英语科技文阅读

科技类(1)With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone(克隆) the animal and save the endangered species(物种). That’s a move similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five ye ars in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M’s C ollege of V eterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.“The nuclear transfer(核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pa ndas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A& M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.”1. The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to _______.A. make efforts to clone the endangered pandasB. save endangered animals from dying outC. collect DNA of endangered animals to studyD. transfer the nuclear of one animal to another2. According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _______.A. available panda eggsB. host animalsC. qualified researchersD. enough money3. The best title for the passage may be _______.A. China’s Success in Pandas CloningB. The First Cloned Panda in the WorldC. Exploring the Possibility to Clone PandasD. China —the Native Place of Pandas Forever4. From the passage we know that _______.A. Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dogB. scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a rabbitC. Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researchesD. about two thousand of species will probably die out in a century【答案与解析】本文讲述中国正在竭力克隆濒临绝种的熊猫，这和Texas A & M University 的Noah's Ark(诺亚方舟)工程极为相似，都是想拯救濒临灭绝的动物。

科技类词汇对应阅读passage1A snake﹣robot designer，a technologist，an extradimensional physicist and a journalist walk into a room.The journalist turns to the crowd and asks：Should we build houses on the ocean？Like a think﹣tank panel，members of the team dream up far﹣out answers to the crucial problem，such as self﹣driving housing units that could park on top of one another in the coastal city center.The setting is X，the enterprise which considers more than100ideas each year，in areas ranging from clean energy to artificial intelligence.Although only a tiny percentage become"projects"with far﹣reaching creativity，these projects exist，ultimately，to change the world，like Waymo，the biggest self﹣driving﹣car company.In the past60years，something strange has happened.As the academic study of creativity has thrived （蓬勃发展），the label innovation may have covered every tiny change of a soda can or a toothpaste flavor，but the rate of productivity growth has been mostly declining since the1970s.John Fernald，an economist，points out that the notable exception to the post﹣1970decline in productivity occurred when businesses throughout the economy finally figured out the breakthrough technology﹣information technology.John Fernald says，"It's possible that productivity took off，because we picked all the low﹣hanging fruit from the IT wave."Actually，the world economy continues to harvest the benefits of IT.But where will the next technology shock come from？Breakthrough technology results from two distinct activities﹣invention and innovation.Invention is typically the work of scientists and researchers in labs，while innovation is an invention put to commercial use.Seldom do the two activities occur successfully under the same roof.They tend to thrive in opposite conditions；while competition and consumer choice encourage innovation，invention has historically progressed in labs that are protected from the pressure to generate profit.Allowing well﹣funded and diverse teams to try to solve big problems is what gave us the computer and the Internet.Today，we fail to give attention to planting the seeds of this kind of ambitious research，while complaining about the harvest."Companies are really good at combining existing breakthroughs in ways that consumers like.But the breakthroughs come from patient and curious scientists，not the rush to market，"says Jon Gertner，the author of The Idea Factory."Technology is a tall tree，"John Fernald said."But planting the seeds of invention and harvesting the fruit of innovation are entirely distinct skills，often mastered by different organizations and separated by manyyears."As for me，both of them are essential for technology，although they are relatively independent.I don't think X is a planter or a harvester，actually.It is like building taller ladders.Nobody knows for sure what，if anything，the employees at such enterprises are going to find up on those ladders.But they're reaching.At least someone is.（1）What is the main purpose of the first two paragraphs？A．To present the process of group discussion.B．To illustrate X's worry about big problems.C．To reveal the importance of the crazy ideas.D．To stress the varied backgrounds of the team.（2）What can we learn from the passage？A．Breakthroughs must stand the test of the market.B．Innovation on necessities can promote productivity.C．Invention develops slowly under the pressure of profit.D．The harvest of innovation lies in some ambitious research.（3）Regarding John Fernald's view on technology，the author is.A．supportiveB．cautiousC．uncertainD．critical（4）What can be inferred about X from the passage？A．It will focus on innovation.B．It will have its outcome soon.C．It may give in to its fruitless reality.D．It may bring an encouraging outlook.【分析】这是一篇说明文。

英语科普阅读材料双语——科技4篇（一）我们如何在28小时内到达火星？ (1)（二）饮水鸟蕴含的工程学原理 (9)（三）人们是否应该接受人造肉 (29)（四）为什么当代手机电池还是这么不经用 (40)（一）我们如何在28小时内到达火星？How Could We Get To Mars In Only 28 Hours?Everyone always wants to get to Mars.每个人都总是渴望去火星Unfortunately, the journey would be a long one,不幸的是依靠我们目前的技术taking hundreds of days of travel with our current technology.这趟旅途将会十分漫长长达几百天Well, what if we could shorten that time to only a matter of days试想如果我们不使用宇宙飞船by throwing away our spaceships而是用一些在太空中急速穿梭的东西and using something that’s already zooming acr oss space?这趟旅程可以缩短到几天？I’m talking about comets.我说的是彗星Comets are big ol’ cosmic snowballs,彗星是一个由冻结气体岩石和尘埃made from frozen gases, rock, and dust组成的巨大雪球that end up orbiting the Sun after the other planets当其他行星试图把彗星扔向地球tried throwing them at Earth and missed.但没成功时它们便围绕地球飞行Well, that last part probably isn’t true.当然最后那部分可能是假的Everyone knows that the planets only have water gun battles.我们都知道行星上只有水枪之战Not to mention, comets can actually be pretty big.更不必说彗星实际上可能非常大Frozen, you could probably liken them to about the size of a small town.这些雪球你可以把它们比做一个小镇那么大However, when these things get close to the Sun in their orbit,然而它们在自己的轨道环形并接近太阳时they can begin to heat up.会逐渐变热Then they start spewing dust and gases,接着喷涌出尘埃和气体forming a giant glowing head.形成一个巨大的发光脑袋Huh. I thought only I had that problem.哈我认为只有我有这个顾虑Luckily enough, if we want to use one of these things for stellar travel,幸运的是如果我们想用其中一个彗星进行星际旅行we have quite a few to choose from!我们的选择有很多！According to NASA,根据美国航天局there are around 3,600 comets that we currently know of.我们目前已知的彗星约有3600颗Beyond that, it’s believed that there are billions of other comets out there此外据说在遥远的柯伊伯带还有数十亿颗彗星orbiting our Sun in the Kuiper Belt and even more distant Oort Cloud. 甚至是更远的奥尔特云围绕着太阳运行的What makes comets great for getting around in space彗星能够穿梭星际is that they can go SUPER fast.是因为其速度极快Yeah, this baby can fly!是的这小东西会飞！How fast they’re travelling depends on a bunch of different factors,它们的速度取决于多种不同因素but they can travel anywhere from a few thousand kilometers per hour,但在一定条件下它们的速度可以从时速几千公里to over 160,000 kilometers per hour under certain conditions.达到每小时超16万公里在任何地方飞行In fact, in 2016, scientists at NASA recorded2016年美国航天局的科学家们记录了a comet traveling at nearly 600 kilometers per second as it dove toward the Sun.一颗秒速六百公里驶向太阳的彗星That’s over 2 /million/ kilometers per hour!那超过了两百万公里每小时！To put that in perspective,就此展望if we could travel at 2 million kilometers per hour,如果我们能以每小时两百万公里的速度飞行then wecould get to Mars from Earth in around 28 hours,我们可以在一天多的时间里just little more than a single day,约28小时就可以完成火星之旅assuming the two planets were close together in their orbits. 假设轨道上有两颗行星距离很近Lining up the planets is the least of our worries though.我们可以在可控范围内排列行星While comets can go super fast,彗星的速度超快getting to them would be a big problem.登上彗星仍会是一大问题That’s because, not even considering how hard it would be to actually commandeer one,因为我们甚至没有考虑控制一个彗星有多难comets just don’t typically get that close to Earth.彗星一般离地球很远Hale-Bopp, a comet that made the news about two decades ago, 大概二十年前新闻上报道了海尔-波普彗星came closer to Earth than most comets do,它比大多彗星更靠近地球and it was still about 200 million kilometers away.但还是有约两百万公里的距离We might as well just go straight to Mars at that point!照那样我们还不如直接去火星吧！Even if a comet did come by Earth,即使彗星确实经过地球we assume that its trajectory is towards Mars,我们也断定它的轨道是朝着火星的and we ignore that it would likely be in its more gassy, less-solid state,并且我们忽略了它可能更多的是气体而非固态物质you’d still have to keep yourself alive on the comet.你还要在彗星上生存下去I guess if it’s only a day or so then food and water would be less of an issue我猜如果只是一天左右那食物和水就不是问题了since the aliens would definitely feed you once we got there,因为一旦我们到了那里外星人肯定会伺候我们的but you’d still have to worry about oxygen and protecting your self from space.但你仍要担心氧气并且保护自己远离太空You would need about 0.84 kilograms of oxygen a day,你每天约需0.84公斤的氧气so you better grab a spacesuit and take a big breath before jumping on the comet.所以跳上彗星前你最好穿上宇航服深吸一口气So yeah, using comets as a means of space travel is probably not that viable in the end.所以利用彗星进行太空旅行或许并不可行Sometimes I like doing these thought experiments, you know,有时我喜欢做这些思维实验and then realizing that they can’t work.然后意识到不可能实现But it’s still interesting!仍然它仍很有趣！That’s how we learn people!这也是咱认识人类的方法！So do you have any questions about space that you want me to answer.你有关于太空的疑问想要我解答？Any planets that we should cover next?接下来我们要讲哪些行星？Let me know right now in the comment section below!请立刻在下方评论区告诉我吧！Curious to know what would happen if you were trapped on the international space station?我很好奇如果你被困在国际空间站会发生什么？We teamed up with our friend William Osman to answer that question.我们会与我们的朋友William Osman一起为你解答ISS actually gets its power from solar arrays made up of thousands of solar cells.国际空间站的能量来自上万个太阳能电池组成的阵列These arrays can efficiently covert solar energy into electrical power. 这些阵列可以有效地将太阳能转换成电能Typically producing more power than the station needs at one time. 通常在同一时间产生超出所需的电力（二）饮水鸟蕴含的工程学原理The Engineering of the Drinking BirdThis toy has fascinated me since childhood.我从小就对这个玩具着迷To me its motion is almost hypnotic.对我来说它的运动就像是催眠Here’s how it operates.它是这样运转的Wet the bird beak thoroughly with room temperature water.将鸟喙完全浸透在室温的水中The opaque container makes it looked chilled,不透明容器使它看起来冷淬了but it isn’t…其实并没有Then stand it upright…然后让它直立It will take a few seconds for it to start drinking…它要等几秒钟后才开始喝水Notice that all of the action right now takes place in the stem here 注意现在所有的运动都发生在躯干这里As l speed up the action当我快进这个过程you see liquid rising and the bird rocking back and forth.可以看见液面上升饮水鸟开始前后摇摆If I return to normal speed,如果调回常速播放you can see the bird slowly …可以看到饮水鸟慢慢地very, very slowly ….非常非常慢地Rock forward…向前摆动Until it takes a drink,直到它喝到了水which it will do again and again.然后一遍又一遍地重复此过程In this video I’ll detail the bird’s clever engineering design,在本视频中我将详述这只鸟精妙的工程设计explain how it uses thermodynamics,阐明它是如何运用热力学知识and link its action to some of the greatest将其运动与一些工程师创造的and most impactful devices created by engineers.伟大且影响深远的装置联系起来的This toy has long history,这个玩历史悠久but its current incarnation is due to Miles V. Sullivan—它的当前形态是由贝尔实验室一名科学家a scientist at Bell Labs.Miles V. Sullivan创造的He specialized in methods of manufacturing semiconductors,他专精于研究制造半导体的方法but as a sideline invented toys.发明玩具是他的副业Its reported that this bird delighted U.S. President Herbert Hoover,据说这只饮水鸟深得美国总统赫伯特·胡佛喜爱an engineer who failed to figure out how it worked,作为一名工程师他没搞懂它的工作原理and it also defeated the great scientist Albert Einstein,而且它还难倒了伟大的科学家艾尔伯特·爱因斯坦who spent three and half months studying it.爱因斯坦花了三个半月来研究它It’s reported that he refused to take the bird apart.据报道他拒绝把这只鸟拆开With the benefit of hindsight,有了后见之明let’s start by exploring how it works让我们从探索它的工作原理and examining the key engineering design aspects.以及检查关键的工程设计方面开始First, let’s ask is the water ornamental or essential?首先要问的是水是装饰品还是必需品？At first the bird acts just as if the water were still there.最初饮水鸟的行为好像水还在那里一样Now let’s speed up the bird’s motion我们快进饮水鸟的动作you see at 15 minutes it is still drinking.可以看见过了15分钟它仍在喝水At 30 still drinking.30分钟还在喝水45 minutes still drinking.45分钟依然还在喝水60 minutes still drinking.60分钟还在喝水75 minutes still drinking.75分钟仍然还在喝水And five or ten minutes later,又过了5到10分钟后at eighty or eight-five minutes it takes its last drink.约在80到85分钟它喝了最后一次水The liquid still rises a bit,虽然液面上升了一点but it never rises enough to make the bird tip over,但它从没上升到足够使鸟翻倒的高度which shows that the motion is not perpetual说明这个运动不是永恒的—as long as there is water, the bird keeps drinking.只要有水鸟就一直喝水Let’s look inside the bird来看看饮水鸟的内部to get an idea of how it works.了解它的工作原理Underneath the bird’s hat, beak and fabric covering lies a glass bulb 在鸟帽鸟嘴和织物覆盖物下面有一个玻璃泡smaller than the bulb at the base, and also rounder.它比底部的玻璃泡小也更圆Now, watch as I put a few drops of isopropyl alcohol on the bulb to cool it.现在我滴几滴异丙醇在玻璃泡上使它降温The liquid rapidly rises to the head,里面的液体快速上升到头部this changes the bird’s center of gravity这改变了饮水鸟的重心so that it will tilt forward.使它向前倾斜The head now fills with liquid and then …现在头部充满了液体接下来……there…你看…it …drinks.它喝水了It becomes upright and the liquid drains from the head.它直立后液体从头部排出Liquid rises again to the head and…液体再一次上升到头部……the bird drinks again.饮水鸟再一次喝水This cycle repeats until all of the isopropyl alcohol on the bird ’s head evaporates.这个过程循环往复直到鸟头上的异丙醇都蒸发掉Why does the liquid rise?为什么液面会上升呢？The place to begin is with the bird’s manufacture.我们从饮水鸟的制造说起The bird is filled through this “tap ”—a small pipe built into the head —通过装在头部里的小管子即龙头with methylene chloride dyed red, which is then frozen,向鸟内装入冷冻的染成红色的二氯甲烷a vacuum applied to evacuate the air,抽走空气形成真空the tap sealed ( and of course, later hidden by the bird’s hat )…把龙头密封(当然后来被鸟帽盖住了)And then the methylene chloride melts:之后二氯甲烷融化It turns to liquid and then some of it evaporates（turns into vapor）.转变为液态其中部分二氯甲烷蒸发(变成蒸汽)The key to the bird’s operation is饮水鸟运转的关键就在于that the vapor in the head and in the base are separated by the liquid in the base.头部和底部的气体被底部的液体所隔离It’s hard to see,这很难看清楚but the tube extends into the base, nearly reaching the bottom.不过管子延伸到底部几乎接触到底面This separates the vapor in base and the vapor in the tube使得底部和管中的气体隔离……and …of course, the head.当然还有头部的气体So, at rest the pressure in these two spaces are equal,在静止状态这两个空间的压强相等but when the bird’s beak is wet,但当鸟喙湿润时the temperature falls鸟喙温度下降and as I’ll explain in a moment the pressure in the head drops头部的压强下降这个我稍后会解释below that in the base and the liquid rises.降到低于底部的压强然后液面上升Of course this liquid in the head causes the bird to…tilt forward, to drink …自然头部的液体导致饮水鸟向前倾斜喝水and when it drinks,当它喝水时the vapor in the head and the base are connected,头部和底部的蒸汽连通the pressures is nearly equalize两端压强几乎相等—a slug of vapor rises to the top and some liquid drains from the head一股蒸汽上升到头部迫使部分液体流出and then the cycle repeats.然后循环重复To see the pressure equalize为了看到压强平衡过程l will slow down the bird as I tilt it forward.我会慢一点倾斜饮水鸟Right now the head is half full.现在头部已经半满了When I tilt it you see a slug of vapor go from bottom to top.当它倾斜时可以看见一股蒸汽从底部升到顶部I’ve tilted it far enough forward我把它倾斜得够多that the liquid in the head is below the top of the tube以至于头部的液面低于管子的顶端and the liquid in the base is below the section of the tube that almost reaches the bottom of the bird.同时底部液面也低于几乎触底的管子底端This allows the pressure to equalize,这样头部和底部的压强相等and as the bird becomes upright而当饮水鸟站起来时the liquid returns to the base before the cycle starts again.液体会在下一次循环开始之前返回到底部In operation it doesn’t tilt quite this far forward实际运转时它不会向前倾斜这么多and so the pressures don’t fully equalize.因此压强不会完全平衡Why, though, does the pressure in the head drop as the temperature falls?那么头部压强为何会随着温度下降而下降呢？You can see the answer if I shoot cool, compressed gas across the bird’s head.你看我向头部射低温压缩气体就知道答案了As the cool gas strikes,遇到低温气体时you see liquid condensing inside the head;头部内壁出现了冷凝的液体and, as you see on the left,正如你在左图看到的this causes the liquid in the base to rise.这导致底部的液面上升The cool gas withdraws energy as heat from the head,低温气体带走头部的热量causing some of the methylene chloride vapor inside to condense –to turn into a liquid.导致头部部分二氯甲烷气体冷凝成液体This decreases dramatically the amount of vapor in the head.这大大减少了头部的气体体积Liquid is 1,000 times more dense than vapor.液体的密度是气体的1000倍This in turn lowers the pressure in the head and causes the liquid to rise.结果降低了头部的压强使液面上升I used compressed gas to cool the head我用压缩气体给头部降温because I can control the amount of cooling;因为我可以控制降温的程度the bird, though, cools its head by “drinking.”然而饮水鸟通过喝水来降温The head is wrapped in fabric that absorbs water.其头部包裹在吸水的织物中As I put drops on its beak当我把水滴在鸟喙上you can see the water beads up at first…一开始你可以看到水珠……and then saturates the fabric and spreads rapidly across the bird’s face.然后水珠浸透织物并迅速扩散到鸟的整个面部On the right side you can see it creeping to back of the head.从右边看可以看到水渍浸到了后脑勺If I now turn the bird around,如果我现在把鸟转过来you can see that the water has spread to the back.可以看到水已经蔓延到后面As I continue adding drops on the beak如果我继续往鸟喙上滴水the saturated area on the back increases.头背处渗水区域扩大When this water evaporates into the air, it removes energy from the bulb as heat当水蒸发到空气中带走了头部的热量you feel this effect every time you step out of the shower,每次你洗完澡都会有这种感受the evaporating water withdraws energy as heat and chills you.蒸发的水带走热量让你感到冷飕飕的This evaporation, this withdrawal of heat, lowers the temperature 蒸发吸热降低了头部的温度and begins the condensation of the vapor, which starts the cycle 蒸汽冷凝启动循环as I showed you with the cool, compressed gas.就像我之前用低温压缩气体做的演示一样As long as the head is wet and heat is withdrawn from it,只要头部保持潮湿而且有热量带走the bird will always “drink, ”饮水鸟将一直“喝水”but if you were to operate the bird in humid air,但如果你把饮水鸟放在潮湿的环境it would slow down, because little water would evaporate,它就会减速喝水因为很少有水分蒸发and if the air were at 100 % humidity the bird would stop如果空气湿度是100% 饮水鸟将停止喝水because no water would evaporate at all.因为根本没有水蒸发Now, to make this dramatic condensation happen现在为了达到明显的冷凝效果when the temperature is lowered just slightly当温度只稍微降低时the evaporating water lowers the temperature by only about three-tenths of a degree水的蒸发只降低了0.3 度the bird’s designer choose a highly volatile liquid.饮水鸟的设计者选择了一种极易挥发的液体This means one whose boiling point is near ambient temperature这就需要这种液体的沸点接近室温because for small changes in temperature因为即使温度轻微变化there is a large change from vapor to liquid从气态至液态的变化也是巨大的and so the variation of pressure is large.从而引起压强的巨大变化Watch what happens as I “heat ”the base of the bird with my hand.观察我用手加热饮水鸟的底部时会怎么样You see the liquid level in the base dropping,可以看到底部的液面在下降that’s because energy from my hand is converting some of the liquid into vapor,这是由于手的热量使部分液体转化成气体which increases the pressure in this region…增大了这个区域的压强and that causes the liquid to rise to the head.从而使液体上升到头部Eventually I heat the vapor so much that it shoots up the stem.最终我把蒸汽加热到从管子中冒出来Now watch as I place my hand around the head.现在看我把手放在头部Heat from my hand converts liquid to vapor,手上的热量将液体转化为蒸汽which increases the pressure从而增大了压强and forces the liquid back to the base.并迫使液体回到底部To test this explanation of the bird’s operation,为了验证这个饮水鸟运转的解释let’s activate the bird in different ways.让我们用不同方式来触发饮水鸟As I noted it is the temperature difference between its top and bottom我说过是它顶部和底部的温差that drives liquid to rise to the head.驱使液体上升至头部So, let’s see what happens if I point a light at the base of the bird,那么我们看看对底部进行光照会怎么样which I’ve painted black我把饮水鸟的底部涂成了黑色so it will absorb the energy from the light better.这样它能更好地吸收光能As I heat the base of the bird,当我给饮水鸟底部加热时the liquid rises, as before but …液体像之前一样上升但是……五倍速播放the bird tips backwards.饮水鸟向后倾斜The wet nose tilted the center of gravity……湿润的鼻子倾斜了饮水鸟的重心……and so I added some modelling clay to the nose于是我在鸟鼻子上加了些粘土to get the bird to tilt forward.好让鸟向前倾斜And now when I turn on the light the liquid rises,现在当我打开灯光液体上升the birds drinks as if there were liquid in front of it until…鸟儿就像面前有水一样喝水直到……I turn the light off我把灯关掉and the bird drinks for a little bit longer until eventually…这只鸟再坚持了一会儿直到最终……it comes to rest.它停了下来Next, let’s see what happens if we use this: Whiskey.接下来让我们看看用这个会怎么样：威士忌Again, thoroughly wet the bird’s beak with the liquid…再次用液体浸润鸟喙……stand it upright …让它直立……and then we see again the liquid rising in the bird …然后我们又看到饮水鸟体内的液面上升and then …it drinks.然后……它在喝水We can also now understand why the bird’s rate of drinking differs 我们现在也能理解在三种不同的刺激下among the three methods I used to “activate ”the bird:为什么饮水鸟的喝水频率不同了a heat lamp, whiskey and water.加热灯威士忌和水三种刺激Roughly, heat bird takes three drinks for every one of the water bird,大致上饮水鸟每喝一次水受热鸟喝三次the whiskey bird takes two for every drink of the water bird.而饮水鸟每喝一次饮酒鸟喝两次The reason the bird drinks whiskey faster than water is之所以饮酒鸟比饮水鸟快because the rate of evaporation of the alcohol is greater than that of water.是因为相对于水酒精更易挥发This means that heat is withdrawn faster from the head也就是说头部的热量散失更快and so more vapor condenses in a shorter amount of time,短时间内冷凝的蒸气更多which accelerates the pressure difference.从而加速扩大压差The heat lamp causes the greatest difference of all,加热灯导致的压差最大which highlights how an engineer thinks about this bird.这重点表明了工程师对饮水鸟的想法To an engineer this bird is a heat engine.对工程师来说饮水鸟是一个热机A heat engine turns heat differences into work —mechanical motion.热机将热能转化为功——机械运动To see that recall that when the bird is just about to drink回想一下当鸟正要喝水时that its head is at a lower temperature than its base,它的头部温度比底部的低which is at ambient temperature.底部温度就是环境温度Then when it “drinks ”, the pressure in the head and base start to equalize,当它“喝水”时头部和底部的压强开始平衡so liquid returns to the base,于是液体回到底部but the overall temperature of the bird但是现在饮水鸟的整体温度is now just a little below ambient temperature.只是稍低于环境温度When it return to upright, the base draws in energy as heat…当它恢复直立时底部吸热……the head then rejects some energy as heat头部放热and the bird drinks again.然后饮水鸟再次喝水These two flows define a heat engine:这种热传递定义了热机：a device, operating in a cycle一种循环运行的装置that absorbs heat from a high temperature reservoir,从高温热源处吸热converts part of it into work,将部分热能转化为功and rejects the remainder into a low temperature reservoir.向低温热源放热The fact that this is a heat engine饮水鸟就是热机这一事实means it’s related to the great machines that make our globalized world happen:表明它跟实现全球化的许多伟大机器有关among those the mighty steam turbine that generates electricity,其中有能发电的大型蒸汽轮机the giant diesel engine that propels container ships across the oceans,推动货轮穿越海洋的大型柴油机and the great gas turbine that flies us around the globe.还有让我们飞遍全球的燃气轮机（三）人们是否应该接受人造肉Lab-Grown Meat Is Coming to Your Supermarket. Ranchers Are Fighting Back.Would you eat a hamburger or a chicken nugget你会吃在实验室生长的肉made of meat grown in a laboratory?所制的汉堡或鸡块吗？Joshua Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of JUST is betting that you will. JUST的合伙人兼CEO Joshua Tetrick断言你会吃In tomorrow’s world, you can eat more meat,在将来你能在不吃动物的情况下hopefully safer meat, even better tasting meat, without eating the animal.吃到更多的肉很可能是更安全甚至更好吃的肉JUST which is based in San Francisco,JUST公司位于美国旧金山has been producing and selling2013年起就生产销售non animal versions of food like mayonnaise since 2013各种无动物食品and it’s raised more than 310 million dollars in venture capital.并筹集到超过3.1亿美元的风险投资基金Tetrick and his team have created products like JUST Mayo Tetrick及其团队通过寻找鸡蛋等常见动物产品的植物替代品by identifying plant based alternatives to common animal products like eggs.创造了像JUST Mayo这样的产品We’re one part pharma,我们公司有医药部one part bio-tech and a whole bunch of regular food company.有生物技术部总得来说是一个常规的食品公司We built a discovery system that我们创建的搜索系统has the only patent of the world拥有世界上唯一能够that utilizes machine learning for food ingredient discovery利用机器学习如何搜索食物组成的专利and it helped us find this mung bean该系统还帮我们找到了that when you put it in a pan scrambles一种放入平底锅时变得蓬松的绿豆and that process broken down means that这一过程的突破意味着we source from over 51 countries in the world,我们的原料来自超过世界上51个国家we look at about 21 different molecular properties,我们要研究大约21种不同分子的性能we look at how that bean functions,研究这种绿豆的作用does it bake a cake, does it gel in a pan看它能否用来烤蛋糕是否会粘在平底锅上and then we see if it makes ice cream or butter or scrambled eggs. 以及能否用来做冰淇淋黄油或炒鸡蛋Our process of finding these new tools is high tech,这些新工具的开发过程技术含量高but what we find is not high tech at all.但开发结果却简单的很The mung bean has been in the world’s food system for 4400 years.早在4400年前绿豆就已经被当做食物了I sure as hell didn’t invent the mung bean.我很肯定绿豆不是我发明的JUST is one of the handful of tech companies workingJUST只是众多致力于to disrupt the meat production industry.颠覆肉类供应行业的高科技公司之一While many of its competitors are pursuing better plant based meat substitutes,正当其他竞争者还在寻找更好的以植物为基础的肉类替代品时JUST is pushing ahead with so called clean meatJUST已经开始推进所谓的瘦肉or lab grown animal tissue that requires no farming,和无需农场养殖无需喂养牲畜且无需屠宰场no feeding of livestock and no slaughterhouses.的实验室生长的动物组织Only a single sample from a single animal duplicated endlessly.只需要动物身上的一个样本就可以无限克隆JUST and companies like it are poised toJUST和其他同类公司准备disrupt the entire livestock industry but颠覆整个畜牧业the established players are turning to the government to protect their turf.但是现有的畜牧公司正在向政府寻求庇护The United States Cattlemen’s Association, which declined to participate in this story,美国牧民协会拒绝受访submitted a petition still under consideration by the United States Department of并向美国农业部递交了请愿书目前正在受理中Agriculture asking that the words meat and beef exclude any products他们请求肉和牛肉这样的词汇不得用于that are ‘neither derived from animals, nor slaughtered in the traditional manner.’任何既不来自动物也不经传统方法宰杀的肉类产品The power of the terms is a lot more powerful than people think, 这些术语的影响力远比人们想象的要大especially in food尤其是在食品行业Imagine Tesla launches a pickup truck,想象一下如果特斯拉推出了一辆小货车but US Department of Transportation says然后美国交通部门说-Hold up, Tesla, y ou can’t call it a pickup truck.-等等特斯拉你不能把它称作小货车You have to call it electric mobility transport unit.你必须叫它“电动交通装置”That’s not winning in Alabama, even though it might be fast,这在阿拉巴马州行不通即使它可能很快even though it might have an amazing amount of horsepower,马力也超级大because a car is identity, but food’s identity even more.因为车有它的定义而食物的定义则更复杂JUST is also looking to transcend the vegan vs carnivore paradigm. JUST也在试图寻找一种超越纯素食主义者和肉食主义者的范式来界定We don’t allow the term vegan to be used in our company.我们公司不允许使用“纯素食主义者”这个词Not because we don’t believe in the spiri of it,并不是因为我们不相信素食主义精神that word ends up turning off 99% of people.而是这个词会令99%的人反感The food system needs to start over,食物体系需要革新了little girls in the second row of a class in Liberia aren’t ge tting proper nutrients,在利比里亚教室里第二排的女孩们营养不良a young boy growing up in Birmingham Alabama is阿拉巴马州伯明翰的一个男孩accelerating a path to Type 2 diabetes,患2型糖尿病的速度加快了animals are being confined in needless ways,动物们受到了一些不必要的限制it’s contributing to climate change,这加剧了气候变化and I think if we can think differently about the food system而且我觉得如果我们对食物系统换种思维while also realizing that we can’t be so new and so out there同时认识到我们不能太新奇太超前that it doesn’t relate to the everyday human being,以至和百姓的寻常生活脱节we can do a whole lot of good.我们就可以造福大家And that’s what I want to do.而这就是我想要做的This isn’t Tetrick’s first fight with entrenched food interests.。

科技英语阅读与翻译全文Humanitarian Aid in SpaceSpace exploration technology will benefit developing countries in a variety of ways. Whether it's information about climate change or communication technologies that give remote areas access to the world outside, space science can come to the aid of vulnerable people in many countries.For the past two decades, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been sending humanitarian aid dispatched from its space platform. This ambitious project has proved successful, and it’s been praised for its achievements in various aspects.The two strategic areas set forth for JAXA’s humanitarian aid effort are science and education. JAXA’s donations of books and puzzle sets are enabling elementary and junior high school kids in India to study science and math. There are plans to utilize remote sensing data to map out natural resources in Nepalese countryside and expand education related to environmental issues in Vietnam. In addition the agency is sending educational videos to the island nation of Palau tobetter understand their own local wildlife.JAXA is considered to be a pioneer in this area since the launch of their humanitarian aid initiative in 1997. The organization strives to make use of space applications for social welfare and reduce disparities in the world through a number of practical endeavors. The effort currently has a global reach, with projects taking place in seven continent, from Latin America to Africa.JAXA’s humanitarian aid programs will continue to grow with better technology and increased resources. The ongoing work reinforces the concept that space science and technology have the potential to contribute to enhancing the lives of people on Earth.人道主义援助在太空太空探索技术将在各个方面受益于发展中国家。

关于科普类英语文章阅读科普类阅读文章是高考阅读中的一个重要方面,它涉及到最新科技、发明或应用,对于学生的语言基础知识和语言技能要求很高。

小编精心收集了关于科普类英语文章，供大家欣赏学习!关于科普类英语文章篇1人类祖先露西因何而死Lucy, the most famous fossil of a human ancestor, probably died after falling from a tree, according to a study appearing in Nature led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. Lucy, a 3.18-million-year-old specimen of Australopithecus afarensis -- or "southern ape of Afar" -- is among the oldest, most complete skeletons of any adult, erect-walking human ancestor. Since her discovery in the Afar region of Ethiopia in 1974 by Arizona State Universityanthropologist Donald Johanson and graduate student Tom Gray, Lucy -- a terrestrial biped -- has been at the center of a vigorous debate about whether this ancient species also spent time in the trees."It is ironic that the fossil at the center of a debate about the role of arborealism in human evolution likely died from injuries suffered from a fall out of a tree," said lead author John Kappelman, a UT Austin anthropology and geological sciences professor.Kappelman first studied Lucy during her U.S. museum tour in 2008, when the fossil detouredto the High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facility (UTCT) in the UT Jackson School of Geosciences -- a machine designed to scan through materials as solid as a rock and at a higher resolution than medical CT. For 10 days, Kappelman and geological sciences professor Richard Ketcham carefully scanned all of her 40-percent-completeskeleton to create a digital archive of more than 35,000 CT slices."Lucy is precious. There's only one Lucy, and you want to study her as much as possible," Ketcham said. "CT is nondestructive. So you can see what is inside, the internal details and arrangement of the internal bones."Studying Lucy and her scans, Kappelman noticed something unusual: The end of the right humerus was fractured in a manner not normally seen in fossils, preserving a series of sharp, clean breaks with tiny bone fragments and slivers still in place."This compressive fracture results when the hand hits the ground during a fall, impacting the elements of the shoulder against one another to create a unique signature on the humerus," said Kappelman, who consulted Dr. Stephen Pearce, an orthopedic surgeon at Austin Bone andJoint Clinic, using a modern human-scale, 3-D printed model of Lucy.Pearce confirmed: The injury was consistent with a four-part proximal humerus fracture, caused by a fall from considerable height when the conscious victim stretched out an arm in an attempt to break the fall.关于科普类英语文章篇2古生物学家发现大型霸王龙化石Paleontologists with the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture and the University of Washington have discovered a Tyrannosaurus rex, including a very complete skull. The find, which paleontologists estimate to be about 20 percent of the animal, includes vertebrae, ribs,hips and lower jaw bones. The team, led by Burke Museum Adjunct Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and UW biology professor Gregory P. Wilson, discovered the T. rex during an expedition to the Hell Creek Formation in northern Montana -- an area that is world-famousfor its fossil dinosaur sites. Two Burke Museum paleontology volunteers, Jason Love and Luke Tufts, initially discovered pieces of fossilized bone protruding from a rocky hillside. The bones' large size and honeycomb-like structure indicated they belonged to a carnivorous dinosaur. Upon further excavation, the team discovered the T. rex skull along with ribs, vertebrae, and parts of the jaw and pelvis.T. rex was one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs to ever roam the Earth. Measuring an average of 40-feet long and 15 to 20-feet tall, T. rex was a fierce predator with serrated teeth and large jaws. Fossil evidence shows it ate other dinosaurs like Edmontosaurus and Triceratops, with crushed bones from the animals even showing up in the its fossilized poop. T. rex lived about 66-68 million years ago in forested river valleys in western North America during the late Cretaceous Period.The T. rex found by the Burke/UW team is nicknamed the "Tufts-Love Rex" in honor of the two volunteers who discovered it. The skull is about 4 feet long weighs about 2,500 pounds in its protective plaster jacket. Excavation in the field revealed the right side of the skull from base to snout, including teeth. Burke paleontologists believe it is very probable the other side of the skull is present, but will need to carefully remove the rock surrounding the fossil before they can determine its completeness."We think the Tufts-Love Rex is going to be an iconic specimen for the Burke Museum and the state of Washington and will be a must-see for dinosaur researchers as well," said Wilson.关于科普类英语文章篇3非洲草原上的大象数量大幅下降Paul G. Allen's Vulcan Inc. today announced the results of the $7 million, three-year Great Elephant Census (GEC - /), the first-ever pan-African survey of savanna elephants using standardized data collection and validationmethods. Managed by Elephants Without Borders (EWB,) the immense project's report confirms substantial declines in elephant numbers over just the last decade. The researchers report that the current rate of species decline is 8 percent per year, primarily due to poaching. The Pan-African survey shows the estimated savannah elephant population to be 352,271 within the 18 countries surveyed to-date, representing at least 93 percent of savannah elephants in these countries. For savannah elephant populations in 15 of the GEC countries, for which repeat counts were available, populations declined by 30 percent between 2007 and 2014. 84 percent of the population surveyed was sighted in legally protected areas compared to 16 percent in unprotected areas. However, large numbers of carcasses were observed in many protected areas indicating that elephants are struggling both within and outside of parks. Experts say the ivory trade and poaching pose serious threats and there is now a risk that savannah elephants could disappear from parts of Africa. The scientific report of the GEC findings was published on August 31, in the peer-reviewed open access journal PeerJ and is freely accessible at https:///articles/2354/The GEC team used the most accurate, up-to-date counting and statistical methods toanalyze data, accurately determining the number and distribution of the great majority of African savanna elephants and this now provides a baseline on a continental scale for future surveys and trend analyses, thatwildlife ecologists will be able to use to coordinateconservation efforts.Overall, 90 scientists, six non-governmental organization partners, and two advisorypartners, managed by a team at Paul Allen's Vulcan Inc. collaborated in the work. These included the organizations Elephants Without Borders, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Nature Conservancy, Frankfurt Zoological Society, African Parks Network and the advisory groups Save the Elephants and the International Union for Conservation of Nature's African Elephant Specialist Group. The effort was conducted which partnered with in country park biologists,rangers, and game wardens.。

新高考核心素养主题阅读理解10篇------科学技术类Text 1Wikitongues was launched in 2016 as an open internet collection of world languages. The collection is in the form of language videos that volunteers add to the Wikitongues website.Even with the internet's wide reach, less than 1 percent of all languages are actively represented online. The organization seeks to serve as an internet resource to connect users who wish to keep a language alive.There are currently more than 400 languages and dialects represented on Wikitongues' YouTube channel. Some, like English, Farsi and Mandarin, are spoken by hundreds of millions of people. Others are more uncommon. Bora, for example, is spoken by only a few thousand people in the Amazon regions.Daniel Udell, the co-founder of Wikitongues, says there are many examples of languages that disappeared but later returned to use. "Hebrew went extinct in the 4th century BC, and got revived in the 1800s. Now once again, it's the mother tongue of half of the world's Jewish population." One of Wikitongues' volunteers is Theron Kolokwe, who lives in Namibia. His native language is Subiya, which is spoken by about 30,000 people along the Zambezi River. "I think in my language," Kolokwe said. "I dream in my language. It's the language that I was born into. I didn't have the choice to speak it." However, he does not get the chance to speak his native language every day. Like many other educated people from his area, he speaks a lot of English.Kolokwe is hoping his involvement with Wikitongues can help keep Subiya and other African languages from going extinct. "I want the world to know about my language," Kolokwe said. But his goal goes beyond just sharing his language with others through video. He is also working to create a dictionary and language teaching materials that can be used in schools.1.What’s the purpose of Wikitongues?A.To help foreign language learners.B.To help preserve world languages.C.To call for more voluntary work.D.To bring old languages back to life.2.How is the third paragraph mainly developed?A.By timeB. By comparison C . By space D. By importance3. What does the underlined phrase “ got revived” (in Para.4) probably mean?A. Came to an endB. Fell into ruinC. Returned to lifeD. Came into being4. How does Theron Kolokwe sound in the fifth paragraph?A. Proud C. Excited C. Anxious D. RegretfulText 2Julie Inman Grant, Australia's eSafety commissioner(专员)，is warning parents to be careful about introducing "smart toys" into the family home this Christmas. She says while internet-connected toys can offer many benefits through interactive play and education, it's important parents be aware of possible privacy and security risks.The comments come after a recent survey showing Australian parents are divided about buying their children web-enabled Christmas gifts."After all, parents are on the frontline of defence against any risk their children can be exposed toonline, so remaining engaged in their online lives just as they are offline is integral," Ms Inman Grant told AAP in a statement.The eSafety commissioner suggested parents check how devices store and use kids' information, set strong passwords to keep their accounts safe and avoid linking their location or sensitive data with others. Users should also use the latest security and software updates and remove unnecessary functions like recording capabilities, Ms Inman Grant said.A recent survey of 1035 Australian parents suggested half were planning to buy smart devices and toys for kids this Christmas. At the same time, the survey carried out by Norton said 50 per cent of parents were set to ask friends and relatives not to buy such devices for their children.Sydney parents Simone and Graham Kirkwood have taken a different approach by teaching their family of seven about smart use of smart devices. Using a phone app connected to the family's wi-fi router(路线), Mr Kirkwood can cut off all access to social media during dinner time and set daily time limits for certain sites.He said the rules were especially effective with his youngest two children. "Especially coming into summer, this is the perfect opportunity to get them off it," he told AAP." You can train them and then they won't be so reliant on it."1. Why is Ms Inman concerned about “smart toys”?A. They are highly addictive.B. They cost parents too much.C. They are a danger to kids’ health.D. They contain privacy and security risks.2. What’s Ms Inman’s attitude to the recording function of smart devices?A. ApprovingB. DoubtfulC. GratefulD. Negative3. What do we know about Australian parents from paragraph 4?A. They prefer smart toys for their kids.B. They are equally divided on smart devices.C. They find it hard to live without smart devices.D. They seldom buy Christmas gifts for their kids.4. How does Mr Kirkwood deal with smart devices at home?A. He removed all of them decisively.B. He sets limits on them in a technical way.C. He keeps them away from all social media.D. He makes them accessible only at dinner time.Text 3Simply scan the bar code of the commodities and use Tencent's WeChat to pay. This is common in China, but now, it can also be achieved in Fuji-Q Highland park in Japan."No need to line up to pay. The price of the Japanese yen can be converted to RMB directly. And I can get a discount by using WeChat pay," a Chinese tourist told a reporter.On July 19, WeChat Pay became an official mobile payment partner for Fuji-Q Highland. Most of the stores in the park can use WeChat Pay. And visitors can also use WeChat to buy tickets at a discount, explore the map and check how long queues are."WeChat Pay used to work with companies in the retail and catering industry(餐饮业), but now we want to bring convenience to Chinese tourists in more fields, such as entertainment," saidZheng Hongmin, marketing director of Tencent's WeChat Pay international business.WeChat Pay entered the Japanese market in 2016, and it has spread fast. Over six million Chinese tourists visited Japan last year. Till June, the average number of daily transactions(交易) has increased more than six times compared with the same period last year. And the total trading amount rose over five times. However, achieving this is not easy. Japan is currently behind other countries when it comes to e-payments. The US-based Boston Consulting Group says 65 percent of payments in Japan are settled with cash, double the average of developed nations. However, more than 70 percent of Kenyan cellphone customers use mobile payments. The number jumps to 98 percent in Chinese urban areas.As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approach, Japan is heading towards being a cashless society, to stimulate athlete and tourist spending. This, also, is an opportunity for Chinese e-payment platforms to grab a bigger market share.1. What does the word “converted” in paragraph 2 mean?A. ChangedB.ReducedC. ConnectedD. Referred2. What does WeChat mean for visitors to Fuji-Q Highland?A. Free ticketsB. Cheaper foodsC. Longer queuesD. More convenience3. What’s Zheng Hongmin’s tone like in paragraph 4?A. AngryB. DoubtfulC. AnxiousD. Ambitious4. What information can we get from paragraph 5?A. It’s unlawful to use WeChat in Japn.B. Kenya is leading Japan in e-payments.C. Few Kenyan people can afford cell phones.D. Japn is leading developed nations in e-payments.Text 4What if you're in a driverless car and another car, driven by a human, is about to hit you? Can you seize back control and get out of the way?Driverless cars are very unlikely to make mistakes, says Ian Christensen from the iMOVE CRC, a company designed to bring driverless technology to market.But driverless cars cannot undo mistakes made by human drivers around them, which means if another human driver is about to hit you, it's unlikely your driverless car can do much to avoid the accident.What about a different scenario: a dog runs onto the road. How does the driverless car decide whether to swerve to avoid the dog if doing so would mean hitting a little girl on the opposite footpath? “This is easier,” says Christensen.“A driverless car will be able to recognize objects in its path and take action to avoid collisions（碰撞）. It will also be able to distinguish between most life forms: not between a labrador and a golden retriever, but between a dog and a human.”It will be programmed with a "relative negative consequence" of impact with each class of object and will always choose the "least bad" option. The car programmers are working on enabling the car to make additional animal identifications including horses, cows and sheep, and even kangaroos and moose. The more severe case of this problem is the choice between hitting and potentially killing the child on the footpath, or crashing the car into a brick wall and potentially killing the vehicle's occupants. Here you have an ethical(伦理的) dilemma, Christensen says, that's been with us since the beginnings of motorised transport.Humans are already forced to make those split-second choices on the road. The question is: Can society accept those calculations being made by a third-party computer programmer at the time of the car's design?1. What does the text mainly disucss？A. How to avoid traffic accidents.B. The popularity of driverless cars.C. The problem with driverless cars.D. How to protect dogs on the street.2. According to Christensen, a driverless car ____.A. is still far from market.B. makes silly mistakes sometimes.C. can keep off danger automatically.D. can become victims of human mistakes.3. What does a driverless car seem to need most in terms of technology?A. A sensitive braking system.B. An animal-friendly program.C. A "least bad" option program.D. An advanced alarming system.4. Which is the clo sest in meaning to the word “scenario” in paragraph 3?A. DangerB. ChoiceC. ExampleD. SituationText 5Days of circling the parking lot looking for a space may be a thing of the past. A new service, called MyPark, aims to make finding a spot much easier by letting users reserve it beforehand. When a spot is reserved, MyPark 'automatically knows you’re there' and uses a smartphone-controlled robot to make sure no one takes your place. Several malls, airports and venues (场所)around the U.S. have already taken advantage of the technology in their parking lots. Users download the app, make an account and enter their destination. From there, they'll be prompted to select a parking space from a map of the location's parking lot.Most of the spaces reserved by MyPark are located near the entrance to your destination, so it not only saves users the time of finding a spot, but also the hassle of a long walk. Users can either reserve a spot immediately before they arrive using the 'Park now' feature, or for sometime in the future, as the app lets users reserve a parking space up to six months in advance. Each reservation costs users a fee of about $1 to $3 for the first two hours and then additional charges for every additional hour after that.Each MyPark space has a small robot that folds up when a spot has been reserved. A black and yellow flag is situated on top of the robotic device, letting other drivers know that it's a MyPark spot. When users arrive at their reserved spot, they tap 'Let me in' on the MyPark app and the robot collapses（塌陷）into itself, so that the user can drive over it and park their car.'Convenient parking is often a challenge, so we created an app that makes parking easy,' MyPark's website explains. 'You can book in advance or right when you get to where you are going. 'The firm behind MyPark has secured deals with major US mall operators, such as Simon Property Group and the Mall of America.1. How does “MyPark” benefit the drivers?A. It cuts down their parking fee.B. It helps find the nearest parking lot.C. It helps find their cars in a parking area.B. It keeps a parking space for them in advance.2. What does the third paragraph mainly deal with?A. The advantages of MyPark.B. The costs of MyPark service.C. The working theory of MyPark.D. The process of parking through MyPark.3. Which is the closest in meaning to the underlined word “hassle”(in Para.3)?A. DistanceB. InterestC. TroubleD. Freedom4. A black and yellow flag in a MyPark space means“_____”A. there is danger aheadB. no parking for the moment.C. the spot has been reserved.D. this is for automatic cars only.Text 6Japanese engineer Masaaki Nagumo had always dreamed of operating a robot from "Mobile Suit Gundam," a popular animation (动画) TV series. It was Nagumo's favorite show when he was a child. The series features huge, human-controlled machines in battle.Now Nagumo has made the show come to life. Inspired by the machines, he has built a large robot called LW-Mononofu. The farming machinery company Sakakibara Kikai developed it. The robot is 8.5 meters tall, has two legs and weighs more than seven tons. It has a seating area with monitors and devices for the pilot to control the robot's arms and legs.Nagumo spoke to the Reuters about the popularity of the "Mobile Suit Gundam" series. It inspired movies, video games and more. And he suggested the robot could be popular as well."I think this can be turned into a business opportunity."Sakakibara Kikai develops robots in addition to its main agriculture equipment business. For a rate of about $930 an hour, people can rent the machines for children's birthday parties and other events. The company has created robots of all sizes. There is the almost 3.5-meter-tall Landwalker, the smaller Kid's Walker Cyclops, and the MechBoxer boxing machine.But the Mononofu stands above them all. It also does more complex movements. It can move its fingers and turn its upper body, and walk forward and backward. However, it moves very slowly –at a speed of less than one kilometer per hour.Although it may be slow, the Mononofu is very powerful. The air gun on its right arm shoots balls of soft material at 140 kilometers per hour. But Mononofu might be a bit too large. It is unable to leave the factory without being taken apart because it was built taller than the entrance.1. What makes “LW-Mononofu” vastly different from other robots?A. SizeB. ColorC. FunctionD. Material2. What’s one of the advantages of “LW-Mononofu”?A. I t’s saferB. It’s eco-friendlyC. It walks faster.D. It’s more flexible3. Who may be most interested in robots like “LW-Mononofu”?A. ChildrenB. HousewivesC. GardenersD. Athletes4. What may be the best title for the text?A. New robots popular with farmersB. Movie robots to be rememberedC. Japanese engineer builds huge robotD. Robots step into everyday life in JapanText 7Lawrence Hargrave, one of the inventors of Modern flight. He was to Aviation as Tesla is to electricity and electromagnetic theory, except without the crazy, the absurd delusions(幻想), excellent skills at business.An Englishman who emigrated to Australia, he's responsible for, among other things: Curved Airfoils, the box kite, the rotary（转动的）engine, stable instrumentation platforms for early weather science(Abbott Lawrence Rotch, who built the first ones at Harvard and later for the US weather bureau was building entirely from Hargrave's designs), Early development of hydroplanes, and some of the finest glider(滑翔机) designs the world had seen up to that point.Without him, the Wright brothers would have never gotten off the ground - their early flying experience was with Hargrave gliders, and they asked him for advice(which he freely gave) while building their aircraft. On top of that, Alberto Santos-Dumont, another aviation pioneer from whom the wright brothers took inspiration, based his designs on both the box-kite and Hargrave's aeronautical work. Sir Richard Threlfall of the Royal Society considered him the father of human flight, and noted that he had done more to advance the field of aviation than any other individual at the time. It has also been noted that the Wright brothers getting the credit for inventing powered flight when essentially doing little more than building from Hargrave's work is "A stain on scientific history", and that without him, they "would have died as a pair of bicycle mechanics, forgotten to history like so many others."He also never patented a single bit of it, believing that the knowledge should be freely available, and indeed, would send his designs to anyone who asked. He didn't care for profiting from his work, and only ever gave it away, never selling it, and caring only that he was able to add to the sum of Human knowledge.1. Which of the following was based on Hargrave’s work?A. AircraftB. BicyclesC. ElectricityD. The box kite2. What does the undelined phrase in paragraph 3 refer to?A. Human flight . B The science of aviationC. Hargrave's inventionD. The Wright brothers’ credit3. Lawrence Hargrave agrees with the idea that _____.A. everyone should be rewarded for his invention.B. It’s wise to patent an invention as soon as po ssible.C. Technology should be freely accessible to all mankind.D. There must be measures to protect inventors’ legal rights.4. What type of writing is the text?A. A biographyB. An advertisementC. A science fictionD. A technical reportText 8Have you ever lost your car on a parking lot? It happens. You park and go shopping. When you get back, you don't have a clue where your car is.But is there a way to track your vehicle without spending a fortune? A California-based company was able to make this a reality. They created a tiny device that works with your smartphone, and it could be exactly what you're looking for!What is it?It's called TrackR. It is a state-of-the-art tracking device the size of a quarter. It's changing the way we keep track of the important things in our lives.How Does it Work?It's easy! Install the free TrackR app on your smartphone, connect the app to your device and you're ready to go! Simply attach TrackR to whatever you want to keep tabs on. The entire process of setting it up only takes 5 minutes or less.You can attach it to your keys, briefcase, wallet, your latest tech gadgets and anything else you don't want to lose. Then use the TrackR app to locate your missing item in seconds.Forget expensive GPS systems or tracking services. Nobody wants to pay expensive monthly subscription fees. We understand how stressful these things can be, and this is the reason why TrackR was created. This device is your VIP when you need to take care of more important things in life.Remember the car mentioned above? If you have the TrackR, you can just hide it under your car's floor mat, in the trunk or in the glove compartment. Somewhere it won't be found if your car gets stolen.If you forget where you parked your car, take out your smartphone and open the TrackR app. Tap on the "lost item" icon on the screen and the app will tell you the exact coordinates(坐标) of the last known location of the TrackR.1.What can we do with the TrackR?A.Help with our driving.B.Find a parking lot quickly.C.Protect our important items.D.Do shopping on a smartphone.2.What is TrackR’s advantage over GPS system?A.It is of a smaller size.B.It’s very easy to set up.C.It spares us of a monthly fee.D.It involves the latest technology.3.The TrackR should be put in your car where ____.A.it’s not easily found.B.it’s near the window.C.it gives clear signals.D.it’s within your easy reach.4.What may be discussed immediately following the text?A.Why is it invented?B.What steps to follow?C.How to use TrackR?D.How much does it cost?Text 9A Dutch company has developed technology to follow the movements and activities of cows. The company, Connecterra, launched the system in the United States after several years of testing and operations in Europe.A device is put around the neck of the cow to record its movements. This information is then processed by a computer that uses AI to learn about the animal's behavior over time. The system can tell farmers what the cow is doing in real time.Richard Watson owns the Seven Oaks Dairy in Waynesboro, Georgia. He was one of the first American farmers to use the high-tech system. "It can pick up whether the cow is eating, whether it is walking, whether it is drinking, whether it is laying down, or standing up."Watson said the system is a big help because in the past it was impossible for farmers to keep up with the activities of each cow individually.He added that having a computer identify could help improve farm productivity by up to 10 percent. He estimates this difference could greatly increase his profits."Just a 10 percent or five percent increase, or improvement in productivity, means thousands of dollars to us, aside from the fact that we just want happier and healthier and more welfare in our animals." Watson says he sees the technology being used in many large farming systems if it continues to be successful over time.The founder and head of Connecterra is Yasir Khokhar. He says the idea for the system came while he was living on a dairy farm south of Amsterdam. "It turns out the technology farmers use now is really outdated in many ways". He says modern agriculture greatly needs new technology like this.The company says information about the cows can be collected and seen on a cellphone or other mobile device. A text message can also inform farmers of concerns involving the animals.1. What can American farmers do with the new system?A. Develop markets for their cows.B. Find food and water for their cows.C. Keep their cows happy and healthy.D. Know the behavior of their cows at any time.2. How does Watson feel about the new system?A. CuriousB. satisfiedC. WorriedD. Uncertain3. We can conclude from the 4th paragraph that the new system___.A is not accessible at the moment.B. works well without a computer.C. is expected to benefit farmers a lot.D. is likely to be rejected by the farmers.4. What may be the best title for the text?A. New Technology Means Better ProfitsB. Technology Makes Life Easier for Farmers.C. Dairy Farmers Need Up-to-date InformationD. Smart Farm' Technology Tracks Behavior of CowsText 10Do you find yourself checking Facebook as soon as you wake up in the morning? Do you answere-mails on your Blackberry while surfing the Web? Even as you read this article, is your right index finger twitching on the mouse, just itching to click on something new?If so, welcome to the 21st century. Without even realizing it, we've signed up for a life in which we're all connected, all the time. Whether or not this is a good thing is the subject of Hamlet's Blackberry, a new book by William Powers.Early in the book, Powers describes a scene that should strike many as familiar: He is standing at a crosswalk in the middle of Manhattan, alongside five or eight other people —all of whom are staring intently at some digital device."Here I was in New York, the most fantastic city in the world — so much to look at, to see and hear, and everybody around me essentially wasn't present," says Powers, "These gadgets are wonderful, and they do fantastic stuff for us all day long, but to miss out on your surroundings all the time, which I think we increasingly do — I really question that."The writer may question the way we use our gadgets, but he certainly doesn't condemn it. ("With a few keystrokes, I can bring up an old manuscript from the British Museum. That is miraculous," he says.) He does, however, recognize the downside of constantly being flooded with new information —or what he calls the "conundrum(难题) of connectedness." "We don't have any gaps, any breaks in which to make sense of it; do something new, creative with it; enjoy it," he says.Among the things that suffer from our overconnectedness, Powers says, are relationships. "If we're constantly toggling between people on Facebook and texts and all these new ways of connecting all day long, and we never have a sustained connection, it's not really connectedness," Powers says. "It's sort of the opposite of connectedness."1. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?A. To complain about social media.B. To share the views of a new book.C. To advertise a book by William PowersD. To advise on how to build better relations.2. What does the word “intently” in Paragraph 3 mean?A. BrieflyB. CasuallyC. AbsorbedlyD. Anxiously3. How did Powers feel about the scene he saw at a crossing in Manhattan?A. DelightedB. FrightenedC. CuriousD. Dissatisfied4. What’s the message Powers conveys in the last paragraph?A. Relationships based on Facebook will not last long.B. Too much time on Facebook may damage our relations.C. Social media sites like Facebook cost much of our time.D. Communications through Facebook cause misunderstandings.答案与解析：Text 11. B 细节理解题。

高中英语科技类阅读四Animals can move from place to place, but plants cannot. When an animal is under attack, it can run away or fight back. . Plants certainly cannot run away, and they lack teeth and claws. But plants can defend themselves by using both physical and chemical means.Some plants have their own ways to keep animals away. For example, the leaves of the holly plant have sharp spines (刺) that discourage grass-eating animals. Holly leaves on lower branches have more spines than leaves on upper branches. This is because the lower leaves are easier for most animals to reach. .Some plants, such as the oak tree, have thick and hard leaves that are difficult for animals to eat. Some grasses may contain a sandy material; eating such grasses wears dow n the animal’s teeth.Many plants also have chemical defenses. Some plants produce chemicals that taste bitter or cause an unpleasant reaction. Some plants may fight against an attack by increasing the production of these chemicals. When a caterpillar (毛虫) bites a tobacco leaf, the leaf produces a chemical messenger. This messenger sends to the roots the information to produce more nicotine. The higher levels of nicotine discourage the caterpillar.Many plants depend on both physical and chemical defenses. A certain plant in China, for instance, has prickly (多刺的) leaves, and each prickle contains poisonous venom (毒液). A single experience with this kind of plant will teach an animal to stay away from it in the future .1. The holly plant has more spines on the lower leaves because most animals________.A. are not tall enoughB. like the lower leaves onlyC. are not clever enoughD. can get the lower leaves easily2. To defend themselves, oak trees use________.A. chemical meansB. physical meansC. bitter chemicalsD. sandy materials3. How does tobacco protect itself against an attack from a caterpillar?A. Its leaves fight against the attack by physical means.B. Its roots send a messenger to discourage the caterpillar.C. Its roots increase the production of nicotine when it is attacked.D. Its leaves produce poisonous sand to drive the caterpillar away.4. What would be the best title for this passage?A. Plants and AnimalsB. How Plants Defend ThemselvesC. Attacks and DefensesD. How Animals Eat Plant LeavesBWe experience different forms of the Sun’s energy every day. We can see its light and feel its warmth. The Sun is the major source of energy for our planet. It causes the evaporation(蒸发) of water from the oceans and lakes. Sunlight also provides the energy used by green plants to make their own food. These green plants then provide food for all organisms(生物) on the Earth.Much of the energy that comes from the Sun never reaches the Earth’s surface. It is either reflected or absorbed by the gases in the upper atmosphere. Of the energy that reaches the lower atmosphere, 30% is reflected by clouds or the E arth’s surface. The remaining 70% warms the surface of the planet, causes water to evaporate, and provides energy for the water cycle and weather.Only a tiny part, approximately 0.023%, is actually used by green plants to produce food.are therefore called greenhouse gases.When sunlight strikes an object, some of the energy is absorbed and some is reflected. The amount reflected depends on the surface. For example, you’ve probably noticed how bright snow is when sunlight falls on it. Snow reflects most of the energy from the Sun, so it contributes to the low temperatures of winter. Dark-colored surfaces, such as dark soil or forest, absorb more energy and help warm the surrounding air.5. According to the passage, the root cause for weather changes on the Earth is ______.A. the atmosphere surrounding the EarthB. water from oceans and lakesC. energy from the SunD. greenhouse gases in the sky6. Only a small part of the Sun’s energy reaches the Earth’s surface because most of it is ______.A. absorbed by the clouds in the lower atmosphereB. reflected by the gases in the upper atmosphereC. lost in the upper and lower atmosphereD. used to evaporate water from the oceans and lakes7. We learn from the passage that ______.A. all living things on the Earth depend on the Sun for their foodB. a forest looks dark in winter because it absorbs solar energyC. only 0.023% of the energy from the Sun is made use of on the EarthD. greenhouse gases allow heat energy to escape from the Earth’s surfaceDBC B C CA。