Day 5阅读理解(5)(议论文)
Passage 1
文体：议论文词数：326 限时：6分钟
I log onto a computer at the doctor’s office to say I have arrived and then wait until a voice calls me into the examination room.
There, a robotic nurse directs me onto a device and then takes my blood pressure. Some time later, in steps the doctor, who is also a robot. He notes down my symptoms and gives me a prescription(处方). I pay for my visit using a credit card machine and return home without having met another human being.
When I call my dentist’s office and actually get a human being on the line, I am thrilled. And when I see the introduction of yet more self-service checkout stations at the grocery store, I feel like shouting, “When it comes to cashiers, make mine human, please!”
After all, human cashiers sometimes give you a store coupon(优惠券) for items you are buying. Even more than that, real-life cashiers often take an interest in particularly cute children, which can brighten a young mother’s day. A cashier may also show compassion(同情) for an elderly person struggling to get that last penny out of her purse.
What technological device would do, any of this?I don’t want to go back to the Stone Age, but I’m also worried about a world run by
machines. Sometimes when you’re chatting with someone, you discover things you need to know. Maybe a receptionist needs prayers said for a sick child. Maybe a salesperson can offer a bit of encouragement to a customer who is feeling tired.
Machines can be efficient and cost-effective and they often get the job done just fine. But they lack an element so important to everyday life.
Call it the spirit, the soul or the heart. It is something no machine will ever have. It is being human that prompts us to smile at others, which may be what they need at that moment.
1.What’s the author’s purpose in writing the first two paragraphs?
A.To indicate high technology can make our future life very easy.
B.To describe a possible future scene where robots take control of our life.
C.To warn readers of the possible dangers of robotic nurses and doctors.
D.To predict how technology can affect the way we see a doctor in the future.
2.Why does the author prefer being served by humans rather than by robots?
A.Robots are indifferent and emotionless.
B.Robots can’t provide efficient services.
C.Robots don’t offer to give store coupons.
D.Robots are unable to do a job as well as humans.
3.What’s the author’s attitude toward machines?
A.He wishes one day they would come to life.
B.He is absolutely against their existence in his life.
C.He doesn’t like they get involved in his life too much.
D.He is afraid they would take the place of human beings.
Passage 2
文体：议论文词数：379 限时：8分钟In a class this past December, after I wrote some directions on the board for students about their final examination, one young woman quickly took a picture of the board using her smart phone. When I looked in her direction, she apologized, “Sorry. Was it wrong to take a picture?”
“I can’t read my own handwriting，” the young woman explained. “It’s best if I take a picture of your writing so I can understand the notes.”
That remark started a class-wide discussion about taking a picture instead of taking notes. For those in the photo-taking camp, motivations extended beyond their inability to comprehend their own handwriting. Some took pictures of notes because they knew their phone was a safe place to store material. They might lose paper, they reasoned, but they wouldn’t lose their phones. Some took photos because they wanted to record exactly the manner in which I had noted information on the board.
