It is becoming more and more important for scientists to closely monitor (监视) our ocean life. However, it is almost impossible since we can scare the animals. Now, thanks to SoFi, the Soft Robotic Fish, scientists may not only be able to keep a close eye on them, but also find undersea secrets that we haven’t known for centuries.
Built by MIT, the snow white robot closely emulates (模仿) real fish, with a soft tail that moves from side to side and two “fins”. To make sure SoFi can freely move around the ocean and swim like a real fish, a hydraulic pump (水泵) moves water from one balloon-like part to the other through SoFi’s soft rubber tail.
During the test in the sea, SoFi swam at the depths. of 50 feet for up to 40 minutes at a time, taking photos. Once in a while, the fish would swim near the strange-looking robot-fish, while at other times they appeared without noticing it.
SoFi now only records videos. The scientists also hope to make it more autonomous (自动的) in the future. “For us, this fish is magical,” says Robert. “We imagine someday it might help us discover the amazing underwater world that we know so little about.”
1. Why is it almost impossible for people to closely monitor ocean life according to Paragraph 1?| A．Because SoFi is invented. |
| B．Because people can scare ocean life. |
| C．Because there are fewer and fewer scientists. |
| D．Because the number of ocean life is decreasing. |
| A．SoFi can only record sounds in the ocean. |
| B．SoFi often catches the fish when it swims with them. |
| C．SoFi can watch fish in the ocean without causing any trouble. |
| D．SoFi is the first robotic fish that can swim freely in water for days at a time. |
| A．a scientist from MIT | B．the Soft Robotic Fish |
| C．ways to swim in the ocean | D．the amazing underwater world |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Here, we will look at four important things that the Chinese invented first, besides the Four Great Inventions.
Noodles
While Italians have long said that they were the ones who invented the noodle, the fact that archaeologists(考古学家) have found noodles in China, In 2005, a bowl of yellow noodles was found in Lajia, in northwestern China.
It is said this bowl of noodles was buried(埋) about 4,000 years ago,while the kind of grain(谷物) used in this type of noodle had been grown in China for about 7,000 years.
Crossbow(弩)
The crossbow was invented during the Warring States period, which began around 2,600 years ago. Crossbows were valued because they were easy to use. The Chinese even took it a step further around A.D. 200, when a great man called Zhuge Liang created a “Repeating” crossbow.
Banknotes(钞票)
Not long after coming up with a useful printing press, the Chinese invented banknotes. Banknotes began to appear in China in the 700s, as inflation and devaluation(通货膨胀和贬值) made Chinese gold coins annoying to use when trading. So they turned those coins into banknotes.
Alcohol(酒精)
Of course, alcohol was first invented in China, nearly nine thousand years ago, as far as we can tell. In the late 1990s, archaeologists discovered pieces of broken clay bottle in Northern China which had some strange remains on them. After further examination, the remains were regarded as history’s first wine.
1. Which one of the four inventions was made to exchange?| A．Noodles. | B．Crossbow. | C．Banknotes. | D．Alcohol. |
| A．its easy use | B．its great inventor | C．its low price | D．its great power |
| A．You could enjoy a bowl of noodles. |
| B．You could use a crossbow to fight the enemy. |
| C．You could pay for something with banknotes. |
| D．You could have a drink with your friends. |
【推荐2】Imagine taking a flying taxi to the airport, or jumping over crowded city streets at rush hours, getting where you want to go far faster than you could in a car. Believe it or not, you might be able to do these things in an air taxi sooner than you think.
An air taxi is something like a helicopter (直升飞机) that can carry people from place to place. Air taxis don’t need a long runway (跑道) like planes do. They can go straight up and down.
In June, the government of America agreed to allow a company called Joby Aviation to start testing their new air taxi. This is the first time they’ve tested a taxi that has been built in a factory. Before that, all their taxis were made by hand.
By 2025, Joby hopes to start carrying passengers for money. They’ve worked together with Delta Air Lines to create a program to fly people from their homes to the airport. Joby’s air taxis will be flown by a pilot, and can carry four other passengers. They can go around 100 miles before the electric batteries need to be recharged (充电).
Compared with helicopters, Joby says their air taxis are both quieter and cheaper. The company expects to charge (要价) about $3 a mile at first. But over time, they hope to bring the price down to less than $1 a mile.
And as exciting as the idea of flying taxis is, some people have been anxious about them. The air taxis may be quieter than helicopters, but they’ll still be adding noise and traffic to our skies. Some people worry that only rich people will be able to afford to use them.
It seems likely that air taxis will be part of the future of travel. But there’s still a lot to do before air taxis become common.
1. How does the writer begin the passage?| A．By raising a question. | B．By picturing a scene. |
| C．By listing a fact. | D．By giving an example. |
| A．It’s made by hand. | B．It can fly 100 miles per hour. |
| C．It can take off without a long runway. | D．It can carry four people in all. |
| A．The worries about the new air taxi. | B．The noise created by the new air taxi. |
| C．The traffic rules to be made soon. | D．The high price of taking the new air taxi. |
| A．People need to pay $3 for a flying taxi from home to the airport. |
| B．Air taxis will take the place of helicopters. |
| C．Poor people can never afford to use air taxis. |
| D．People may be able to go to work by flying taxi at rush hour one day. |
| A．A new flying taxi. | B．The future of travel. |
| C．Different ways of transportation. | D．A company developing air taxi. |
【推荐3】Playing with apps on smart phones is very common among young people. Let’s try some special apps and enjoy them.
 | In this app, there are many filters (滤镜) that can make your photos more beautiful. The coolest thing is that it can help you add pretty and artistic words. The words can be anything you like, such as famous sayings or even a poem. You can also make a photo diary that shows your feelings and post it on the Internet. |
 | Once in a while, you may feel tired after a busy school day. Why not try this app? This music app has over 100 sounds of nature, such as bird calls, wind and rain. You can hear all these sounds to relax yourself. The best thing is that you can create your own music by copying other sounds you like, for example, the sound of your own laughter. |
 | Is chemistry your favorite subject? With this app, you can do chemistry experiments. You “pour” chemical materials by touching the top-tight-hand corner of your smart phone. You “light” a match by swiping the screen quickly. You can shake the phone to make chemical reactions go faster. There are more than 300 chemical reactions in all. |
| A．Butter Camera | B．TaoMix 2 | C．Beaker | D．WeChat |
| A．add sounds of nature to the Butter Camera |
| B．copy the voice of our friends into TaoMix 2 |
| C．“pour” chemical materials by swiping the screen |
| D．do more than 300 physics experiments on Beaker |
| A．Healthy Food | B．Close to Nature |
| C．Energy Saving | D．IT in Daily Life |
【推荐1】In the time of Yellow Emperor, there were no written words. People remembered things by tying knots（打结）in ropes and carving（雕刻）shapes on stone walls.
One day, Yellow Emperor discussed a matter with a wise man named Cang Jie. Cang took out a piece of knotted rope, but he found it was destroyed. It was impossible for him to remember the matter clearly. Then he turned to a stone wall, but he could hardly read the shapes on it because they were carved by another person.
“The ropes will be destroyed because of some unknown reasons. And the shapes can only be read by a few people,” Yellow Emperor said to Cang. “Can you come up with something better?”
Cang thought over the problem for days and nights. One morning after a heavy snowfall, he saw the footprints of some different animals. These footprints helped him to recognize what animals passed by. Cang suddenly had an idea. He drew a tiger and a bear on the snow-covered ground. But soon, he found this took too much time. He realized that he had to make the drawings easier.
All the shapes on the stone walls came into his mind. Cang kept making all kinds of shapes on the ground. He paid attention to drawing. To show the Sun, for example he used a circle with a dot in the middle. A half-circle and a vertical line（垂直线）made up the Moon. And three lines that are not straight were used to show water. These symbols（符号）shone brightly in the snow.
In the end, Cang created a whole set of symbols to remember things. People could easily understand these symbols. Since then, they have been able to write down their own history in this way.
1. What does the underlined word “recognize” in Paragraph 4 mean?| A．Accept. | B．Know. | C．Praise. | D．Control. |
| A．By telling stories. | B．By listing numbers. |
| C．By comparing facts. | D．By giving examples. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．The reason why people tied knots. |
| B．The reason why Cang loved drawing. |
| C．What the history of carving shapes is. |
| D．How Cang created symbols to remember things. |
【推荐2】It is said that more than four million people die each year because of smoking. That number is frightening.
Yet people around the world don’t stop smoking. In the United States, about forty-seven million people smoke. This year, more than 430,000 Americans died of diseases which have something to do with (与……有关) smoking. The American Cancer Society (美国癌症协会) says smoking harms the body greatly. It warns that smoking even a number of cigarettes is dangerous.
It’s not easy to give up smoking. However, doctors say you may will live longer if you stop smoking. You will feel better and look better. You also will protect the health of family members who breathe (呼吸) your smoke.
There is not one right way to stop smoking, doctors say. Any ways can help you.You can take longer walks or spend time in places where people mustn’t smoke. Also, you can eat a small piece of fruit or vegetable instead of having a cigarette. The sooner you stop smoking, the more you will reduce your chances of getting cancer and other diseases.
Stop smoking now, or smoking will stop you.
根据短文内容，选择正确答案。
1. More than ______ people die because of smoking each year according to passage.
| A．2,800,000 | B．4,000,000 | C．430,000 | D．7,000,000 |
| A．获得 | B．增加 | C．诱发 | D．减少 |
| A．Smoking harms the body badly. |
| B．Smoking must cause many diseases. |
| C．Smoking does not harm to the body. |
| D．It’s easy to give up smoking. |
| A．take long walks | B．make fewer friends |
| C．eat a lot of fruit | D．spend time in places where people smoke |
| A．Stopped Smoking before Smoking Stops You. |
| B．How to Stop Smoking. |
| C．The Right Ways to Stop Smoking. |
| D．The American Cancer Society. |
【推荐3】All around the world, people drink tea. But tea does not mean the same thing to everyone. In different countries, people have very different ideas about drinking tea. In China, people always drink tea when they are getting together. The Chinese drink it at any time of the day at home or in teahouses. They prefer plain tea, with nothing else in it.
Another tea-drinking country is England, the late afternoon is“tea time”. Almost everyone has a cup of tea then. If you are a friend of the family, you may drop in for tea without an invitation or telling that you are coming. Very often it is not served at a table. The English usually make tea in a teapot and drink it with milk and sugar. They also eat cakes and cookies at tea time.This is so-called “afternoon tea”in England.
In America, people drink tea mostly at breakfast or after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make tea. In summer, many Americans drink cold tea —“ iced tea.” Sometimes they drink iced tea from cans, like soda.
1. The Englishmen drink tea ________.| A．after dinner | B．in the late afternoon | C．at breakfast |
| A．get ready | B．give up | C．pay an informal visit |
| A．清茶 | B．浓茶 | C．特级茶 |
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three |
| A．Drinking tea | B．Afternoon tea in England | C．Tea culture |
