In 2016, designer Liz Ciokajlo received a task from the Museum of Modern Art (Moma) in New York: revisit the Moon Boot, a fluffy-looking snowshoe inspired by the footwear used by the Apollo astronauts.
Launched in 1972 at the height of the lunar missions, the Moon Boot is an icon of the 20th Century’s “plastic age” and the museum administrators wanted a new take on it.
Ciokajlo set out to reimagine it. She knew only a biomaterial would work in a “post-plastic age”, but the designer also wanted a new destination to inspire it. Our generation’s space travel obsession is not the Moon, she thought, but the red planet Mars. And Mars allows you to really think outside of the box.
The task led her to an amazing biomaterial that had already attracted the attention of engineers innovating m building materials and of top space agencies like NASA and ESA. Her final design, a tall, female, rough-looking boot, can be made on board a spaceship with almost only human sweat and a few fungus spores (真菌孢子), ideal for a seven-month trip to Mars with limited check-in luggage.
This magic biomaterial is mycelium (菌丝体), the vegetative part of the fungus It looks like amass of white thread-like structures, each called hyphae. Collectively, these threads are called mycelium and are the largest part of the fungus.
Mycelium has amazing properties. It is a great recycler, as it feeds off a substrate to create more material, and has the potential of almost limitless growth in the right conditions. It can endure more pressure than conventional concrete without breaking. It is a known insulator and fire-retardant and could even provide radiation protection on space missions.
On Earth it’s currently used to create ceiling panels, leather, packaging materials and building materials, but in outer space it stands out for its architectural potential, says artist and engineer Maurizio Montalti, who has teamed up with Ciokajlo.
For her revisited boot, Ciokajlo wanted to use the human body as the source for some of the building materials and decided to employ sweat. Reusing sweat is not entirely new in space exploration but a novelty approach for footwear. She thinks it might make astronauts feel closer to home during the long journey to Mars.
The design is still hypothetical, because the real boot submitted for Moma and currently in display at the London Design Museum did use mycelium but not human sweat, as their deadline was too tight, but the science checks out.
1.The sentences “‘Mars has always been a place where you can dream. It is a place where you can reimagine how to live on Earth.’ Ciokajlo says.” w should be put__________.
A. between Para. 1 and Para.2 B. between Para. 2 and Para.3
C. between Para.3 and Para.4 D. between Para. 4 and Para.5
2.According to the passage, which of the following Doesn’t belong to the characteristics of mycelium?
A. It can be recyclable.
B. It can protect people from radiation.
C. It can grow without limit whatever the condition.
D. Compared with conventional concrete, it can endure more pressure.
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The new design will be used for moon exploration.
B. It will be some time before the new design is put into actual use.
C. Mycelium has been currently widely used, especially in outer space.
D. Human sweat wasn’t used in the design because of some drawbacks.
4.The author takes a(n) ___________attitude towards the new design.
A. optimistic B. indifferent C. objective D. doubtful
Incredible experiences in Bucharest
Admire one of the world’s largest buildings
The world’s biggest parliamentary building, Palace of Parliament, happens to be in Bucharest. Hour-long guided tours manage to take in just a fraction of the building’s three-million-plus square feet (there are more than a thousand rooms) and focus on the tons of marble, hardwood, and gold used in the building’s construction in the 1980s, a time when Romania was trying to feed its own people. Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, both played a direct role in the construction. It was originally intended to house the presidential offices and the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party but was never finished.
See remains of old “Paris”
“Paris of the East” was Bucharest’s nickname in the decades before World War II. Decades of communist misrule and a tragic earthquake in 1977 brought much of the old city down but there are places here and there where that former elegance can still be glimpsed. The Cismigiu Gardens in the center of the city is a pearl of park built around a romantic lake and featuring old-growth trees and gracious, wrought-iron signposts and benches.
Learn about Romania’s roots
Walking though Bucharest’s busy streets, it’s easy to forget that outside the capital and a U large cities, Romania is a largely agricultural country, with a long and rich peasant tradition.The amazing Museum of the Romanian Peasant shows off the elaborate woodworking, pottery-making, egg-painting, and weaving skills of the peasantry in a way that’s both educational and amusing. Small tongue-in-cheek signs at the entrance to each room poke fun at modern life, bring a chuckle, and draw you in. Downstairs there’s a side exhibition on the Communists’ efforts to nationalize the peasantry in the 1970s and 1980s.
Appreciate 21st-century art
Romania has exploded onto the contemporary art scene in recent years. The excitement was generated initially by a group of young painters and visual artists from the northern city of Cluj-Napoca, but at least some of the action has shifted to the capital as new galleries and design centers open up. It’s hard to pinpoint precisely what constitutes Romanian contemporary art, though critics point to shared elements of wit and dark humor, a somber mood, and bits of surrealism in defining a common style.
1.Tourists to Bucharest can do the following things EXCEPT__________ .
A. admiring beautiful scenery of a park
B. appreciating its unique contemporary art
C. learning about the agricultural development in Romania
D. seeing the old city of Bucharest that has been well-preserved
2.It can be inferred from the passage that____________.
A. Ceausescu and Elena were two famous architects
B. Romanians might have suffered a lot during the 1970s and 1980s
C. Palace of Parliament in Bucharest is the largest building in the world
D. Romanian’s 21st-century art originated from the capital city Bucharest
Julie was one of my favorite students at the University of Nebraska. I remember her coming to me after class one day. While most students hurriedly left, Julie_______to ask questions about the next week’s exam.
Julie never_______it to the exam, though. The day after our conversation, she was tragically struck by a truck.
In Julie’s ward, her parents stood in quiet_______The physician entered, cleared his_______, and said, “Your Julie has only a few_______to live.” He felt the_______to ask, “Would you consider donating some of her organs?”
_______, in a neighboring state, Mary leaned forward, her eyes following every movement of her child. She was_______memories to enjoy when she could no longer_______him.
Several states away, John, 26, was reading to his sons, his body connected to a life-giving “artificial kidney”. Doctors had given him a________of only weeks to live. His only hope was a kidney transplant.
Julie’s grief-stricken parents________the physician’s question in their mind. Julie had once said she wanted to be an organ donor________her death.________as they were, they turned to the physician, responding, “Yes. Julie always gave to others while living. She would want to give in death.”
Within 24 hours, Mary was informed she would receive one of Julie’s eyes, and John was told to prepare for a kidney transplant. Julie’s other organs would give life and________to other waiting recipients.
“Julie died right after her twentieth birthday. My heart breaks again and again, at each birthday, at each________: when she might have graduated; when she might have married…” says Julie’s mother. “But Julie’s life was a________to us. Knowing that in her death, she gave life and sight to others is________to us, and remembering that we carried out her________has helped us________ the loss of her.”
I may have had a small part in teaching Julie how to live. But she, and her family, are still teaching me an even greater lesson how to________.
1.A. continued B. offered C. remained D. came
2.A. got B. made C. took D. deserved
3.A. embarrassment B. shock C. disbelief D. desperation
4.A. hand B. mind C. throat D. pocket
5.A. months B. hours C. minutes D. weeks
6.A. urge B. pressure C. freedom D. pride
7.A. However B. Meanwhile C. Anyhow D. Somewhat
8.A. calling up B. picking up C. setting up D. storing up
9.A. see B. touch C. hug D. feel
10.A. prescription B. notice C. diagnosis D. prediction
11.A. turned over B. figured out C. thought up D. took in
12.A. by virtue of B. in the event of C. on account of D. for fear of
13.A. Miserable B. Hesitant C. Passionate D. Motivated
14.A. happiness B. sight C. encouragement D. promise
15.A. ceremony B. crossroads C. milestone D. junction
16.A. lesson B. bless C. gift D. chance
17.A. comforting B. heartbreaking C. rewarding D. demanding
18.A. arrangements B. expectations C. wishes D. values
19.A. over B. through C. beyond D. with
20.A. give B. sacrifice C. help D. die
Kelly, what do you think of the guy who has a sweet voice?
To be frank, he is _________.
A. not the salt of the earth B. not my cup of tea
C. a person of interest D. a man in the street
Hope there will be an end to the trade war between China and the US.
Indeed, otherwise both sides _________ a lot.
A. must suffer B. were to suffer C. suffered D. would suffer
As an American living in-Tianjin for about 10 years, Chris says that it has been a ________ be a witness to China’s great progress.
A. privilege B. preference C. priority D. principle
