科技英语 课文摘要

Unit 1This text is about "A Robot in Every Home". Bill Gates predicted, at the beginning of the article, that the robotics will be the new focus of attention after PC an internet that will change people's daily lives greatly. In fact, "robot" is not a new concept. We can find "robots" in many science fiction. People have wishes to design robot like devices for thousands of years. Today robots have been widely used in industry production. However there is a long way to go before real robots catch up with their science -fiction counterparts.Unit 2There is a controversy over genetically modified foods. Some people hold favorable attitude towards them; some fear them. Recent scientific research about the hazards has been shown from three aspects: influence of GM corps on environment, nontarget organisms and nearby plants. At last one risk of evolution cannot be neglected. But what could be confirmed is that GM crops are just one more way that we're trying to outsmart pests－temporarily. Meanwhile a possible solution that some crop growers are advised to set aside some part of their farmland for crops that have not been genetically modified is also discussed.Unit 3In the race to prevent future 9/11-style attacks, federal investment in homeland-defense research has swallowed nearly $4 billion since 2003. High on the list of priorities is tightening up the technological means of ensuring security,by adopting in particular new surveillance measures. The government's ever-expanding homeland-security measures cover not just big targets but the nation's broader vulnerabilities as well. This article introduces five of the highest-risk areas including air, water, food supplies; borders, infrastructure; transportation; public spaces and the internet, along with some of the technologies emerging over the next few years to defend them.Unit 4The brightest minds in auto technology are about to do something to solve the oil problem. Automakers are developing new engine technologies and advanced automotive designs that promise to deliver 100 miles per gallon (mpg). There are three technologies that auto-industry insiders think could raise the bar for automotive fuel economy. By far the most obvious approach to achieving ultra-high mileage is to dramatically cut weight and wind resistance. Automakers also use the hydraulic hybrid, which is smaller and cheaper than conventional hybrids. Hydraulic hybrid could be installed in small car for almost no additional cost. Innovators also use the same thermodynamic process as jet engines to recuperate some of the heat lost to exhaust, which means more energy from a given amount of fuel than a conventional engine. The solutions to our oil predicament can have a huge influence on our life.Unit 5Screen printing is used in printing designs on various materials ranging from plastic to metal. Screen printings needs simple tools such as the mesh, the frame, the squeegee, the imulsion,etc. No matter what the screen is made of, the key is it isdesigned to be reusable to make as many prints as desired. The more color it involves in screen printing, the more complicated the process is. With the application of the CMYK color process, screen printing can be used to create very complex color designs. Screen printing achieves great popularity because it is easy to learn and it can create excellent work with relatively low costs..Unit 7Coating Nano-materialsThe structures and characteristics of synthetic coating of nano-materials are of great importance to nano-technologies. This paper discusses the new conceptions in manufacturing technologies, the Perfect Law of nano-materials, the characteristics of coating materials, etc., and presents the theory and development of coating material science and technology.Unit 8This article introduces to us a new invention called contour crafter. It is a robotically controlled machine which is used to make walls. The new wall-making machine can build a wall in a short time without human intervention. Though this new technology is not quite mature, the inventor believes that his contour crafter has the potential to build a whole house and it will drag building construction into the digital age.Unit 9Natural energy indicates the energy that drives, or activates natural phenomena. The first, solar energy, drives more that 99.9% of the activatingphenomena on the earth's surface. Today solar energy is a subject of growing interest on the part of the public. No matter what happens, though, solar energy will not make a major contribution to world energy sources before the 21century. The incident solar energy is distributed into many branches as shown in Fig.8.1. Solar energy is said to be clean and inexhaustible. Figure 8-1 also shows the distribution of the incident solar energy at the earth's surface. The artificial utilizations of solar energy are also listed there.Unit 10Written by the first of a new breed of ``quality gurus,'' Fourth Generation Management is a clear, concise synthesis of the best of current management practice and a host of dynamic prescriptions for the future. The centerpiece of the paper is the "Joiner Triangle", which provides the readers with a conceptual framework upon which to build a new corporate culture one that positions companies for growing productivity and profit in the years ahead. Focusing on quality as defined by the customer, a scientific, databased approach to management and the creation of long-term, team-spirited relationships both internally and externally, the Joiner Triangle is already gaining credence as the management philosophy of tomorrow.Unit 11Beijing 2008 Olympic Games calls on a powerful and scientific transportation system (Intelligent Transport System) to guarantee the Olympic transport security. To achieve all the objectives, some measures are taken.First, by 2008, Beijing will have had intelligent control over the urban transport.Secondly, interlinked road networks will be completed before 2008.Thirdly, the extensive application of Beijing's transportation informatization embodies the conception of "High-tech Olympics" and "Humanistic Olympics". Then it will be quite convenient for people taking part in the games in different ways, and the new transportation system is also a profound program for the future modernization of transportation and administration of the city.Unit 7We are totally absorbed by materials of various types. There are four big players in the arena of new materials competing for the place in the sun: metals, ceramics, organic polymers and biomaterial. Mankind have used natural materials for a long time, but for its comfortable life, modern and future mankind demand new materials not offered by nature. The development of new materials is now a newly oriented process. Today, various kinds of materials are researched and developed, such as anticorrosive materials, space materials, porous materials, electric materials, nanometer materials, multicomponent composite materials, etc..。