A start-up company in California, called Zume, is testing machines that make pizza. The robot takes and shapes dough to create the base of the pizza. It then adds tomato sauce, cheese, meat or other toppings. Next, the robot places the uncooked pizza into a hot oven. A few minutes later, the pizza is ready. The pizza comes out the same each time. Zume says the robots work quickly and do not get sick. The robots do not get paid either.

Julia Collins is the company’s founder and chief executive officer (CEO) . Her business can spend money on better food products because it does not have to pay the robots. Zume is using robots to make pizza.

Charity Suzuki has bought the robot-made pizza. She likes its taste. “It’s delicious. It’s always hot and fresh when it comes. I mean it’s great that they’re making it, but I can’t tell the difference that it’s made by a robot versus a human.”

Other companies say they are developing robots so people can get higher quality food faster. But what about the jobs the robots are taking from humans?

Ken Goldberg is a professor at the University of California in Berkeley. He also directs the school’s automation laboratory. Goldberg says researchers have been working with robots for 50 years. He says that, while there has been progress, the jobs are not going to disappear right away. “I want to reassure (使放心) restaurant workers that the skills that they have are still going to be of value,” Goldberg said.

“We’re going to get rid of boring, repetitive, dangerous jobs and we’re going to free up people to do things that have higher value. There’s going to be amazing new ways of working that don’t exist yet but are going to be created.”

【小题1】Why can Zume devote more money to better food products?

A．It earns a lot by selling pizza.	B．It wants to create more robots.
C．It can save a lot by using robots.	D．It hopes to attract more customers.

【小题2】What can we know about the robot-made pizza according to Suzuki?

A．It really agrees with her.	B．It is hot and fresh all the time.
C．It is tastier than the man-made.	D．It is delicious and free of charge.

【小题3】What’s the benefit of robots’ making pizza?

A．They work efficiently.	B．They help sick people.
C．They need few payments.	D．They produce more food.

【小题4】What does Goldberg think of the jobs of restaurant workers?

A．Interesting.	B．Boring.
C．Dangerous.	D．Necessary.

   Across Britain, burnt toast will be served to mothers in bed this morning as older sons and daughters rush to deliver their supermarket bunches of flowers. But, according to a new study, we should be placing a higher value on motherhood all year.
Mothers have long known that their home workload was just as heavy as paid work. Now, the new study has shown that if they were paid for their parental labours, they would earn as much as $ 172,000 a year.
The study looked at the range of jobs mothers do, as well as the hours they are working, to determine the figure. This would make their yearly income $ 30,000 more than the Prime Minister earns.
By analysing the numbers, it found the average mother works 119 hours a week, 40 of which would usually be paid at a standard rate and 79 hours as overtime. After questioning 1,000 mothers with children under 18, it found that, on most days, mums started their routine work at 7am and finished at around 11pm.
To calculate just how much mothers would earn from that labour, it suggested some of the roles that mums could take on, including housekeeper, part-time lawyer, personal trainer and entertainer. Being a part-time lawyer, at £ 48.98 an hour, would prove to be the most profitable of the “mum jobs”, with psychologist (心理学家) a close second.
It also asked mothers about the challenges they face, with 80 percent making emotional demand as the hardest thing about motherhood.
Over a third of .mums felt they needed more training and around half said they missed going out with friends.
The study shows mothers matter all year long and not just on Mother’s Day. The emotional, physical and mental energy mothers devote to their, children can be never-ending, but children are also sources of great joy and happiness. Investing (投入) in time for parenting and raising relationships is money well spent.
【小题1】How much would a mother earn a year if working as the Prime Minister?

A．£ 30,000.	B．£ 142,000.
C．£ 172,000.	D．£ 202,000.

【小题2】The biggest challenge for most mothers is from .

A．emotional demand	B．low pay for work
C．heavy workload	D．lack of training

【小题3】What is stressed in the last paragraph?

A．Mothers’ importance shows in family all year long.

B．The sacrifices mothers make are huge but worthwhile.

C．Mothers’ devotion to children can hardly be calculated.

D．Investing time in parenting would bring a financial return.

【小题4】What can we conclude from the study?

A．Mothers，working hours should be largely reduced.

B．Mothers should balance their time for work and rest.

C．Mothers’ labour is of a higher value than it is realised.

D．Mothers should be freed from housework for social life.

   In the United States alone,over 100 million cell-phones are thrown away each year.Cell-phones are part of a growing mountain of electronic waste like computers and personal digital assistants.The electronic waste stream is increasing three times taster than traditional garbage as a whole.

Electronic devices contain valuable metals such as gold and silver.A Swiss study reported that while the weight of electronic goods represented by precious metals was relatively small in comparison to total waste,the concentration（含量）of gold and other precious metals was higher in So-called e-waste than in naturally occurring minerals.

Electronic wastes also contain many poisonous metals.Even when the machines are recycled and the harmful metals removed,the recycling process often is carried out in poor countries,in practically uncontrolled ways which allow many poisonous substances to escape into the environment.

Creating products out of raw materials creates much more waste material,up to 100 times more,than the material contained in the finished products.Consider again the cell-phone,and imagine the mines that produced those metals,the factories needed to make the box and packaging（包装）it came in.Many wastes produced in the producing process are harmful as well.

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency notes that most waste is dangerous in that"the production, distribution,and use of products-as well as management of the resulting waste-all result in greenhouse gas release." Individuals can reduce their contribution by creating less waste at the start-for instance,buying reusable products and recycling.

In many countries the concept of extended producer responsibility is being considered or has been put in place as an incentive（动机）for reducing waste.If producers are required to take back packaging they use to sell their products,would they reduce the packaging in the first place?

Governments' incentive to require producers to take responsibility for the packaging they produce is usually based on money.Why,they ask,should cities or towns be responsible for paying to deal with the bubble wrap（气泡垫）that encased your television?

From the governments' point of view,a primary goal of laws requiring extended producer responsibility is to transfer both the costs and the physical responsibility of waste management from the government and tax-payers back to the producers.

【小题1】By mentioning the Swiss study,the author intends to tell us that .

A．the weight of e-goods is rather small

B．natural minerals contain more precious metals

C．E-waste deserves to be made good use of

D．the percentage of precious metals is heavy in e-waste

【小题2】The responsibility of c-waste treatment should be extended .

A．from producers to governments

B．from governments to producers

C．from individuals to distributors

D．from distributors to governments

【小题3】What docs the passage mainly talk about?

A．The increase in e-waste.	B．The creation of e-waste.
C．The seriousness of e-waste.	D．The management of e-waste.

语法填空

EQ is a way of 【小题1】（measure） how a person recognizes emotions in himself or herself and others , and makes these emotional states work better as a group or team. IQ is a value that 【小题2】（indicate） a person's ability to learn, understand, and apply information and skills in a meaningful way. The major 【小题3】（differ）between EQ and IQ is what part of a person's mental abilities they measure; understanding emotions or understanding information.

According to some 【小题4】（theory）of brain function, a high EQ means someone is self-confident ,self-aware, and able to handle difficult emotional experiences. It is often tied directly 【小题5】 the degree of success a person may have in the workplace and in 【小题6】（person）relationships. People with high EQs can often better recognize and control their own emotions, and recognize  emotional states of others 【小题7】（adjust）their behavior accordingly.

A person's IQ, on the other hand, measures concepts like logical reasoning and math skills rather than creative potential or emotional abilities. People with high IQs may be able to learn certain subjects very quickly and make connections between ideas 【小题8】 will be missed by others. They often have great academic success, 【小题9】 they may struggle to find classes that challenge them. The ability to acquire knowledge does not 【小题10】（necessary）mean people can recognize and manage their own emotional states , however.

   It is a hot summer day， and you feel thirsty. A friend gives you a glass of cold lemonade. How do you feel when you see the glass? Will you describe your feeling as happiness or as pleasure? I believe you will say it is a feeling of pleasure. There is a connection between these two kinds of feelings，and sometimes one causes the other， but they are not the same. Pleasure is more dependent on the five senses while happiness is independent of them.

When you are happy，unpleasant events usually do not disturb you. When you are unhappy，you feel as if everything is against you. You may compensate for it by eating chocolate and sweets because this gives you pleasure，yet you still stay unhappy. A person may smoke cigarettes because it gives him pleasure，yet this does not make him happier，especially if he knows the fact that it is not good for his health.

The physical world is always in a changing state. At each moment a new thing is being created，changed， transformed and then destroyed. This is the normal state of things and no one can change it. If we stay still in a certain state， we are sure to experience unhappiness sooner or later. On the other hand，if we adapt to the environment，nothing can influence our moods. Then outer events have nothing to do with our inner joy of mind.

The room of the mind is filled with worry or fear. If you are free of thinking about them，the room will be empty，and then you will see what is happening and experience it. When your mind stays quiet，you will see that happiness comes from the inside.

【小题1】What does the underlined phrase “compensate for”in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?

A．Making a suitable payment.

B．Dealing with.

C．Providing with a balancing effect.

D．Solving the problems.

【小题2】According to the passage，in which of the following situations can you feel happy?

A．A friend gives you a glass of cold lemonade when you feel thirsty.

B．You eat chocolate and sweets when you feel as if everything is against you.

C．Smoke cigarettes even though you know the fact that it is not good for your health.

D．You are free from worry or fear when your mind stays quiet.

【小题3】We can learn from the passage________.

A．happiness is more dependent on the five senses

B．pleasure sometimes arouses happiness

C．you feel happy when nothing around you stays still in a certain state

D．you feel unhappy because you have to adapt to the environment

【小题4】Which can be the best title for the passage?

A．Pleasure Leads to Happiness

B．Happiness Changes Us

C．Happiness Is Within Us

D．Stay a Quiet Mind