Leon，12，was born without fingers on his left hand. That didn't stop him from being able to do many tasks. But Leon could not grasp more than one object at a time. So Leon's father，Paul，created a prosthesis（义肢），using a3-D printer. Now Leon has fingers that can open and close. "It was a do-it-yourself，father and son adventure，" says Paul.

When Leon was a baby，his doctor advised his parents not to give him a prosthetic hand until he was in his early teens. "The doctor said Leon should first learn to get full use of the hand he was born with，"says Paul. As Leon got older，his father considered buying a prosthetic hand，which can cost as much as $30，000. Then Paul found a more affordable solution.

One day，Paul discovered a video on the Internet about Robohand，a prosthesis created by a 3--D printer. He downloaded the free instructions and called Robohand's creators for advice. They told him all he needed was a 3-D printer-which costs around $2，000 and some materials.

Luckily，Leon's school had recently bought a 3-D printer and it offered to help Paul build the hand for Leon. "We used a soccer shin pad（护胫），cardboard，and tape. They cost about $10，"says Paul.

With his new hand，Leon can do things better. "I can help my mom more，because now I can carry two grocery bags，"he says.

Leon's father has already built several hands for Leon. Leon helps design each one. He says there's one thing in particular that he wants to do with a future prosthesis. "The goal，"he tells the reporter from the local evening paper，"is to be able to tie my shoelaces（鞋带）".

【小题1】Why did Leon's doctor disapprove of his using a prosthesis in his childhood?

A．The prosthetic technology was underdeveloped then.

B．A prosthesis was very expensive at that time.

C．To learn to use the disabled hand was important.

D．The original hand could do many tasks.

【小题2】Leon's father managed to get Leon a new hand by _________.

A．collecting money on the Internet

B．buying a prosthetic hand

C．buying a 3-D printer

D．printing a hand

【小题3】The materials used for Leon's hand can be described as _______.

A．cheap and common

B．strange and valuable

C．personal and lovely

D．basic and solid

【小题4】What is the best title for the passage？

A．A DIY Enthusiast	B．A Helping Hand
C．A Great Adventure	D．A Lucky Escape

   A new keyboard can tell whether you are its owner. The keyboard records information about the typing pattern（模式）and sends it to a computer program. The program then checks to see if the pattern matches the right user. If not, an alarm sounds, and the computer locks the typist out. It locks out everyone else, even if the person knows the password. What's more, this equipment needs no batteries. It collects all the energy it needs from your actions of typing. Besides, the keyboard is also self-cleaning and the keys are free of damage from water, oil and dirt.

The keys of the new keyboard are made of the same inexpensive plastic that might be found on any other standard keyboard. But instead of being smooth, the keys have millions of tiny plastic nanowires（纳米线）on their surface area, increasing the effective contact areas between the plastics and fingers. This guarantees that there's enough power to run the keyboard as someone types.

Liming Dai, a scientist, did not work on the new keyboard, but he thinks the design could be important in getting better performance from a variety of equipment. "It could also be applied to a touch screen, for example, "Dai says. " Then smart phones and notepads could collect energy from someone's actions of typing or drawing. "

"Future work might make the keyboard even more useful, "Dai adds. " A later design might build tiny capacitors onto the nanowires, "he suggests. Capacitors are little devices that temporarily store electric charge. Those might then be LEDs to light a keyboard in the dark.

Zhonglin Wang is a co-designer of the new keyboard. His team has built a working model of the keyboard. "If a company decides to fund（资助）its production, this keyboard could be in stores in as few as two years, "says Wang.

【小题1】How does the new keyboard tell whether you are its owner？

A．By matching the typing pattern to the right user.

B．By sending alarms to a computer program.

C．By checking the right user's passwords.

D．By just recording information about the typing pattern.

【小题2】Why are there many nanowires on the surfaces of the keys？

A．To keep the keyboard free of damage.

B．To improve the speed of typing.

C．To make the keys smooth.

D．To help produce power.

【小题3】What's Dai's attitude to the new keyboard？

A．Unconcerned.	B．Doubtful.
C．Positive.	D．Critical.

【小题4】What is the best title for the text？

A．A New Keyboard Made of Nanowires

B．A New Keyboard Entirely Owned by You

C．A New Keyboard's Future

D．A New Keyboard Powered by Typing

   Shopping centers，stadiums and universities may soon have a new tool to help fight crime.

A California company called Knightscope says its robots can predict and prevent crime. Knightscope says the goal is to reduce crime by half in areas the robots guard.

William Santana Li is the chief executive officer of Knightscope. He says，"These robot security guards will change the world. Our planet has more than seven billion people on it. It's going to quickly get to nine billion people. The security equipment that we have globally is just not going to develop that fast. The company's Autonomous Data Machines can become the eyes and ears of law enforcement（执法）."

"You want them to be machines plus humans. Let. the machines do the heavy and sometimes dangerous work and let the humans do the strategic decision-making work，so it's always working all together."

The machines do not carry weapons but they have day and night video cameras which are able to turn 360 degrees and can also sense chemical and biological weapons.

Some people may become concerned about their privacy, especially in connection with the video recordings. Some people may worry that such recordings will appear on the Internet. Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the UCLA School of Law, says the machines have to be used in the right way and it will be interesting to see how state laws deal with this kind of video.

William Santana Li says there is a long waiting list for the robots in the US. Workers in the company are working overtime to meet the demands of the market. At least 25 other countries are also interested in these robot security guards.

【小题1】What can this new tool do for humans?

A．Make strategic decisions.

B．Keep watching day and night.

C．Carry heavy weapons.

D．Stop crime autonomously.

【小题2】Why are some people worried about the new robots?

A．Their privacy may be let out.

B．The robots are very expensive.

C．Robots will replace humans.

D．They will be out of work soon.

【小题3】Which of the following can be the best title of the text?

A．Robots Are Becoming More Popular

B．Robots Contribute a Lot to the World

C．Robots Are in Great Demand Now

D．Security Robots Could Help Cut Crime

   Virtual reality is no longer a concept of the future. 3-D technology can now change a desktop computer into an interactiveworld of adventure, fashion, fun and entertainment.

Using the Internet as an entry platform, the new technology is blurring the lines between the real and virtual worlds.

In contrast to a traditional two-dimensional（二维的）interface, the 3-D environment provides a very large and highly social world, enabling access to people and places that would be impossible in the real world.

Through the use of avatars（虚拟替身）, a virtual replica of yourself, or whoever you want to be, life can take on new dimensions in cyberspace.

Shopping online is not such a new world to most people, but the 3-D experience is completely different. Via avatars, shoppers can pick up, try on and test out products in virtual shopping centres. The avatar, set with real-life measurements, can try on a new pair of jeans, get a trendy haircut and see if certain accessories suit.

Avatars can also join with like-minded people as they travel, take on adventures and socialize.

From a businessman’s point of view, interactive 3-D experiences allow him to exactly judge consumer demand via instant feedback and requests.

Buying property and taking a holiday in the real world also presents great virtual opportunities. Before buying a home, renting an apartment or booking a hotel, you can walk through a digital version of the property, making sure that it meets all your needs.

For people short of time and money in the real world, virtual tourism allows adventures in a virtual dimension. A virtual tourist can step inside the Louvre, trek into the Sahara, or go bungee jumping in New Zealand.

“3-D technology will influence many aspects of human life in that we can entertain ourselves from similar cyber games and experience exciting 3-D tourism,” explained Martin Tong, marketing director of The 1st Virtual Business and professional creator of a vitual world.

“Our understanding of the virtual world is to give customers a strong interactive experience; it is not only a game, but also life itself,” he added.

The new way of traveling will not necessarily meet everyone's satisfaction. Dong Lifen, an engineer in China Unicom commented that while the virtual world gives the freedom of traveling to popular destinations, it is not the same as the real thing.

【小题1】What’s the passage mainly about?

A．The concept of 3-D technology.

B．Various uses of 3-D technology.

C．The future of 3-D technology.

D．Different views on 3-D technology.

【小题2】The underlined part in Paragraph 2 means “______”.

A．combining the real world with the virtual world

B．separating the real world from the virtual world

C．making it difficult to tell the real world from the virtual world

D．making the difference between the real world and the virtual world become less important

【小题3】What can people do through the use of avatars?

A．Pick up, try on and test out products in real shopping centres.

B．Buy property and take a holiday in the real world.

C．Experience virtual tourism even though they are short of time and money.

D．Experience the joy of traveling just as they do in the real world.

【小题4】On the whole, the writer’s attitude to the wide use of 3-D technology is ______.

A．critical	B．optimistic
C．negative	D．skeptical

If you could be anybody in the world, who would it be? Your neighbour or a super star? A few people have experienced what it might be like to step into the skin of another person, thanks to an unusual virtual reality（虚拟现实）device. Rikke Wahl, an actress, model and artist, was one of the participants in a body swapping experiment at the Be Another lab, a project developed by a group of artists based in Barcelona. She swapped with her partner, an actor, using a machine called The Machine to Be Another and temporarily became a man. "As I looked down, I saw my whole body as a man, dressed in my partner's pants," she said. "That's the picture I remember best."
The set-up is relatively simple. Both users wear a virtual reality headset with a camera on the top. The video from each camera is sent to the other person, so what you see is the exact view of your partner. If she moves her arm, you see it. If you move your arm, she sees it.
To get used to seeing another person's body without actually having control of it, participants start by raising their arms and legs very slowly, so that the other can follow along. Eventually, this kind of slow synchronised（同步的）movement becomes comfortable, and participants really start to feel as though they are living in another person's body.
Using such technology promises to alter people's behaviour afterwards-potentially for the better. Studies have shown that virtual reality can be effective in fighting racism-the bias（偏见）that humans have against those who don't look or sound like them. Researchers at the University of Barcelona gave people a questionnaire called the Implicit Association Test, which measures the strength of people's associations between, for instance, black people and adjectives such as good, bad, athletic or awkward. Then they asked them to control the body of a dark skinned digital character using virtual reality glasses, before taking the test again. This time, the participants' bias scores were lower. The idea is that once you've "put yourself in another's shoes" you're less likely to think ill of them, because your brain has internalised the feeling of being that person.
The creators of The Machine to Be Another hope to achieve a similar result. "At the end of body swapping, people feel like holding each other in their arms," says Arthur Pointeau, a programmer with the project. "It's a really nice way to have this kind of experience. I would really, really recommend it to everyone."
【小题1】The word "swapping" (paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to______.

A．building

B．exchanging

C．controlling

D．transplanting

【小题2】We can infer from the experiment at the Be Another lab that______.

A．our feelings are related to our bodily experience

B．we can learn to take control of other people's bodies

C．participants will live more passionately after the experiment

D．The Machine to Be Another can help people change their sexes

【小题3】In the Implicit Association Test, before the participants used virtual reality glasses to control a dark skinned digital character, ______.

A．they fought strongly against racism

B．they scored lower on the test for racism

C．they changed their behaviour dramatically

D．they were more biased against those unlike them

【小题4】It can be concluded from the passage that______.

A．technology helps people realize their dreams

B．our biases could be eliminated through experiments

C．virtual reality helps promote understanding among people

D．our points of view about others need changing constantly