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Everyone has probably seen a movie or two about robots going against man. As a kid it was interesting, but not a reality. But today, when we look at how far scientists have come, it's not just a funny thought but a real possibility.
Honda has already created a robot with eyes, legs, arms and hands and it can act just like a person. There is no end to what a robot could do in the future. Just think what we can do in twenty to thirty years. We’re dealing with almost an entire new species (种类) of human-like robots that could be cleverer than us. Can we continue to use these robots in a way that they serve us, or will they become so wise that they will want independence (独立)?
I am really not sure just how far scientists are going to perfect robots. But once this type of robot is made, they will be able to think, make decisions, sense the movement of others and decide what it wants to do.
A new invention has led to the introduction of a female robot, which was introduced at an entertainment show in Vegas. The robot called Roxy sells for between seven and ten thousand dollars. It is built to accompany (陪伴) females. This female (女性的) robot companion is called true companion and you can find such robots on the Internet. Robots used to have limited uses, but now they are almost in every field. This has opened the door to many dangerous possibilities in the future.
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1)每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2)只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Life at the camp isn't exact what I expected. We have to get up early to make our beds before Miss Li come. After breakfast, we have some of free time. Yesterday morning I went fishing, but the only thing I catch was a tree branch. In the afternoon, there are different activity like hiking. They're fun, so nothing new for me. Yesterday, I was in charge of prepare the hot dogs, but I dropped it in the fire. The best part of camp is at night, where we sit around a campfire and tell stories.
1）对Mr. Smith表示感谢；
2）希望保持联系；
3）邀请他来中国游玩。
注意：1）词数100左右；
2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3）开头和结尾已经写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Smith,
How time flies! I've been back home. ……
Best wishes.
Yours,
Li Hua
Language learning apps are very popular now and offer opportunities to learn vocabulary and practice grammar. But there has been a discussion about just how effective such apps can be.
Among the most popular apps are Duolingo and Busuu. Previous research found positive results on the use of them. But these apps mainly concentrated on study with learners who had signed up for language courses and they only worked as afterschool support, so the results were not always reliable. A recent study of 4,095 Busuu users has been carried out aimed to find out if users can actually learn a language with an app.
Busuu provides learning materials for 12 different languages. It offers a special model where some content is available for free while some content is not. We find that its users are an even mix of men and women. More than half consider themselves to be at the beginner level as there is a decrease in users as their language levels go up. Most people use the app because of personal interest, or because they want to study or live abroad. Female users tend to use it less often but for longer periods of time than male users.
Getting any feedback on Busuu depends on whether your answer is correct or not. While it is helpful, this is not the sort of feedback language teachers prefer, as it does not explain why the answer is right or wrong. In spite of this, feedback in the app is very highly rated.
More than 92% of respondents state that the app has met their expectations and 86% rate the app very highly. In fact, more than 80% of the users surveyed strongly agree that using the app has helped them improve their knowledge of the language they are learning.
Besides, language learning apps also create an environment where mistakes are only known to the users, and this can address the performance anxiety that many learners suffer from when asked to speak a foreign language. So language teachers should encourage their students to use them to do the grammar work, leaving precious class time for more language communication.
If Confucius (孔子) were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He'd need a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on this special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy (哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks (缺点) of Westerners' philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
