阅读理解
As prices drop and
their functionality expands, you can expect to see humanoid(类人的) robots in more places, including schools, airports, and hospitals.
Will they influence human behavior?
In a study published
recently, scientists found that mean robots can help people concentrate. The
experiment, published in Science Robotics, was based on something called the
Stroop Task, which is widely used in psychology and described as the "gold
standard" of attentional tests. It challenges participants to name the
colors of words and ignore their meanings while calculating reaction time.
The researchers put a
modern twist on the task, though-this time, there was a robot in the room. The
goal was to see if the presence of a robot would affect cognition(认知), and the researchers found it did, but only when the robot was
mean.
How do you make a
robot mean? In this case, a meter-tall toy robot called a Meccanoid G15KS was
made to respond to seven questions. The good robots told jokes, spoke about
friendship, and described test subjects as nice. The bad robots replied to
questions with passive aggressive comebacks, such as "I enjoy doing
analysis programs but you would not understand" and statements like
"I do not value friendship. "Then the participants rated the robots.
"The more participants thought the robot made them uncomfortable, the
greater the improvement of their Stroop performance was, " the researchers
wrote. "Not surprisingly, the bad robot was rated as less warm, friendly
and pleasant than the good robot. "
The study authors
argue that robots are crossing the line in some situations from machines to
social agents. That will change how humans interact with(与……相互作用) and behave around them.
"Similar to a
human's presence, the presence of a robot might not be neutral(无倾向性的) in situations like school or in the office when you are working.
"Nicolas Spatola, one of the study authors said in an email, " So
before your boss decides to introduce a robot in your office, 1t could be a
good idea to evaluate how you feel about it and how it can positively or
negatively impact your work, how comfortable you may feel with it or if you
feel it to be a threat."
Just 58 students from
University Clermont Auvergne in France participated in the experiment but the
researchers found an increase in the speed of correct answers among those in
the presence of a mean robot when compared to those who were with a nice robot
or alone.
In the future, robots
will almost certainly become more and more common in nursing homes, hotel
check-in desks, behind the wheel, and elsewhere. "If we want to improve
the use of robots in our daily life, there seems to be a need to first
understand how Human Robot Interaction can impact human psychology, "
Spatola said.
(1)
What was the finding of the new study?
A . The use of robots is rising.
B . Humanoid robots can be mean.
C . Unkind robots can sharpen our focus.
D . Robots are becoming more functional.
(2)
According to the passage, how did the participants judge the robots?
A . By their words.
B . By their actions.
C . By their appearance.
D . By the Stroop Task.
(3)
Which of the following might Nicolas Spatola agree with?
A . Be careful about using robots.
B . Leave the robot if it presents a threat.
C . Robots will have a good impact on offices.
D . Robots may replace humans in the workplace.
(4)
What was the drawback of the study?
A . The participants were too young.
B . The study method wasn't scientific.
C . There was a slight difference in speed.
D . The number of the participants was too small.
(5)
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A . Scientists have already developed humanoid robots.
B . Humanoid robots have already found its way into our daily life.
C . Humanoid robots will certainly come into our daily life sooner or later.
D . There is no difficulty we'll meet with before humanoid robots are widely used.
答案: C
A
A
D
C