Scientists are now trying to make robots look like humans and do the same things as we do. Some robots in Japan can walk and dance. They are fun to watch. However, some scientists believe that we can make robots move like people, but we can’t make them really think like a human. Many scientists believe that there will be more robots in the future. These new robots will have many different shapes. Some will look like humans, and others might look like animals. In India, for example, scientists made robots that look like snakes. If buildings fall down with people inside, these snake robots can help look for people under the buildings. This was not possible 20 years ago, but computers and rockets also seemed impossible 100 years ago. We never know what will happen in the future.

【推荐2】Imagine this: you and your friend are on a video call. He or she picks up a book, and you feel like you’re holding the book as well. You can shake hands or give your friend a high five, even though you’re apart (分开).

A pair of special gloves might make this come true. Researchers at the University of New South Wales, Australia, have made gloves that can recreate the sense of touch. They call this haptic device (触觉装置) a “soft skin stretch device” (SSD).

The SSD works like this: One user’s gloves create 3D force signals when they touch something. The signals are sent to the other user’s gloves, which vibrate (震动) to create the same force that the first user is experiencing. This allows the second user to experience the same sense of touch.

The SSD allows you to feel force, vibration and motion(移动). “It is like wearing a second skin,” said Thanh Nho Do, one of the researchers who created the gloves.

Haptic technology is already being widely used. For example, the trackpads (触控板) in laptops (平板) use vibration to make it feel like you’re clicking (点击) a real mouse. However, it is difficult to recreate the sense of touch in virtual (虚拟的) environments or remotely (远程地), according to Mai Thanh Thai, lead researcher of the SSD project. The SSD is special because it has a high level of sensitivity (灵敏度) even when it is used continuously (连续地). This makes it feel more realistic (真实的).

The SSD could be used in medical practice. Two doctors in separate places could work together during an operation (手术)—one touches the patient’s organs (器官) with the SSD while the other doctor feels the same sensation (感觉) and completes the actual (实际的) operation.

Antarctica (南极洲) is the coldest, driest and windiest place on our planet. What would it be like to live and work there? On Oct. 15th, 2019, 50 Chinese scientists set sail from Shenzhen, heading for Antarctica. This was our country's 36th Antarctic expedition. The ship, Xuelong 2, is the first icebreaker made in China. Xuelong 2 is one of the world's best research icebreakers.

It can sail to any place around the world in one trip without refueling (加燃料). It can work in temperatures as low as -30%℃. It is the first in the world to use two-way ice-breaking technology, which means that it can break the ice while moving forward or backward.

Because of Antarctica's special environment, scientists from around the world have been there to do studies for many years. The study of Antarctica's geology (地质) is also important. Rock in Antarctica can tell scientists what the weather was like a long time ago. And they can help scientists understand how the earth has changed over time. There are also many wild animals, such as penguins and seals. Scientists can learn how animals live in cold places by studying them.

As we all know, life in Antarctica is not easy－it's cold and sometimes dangerous. But scientists say it's still quite fun. For example, some scientists study how penguins walk, what they eat and why they move from one place to another. They are excited to see the cute animals playing around. They hope their studies can help protect them.

Xuelong 2 finished its tasks and returned to Shanghai on April 22, 2020.

【推荐2】What do you think of a “talking kitchen”?A French Digital(数码)Kitchen has been developed at Newcastle University in the UK. It teaches students how to cook French food and speak French at the same time. For the first time, students can learn the language by the following cooking steps.

All grammar and ________ have been carefully chosen to make sure the users can understand French well. After learning for some time, the users can test themselves by doing a short test on the computer.

The kitchen project was started by professor Paul Seedhouse. He became interested in the idea after he visited another kind of talking kitchen. He said, “The purpose of the French Digital Kitchen is to make learning a language more interesting and more educational. ”

How does the kitchen work?There is a computer in the kitchen. With this computer, the users can first choose a French recipe that they want to follow. Using the information in the computer, the kitchen starts to guide the users how to make a French dish. If you follow the instructions on the computer, it moves on to the next. If you go wrong, the programme goes back and repeats the recipe or information. At any time, the users can ask the kitchen to repeat the recipe or any information.

The new kitchen can be used in schools, universities and even people's homes. The researchers can also be developing the European Digital Kitchen, for the next three years.

【推荐3】We all know that the computers changed our life in the 1980s and the Internet changed our life in the 1990s. Can you predict(预期) that the robots will change our life in the new century(世纪)? It’s not a dream to have a robot in every home in the future.

Now, robots are able to help people do some housework. They can also help the doctors do the difficult operations, play chess with people and some other things.

It is really funny to have a cooking robot. It can cook all the dishes on the menu(菜单). What you only need to do is just choosing your favourite dish and waiting for two to four minutes. That’s so cool!

In the future, the robot will be a home helper. He can look after us like a nurse, protect(保护) us like a policeman or give us lesson like a teacher. He will become parts of our family and help us any time.

We all look forward to the new robot age.