Every year landslides cause 25 to 50 deaths and $2 billion in damage in the United States. And in December, a single _ killed more than 2000 people in the Philippines. Sending workers to stabilize mountainsides using steel bars can help a lot, but it introduces new difficulties because of dust and loosen heavy, dangerous debris from the work. "It's a quite dangerous job," says Giorgio Pezzuto of D' Appolonia, working with eight other companies. Now there may be an answer: a three-ton robot called Roboclimber. "The idea is to operate a machine far away that can do the stabilizing job without a human being near,"says Pezzuto, manager for the project, which is supported by a European organization. Engineers say that the machine will be faster and cheaper than manual labor. The robot, a large radio-controlled four-legged spider, has cost at least $2 million so far. It should be able to climb mountainsides, drill holes and insert steel bars there. Testing should begin in May. What does the robot look like? A) human being B) spider C) steel bar D) a drill
B
(Question)
My name is Lisa.I have a bird.She is white.So I call her Xiaobai.Xiaobai is only two years old.She's not big.But she is beautiful and clever.She can speak. One day I go shopping with my sister Gina and Xiaobai.At Green Clothes Store Gina sees a red skirt and says, "Look! Lisa! That red skirt is very beautiful." Xiaobai answers her instead of me, "No.I think you look nice in that green skirt." Gina says, "OK.I listen to you." Then she asks the shop assistant, "How much is the green one?" The shop assistant looks at Xiaobai, opens her mouth but says nothing.At last she says to Gina, "I never see a bird that can speak these words.It's great! You can take this green skirt.Oh, you don't need to pay for it." Gina is very happy.She asks me and my bird to have a big lunch in Leo's Restaurant and then we go home. Xiaobai is _ . A) Lisa's sister B) Lisa's cousin C) a bird D) a dog
(Answer)
C
Ques: Think stars don't move? Think again! When you look at the sky at night, the stars may appear to stay in the same place. But stars are always on the move--they are just so far away that the movement is hard to see. But some stars move in ways that appear to be strange to be real. In 2005, astronomer Warren Brown found one of these space oddities . It was located on the outer edge of the Milky Way, the galaxy we live in. The star was speeding away like nothing he'd ever seen. "It seemed unbelievable. No star in the galaxy has a speed like that," Brown remembers. "I thought, oh my goodness, I have something kind of special here." No one had ever seen a star like this one. What does a scientist do when the results don't make sense? Brown didn't give up. Instead, he kept looking. And he kept finding more of these strange and speedy stars, called _ stars. Hyper means "above" and velocity has to do with speed. He and his team just found six more of these "above speed" stars, bringing to the total of 16. And, he says, he's found even more, and is just waiting for the scientific community to confirm them. In 2005, astronomer Warren Brown found _ . A) a star was speeding away very fast. B) a stars was moving away very slowly. C) some stars were not real. D) some stars were not in the Milky Way.
Ans: A
(Q).
TOKYO, JAPAN--What do you do when you see a cockroach ? Do you hit it with a newspaper? Do you step on it? When researchers at Tokyo University see a cockroach, they take the remote control and make the cockroach turn around, run left or right, or go forward. These scientists are changing the cockroaches into robots. Each cockroach has a very small pack that has in it a microprocessor .Then researchers can send signals from the remote control to the pack. The signals control the movements of the cockroaches. Why does anyone want to control a cockroach? "Insects can do many things that people can't," says Isao Shimoyama, head of robot research at Tokyo University. In a few years, he says, these robot insects will carry very small cameras. They will be able to move through earthquake rubble to look for people or move under doors to find information about someone. This may seem strange, but the Japanese government thinks the research is very important. The government is giving the scientists $ 5 million for this research. First, the researchers breed hundreds of cockroaches. They use only the American cockroach because it is bigger and stronger than other cockroaches. Then they choose the best cockroaches and remove their wings and antennae . They put small packs where the antennae were. The packs weigh about three grams, or about two times the weight of the cockroaches themselves. "Cockroaches are very strong," says Ralph Holzer, who is a researcher at Tokyo University. "They can lift 20 times their own weight. " With a remote control, the scientists send signals to the packs. When a cockroach gets the signal, it moves. The problem is that the cockroaches don't always move in the right direction. Scientists control cockroaches' movements _ . A) by removing their wings B) by sending signals from the remote control C) by using very small cameras D) by removing their antennae
(A).
B
What is the sky? Where is it? How bright is it? What lies above it? These questions are difficult to answer, aren't they? Is the sky blue? The sky has no color. We know that there is air around the world. When planes fly, they need air to lift their wings. Planes can't fly very high because the air gets thinner when they go up higher. If we go up about 1,200 kilometers from the earth, we'll find no air there. When we talk about the sky, we usually mean the atmosphere around the earth. It is like a very thick "cover" over the earth and keeps it warm. Without the "cover", the earth would be a very cold place and nothing could live on it. Looking up above us, you will see the blue sky with white clouds. It is usually light blue, but the sky would be dark blue if you go to the top of the highest mountains. And you will see fewer clouds between you and the sun. And if you sit in a spaceship high above the earth, there is no air at all. The sky would be so dark that its color would be black. Sometimes the sky doesn't look blue. When the sun rises and falls, you will see red, orange, and other colors in the sky. These are the most beautiful moments of the day. Now you may understand that we see colors because the air scatters the sunlight. Light travels through the air. Without air, there would be no light and no colors. Which of the following is TRUE? A) There is little air without light and colors in the sky. B) The sky will look red, orange and other colors at noon. C) The sky has only one color when the sun rises and falls. D) The sky is dark blue if you go to the top of the highest mountains.
D