Why do human beings still risk their lives under ground and doing one of the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs in the world? It is an increasingly urgent question, given the recent mining accidents in Sago, W. Va and Huntington, Utah. A small group of engineers and robotics experts look forward to a day in the not-too-distant future when robots and other technology do most of the dangerous mining work.
Robotic technology, in particular, holds much promise, McAteer says, especially when it comes to mapping mines and rescuing trapped miners --- the special operations of the mining industry.
One of the first mining robots was developed five years ago at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. It was called Groundhog. It used lasers(激光器) to “see” in dark tunnels and map abandoned mines—some of the most dangerous work in the business.
The latest design is called Cave Crawler. It’s a bit smaller than Groundhog，and even more advanced. It can take photos and videos and has more sensors that can detect the presence of dangerous gases. Incredibly，the robot has a real sense of logic. If it comes across an obstacle it gets momentarily confused. It has to think about what to do and where to go next. Sometimes it throws a fit just like a real person.
The greatest problem, though, is cost. The money of the earliest research project was provided by the government, but that money had dried up, and it’s not clear where future money will come from. Partly for that reason, and partly because of advances in safety, mining is not nearly as dangerous as it was in the past. Since 1990, fatalities(致命性) have declined by 67% and injuries by 51% , according to the National Mining Association.
Some experts predict that robots in mines will serve much of the same function that they do in the automotive industry. The robots do the most boring and dangerous jobs，but won’t get rid of the need for human workers.
小题1:The latest robot is more advanced than Groundhog, mainly because ____.
A．it can map abandoned mines
B．it can see in the dark tunnels
C．it’s smaller than Groundhog
D．it has a real sense of logic小题2:The underlined phrase “throws a fit” in paragraph 4 probably means“______”
A．gets angry
B．gets sick
C．becomes hungry
D．becomes cheerful小题3:We can infer from the last paragraph that _____ .
A．robots in mines will serve much in the automotive industry
B．there will be no need for human workers in mines
C．the mine robots will have a very bright future
D．robots in mines only do some simple jobs now小题4:We can infer from the text that ______.
A．the mining robots do most of the mining work at present
B．groundhog can discover the presence of dangerous gases
C．experts are trying to make robots help miners with dangerous work
D．robots cannot do dangerous work in dark areas小题5:What can be the best title for the text?
A．Mining Accidents in America
B．Robots in Mines
C．Cave crawler, the Latest Robot
D．The Future of Robots
