YOSHINOBU NOZAKI / KAZUKO MATSUMOTO / ALASTAIR GRAHAM-MARR / KEVIN CLEARYSCIENCEMATTERS!

Contents
Unit

1Solar Impulse

Unit

2 The Lyrebird

Unit

3 Busy Bees

Unit

4 Biometric Data

Unit

5 Rare EarthUnit

6 Herd Immunity

Unit

7 Geothermal Energy

Unit

8 Insects for FoodUnit

9 Ivory

Unit

10 Maglev Train
Unit

11 Robots
Unit

12 International Space Station
Unit

13 Pipe OrganUnit

14 Earthquake and Detection Systems
Unit

15 Abyss

大空を駆けるテクノロジー

11

美しいものまねの達人

16

身近な働き者―ミツバチ

21「私」を証明するためのリスク

26

可能性を秘めた注目の資源

31

集団感染のリスクを減らすには

36

安定した電力源としての可能性41豊富で栄養価の高い身近な食材

46

象牙取引の現実

51

疾走する未来のトレイン

56

活躍の場を広げるロボット

61

約 400 キロ上空の実験施設

66

技術が生み出す多彩な音色

71

命を守るテクノロジー

76

生命を育む熱水噴出孔

81

UnitTitle Impulse
Solar01

タイトル
大空を駆けるテクノロジー

太陽光エネルギーだけで飛ぶソーラーインパルスは、開発から約 10 年でアメリカ横断飛行を達成しました。各航空会社が飛行時間短縮に目の色を変える中、ソーラーインパルスはスピードを度外視し、再生可能エネルギーを活用したクリーンなフライトの実現に力を注ぎます。太陽電池の改良や機体デザインの工夫といったテクノロジー面でのチャレンジと、パイロットの冒険精神が呼応した同機は航空業界に革命を起こすかもしれません。

Pre-Exercises
Focus on Words
日本語の意味に合うように a 〜 f 、g 〜 l の各語群から適切な語を選びましょう。

1. 夜間飛行を楽しむ

enjoy a night (2. 大気汚染に苦しむ

suffer from air (3. 生物学的特徴を分析する

analyze a biological (4. 燃料不足に直面する

face a (5. ある装置を操作する

operate a ()))) shortage)a. featureb. flight

c. fueld. pollution

e. devicef. satellite

6. 太陽熱暖房を利用する

use () heating

7. 人を奮い立たせるスピーチをする

make an (8. 高度情報システムに頼る

rely on (9. 効率的なエネルギー技術を開発する

develop an (10. 曇り空を見る

look at a () speech) information systems) energy technology) sky

g. advanced

h. cloudyi. efficient

j. inspiringk. solarl. angled
11

Solar Impulse

Reading
Part I

enough “lift” to fly. Although it goes only 70 km/h, theamount of air going under the long, angled wings pushes
DL 02

CD1- 02

Notes

up on them enough to keep the airplane aloft.
A key feature of the high-tech plane is its energy

Using a jet, people can go from San Francisco to New

storage system, which consists of extremely advanced

York City in about six hours. So what could be so exciting

lithium-polymer batteries. These batteries are charged

about a new plane, Solar Impulse, that took over two

up by the solar panels that cover Solar Impulse’s wings

months to fly between those two cities? Two words: clean

and convert sunlight to electricity.

energy. By using solar energy, the flight required no fuel,and it produced no pollution. But the cross-country flight
did create a lot of excitement.
Swiss pioneers Bertrand Piccard, a psychiatrist
and balloonist and André Borschberg, an engineer,entrepreneur and professional pilot started working on
Solar Impulse in 2003. A team of about 50 experts brought
the plane to the point where it could successfully fly, forthe first time in history, day and night powered only byclean energy
電気や熱に変えても有害物
質を出さないエネルギー
clean=free fromharmful or unpleasant
substancesengines are very efficient. Amazingly, Solar Impulse

cross-country ﬂight

keep flying even when it is cloudy or dark.

国土横断飛行a psychiatrist andballoonist
精神科医で気球操縦者

brought the plane tothe point where ~その飛行機を〜（の）レベルに至らせた

As you may imagine, the plane’s battery-powered
produces more energy than it uses. Thus, the plane canenergy storage
systemエネルギー貯蔵システム

lithium-polymer
batteries
リチウムポリマー電池
リチウムイオン電池の電解質にゲル状のポリマー（高分 子）を利用した充電可能な電 池。高 容量、高電 圧、軽量を特徴とする。

convert sunlight toelectricity
promise 将来の見込みpromise.

weather monitoring
devices

For example, low-flying satellites, weatherdevices,andperhaps

flyingelectricity

generators will use the technology that the Solar Impulse

only one person—the pilot—it is not meant to replace arecords and yet, of course, it will help accelerate us into an

Instead, it is intended to show a new way of using

aloft 空中に

low-ﬂying 低高度のteam has developed. Solar Impulse won’t set any speed
passenger jet aircraft

angled 斜めのImpulse to travel without stopping for fuel has great

the sun and across the USA in 2013. As the plane carriespassenger jet aircraft.

“lift ”
「揚力」浮き上がる力のこと

太陽光を電気に変える

The combination of technologies that allows Solar

monitoringage of clean energy.

Unit 1(423 words)

気象観測装置ﬂying electricity
generators
飛行発電機

accelerate us into ~私たちが〜に入ることを早める

ジェット旅客機

renewable energy. The cross-country trip took two months
because Solar Impulse visited many cities on the way
from the West Coast to the East Coast. Many people wereexcited to get a close look at the inspiring plane that flies
for free, and perhaps they caught a glimpse of a brighter
future, too.

from the West Coast
to the East Coast
アメリカ西海岸から東海岸へ

get a close look at ~〜をまじかに見る

caught a glimpse of ~〜を垣間見た■機体（ HB-SIA ※）について
主翼長＝ 63.4 m

機体長＝ 21.85 m
機体高＝ 6.4 m

機体重量＝1600 kg

平均飛行速度＝70 km/h

Part IIDL 03

最高高度＝ 8500 m

CD1- 03

The elegant plane’s wings are nearly three times aslong as its body. One reason for its 63.4 meter wingspanwingspan 翼長

is to give the plane enough surface area to capture thesurface area 表面積

necessary amount of sunlight.
Another reason for the long wings is to give the airplane※最初の試作機であり、これで米国主要都市訪問や大陸横断飛行に成功した。より長距離・長時間の飛行が可能な改良版、HB-SIB も開発された。

1213

Solar Impulse

Exercises

Summary（Focus on Phrases
語群から（Unit 1）に a 〜 e から適切な語を選び、それぞれの Part の要約文を作りましょう。

Part I）に適切な語を入れて英文を完成させましょう。

Solar Impulse does not create pollution, but it does (1.

その際、必要に応じて語形は変えること。

1. The newly-formed team of engineers started to () on a secret project.

2. While I was hiking in the forest, I () a glimpse of an unusualbird.
3. The function of a battery is to (4. The committee will () of five members at first, but more people

may be added later.
) the world record yesterday.

catch

consistexcitement. On its first trip (Crowds (3.
(4.

convertsetwork2.

CD1- 04) a great deal of) the United States it stopped at many cities.

) to see the plane. They understood that the plane was meant to) a message about clean energy, not passengers.

) chemical energy into

electrical energy.

5. A Swiss swimmer (DL 04a. acrossb. between

c. carryd. causee. gathered

Part IIDL 05

CD1- 05

Solar Impulse has extremely long wings. They are covered with solar panels,which (1.

) sunlight into electricity. The electricity is used to (2.

) the plane’sbatteries, which power the plane’s engines. As a result, Solar Impulse can fly
when it is cloudy or dark. In fact, Solar Impulse (3.
uses. The technology (4.

) more energy than it) for the plane will help us move away from using

fossil fuels for energy.

Focus on Contents
本文の内容に合うように（）に適切な語句を選びましょう。

a. advanced

b. chargec. convert

d. creates

e. developed

Part I
1. Solar Impulse is a success story for (a. cross-countryb. jet-propelled) engineering.
c. pollution-free

2. The importance of Solar Impulse is that it (a. carries many passengers).

b. uses a newly developed fuelc. uses renewable energy

Writing Practice
日本文の意味に合った英文になるように、［］内の語句を並べかえましょう。

1. ソーラーインパルスは、なぜ胴体の 3 倍もの長さの翼をもっているのだろうか。
Why does Solar Impulse have wings [ are / as long as / its body / three times /that ]?

Part II
1. () are needed to keep a solar plane in the air when it is dark or cloudy.

a. Cloth-covered wings

b. Super-efficient batteries

One reason is that the wingspan [ allows / enough lift / to create / to fly / thec. Highly-reflective panels
2. Solar Impulse has long wings so that it can (a. capture enough sunlight

2. 一つの理由は、翼長が、低速でも機体を飛行させるのに十分な揚力を生み出すからだ。

).

plane ] in spite of its low speed.

b. ensure a non-stop flightc. resist strong winds
1415