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A group of students in Japan have created an eerily (怪异的) realistic robot baby to motivate young people
to start planning a family and boost the country's birth rate. The automated doll developed at the University of
Tsukuba, called Yotara, giggles (咯咯地笑) and "wakes up" when a rattle is shaken.
He can become angry and doze off like a real baby and smiles when his stomach is rubbed. The robot can
also sneeze and have a runny nose, thanks to a heated water pump system. The students of the Graduate School
of Comprehensive Human Sciences created the robot with touch sensors. A projector beams ( 照射) the facial
features onto a warm silicon balloon which makes up Yotara's face. The robot's facial expressions and body
movements change according to pressure applied to different parts of its body.
The information collected through touch sensors under the silicon skin is processed by a special programme.
It then changes the baby's expression projected onto the balloon-face from behind. Its head with a bonnet (童
帽), a colourful blanket covers the robot's limbs which stimulate wiggling with the help of a geared motor. "We
wanted to create a new type of robot that is soft, cuddly and cute," said project leader Hiroki Kunimura.
"We'd like people to experience the innocent, joyful expressions typical of small babies. Through this
experience, it would be great if some people started feeling that they wanted to have their own baby, if they
started feeling that working is not everything."
Japan's birth rate is among the lowest in the developed world at 1.37%, compared to 2.12% in the United
States and l.84% in Britain. According to a ministry of labor and welfare report, Japan is facing, serious
economic consequences with over a quarter of its citizens expected to be aged over 65 by 2015. The population
is expected to shrink by a third within 50 years if the birth rate does not increase.
1. What is the purpose of creating such a robot baby in Japan according to the text?
A. To help old people who live alone.
B. To give small children a great deal of pleasure.
C. To comfort the young people who are lonely.
D. To increase Japan's birth rate.
2. It can be inferred from the text that ____.
A. the robot baby's head is covered with a bonnet and a colourful blanket
B. people would like to experience the innocent, joyful expressions typical of small babies
C. some people think working is everything in Japan
D. Japan's birth rate is the lowest in the world
3. What is Japan's problem according to the author?
A. Most young people don't want to have a family.
B. Japan will lack workforce by 2015.
C. The lifetime of Japanese will decrease in future.
D. Japan's birth rate is increasing at present.
