拉斯维加斯消费电子展上的“小玩意”

谢钰洪

The consumer tech show in Las Vegas features thousands of companies—from big names like Google and Samsung to unknown startups—showing off their latest products. Here are the gadgets that grabbed our attention.

Helpful household robots

At this year’s event， Samsung showed off a yellow tennis ball-like robot named Ballie—that acts as your personal assistant， following you around the house and helping with chores. In the future， for example， Samsung says its built-in camera can detect spills and tell your smart vacuum to go clean them up. Or， if an elderly person falls， Ballie can roll over so they can ask it to call 911. Lovot， a companion robot， was also a hit at CES. It’s cute， gives hugs and， with the camera on top of its head， doubles as a home monitoring system.

Robokitties

And then there were the robo-cats. A startup called Elephant Robotics developed a robotic pet cat called MarsCat. The bionic feline can walk， stretch， play with toys， avoid obstacles and bite its nails. It can also recognize human faces and knows 20 commands and phrases， including “sit” and “come here.” It may be the only time a cat will listen to you.

Flying taxis （and bikes） that may or may not ever get off the ground

Uber and Hyundai unveiled a flying taxi that may eventually transform your ridesharing trips. The first prototype（雛形） will be ready in 2023， according to a Hyundai

spokesperson. If that wasn’t enough， there was the Manta5 Hydrofoil Bike—one part bike， one part plane. The e-bike is designed to imitate cycling， but on water—and it has a fully waterproof battery and motor. The product has been in development for eight years.

（材料出自“Forbes”网站，有删改）

1. What can Ballie do for humans now？

A. It can give an emergency call.

B. It can help do housework.

C. It can identify human faces.

D. It can work as a home monitoring system.

2. What’s the similarity of the flying taxi and Manta 5 Hydrofoil Bike？

A. They has a water-proof battery.

B. They are new transportation choices.

C. They can transform themselves easily.

D. They can fly in the air.

3. In which section of a website can you read this passage？

A. Entertainment.         B. Education.

C. Technology.             D. Health.

1.B。解析：细节理解题。根据“Helpful household robots”这部分内容中的“At this year’s event， Samsung showed off a yellow tennis ball-like robot named Ballie—that acts as your personal assistant， following you around the house and helping with chores.”，我们可知，在活动中，三星展示了一款名为Ballie的黄色网球状机器人，它可以充当你的私人助理，跟随你在家里转，帮助你做家务。故选B。

2.D。解析：细节理解题。根据材料最后一部分的“Flying taxis （and bikes） that may or may not ever get off the ground”，我们可知，两者都可以作为新的交通出行工具。故选D。

3.C。解析：推理判断题。根据材料第一段中的“The consumer tech show in Las Vegas features thousands of companies—from big names like Google and Samsung to unknown startups—showing off their latest products.”，我们可知，拉斯维加斯的消费电子展上，成千上万家公司包括谷歌、三星和其他初创公司展出了它们最新的科技产品。因而，这篇文章大概率出现在网站的科技版块，故选C。