PITTSBURGH – For most people, snakes seem unpleasant or even threatening. But Howie Choset sees in their delicate movements a way to save lives.
The 37-year-old Carnegie Mellon University professor has spent years developing snake-like robots he hopes will eventually slide through fallen buildings in search of victims trapped after natural disasters or other emergencies.
Dan Kara is president of Robotics Trends, a Northboro, Mass.-based company that publishes an online industry magazine and runs robotics trade shows. He said there are other snake-like robots being developed, mainly at universities, but didn’t know of one that could climb pipes.
The Carnegie Mellon machines are designed to carry cameras and electronic sensors and can be controlled with a joystick(操纵杆). They move smoothly with the help of small electric motors, or servos, commonly used by hobbyists in model airplanes.
Built from lightweight materials, the robots are about the size of a human arm orsmaller. They can sense which way is up, but are only as good as their human operators, Choset added.
Sam Stover, a search term manager with the Federal Emergency Management Agency based in Indiana, said snake-type robots would offer greater mobility than equipment currently available, such as cameras attached to extendable roles.
“It just allows us to do something we’ve not been able to do before,” Stover said, “We needed them yesterday.”
He said sniffer dogs are still the best search tool for rescue workers, but that they can only be used effectively when workers have access to damaged buildings.
Stover, among the rescue workers who handled the aftermath (后果) of Hurricane Katrina, said snake robots would have helped rescuers search flooded houses in that disaster.
Choset said the robots may not be ready for use for another five to ten years, depending on funding.
72. Which institution is responsible for the development of Choset’s robots?
A. Robotics Trends. B. Pittsburgh City Council.
C. Carnegie Mellon University. D. Federal Emergency Management Agency.
73. Choset believes that his invention ______.
A. can be attached to an electronic arm B. can be used by hobbyists in model airplanes
C. can find victims more quickly than a sniffer dog
D. can sense its way no better than its operators
74. By saying “We needed them yesterday” (paragraph 7), Stover means that snake-like robots _____.
A. could help handle the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
B. would have been put to use in past rescue work
C. helped rescuers search flooded houses yesterday
D. were in greater need yesterday than today
75. What is the text mainly about?
A. Snake-like robots used in industries. B. Snake-like robots made to aid in rescues.
C. The development of snake-like robots. D. The working principles of snake-like robots.
Scientists have found what look like caves on Mars(火星), and say they could be protecting life from the planet’s terrible environment.
The first caves discovered beyond the Earth appear as seven mysterious black dots on the pictures sent back by NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter. Each as large as a football field, they may be openings into natural caves below the Martian surface.
“If there is life on Mars, there is a good chance you’d find it in caves,” said Jut Wynne,one of the researchers who noticed the features while working on a US Geological Survey Mars Cave Detection Program.
Jonathan Clarke, a geologist with the Mars Society of Australia, yesterday described the discovery as exciting.
One photo taken at night by an infrared imager(红外线成像器) showed one hole to be unusually warm, suggesting hot air trapped during the day is flowing out.
“I said:‘Wow, that’s a cave’” Dr. Clarke said excitedly. “People have been looking for these for a long time; now we have found them.”
He agreed such caves would be perfect places to hunt for life escaping from the bitterly cold, radiation-soaked(充满辐射的), dry surface.
“Tiny drops of water could collect inside,” he said. “If there are gases coming out, they could provide energy for a whole range of bacteria. A cave is also a protection from radiation; the surface of Mars is exposed to high levels of space radiation.”
The caves probably formed when tube-shaped lave flows(管状岩浆流) spread across the planet long ago. The outside of the tubes cooled, forming solid walls, while something hotter inside allowed the remaining have to flow out, forming caves.
64.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. How the caves were formed on Mars.
B. How scientists found these caves on Mars.
C. Caves on Mars may be full of hot air or a sign of life.
D. Scientists have completely recognized the surface of Mars.
65.We can learn from the passage that .
A. water has already been found on Mars
B. the scientists found all the caves at night
C.it is certain that there is life in these caves
D.the surface of Mars is bitterly cold, radiation-soaked and dry
66.According to the passage, Dr. Clarke was so excited because .
A.such caves could provide energy for life
B.they had finally found the caves on Mars
C.such caves would be perfect places to hunt for life
D.scientists had long been looking for these caves
67.Necessary conditions for life on Mars mentioned in the passage may include .
A.lava and energy B.water and radiation from space
C.gases and lava D.water and protection from radiation
The building around the comer caught fire last night. The police are now _____the matter.
A. geeing through B. working out C. looking into D. watching over
"Have you ever been out on a boat and felt it lifted up by a wave? Or have you jumped in the water and felt the rush of energy as waves came over you?" asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group at the University of Edinburgh. "There is certainly a lot of energy in waves," he said.
Scientists are working to use that energy to make electricity. Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean. "The wind starts out by making little ripples (涟漪) , but if they keep on blowing, those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves," Taylor said. " Waves are one of nature 's ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey.
When waves come toward the shore, people can set up dams to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine (涡轮机) . The turbine can then power an electrical generator to produce electricity.
"The resource is huge," said Janet Swain of the Worldwatch Institute. "We will never run out of wave power. " Besides, wave energy does not create the same pollution as other energy sources, such as oil or coal. Oceans cover three-quarters of the Earth's surface - that would make wave power seem ideal for creating energy throughout the world, though there are some weak points yet to overcome.
Swain said that wave power still costs too much money. She also said that its effects on sea animals are still unknown. What is more, wave power could affect fishing and boat traffic.
Traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may someday run out. " Demand for energy to power our TVs and computers, drive our cars, and heat and cool our homes is rising rapidly throughout the world," Swain said. In the future when you turn on a light, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity!
64. The writer uses the two questions at the beginning of the passage to _______.
A. test the readers' knowledge about waves B. draw the readers' attention to the topic
C. show Jamie Taylor's importance D. invite the readers to answer them
65. The underlined phrase "picking up" (paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to _______.
A. starting again B. speeding up C. gathering D. improving
66. We can make better use of wave energy if we _______.
A. shorten its journey to thousands of homes B. build more small power stations on the oceans
C. reduce the cost of turning it into electric power
D. quicken the steps of producing electricity
67. It can be inferred that some day we might not worry about ________.
A. air pollution B. our boat traffic C. our power supply D. our supply of sea fish
The system has been designed to give students quick and easy to the digital resources of the library.
A. access B. passage C. way D. approach
Dorothy Brown was very happy as she sat in the theatre listening to the music. Today her little daughter Lauren was giving her ___1___ concert. She had been waiting for this ___2___ for years and years. “Now it is here at last,” she thought. “How beautiful her ___3___ is.”
The song made her ___4___ to the days when she was Lauren’s ___5___. As a young ___6___, Dorothy wanted to be a concert singer. She studied ___7___ in France, Italy and in the United States. “You can become a fine ___8___ in the future,” her teachers told her. “But you must be ___9___ to study hard and work for many years. There will be ___10___ time for anything but music in your life.”
Dorothy was ___11___ at that time and she was ___12___ that music was all she wanted or needed to ___13___ her life. For almost a year Dorothy ___14___ of nothing else. Then she ___15___ David, a young engineer travelling Europe. They soon fell in ___16___. David asked her to be his ___17___. Dorothy also wanted to marry David. But she loved ___18___, too. She didn’t know what to do. David was against her being a singer. He said, “If you want to be a singer, you must forget about getting married. You can’t ___19___ do both.” Thus her days were gone and would never return.
Now Lauren became a singer instead of her, which was her ___20___.
1. A. sorry B. successful C. first D. wonderful
2. A. dance B. moment C. show D. party
3. A. voice B. face C. dress D. life
4. A. think of B. bring back C. go back D. come back
5. A. age B. friend C. mother D. teacher
6. A. musician B. pop star C. lady D. girl
7. A. French B. music C. piano D. dance
8. A. actress B. student C. singer D. dancer
9. A. prepared B. learning C. driven D. waiting
10. A. some B. any C. no D. enough
11. A. eight B. eighteen C. eighty D. eighty-eight
12. A. lucky B. sure C. afraid D. fond
13. A. fill B. live C. lead D. take
14. A. heard B. knew C. talked D. thought
15. A. saw off B. learned from C. heard of D. met with
16. A. love B. feeling C. music D. touch
17. A. assistant B. teacher C. wife D. student
18. A. him B. engineering C. herself D. music
19. A. certainly B. possibly C. only D. mainly
20. A. thought B. hope C. purpose D. will
The Migration of Birds
Here is a scientific experiment on the homing of birds, the fact of which are quite certain. A few years ago seven swallows were caught near their nests at Bremen in Germany. They were marked with a red dye on some of their white feathers, so that they could easily been seen. Then they were taken by plane to Croydon, near London. This is a distance of 400 miles.
Then the seven swallows were set free at Croydon. Five of them flew back to their nests at Bremen. How did the birds find their way on that long journey, which they had never made before? That is the great puzzle. It is no good saying that the swallows have a sense of direction. These are just words and explain nothing. We want to know exactly what senses the animals use to find their way, how they know in which direction to go until they can see familiar landmarks. Unfortunately practically no scientific experiments have yet been made on this question.
Perhaps migrating birds are the greatest mystery of all. Swallows leave England in August and September, and they fly to Africa, where they stay during our winter. The swallows return to England in the late summer for the south. A lot has been found about the journeys of migrating birds by marking the birds with aluminum rings put on one leg. An address and a number is put on the ring.
Swallows from England go as far as South Africa and as many as fourteen birds, marked with rings in England, have been caught again in South Africa. From England to South Africa is a journey of 6,000 miles. And the birds not only return from Africa to England next spring, but often they come back to the nests in the very same house where they nested the year before.
17．The seven swallows were marked on some of their feathers because .
A．they would be taken away by plane
B．they would be free in London
C．Croydon was 400 miles away
D．they could easily be seen for the red colour
18．Which of the following is true? .
A．Seientists have found why the animals can see their nests.
B．No one knows why the swallows can fly back to their familiar landmarks.
C．It’s very simple that the birds use sense of direction.
D．Many experiments have been made on how birds can fly their way home
19．Swallows like to spend ”our winter” in .
A．England B．London C．Africa D．Germany
20．When do the birds return from South Africa to England every year?
A．summer B．spring C．winter D．Both A and B
Be Brave With New Things
The old advertising slogan, “so simple a child can do it ,” has taken on new meaning to me. A few weeks ago I got a computer, but I an mechanically illiterate. I knew that children had no fear of the future, so that seemed a good place to seek help. I asked my nephew, twelve years old, at an elementary school, to help me.
My nephew took the machine for granted and has simply accepted the fact that computers are now a way of life. He plays with them and does his homework on them and even creates programs for them. I , on the other hand, are terrified by what this equipment can do. It can interchange paragraphs, switch words around and even correct my spelling. It informs me of Its limitations, takes commands and asks questions. It even seems to have a sense of communication. Rather than accusing me of making an error, it prints “One of us has made a mistake!” It never gets tired and is always patient and ready to go when I am.
I think it was somewhat normal for me to be suspicious of computers. They represent a break with some very familiar habits and traditions. It is only human to instinctively avoid anything that shifts thoroughly from the acceptable, comfortable past. But the world is governed by ceaseless change and we must therefore establish links with the present and future as well as the past. Computer technology is an excellent case in point, as the newest systems grow out of date in only a few years, or even months.
This ability to see, experience and accept the new is one of our saving characteristics. To be fearful of tomorrow, to close ourselves to possibilities, to resist the inevitable, to advocate standing still when all else is moving forward, is to lose touch. If we accept the new with joy and wonder, we can move gracefully into each tomorrow. More often than not, the children shall lead us.
19．What is the new meaning of “So simple a child can do it” for the author?
A．computers are so easy to operate that even a child can play them well
B．A child can always do more complex things than an adult.
C．It is easier for a child to accept new things than for an adult.
D．A child has greater ability than an adult in operating computers.
20．According to the second paragraph, which of the following statements is true?
A．The nephew thought it is natural to accept the fact that computers are now a way of life.
B．The nephew believed that machines were made for people to do whatever they wanted.
C．computers are not only used to communicate, but also to remove their limitations.
D．It is a fact that both adults and children have accepted computers as a way of life.
21．Which of the following doesn’t the author’s computer do ?
A．It asks the author if she has made a mistake.
B．It accuses the author of making mistakes.
C．It corrects the author’s spelling mistakes.
D．It informs the author of her mistakes.
22．According to the third paragraph, it is human nature that we resist those things which
A．only represent the comfortable and acceptable past
B．change thoroughly into the comfortable and acceptable past
C．make people stand still when all else is moving forward
D．change completely from the acceptable and comfortable past
L’HAY-LES-ROSES, France: Three teenage girls admitted starting a fire in a suburban Paris housing project over the weekend that killed 17 people, including three children, police said yesterday. A fourth girl was held yesterday morning.
The fire in a 19-storey building south of Paris was the third fatal blaze in the Paris area in nine days. The death toll rose to 16 after a man died late Sunday in a hospital, where seven others
were being treated for serious injuries, police said. 全品高考网
Three teenagers taken in for questioning on Sunday admitted having started the fire for fun, police said. Two of the suspects were 18-year-old, the other was 16, police said. Further details were not available.
Witnesses claimed to have seen a group of youths who lived in the building start the fire, said Patrick Seve, mayor of the town of L’HAY-LES-ROSES, near Orly airport, where the building was located.
The fire is believed to have broken out in the lobby（门厅）of the building before raging up a stairwell at least three floors. Some residents jumped from windows as the fire spread through the building’s entrance.
Authorities were investigating possible criminals in an August 26 fire that killed 14 African children and three adults in a Paris apartment building. Three days later, another fire killed seven in a building.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy suggested on French television on Sunday night that copycats（盲目模仿者）were at work. “Each time there is a new story, sometimes that gives ideas to people who then turn into criminals,” Sarkozy said, promising severe punishment for anyone found guilty of arson（纵火）.
20. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs？
A. Three girls were caught setting fire to a building.
B. The fourth girl wasn’t present when the fire broke out.
C. All the people lost their lives before police came.
D. Paris was troubled by fire during that period.
21. Why did the teenagers start the fire？
A. They were interested in playing with fire.
B. They wanted to make fun of their parents.
C. They were not satisfied with the surroundings.
D. They wanted to warm themselves.
22. From the fourth and fifth paragraphs we know that ________.
A. the witnesses must have put out the fire
B. the lobby of the building was covered with wood.
C. the witnesses were familiar with the teenagers
D. the residents shouldn’t have jumped from windows
23. What the Minister said in the last paragraph means that ________.
A. he doesn’t like to listen to new stories
B. he has no time to write new stories
C. teenagers often have ideas to turn into criminals
D. teenagers may do the same as others have done
The fact ___ she was often late for school made her teacher angry.
A. which B. that C. if D. whether