college welcomed its first full-time man student, 19-year-old Peter Cummins in Wales. While some families find it difficult to accept the idea of a young man in a traditional nannying role, man nannies are increasingly popular.

肝破裂

肾挫伤

肾部分裂伤

肾全层裂伤

肾蒂断裂

British scientists have been given ￡ 1 million by the European Commission to find out if a robot (机器人) can safely be employed to stir (搅拌) soup.

The research, based at the Bristol Robotics Lab (BRL), will look at the problems of a human and a robot working together in the same space; for example, in a kitchen where the service robot is performing a task such as stirring soup while you add cream.

Professor Chris Melhuish explained, "When we work with other humans, we are trying to understand facial expression, body movements, quality of voice, as well as sharing a goal and understanding and following spoken instructions. "

"For example, in the soup situation, not only does the robot need to know what the goal is ( making the soup) but he also needs to know how hard to stir the soup, what it means when you hold up your hand to say enough, to understand the look of pain on your face if you accidentally get wet with hot soup, and to stop stirring when told. The research aims to develop the rules we need to introduce this level of cleverness into service robots who are working closely with people. "

Professor Melhuish, of the BRL, said robots working in factories at present are kept behind gates for safety reasons--a measure that is not practical in the kitchen.

The research is a joint effort between robotic engineers and scientists from West of England and Bristol universities.

Looking to improve your language skills, but you don’t have the time to go abroad to attend school More and more universities around the world are offering opportunities for students to get degrees online ( distance education) from the comfort of their own homes, and many of these colleges and universities are accredited (官方认可的), meaning that they have met certain standards of excellence.

If you decide to take language courses online (or any subject for that matter), be sure there are advantages in studying online. Its costs are usually lower, and you can study at your own pace (节奏) and you can easily get the materials 24 hours a day from almost any computer in the world. However, you won’t get the human interaction (互动) of meeting people face to face, as you would if you were attending a school abroad in person.

On the other band, the advantages of going abroad may include day-to-day chances to learn a new culture, to meet new friends with whom you can use and practice the language, and to see different parts of the world. However, there may be a number of disadvantages for some students, including high costs, time away from one’s school, family, or work life, and difficulty in getting used to anew culture and way of life.

Whatever you do, consider a distance education program that meets your educational needs, is what you can afford, and equally important, provides you with chances to grow beyond the classroom through cultural and educational activities.

Kenya Wildlife Safari from ￡ 995

DAY 1 LONDON/NAIROBI

Daylight flight to Nairobi. On arrival, check in at the Holiday Inn Mayfair Court.

DAY 24 SAMBURU AND TREETOPS

Set off on safari, driving north, to the west of Mount Kenya and across the equator (赤道). 2 nights at Samburn Lodge, including afternoon and morning game drives. Continue south to the Aberdare Mountains and the world famous Treetops, where we arrive in time for tea on the rooftop platform, where you can watch the animals come down to the waterhole.

DAY 5 LAKE NAIVASHA

Continue from Thomason’s Falls to Lake Nakuru. As well as the interesting bird life, it is here that you will have the best chance of seeing the black rhino (犀牛). Overnight at the Lake Hotel, Naivasha.

DAY 6-8 MASAI MARA

After a restful morning in this lovely lakeside setting, we drive to the Masai Mara game area for a 3 night-stay at Keekerok Lodge. The vast plains of the Mara reach the Tanzanian border where they joifi the famous Serengeti, covering an area of over 6,000 square miles. The Mara is home to countless thousands of animals. Head out for morning and afternoon game drives.

DAY 9 MASA MARA/NAIROBL/LONDON

Return to Nairobi for your overnight flight back to London.

Even if your child is an excellent student, you can’t expect that he will always dutifully do his homework. The following is some useful advice for helping them deal with their homework.

Set a regular time and place for study. Give homework its own special time and place, and if your child is in middle or high school, let her set her own timetable.

Take it step by step. Children may get overwhelmed (压倒) by too much homework they have to do. Encourage your child to calmly work out what needs to be done and how much time it will take, and then make a plan. Help your child break homework down into manageable steps.

Help out. You shouldn’t have to do your child’s homework or re-teach the material covered in class, but you can help out by showing your interest and by encouraging independent (独立的) problem solving.

Praise a job well done. Kids, no matter what their age, need to know that they are doing a good job. Praise them for their successes and encourage them to keep up the good work. A little praise will go a long way in building healthy study habits.

It is always a little sad to say goodbye to a long-time friend you are leaving forever, a (1) you have spent many hours with, in all sorts of (2) . David didn’t think I should be so (3) about the separation. "It’s (4) a car," he said. "And we need a (5) one. "

We were standing in the hot car park outside a car dealer’s office, keys to the new (6) in David’s hand, keys to the old one in mine. David took the keys and handed them to the (7) As we drove away, I (8) to look at my trusty friend, standing silent and alone.

As it turned out, I (9) the new car. It ran beautifully, all the tires were good, (10) I happily stopped buying gas every week. Our teenage children were (11) to ride around in a small green car (12) a smoky van (小型客货车). It began to feel like our family’s car.

Still, I (13) looking in the rear-view mirror (后视镜) and seeing the seats (14) I used to put my little children. I still thought about the family (15) in that car and the fun we had together.

Then one day, I happened to go to a (16) . I parked in a sea of vehicles (车辆). As I (17) through the car park on my way into the store, I saw a (18) blue van coming slowly toward me. A little boy and a girl looked out the window at me as I stared at them in great (19) . The boy smiled at me cheerfully and waved. Then, as I waved back slowly with (20) feelings, and then walked quickly away toward the store’s entrance, I burst into tears.

Samuel H. Preston, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, studied how the American family is changing. He reported that by the time the average American couple reaches 40 years of age, they have more parents than children. This finding shows the change in lifestyles (生活方式) and duties of aging Americans. The average middle-aged couple can look forward to caring for elderly parents some time after their own children have grown up.

Because Americans are living longer than ever, more researchers and social workers have begun to study care giving to improve care of the elderly. When people care for an elderly relative, they often do not use community (社区) services, such as adult (成人) daycare centres. If the care givers are adult children, they are more likely to use such services, especially because they often have jobs and other business. However, the wife of an elderly person is much less likely to use support services or to put the dependent person in a nursing home. Social workers discovered that the reason for this difference was fear of becoming poor. An ill elderly person may live for years, and medical care and nursing homes are very expensive. An elderly couple’s savings can disappear very quickly. The other half, usually the wife, can be left in poor living conditions. As a result, she often tries to take care of her husband herself for as long as she can.

Do you remember the Millennium (千禧年) Goals When world leaders celebrated the year 2000 with a serious promise to reduce poverty (贫穷) and hunger, check the spread of AIDS, get boys and girls into school, and improve public health, all by 2015

Well, three years down the road, and the UNDP’s yearly collection of facts and figures already shows that if we carry on as we are, the only goal likely to be met is that for reducing poverty by a half, and that is entirely due to the success of one country--China. It is so vast that the fast-growing economy in China lifts millions of people above the poverty line, even though in Africa, Latin America and the former Soviet Union, people have actually been getting poorer.

Otherwise, progress is good only in parts. East Asia should meet its goal of reducing hunger by a half by 2015, and Latin America and the Caribbean are not far behind, but at the present speed of progress, Africa and South Asia won’t get there for another hundred years.

The good news is that it can be done--there are success stories. Ghana--an economic basket case in the eighties and early nineties--has managed to find a way out of its difficulties and it’s now comfortably in the middle range of countries, way ahead of the much more naturally wealthy Nigeria. For Congo, Cambodia or Iraq, ruined by war, or every southern African country damaged by AIDS, there is a Mauritius or a South Korea steadily working its way up the league table towards a better life for its people.

He saw the old lady and her car on the side of the road. He could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her car and got out.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. He didn’t look safe. He looked poor and hungry.

He said, "I’m here to help you, ma’am. My name is Bryan Anderson. "

All she had was a flat tire (瘪胎), but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan changed the tire and she couldn’t thank him enough for the help. Then, the lady asked how much she owed him. She had already imagined all the terrible things that could have happened. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the help they needed.

A few miles down the road, the lady saw a small cafe She went in. The waitress came over with a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. She noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant (怀孕) , but she never let her aches be noticed. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then, she remembered Bryan.

After her meal, the lady paid with a one hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change, but when she came back, she noticed something written on the napkin (餐巾纸) with the words saying: "You don’t owe me anything. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do : Do not let this chain of love end with you. "

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

That night when the waitress got home, she was thinking about what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed the money with the baby due next month As she lay sleeping next to her husband, she whispered soft and low, "Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson. \