Scientists say they have developed the first technology of its kind to allow children with communication problems to converse better.
How was school today? is a software system to enable children with disabilities such as cerebral palsy （脑瘫） communicate faster. The system is the result of a project between computing scientists from the Universities of Dundee and Aberdeen and Capability Scotland.
Dr Ehud Reiter, from the University of Aberdeen's School of Natural and Computing Sciences said: "How was school today? uses sensors, swipe cards, and a recording device to gather information on what the child using the system has experienced at school that day. This can then be turned into a story by the computer—using what is called natural language generation —which the pupils can then share when they get home. The system allows children to easily talk about their school day and to quickly answer questions."
For a child with severe motor disabilities or no speech, holding a conversation is often very difficult and limited to short one-to-two-word answers.
Pupils from Capability's Corseford School near Glasgow were the first to trial the new system. Sue Williams, headteacher at Corseford School, said: "In the week we used the system we found it very useful to pupils, teachers and parents alike. It allows children to take control of the conversation without having to rely on help from us."
Nicole Vallery and Rebecca Clelland were two of the pupils at Corseford to test the new software. Nicole, 11, said, “I was happy to take part in How was school today? It made me feel good about myself.” Rebecca said, “It was something different. I enjoyed it.”
Nicole's mum, Jan, said: "We really enjoyed using How was school today? and hearing Nicole's story. The programmer enabled her to talk easily and answer questions quickly, giving us a very detailed insight into her day."
Plans are now in place to examine how it could be used to support children with different levels and types of impairments（缺陷）.
1. What is probably the meaning of the underlined word “converse” in the first paragraph?
A．complete B．communicate C．control D．conduct
2. The following are part of How was school day? except ________.
A．sensors B．swipe cards C．a reading device D．a microphone
3. The software has been developed to ________.
A．solve communication problems
B．help gather information about school days
C．help to communicate faster
D．talk about the students’ school days
4. According to the passage, which of the following is not true?
A．How was school day? has gone into production.
B．Scientists plan to carry out further research into the system.
C．The system allows children to take control of the conversation.
D．The system makes pupils feel good about themselves.
5. Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
A．How was school day? Becoming Popular
B．A Software for Listening
C．A New Software Helping Communication Easier
D．A New Software for Pupils