Question

    Working on a farm and taking care of crops can be hot, time-consuming and difficult. Engineers have long wanted to build robots to lighten the load. But it has proved a difficult task. Robots that walk or roll along the ground can step on the easily damaged plants heavily. And they have to stop working when rain turns fields muddy.  “Tarzan”, however, could deal with some of those challenges.

Jonathan Rogers is a robotics expert at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. When it comes to a farm environment, he realized robots would face many problems. “Many robots tend to get twisted(弯曲的) together or get stuck,”he says. What's more, he notes, "It's very hard to leave them out for long periods without a human helping them.”

What if the robot could move above the crops? Jonathan Rogers says, “The sloths(树懒)move from tree branch to tree branch to avoid having to walk around the forest floor. "Then his team set out to design a robot that could swing hand to hand along wires hung above the field. He named their invention Tarzan after the jungle-swinging character in a movie.

Tarzan is not the first swinging robot. Mark Spong, a robotics researcher at the University of Texas at Dallas notes that some teams have built robots that do gymnastics or copy mammals. But he says he admires Tarzan for its using swinging movement to save energy and the idea of building a wire structure to move around above crops.

Rogers first predicted that Tarzan could help farmers monitor crops with sensors (传感器) and cameras. But he also said future robots might take water to a particularly thirsty plant or fertilize one that needs nutritional support. And adding a third “hand”could allow such a robot to harvest fruits and vegetables. Finally the robot could move off the farm and into the city, helping deal with the traffic and security.

1.What worried the engineers when they built the farm robots?

A.They took up too much space.

B.They made the farming process slow.

C.They had difficulty exploring in fields.

D.They caused certain damage to crops.

2.What does Jonathan Rogers think about most farm robots?

A.They take much time to make.

B.They get out of date more easily.

C.They depend too much on people.

D.They get used to the environment slowly.

3.What attracts Mark Spong most about Tarzan?

A.Its strong wings. B.Its low cost

C.Its creative design D.Its powerful engine.

4.How did Jonathan Rogers feel about Tarzan’s future?

A.It could be found everywhere.

B.It could be put into more practical uses.

C.It could be used to do all the farm work.

D.It could be popular with working people in cities.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.C

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。工程师们研发出一款机器人Tarzan，它可以减轻农场工作的负担。未来Tarzan可能会帮助农民使用传感器和照相机监控农作物、把水带到特别缺水的植物、给需要营养支持的植物施肥或者收获水果和蔬菜以及帮助应对交通和安全问题。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中的“Robots that walk or roll along the ground can step on the easily damaged plants heavily.”可知，沿着地面行走或滚动的机器人会严重踩踏容易损坏的植物。因此工程师在建造农场机器人时担心它们会对农作物造成一定的损害。故选D。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段中的“It’s very hard to leave them out for long periods without a human helping them.”可知，如果没有人类的帮助，很难让它们长时间独立地在农场上工作。因此Jonathan Rogers认为大多数农场机器人在工作中都在很大程度上需要依赖于人。故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段中的“But he says he admires Tarzan for its using swinging movement to save energy and the idea of building a wire structure to move around above crops.”可知，Mark Spong赞扬Tarzan利用摇摆运动来节省能源以及建造铁丝网结构以在农作物上方移动的想法，这些是Tarzan所独有的。由此判断出Tarzan最吸引Mark Spong的是该款机器人的创意设计。故选C。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段“Rogers first predicted that Tarzan could help farmers monitor crops with sensors and cameras. But he also said future robots might take water to a particularly thirsty plant or fertilize one that needs nutritional support. And adding a third “hand” could allow such a robot to harvest fruits and vegetables. Finally the robot could move off the farm and into the city, helping deal with the traffic and security.”可知，Rogers预测Tarzan可以帮助农民使用传感器和照相机监控农作物。但是他还说，未来的机器人可能会把水带到特别缺水的植物，或者给需要营养支持的植物施肥。加上第三只“手”可以使这种机器人收获水果和蔬菜。最终，机器人可以从农场来到城市，帮助应对交通和安全问题。因此可推断出，在Jonathan Rogers看来Tarzan在将来会有更多的实际用途。故选B。