What do butterfly wings have to do with computer screens? What do birds have to do with high speed trains?
These may sound like strange things to put together. But scientists, inventors, and designers are doing just that. They are learning from nature to create new technology.
The word biomimicry (仿生学) combines two words: biology and mimicry. So people using biomimicry try to use examples in nature to design new technology.
Biomimicry is not a new idea. People have been studying nature for hundreds of years. Leonardo DaVinci used birds as models to invent his flying machine. And when the Wright Brothers made the first successful airplane, they also studied birds. In 998, Janine Benyus, a natural science writer and teacher, wrote a book about biomimicry. To develop her interest in the subject, Janine Benyus started the Biomimicry Institute.
The Biomimicry Institute is a non-profit organization. It brings together scientists, designers, inventors and many other people. It offers classes to teach people biomimicry. It provides money for people to research and test new technologies. And it wants all people, from children to adults, to think about new ways to learn from nature.
People involved with the Biomimicry Institute believe that biomimicry can help solve many of the world’s problems. Often, new technologies can harm nature, but this is not true for biomimicry. Let’s look at some examples.
Butterflies have colorful wings because light shines off them in a special way. Scientists want to copy these same ways to make light shine off computers. They hope this will make for more colorful screens.
Another example of biomimicry is the bullet train. It travels at speeds of over 250 kilometers per hour! But it had a problem: it made too much noise!
Through the observation of birds, scientists thought about a kind of bird, the kingfisher(翠鸟). The kingfisher can dive into water without making any noise because of the shape of its beak(喙). Researchers thought that if they could design the front of the train like this beak, the train would be quieter. Well, it worked!
1.The first paragraph is written to_____.
A．start a discussion B．make a brief summary
C．introduce the topic of the text D．test readers' knowledge on science
2.Why did Janine Benyus set up the Biomimicry Institute?
A．To honor the Wright Brothers.
B．To show her recent inventions.
C．To gather talented people for her research.
D．To explore the link between nature and technologies.
3.We know from the text that the Biomimicry Institute _____.
A．earns a lot by giving classes on biomimicry B．tells people about their technologies
C．gives free support to scientists D．teaches children about birds
4.The author gives the two examples at the end of the text to show _______.
A．biomimcry works harmoniously with nature B．the fast development of modern technology
C．how biomimcry changes our life D．how nature inspires scientists
5.What’s the main idea of the text?
A．Biomimicry is widely used in the world.
B．People copy nature to create new technologies.
C．The Biomimicry Institute was set up for science.
D．Birds play an important part in new technologies.
The air bag is a piece of safety equipment in cars. It was first designed by John W. Hetrick in 1952. Like many inventions, he came up with the idea as a result of an event that had occurred in his life. He says:
“In the spring of 1952, my wife, my seven-year-old daughter, Joan, and I were out for a Sunday drive in our 1948 Chrysler Windsor. About three miles outside Newport we were watching for deer jumping across the road. Suddenly, there was a large rock in our path. I hit the brakes and we went into a ditch(壕沟).
“As I applied the brakes, both my wife and I threw our hands up to keep our daughter from hitting the car. There was soft mud in the ditch, so the car wasn’t damaged, and no one was hurt.”
“During the ride home I couldn’t stop thinking about the accident. I asked myself,‘Why couldn’t some object come out to stop you from striking the inside of the car?’As soon as I got home that night I drew some sketches(草图). Each evening for the following two weeks, I’d add or reduce something from the sketches.”
Hetrick applied an event he had observed while in the Navy to the design of the air bag. He was repairing a torpedo(鱼雷) which had a cloth covering. When the compressed（压缩的） air that was in the torpedo was let out, the covering was suddenly filled with air and was shot to the ceiling.
With this knowledge, he developed his design until he was able to obtain a patent on the invention on August 5, 1952. The idea was similar to the air bag designs of today. Compressed air is stored in a container and when a traffic accident occurs and the car slows down at a rapid enough rate, the air will be released into the air bag. The idea was ingenious, but Hetrick’s air bag never would have functioned properly. It was really a breakthrough, but it would require years and years of designing and testing by some top car designers before it could be used.
1.The car accident Hetrick was involved in ________.
A．damaged his car B．happened in 1948
C．was caused by a deer D．caused no harm to his family
2.Hetrick’s experience in the Navy________.
A．turned out to be dangerous B．was helpful to his invention
C．involved designing torpedoes D．inspired him to design an air bag
3.The underlined word “ingenious” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to _______.
A．creative B．ridiculous C．crazy D．complex
4.What do we know about the air bag Hetrick designed?
A．It came into use in the 1950s. B．It performed perfectly in car accidents.
C．It prepared the way for air bags nowadays. D．It took Hetrick about two months to develop it.
5.The text is mainly about ____.
A．the great inventor Hetrick B．The invention of air bags
C．a terrible car accident D．road safety in the 1950s
While most travelers aim to stay out of the hospital while on vacation, a growing number of medical tourists－people who combine treatment with travel － are crossing international borders for the purpose of getting medical services, which can range from a hip replacement to a tummy tuck. Widespread air travel, increasing healthcare costs in developed countries, long waiting lists and an ageing world population have all contributed to a global increase in medical tourism in the past decade. And Asia takes the lead in terms of world market share.
More than 89% of medical tourists travelled to Thailand, India or Singapore in 2010, with Bangkok and Singapore leading the pack. But the cost of hotel rooms and treatment are both far more expensive in Singapore than in the Thai capital, making Bangkok the most popular place for medical tourism in the world. Even after the serious floods of 2011, 19 million tourists visited Thailand in 2011, a 20% jump from 2010, with about 500,000 tourists travelling specifically for medical treatment.
Given Thailand’s reputation for outstanding service, it is not hard to see why Bangkok has quickly become the medical tourism centre of Asia. The Tourism Authority of Thailand(TAT), which began medical tourism in 2004, has a detailed medical tourism website that lists many of the most popular treatments available, including dental work, dermatology and cosmetic surgery, as well as listing reputed hospitals, making it easy for potential visitors to decide on a procedure. TAT has also recently partnered with Krungthai Bank, the national bank of Thailand, to offer tourists a card called the Miracle Thailand Card, which offers some medical and life insurance coverage in case of an accident.
“The hospitals in Bangkok are some of the highest quality in the world，meeting US standards，”said Steven Lash, CEO of a US-based medical travel company that sends tourists to Bangkok as well as to seven other countries, including Turkey and Mexico. "All of the tourists we have sent to these hospitals have given us excellent feedback (反馈) on their procedures and their experiences at the hospitals."
1. Medical tourism is so popular nowadays partly because_____.
A．aged patients prefer to travel
B．air travel is cheaper than before
C．local hospitals lack advanced equipment
D．medical treatment is expensive in some countries
2.Why is Bangkok’s medical tourism ahead of Singapore’s?
A．Bangkok provides an excellent service at lower prices.
B．Medical tourists in Bangkok get high health insurance.
C．The local authority in Bangkok has a good reputation.
D．Bangkok has a detailed medical tourism website.
3.The author develops the third paragraph mainly by _________.
A．giving figures B．Presenting effects
C．using examples D．making comparisons
4.Steven Lash thinks Bangkok’s hospitals_______.
A．are really excellent B．are welcomed by Americans
C．are famous mainly for their service D．are better than hospitals in the USA
5.What is the text mainly about?
A．The background of medical tourism.
B．The rise of medical tourism in Bangkok.
C．The advantages of medical tourism in Bangkok.
D．The comparison of medical tourism in Asian countries.
An anxious mother watched as rescuers freed her baby from a muddy well. After being pulled from the well，the baby joyfully ran to its mom as the rescuers took a break.
It was a difficult and potentially dangerous rescue: the baby was an 8-month-old elephant, and at first its mother thought the humans were trying to harm it. The baby elephant fell into the five-foot-deep well near Kenya's Amboseli National Park. Local people had dug the well for water.
It took 30 minutes to remove the trapped elephant. While Vicki Fishlock of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants made a loud shout to frighten the mother away, two men struggled to get a rope around the baby elephant. Once the rope was in place, Fishlock used her jeep to pull the baby out.
Fishlock recognized Zombe, the mother of the trapped baby elephant，from a mark on her ear. She believes that in the end Zombe realized the humans were trying to help.
“Rescues where the elephant’s family members are around are always stressful, and I'm always happy when everyone is safe,” Fishlock said.“The reunions (团聚) always bring tears to my eyes. The depth of their love for each other is one of the things that make elephants so unusual.”
The very next day, another baby elephant fell into the same well. The 3-month-old's family had been driven away from the area by local people. Once it had been rescued, the Amboseli Trust had to send it to an elephant orphanage (孤儿院) in Nairobi, Kenya's capital city.
The rescues showed the plight of elephants across Africa. Elephants are fighting to survive, as conflicts between the animals and humans are increasing. Thousands of elephants are also being killed for their tusks. The tusks are sold in Asia, where ivory trinkets are in high demand.
The Amboseli Trust has been studying elephants and trying to help them since 1972. Fishlock said, “We hope this rescue persuades people that elephants are special and deserve to be protected and treasured.”
1.We can learn from the text that _____.
A．Fishlock had seen the baby elephant before
B．The mother elephant was a great help to rescuers
C．the well was dug by local people to trap elephants
D．the mother elephant was unfriendly at first to the rescuers
2.What causes Fishlock to think that elephants are special?
A．Their trust in humans. B．The deep love between them.
C．Their great ability to survive. D．The good communication between them.
3.What did the two baby elephants have in common?
A．They were both 8 months old. B．They were both rescued by local people.
C．They were both trapped in the same well. D．They were both reunited with their mothers.
4.The underlined word "plight" in Paragraph 7 probably means“______”.
A．a strong personality B．A dangerous situation
C．an annoying habit D．a close relationship
5.What would be the best title for the text?
A．An elephant rescue B．The elephant, an unusual animal
C．An elephant rescue organization D．Conflicts between humans and elephants
"Remember, your father is only one year older than you．" That was Mom's usual excuse when Dad said the 36 things or did something foolish．
Dad 37 drinking exactly one year before I was born．He 38 a group of other people who had also stopped drinking．I loved my dad but I 39 the way his weekly meetings took him away from me．It seemed they were more 40 to him than I was．But with my 41 coming up I thought Dad would make an exception．"Can" t you 42 it just this time? Saturday is my birthday! " I begged him．He 43 , "I'm chairing the meeting this Saturday．We will have your party on Sunday．"
Saturday evening I sat on my bed, feeling 44 for myself．Dad started to leave, then 45 and said, "Why not come with me tonight? It' s an open meeting．All are 46 ．" What would I do at a meeting? But maybe I needed to see why something Dad did every week 47 so much。
After we arrived, Dad announced the 48 of the meeting was going to be gratitude．"Today I'm 49 seventeen years of stopping drinking, " he continued．"One year after quitting drinking I received the most 50 gift of my life, my daughter．I'm so grateful that she has 51 seen me drunk．" Shame washed over me．
Later, a man called Dave also told his 52 ．Only then did I know it was Dad that saved his life from drinking．Dad was the _53_ he was at the meeting that day．Showing up week after week and 54 with people, Dad was changing lives．I was so 55 of him．
1. A．wrong B．kind C．careful D．serious
2. A．considered B．enjoyed C．quitted D．practiced
3. A．encouraged B．joined C．respected D．mentioned
4. A．forgot B．explored C．regretted D．hated
5. A．important B．funny C．successful D．helpful
6. A．exam B．chance C．fortune D．birthday
7. A．change B．replace C．miss D．finish
8. A．declared B．promised C．continued D．refused
9. A．sorry B．ready C．good D．guilty
10. A．parked B．paused C．doubted D．wondered
11. A．surprised B．prepared C．welcome D．excited
12. A．benefited B．required C．offered D．mattered
13. A．theme B．result C．origin D．secret
14. A．facing B．performing C．celebrating D．suffering
15. A．precious B．expensive C．generous D．attractive
16. A．Ever B．never C．nearly D．seldom
17. A．joke B．puzzle C．response D．story
18. A．value B．result C．purpose D．reason
19. A．living B．meeting C．arguing D．moving
20. A．tired B．proud C．fond D．ashamed
There is a general but false assumption _____ intelligent people do better in life.
A．as B．what C．that D．which
