Delivery robots are invading university campus

湖南双峰县第三中学 谢双辉

题材 科技 体裁 新闻报道文章词数346 难度 ★★★ 建议用时7′

机器人的运用越来越广泛了，最近，出现在大学校园里的送餐机器人吸引了无数好奇的目光。让我们一起来看看吧！

海词积累

1.elicit v.引出；诱出（尤指信息或反应）

2.dorm n.宿舍

3.autonomously adv.自主地；有自主权地

4.capture v.赢得；取得

5.retail n.零售

In the first days 25 delivery robots unexpectedly appeared on George Mason University's campus in January.The cool-size robots were designed to deliver food on demand across campus.They appeared to elicit curious glances and numerous photos.

Each robot is opened using a delivery code and can cover as much as 9 kilometers.They're frequently seen making the 15-minute trip from campus restaurants to a handful of nearby dorms and other buildings across campus.In the two months since the robots arrived at the school,extra 1,500 breakfast orders have been delivered autonomously.

During the first day of deliveries,the machines were flooded by so many dinner orders that school officials had to pull the plug,shutting off orders so that robots weren't operating late into the night,far behind schedule.Two months later,breakfast has replaced dinner as the go-to meal for robot delivery.

College students are leading users of food delivery apps and place a high value on convenience and having access to various options when they dine.During the morning hours,there is generally more emphasis on speed than any other part of the day.

“Breakfast is an easy meal to miss.Imagine you're running late for class or you don't want to leave your bed after an evening of‘studying’,”Starship Technologies said in a statement.“Our robots allow the breakfast to come to you,at a time you want.We've found this to be very popular with students.”

With a growing number of students using delivery services,the robots are part of an ambitious plan to keep some of that business on campus. “Why can't we do it and capture part of those sales also?”said Mark Kraner,executive director of campus retail operations.“It will benefit the students and the businesses paying rent here on campus.”

The robots also provide campus officials with valuable data showing what time students are eating,where that food is coming from and how meal plans are being used.That information could lead to changes in how the university serves students over time.

Reading Check

1.What were the cool-size robots designed to do?（no more than 10 words）

2.How each robot is opened according to paragraph 2?（no more than 8 words）

3.Why did school officials pull the plug to shut off orders?（no more than 12 words）

4.What extra function do the robots have?（no more than 15 words）

Language Study

Sentence for writing

“with+宾语+非谓语动词”结构作状语

随着越来越多的学生使用送餐服务，这些机器人是一项雄心勃勃的计划的一部分，该计划旨在将部分业务保留在校园内。