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We use robots for tasks like building cars and sorting mail, but can we use them as stand­up comedians (µ¥¿ÚÏàÉùÑÝÔ±) in the future£¿One robot called RoboThespian has been trying out some jokes.

Researchers from Queen Mary University of  London  organized RoboThespian's performances  to test whether it could be as funny as a human.

The electronic comedian went on stage for a show with British comedians Andrew O'Neill and Tiernan Douieb, performing the same jokes as Douieb but with a few changes—it is a robot after all. The robot has some advantages over human comedians, too.

“We used computer vision and audio software to notice the response of each audience member, something a human comedian cannot do£¬” said Kleomenis Katevas, the robot's programmer.“The machine used this information to decide who to look at and which gestures to use.”

The robot also has other advantages over human comedians. Impressions of other people and sounds are very popular ways for performers to get laughs, and according to New Scientist reporter Celeste Biever, the robot can perform recorded sound by simply playing it back. It can also act out programmed pieces from Shakespeare or just about anything else.

“Another of the robot's advantages is more surprising. Because I feel less empathy (ͬ¸Ð) for RoboThespian than for the human comedians£¬I feel more relaxed during his performances£¬” Biever added. And of course, RoboThespian is unlikely to feel as nervous as other comedians, or be affected too badly by an audience member shouting at it.

The Queen Mary researchers say they're most interested in how audiences can be part of live performances. So in the future, we may be watching robots performing exactly the show we want to see. Do you think it's time for the robot to write some more jokes?

21£®Why was RoboThespian originally developed£¿____

A£®To help human comedians perform better on stage.

B£®To find out if robots could understand human jokes.

C£®To see if robots could perform like human comedians.

D£®To assist human comedians to make up some better jokes.

22£®What does Celeste Biever think of robot comedians£¿____

A£®He believes the future of comedy lies in them.

B£®He considers their jokes as rather poor and boring.

C£®He thinks they aren't suitable for live performances.

D£®He feels more comfortable watching their performances.

23£®What is the article mainly talking about£¿____

A£®The robot comedian RoboThespian and its advantages.

B£®Robot technology used to help us with our future daily tasks.

C£®Predictions of the comedy of the future and concerns about it.

D£®A comparison between human comedians and robot comedians.

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