Traditionally, robots have been hard, made of metal and other rigid material. But a team of scientists at Harvard University in the US has managed to build an    1    (entire) soft robot -- the “Octobot”.

    2    (describe) in science journal Nature, the “Octobot” could pave the way for more intelligent robots that could be used in search, rescue and exploration than the traditional ones. “The Octobot is a minimal system which may serve    3    a foundation for a new generation of completely soft, autonomous robots,” the study’s authors wrote.

Researchers    4    (work) on building soft robots for decades. They’ve taken    5    (inspire) from nature, looking to animals from jellyfish to cockroaches, which are often made up of more flexible matter.

However, creating a completely soft robot    6    (remain) a challenge. Even if engineers build a silicone (硅酮) body,    7    is still a grand challenge to construct flexible versions of essential parts, such as a source of power.

“    8    soft robotics is still in its early stage, it holds a great promise for several applications, such as search-rescue operations and explorations,” Barbara Mazzolai of Technology, Center for Micro-Bio Robotics, wrote in     9    comment. “Soft robots might also open up new approaches to    10    (improve) wellness and quality of life.”

Just like every technology, 5G is set to be a huge deal.The wireless technology     1     (expect) to power self-driving cars, smart     2     (city) and networked robots.    3     (researcher) from King’s College London have looked at everything from music     4     medicine.

The team is working towards using       5     technology to transfer physical skills across networks and creating what they are calling the “Internet of Skills”.

Furthermore, 5G will     6     (hopeful) allow a surgeon with virtual reality equipment     7     (work) on the other side of the world via a robot.They will use haptic (触觉的) gloves,     8     will allow the surgeon to sense motion and pressure when     9     (operate) on a patient and can get instant feedback via the gloves.

Meanwhile, Dohler, a professor of wireless communications at King’s College, does not expect this to happen overnight and     10     (believe) it could take the   “Internet of Skills” another decade before it is fully functional.

What will our cities be like in 2050? How much will artificial intelligence advance? Some scientists     1     (make) different predictions recently.

Joel E.Cohen from the The Rockfeller University says    2     is likely that by 2050 the majority of the people in the world will live in urban areas, and will have a    3     (significant) higher average age than people today. Cities will be     4     only realistic solution to housing a population that will expand     5     9.7 billion by 2050.

And the technology is expected    6     (advance) rapidly. According to Bill Michell, the late director of MIT Media Lab’s Smart Cities research group, cities of the future won’t look like “some sort of science-fiction fantasy’’ or “Star Trek’’, but virtual (实质上) reality will change    7     we live. Self-driving cars will make the roads more secure, driving more efficient, and provide     8     (fast) transport.

Charles Ebinger at the Brookings Institution thinks that by 2050 we will also have a so-called “smart grid” where all of our    9     (appliance) are linked directly to energy distribution (分布) systems,     10     (allow) for real-time pricing based on supply and demand. Such a technology would greatly benefit most people and reduced the consumption (消耗) of fossil fuel energy.

Have you ever forgotten to lock the door of your house? Or, have you ever forgotten to switch    1     the TV or computer? These kinds of things happen to us all the time. However, in the not-too-distant future, we will be living in smart homes     2     will lock the door for us when we     3    (be)away. We will be using     4    (advance)technology every day for automatic control of just about everything in our home. The future home will use integrated sensors (集成传感器 )    5    (tell)when you leave home and then go into an energy-efficient mode.     6    addition, your smart home will be monitoring your health. If you start to have sleep or weight     7     (problem),it will send a warning to your phone. It will also give you some     8    (suggest).Smart homes will be able to prevent serious damage from accidents. If there is a short in the     9     (electricity)wiring, your smart home will detect it and provide you with the relevant information. Nevertheless, it will take some years     10     most new homes begin to use this new technology.