理工B阅读理解新增文章第十九篇Musical Robot Companion Enhances Listener Experience Shimi, a musical companion developed by Georgia Tech’s Center for Music Technology, recommends songs, dances to the beat and keeps the music pumping based on listener feedback. The smartphone-enabled, one-foot-tall robot is billed as an interactive “musical friend”.“Shimi is designed to change the way that people enjoy and think about their music，” said Professor Gil Weinberg, the robot’s creator. He will unveil the robot at the June 27th Google I/O conference in San Francisco. A band of three Shimi robots will perform for guests, dancing in sync with music created in the lab and composed according to its movements.Shimi is essentially a docking station with a “brain” powered by an Android phone. Once docked, the robot gains the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the user’s mobile device. In other words, if there’s an “app” for that, Shimi is ready. For instance, by using the phone’s camera and face-detecting software，Shimi can follow a listener around the room and position its “ears”，or speakers, for optimal sound. Another recognition feature is based on rhythm and tempo. If the user taps a beat, Shimi analyzes it, scans the phone’s musical library and immediately plays the song that best matches the suggestion. Once the music starts，Shimi dances to the rhythm.“Many people think that robots are limited by their programming instructions, said Music Technology Ph. D. candidate Mason Bretan. “Shimi shows us that robots ca n be creative and interactive. ’’Future apps in the works will allow the user to shake their head in disagreement or wave a hand in the air to alert Shimi to skip to the next song or increase/decrease the volume. The robot will also have the capability to recommend new music based on the user’s song choices and provide feedback on the music play list.Weinberg hopes other developers will be inspired to create more apps to expand Shimi’s creative and interactive capabilities. “I believe that our center is ahead of a revolution that will see more robots in homes.” Weinberg said.Weinberg is in the process of commercializing Shimi through an exclusive licensing agreement with Georgia Tech. Weinberg hopes to make the robot available to consumers by the 2013 holiday season. “If robots are going to arrive in homes, we think that they will be this kind of machines一 small, entertaining and fun，，，Weinberg said. “They will enhance your life and pave the way for more intelligent service robots in our lives.”词汇：pump v.用抽水机抽;不断播放(音乐)scan v.扫描;浏览skip v.轻跳，跳跃sync n.同步，同时;v.使同步tempo n.速度;节奏注释：1. Georgia Tech:全称是 Georgia Institute of Technology,佐治亚理工学院，建于 1885 年，位于亚特兰大市中心。
佐治亚理工学齒是美国南部最大的公立理工学院,也是全美最顶尖的理工学院之一，排名仅次于麻省理工学院(MIT)和加州理工学院(CalTech)。
2. pump:不断播放(音乐)。
例如:This radio station recently pumps out pop music. (这家广播电台近来连续播放流行音乐。
)3. smartphone-enabled:由智能手机系统支持的4. is billed as:相当于 is advertised as，意为“被标榜为”。
5. docking station: 插接站,扩充基座，扩展插口-6. Android:(科幻小说里的)机器人。
本文指用于智能手机和便携式计算机移动设备的一种以Linus为基础的开放源代码操作系统，通过接口和插槽连接多种外部设备。
目前Android 尚未有统一中文译名，国内较多人翻译成“安卓”或“安致”。
据2012年2月数据, Android 占据全球智能手机操作系统市场52.5%的份额,中国市场占有率为68.4%。
7. dock：对接8. the sensing and musical generation capabilities:传感和音乐生成能力9. app:应用程序(=application)10. if the user taps a beat:如果用户打出某个(音乐)拍子11. in the works:正在准备阶段;在进行中或准备中12. intelligent service robots:智能服务型机器人练习：1. Which of the following is NOT true according to the first three paragraphs?A Shimi is a one-foot tall robot.B Shimi is the creator of the musical companion.C Shimi is a docking station with a“ brain” powered by an Android phone.D Shimi can gain the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the user’s mobile device.2. What does Shimi do if the user taps a beat?A It stores the beat in the musical library.B It transmits the beat to the docking station.C It positions its speakers for optimal sound.D It selects a perfectly-matched song and plays it in sync with that beat.3. Which of the following about Shimi is true?A Robots are limited by their programming instructions, and Shimi is no exception.B Present apps allow the user to shake their head to alert Shimi to skip to the next song.C Existing apps allow the user to wave a hand to alert Shimi to turn up/down the volume.D Shimi can be creative and interactive.4. What does the author want to tell us?A The research center is developing a stronger and more versatile Shimi.B Weinberg only expects staffs from Georgia Tech. to develop more apps forShimi.C Shimi is not yet technologically ready for commercialization.D Robots such as Shimi are created for large corporations rather than homes.5. Which of the following is Weinberg’s assertion?A Shimi as a robotic musical companion can be applied to all types of smart phones.B human lives will be filled with more fun if Shimi is going to arrive in homes.C Shimi's creative and interactive capabilities are appreciated by most of its users.D Weinberg has reached an agreement with Georgia Tech to commercialize Shimi.答案与题解：1. B在前三段中均可找到与选项A、C、D相应的句子，强调Shimi是一种电子设备;B与原文不符, Shimi不是该机器人的发明者,Gil Weinberg教授才是the robot’s creator。