Studio Classroom 空中英語教室 – August 2019

18

hen you think of robots, what is the first thing

that comes to mind? Do you think of science

fiction movies like Star Wars, where robots

of all shapes and sizes are part of daily life?

Robots were once just a product of fiction.

The word itself comes from the play

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written in 1920 by Czech author Karel

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artificial humans to perform manual

labor and other everyday tasks.

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They take many forms and are programmed

to perform any number of jobs. Modern robots

can do a wide variety of things, from vacuuming the

floors in your home to working in factories. Robots are

even exploring the surface of Mars. But there is an

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problem: What humans find difficult is relatively easy for

a robot. However, what humans find easy is extremely

complicated for a robot. For example, picking up

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see robots gathering up random pieces

of laundry anytime soon. That kind of

chore is very difficult for a robot.

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robots handle things in the world

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~ What would you like to see

robots of the future do?

~ Do you think that having robots do more

things for us is a good or bad thing? Why?

Talk About It

Q by Joshua D. Bickle / PAGE DESIGN BY MICHAEL TSE

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TECHNOLOGY
XXX2019 SEPTEMBER 18, 19
A scene from R.U.R.,
showing three robots
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