单选题 Killing a soldier removes one enemy from the battle. Wounding him removes three: the victim and the two who have to carry him from the battlefield. That cynical calculation lies behind the design of many weapons that are intended to incapacitate rather than eliminate. But robotics may change the equation.
The Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot, or BEAR for short, is a highly agile and powerful mobile robot capable of lifting and carrying a combat casualty from a hazardous area across uneven terrain. When it is not saving lives, it can perform difficult and repetitive tasks, such as loading and unloading bullets.
The current prototype BEAR is a small, tracked vehicle with two hydraulic arms and a set of video cameras that provide a view of its surroundings to its operator via a wireless link. It has been developed by TATRC (a research center) in collaboration with Vecna Technologies. Daniel Theobald, BEAR"s inventor and Vecna"s boss, says versatility is at the heart of the robot"s design and "the whole idea from the start was to design a general-purpose robot."
The BEAR"s operator can control the robot in two ways. One, a joystick, can be embedded into the grip of a rifle and manoeuvred by the soldier"s fingertip when he is holding his weapon to his shoulder. The advantage of this is that he does not need to put his gun down to rescue his comrades. The other means of control, a special glove designed by AnthroTronix, can sense the wearer"s hand movements and direct the BEAR accordingly. For example, if the gloved hand moves to the left, the robot will follow. If the hand moves backwards, the robot will slow down or stop.
Over the past year BEAR has been tested at the army"s battle laboratory. It has shown that it can travel at around 12 mph across a fiat surface. It can also move over soil, sand and gravel, through trees and inside buildings, albeit at lower speeds. Several more years of tests are planned, but Dr. Gilbert is optimistic that BEAR will come through them. If it does, soldiers will be able to get on with their primary job of killing the enemy, without having to worry so much about what the enemy has done to their friends.
单选题 The last sentence of the first paragraph most probably implies that ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。根据题干关键词定位到第一段最后一句。其中“equation”原意为“方程式，等式”。此处指代上文所说的“杀一名士兵会使冲突中减少一个敌人，而伤一名士兵却会减少三个敌人”。此段最后一句But robotics may change the equation. 意为“不过，机器人技术或许能改变这种格局”。由此可知B项“机器人能够减少受害者的数目”符合题意，为正确答案。A项“武器的设计目的将会改变”、C项“恶毒的算计思维将被抛弃”和D项“机器人可以改变战场形势”都属于过度推断，故排除。
单选题 Which of the following is NOT true according to the author?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据选项关键词定位到第二、三段。这两段主要讲述机器人的用途、原型及设计理念。C项“BEAR通过电报与它的操作者互动”，而原文提到...to its operator via a wireless link，因此C项表述错误，选择C项。A项“BEAR能够抱起并运送战场上的伤员”和B项“BEAR能够从事艰苦和无聊的工作”是对第二段内容的正确诠释。D项“从一开始，BEAR就被设计为具有多用途”也可以在第三段最后一句找到根据。
单选题 According to Paragraph 4, what"s the advantage of the joystick?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据题干关键词定位到第四段第三句。此句意为“这样设计的好处是士兵无须丢下枪就可以救他的战友”。由此可知C项“操纵杆可以使士兵带着枪去救他的战友”，符合题意，为正确答案。A项“操纵杆可以被镶嵌在枪里”和B项“操纵杆可以被士兵的指尖操控”是对操纵杆使用方式的理解，不属于其优势。D项“操纵杆可以感知士兵的动作”不属于操纵杆的功能，是第二种操作方式——专用手套的功能，此项属于张冠李戴，故排除。
单选题 Judging from the context, the word "albeit" (Para. 5) probably means ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 含义题。根据题干关键词定位到第五段第三句。albeit是一个超纲词，许多考生也许没有见过这个词，但是通过联系上下文，考生完全可以做对此题。第五段前两句是说“过去一年里，BEAR在陆军机动作战实验室里接受测试，结果显示它能以每小时12英里左右的速度通过平坦路面”。通过第三句中的“also”我们也能推断出：第三句是对第二句的补充说明。第三句意为“此外，它还能在泥地、沙地和砾石路面上移动，能穿越树林及建筑物内部，尽管速度要低一些。”由此可知A项“尽管”，符合题意，为正确答案。
单选题 What is the author"s attitude towards the function of BEAR in the future?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 态度题。此题需要对全文脉络有整体的把握。第一段提到“许多武器在设计时就运用了这种恶毒的算计思维”时用了cynical这个贬义词，最后一句说But robotics may change the equation，这时我们可以初步推测出作者对机器人的态度是积极的、赞成的。接着对BEAR战场机器人的用途、原型、设计理念、操作方式等作了客观介绍，最后一段提到了Gilbert博士对BEAR的乐观态度，然后作者评论到“如果事实果真如此，士兵们就能够专心执行杀敌这个首要任务，而无须太担心敌人对他们的战友下了什么毒手”。因此可以推测出B项“乐观的”为正确答案。A项“模糊的”、C项“不疑的”、D项“消极的”均与原文不符。