小卷速测(二) 完形填空+阅读理解D+回答问题 
(限时:20分钟)
Ⅰ. 完形填空
Minh was a pottery lover and he was very interested in his grandmother’s pottery studio. So Minh was excited when his grandmother Nana invited him into her pottery studio and told him she would teach him how to make pottery. After all, Nana didn’t give all her grandchildren such a(n) 1 . Minh looked forward to putting his hands into some cold clay(陶土) and placing his bowl in the heated kiln until it hardened like stone.
“Be 2 with that,” Nana said as Minh picked up one of the bowls. The boy carefully put the bowl back on the shelf and 3 his hands inside his pockets. He was anxious to get started on the lesson Nana had promised him. And he didn’t want to risk losing that 4 by breaking any of her finished pieces of pottery.
Five hours later, Minh was disappointed and tired. His black work that looked more like a rock than a bowl, was a 5 on the first try. Then he made another try but it was 6 any better. However, he had at least worked out how to make a smooth opening in the center of the day. Meanwhile, Nana was keeping busy. A deep, narrow bowl and a wide, shallow bowl 7 on Nana’s worktable. Her practiced hands began to 8 another bowl. “I’ll never get it!” Minh said, watching her work.
Nana looked at her grandson and sighed, “Don’t worry, you’ll get it,” she encouraged him. “The only way you won’t learn is if you give up.”
( )1.A.invitation B.introduction C.presentation D.suggestion
( )2.A.patient B.careful C.concerned D.pleased
( )3.A.stuck B.reached C.threw D.warmed
( )4.A.advice B.dream C.chance D.courage
( )5.A.success B.surprise C.failure D.favourite
( )6.A.certainly B.hardly C.probably D.nearly
( )7.A.danced B.slept C.rose D.rested
( )8.A.change B.wash C.touch D.shape
Ⅱ. 阅读理解
Since the first person walked on the moon in 1969, technology has greatly helped space exploration. In recent years scientists have built a special robot to accompany astronauts on space missions(任务). Because this robot looks and moves like a person, a scientist calls it a humanoid robot. The latest model of the humanoid robot is known as R2, short for Robonaut 2.
R2 was first launched into space on February 24, 2011. It was built by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) and the car producer General Motors(GM).
R2 weighs 330 pounds and costs $2.5 million to build. It has arms and a head—filled with vision equipment—but no legs. Its “brain”, or computer, is in its stomach. R2’s arms can hold 20 pounds. Each bendable finger has 5 pounds of grasping force. R2’s hands are also skillful. Since its hands are shaped like human hands, R2 can use human tools to complete tasks traditionally performed by astronauts. “Astronauts absolutely have their day packed from the minute they wake up until they go to bed. If Robonaut can provide just an hour’s worth of relief to the astronauts doing something they don’t want to do, that would make it worth it right there,” says Nic Radford, the deputy project manager of R2.
One advantage of working with R2 will be that it can’t complain about its work! Astronauts will also appreciate the fact that the robot can perform its duties without constant supervision(监管). R2 can be assigned a task and then checked on periodically. If R2 does not complete a task correctly, astronauts will be able to make minor adjustments to adapt(适应) the robot’s behavior so that the task gets done right.