【導(dǎo)讀】tositaroundfeelingsorryformyself.Aswelasgoingtothemoviesandfootballmatcheswithmyfriends,Ispendalotoftimewithmypets.Ihavetworabbits,aparot,atankfuloffishandatortoise.TolookaftermypetsproperlytakesalotoftimebutIfinditworthwhile.Ialsohavetodoalotofwork,especiallyifIhavebeenawayforawhile.Inmanywaysmydisabilityhashelpedmegrowstrongerpsychologicallyandbeemoreindependent.Ihavetoworkhardtoliveanormallifeb

　　

【正文】 proval. Di sabl ed peopl e shoul d have the sam e opportuni ti es as abl ebodi ed peopl e to enjoy the ci nem a and to do so wi th di gni ty. I am sure m any peopl e wi l prai se your ci nem a i f you desi gn i t wi th good acces for di sabled peopl e. It wil al so m ake the ci nem a owners happy i f m ore peopl e go as they wi l m ake higher profi ts! Yours si ncerel y, Al i ce Major Uni t 2 SATISFACTION GUARANTEED Larry Belm ont worked for a pany that m ade robots. Recentl y i t had begun experi m enti ng with a househol d robot. It was goi ng to be tested out by Larry’s wife, Cl ai re. Cl aire di dn’t want the robot i n her house, especi al l y as her husband woul d be absent for three weeks, but Larry persuaded her that the robot woul dn’t harm her or al ow her to be harm ed. It woul d be a bonus. However, when she fi rst saw the robot, she felt al arm ed. H i s nam e was Tony and he seem ed m ore li ke a hum an than a machi ne. H e was tal l and handsom e wi th sm ooth hai r and a deep voi ce al though his faci al expressi on never changed. O n the second m orni ng Tony, wearing an apron, brought her breakfast and then asked her whether she needed hel p dressi ng. She felt em barassed and qui ckl y tol d hi m to go. It was di sturbi ng and fri ghteni ng that he l ooked so hum an. O ne day, Cl ai re m enti oned that she di dn’t thi nk she was cl ever. Tony sai d that she m ust feel very unhappy to say that. Cl ai re thought i t was ri di cul ous to be offered sym pathy by a robot. But she began to trust hi m. She tol d him how she was overweight and thi s made her feel unhappy. Al so she fel t her hom e wasn’t el egant enough for som eone li ke Larry who wanted to im prove his soci al posi ti on. She wasn’t li ke Gl adys Cl affern, one of the ri chest and m ost powerful wom en around. As a favor Tony prom i sed to hel p Cl aire m ake hersel f sm arter and her hom e m ore el egant. So Cl ai re borrowed a pil e of books from the li brary for him to read, or rather, scan. She looked at hi s fi ngers wi th wonder as they turned each page and suddenly reached for hi s hand. She was am azed by hi s fi ngernai ls and the softness and warm th of his ski n. H ow absurd, she thought. H e was just a m achine. Tony gave Cl ai re a new hai rcut and changed the m akeup she wore. As he was not al owed to ac pany her to the shops, he wrote out a li st of i tem s for her. Cl aire went i nto the ci ty and bought curtai ns, cushi ons, a carpet and beddi ng. Then she went i nto a jewel ry shop to buy a neckl ace. When the cl erk at the counter was rude to her, she rang Tony up and told the cl erk to speak to him . The cl erk imm edi atel y changed hi s atti tude. Cl ai re thanked Tony, teli ng him that he was a “dear”. As she turned around, there stod Gl adys Cl afern. H ow awful to be di scovered by her, Cl aire thought. By the amused and surpri sed l ook on her face, Cl ai re knew that Gl adys thought she was havi ng an affai r. After al l, she knew Clai re’s husband’s nam e was Larry, not Tony. When Cl ai re got hom e, she wept with anger i n her armchair. Gl adys was everythi ng Cl ai re wanted to be. “You can be li ke her,” Tony tol d her and suggested that she i nvi te Gl adys and her fri ends to the house the ni ght before he was to l eave and Larry was to return. By that tim e, Tony expected the house to be pl etel y transform ed. Tony worked steadi ly on the im provem ents. Cl aire tri ed to hel p once but was too cl um sy. She fel l off a l adder and even though Tony was i n the next room , he m anaged to catch her i n tim e. H e hel d her fi rm ly i n hi s arm s and she fel t the warm th of his body. She scream ed, pushed him away and ran to her room for the rest for the day. The ni ght of the party arri ved. The clock struck eight. The guests woul d be arri vi ng soon and Cl aire tol d Tony to go i nto another room. At that m oment, Tony fol ded hi s arm s around her, bendi ng hi s face cl ose to hers. She cri ed out “Tony” and then heard hi m decl are that he di dn’t want to l eave her the next day and that he fel t m ore than just the desire to pl ease her. Then the front door bel l rang. Tony freed her and disappeared from sight. It was then that Cl ai re real i zed that Tony had opened the curtai ns of the front wi ndow. H er guests had seen everything! The wom en were im pressed by Cl ai re, the house and the del i ci ous cui si ne. Just before they l eft, Clai re heard Gl adys whi speri ng to another wom an that she had never seen anyone so handsom e as Tony. What a sweet vi ctory to be envi ed by those wom en! She m i ght not be as beauti ful as them , but none of them had such a handsom e l over. Then she rem em bered—Tony was just a m achi ne. She shouted “Leave m e al one” and ran to her bed. She cri ed al ni ght. The next m orni ng a car drove up and took Tony away. The pany was very pl eased with Tony’s report on hi s three weeks wi th Cl ai re. Tony had protected a hum an being from harm. H e had prevented Cl ai re from harmi ng hersel f through her own sense of fail ure. H e had opened the curtai ns that ni ght so that the other wom en woul d see him and Cl aire, knowing that there was no ri sk to Cl ai re’s m arri age. But even though Toby had been so cl ever, he woul d have to be rebui lt—you cannot have wom en fal li ng i n l ove wi th m achi nes. A BIOGRAPH Y OF ISAAC ASIMOV Isaac Asi m ov was an Am eri can sci enti st and wri ter who wrote around 480 boks that i ncl uded m ystery stori es, sci ence and hi story books, and even boks about the H ol l y Bi bl e and Shakespeare. But he i s best known for hi s sci ence fi cti on stori es. Asi m ov had both an extraordi nary i magi nati on that gave hi m the abi li ty to expl ore future worl ds and an am azi ng m i nd wi th whi ch he searched for expl anati ons of everythi ng, i n the present and the past. Asim ov’s l i