第十九篇 Musical音樂的 Robot機器人 Companion伴侶 Enhances提升 Listener聽眾 Experience體驗Shimi, a musical companion developed開發(fā)by Georgia Techs技術(shù)學(xué)院Center中心for Music Technology技術(shù), recommends songs, dances to the beat and keeps the music pumping based on基于 listener feedback反饋. （第4題答案出處）The smartphone-enabled, one-foot-tall robot（第1題答案出處1） is billed as an interactive 互動的“musical friend”.（第3題答案出題1）“Shimi is designed to change the way that people enjoy and think about their music，” said Professor Gil Weinberg, the robots 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 users mobile device. In other words, if theres an “app” for that, Shimi is ready. For instance, by using the phones 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 phones musical library and immediately plays the song that best最好的matches（第2題答案出處） 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. （第3題答案出題2） 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 users song choices and provide feedback on the music play list.Weinberg hopes other developers will be inspired to create more apps to expand Shimis 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，（第5題答案出處）Weinberg said. “They will enhance your life and pave the way for more intelligent service robots in our lives.”本文的標(biāo)題信息量很大，完全可以猜到全文將以“音樂機器人的特點，以及它們?nèi)绾畏?wù)人類”的主線進行論述。練習(xí)：1.Which of the following is NOT true according to the first three paragraphs? -對錯類A Shimi is a one-foot-tall robot.B Shimi is the creator創(chuàng)造者of the musical companion.C Shimi is a docking station with a“ brain” powered by an Android phone.D Shimi can gain the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the users mobile device.由于此對錯題沒有關(guān)鍵詞，且涉及到文章前三段，排除范圍會比較大。但可通過選項中的醒目詞反向定位關(guān)鍵詞找到答案的位置，排除選項A、C。結(jié)合“有相對性詞往往是對的概念”，排除選項D。2.What does Shimi do if the user taps a beat? -細節(jié)類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完美的-matched匹配的song and plays it in sync with that beat.選項D與答案出處的原文是同義替換，不確定的情況下可借助字典排查3.Which of the following about Shimi is true? -對錯類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創(chuàng)造性的 and interactive互動的.有相對性詞的優(yōu)先考慮，由于about后為Shimi（機器人名），出現(xiàn)頻率過高，需仔細尋找。4.What does the author want to tell us? -主題類A The research研究center中心is developing開發(fā)a stronger更強大的and more versatile多才多藝的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.出現(xiàn)“author”一般為主題類題型，選答案時應(yīng)結(jié)合文章中心句5.Which of the following is Weinbergs assertion主張?-態(tài)度觀點類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 Shimis creative and interactive capabilities are appreciated by most of its users.D Weinberg has reached an agreement with Georgia Tech to commercialize Shimi.通過“assertion主張”將該題分類為態(tài)度觀點類題，答案在全文倒數(shù)第二句話