Missing friends who live far away? Or just need a little family comfort after a long day? Sometimes you just need a hug(擁抱). And sometimes there’s just no one around to give you one. So what do you do? How about a virtual (虛擬的) hug?Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have invented a social media vest (社交背心) that allows people to give hugs to their friends, family and loved ones on Facebook.
The vest is called Like-A-Hug, which is connected(連接) with your Facebook page. Whenever Facebook friends “Like” a photo, video or anything you post on the network, a fan will blow air into the vest to give you a hug. Hugs can also be sent back to the sender by pressing the vest to lose air, according to the website of designer Melissa Chow.
She worked with Andy Payne and Phil Seaton at the MIT Media Lab to build the black vest, making the wearer “feel the warmth, encouragement, support, or love that we feel when we receive hugs.” Melissa Chow said, “We came up with the idea over a free talk about long-distance relationships and the disadvantages of video chat interfaces (視頻聊天界面) like Skype.”
Chow and her workmates actually finished work on the vest last year, but it’s only just recently drawn the attention of the public.
Chow provided no pricing or ordering information for the Like-A-Hug vest, so don’t expect to see people blowing up all over town just yet.
Although researchers believe that Like-A-Hug will cause a worldwide storm, a lot of people think it can’t take the place of the feeling of a real hug. Body temperature or the taste of hair and so on is far from what a social vest can match.
小題1:What is the main purpose of the text?
| A．To show how to design a magic vest. |
| B．To suggest a newly-built website. |
| C．To introduce a virtual social media vest. |
| D．To explain the weak points of Skype. |
小題2:The vest “Like-A-Hug” would probably be most helpful to ________.
| A．those who play computer games |
| B．those who need comfort or support |
| C．those who design chat interfaces |
| D．those who like to give others hugs |
小題3:What can we learn about Melissa Chow?
| A．She built the vest all by herself. |
| B．She expects to sell the vest at a high price. |
| C．She made the vest public last year. |
| D．She got the idea for a vest while chatting. |
小題4:We can learn from the text that the Like-A-Hug vest ________.
| A．can be ordered on Facebook |
| B．can take the place of a real hug |
| C．can not only be used by Facebook users |
| D．produces a hug when you get a Facebook “Like” |
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