3 . Have you ever imagined an insect-inspired robot, which weighs less than a gram, could one day help out in surgery (外科手术)?

Scientists have designed this small, “insect-bot” called mCLARI that can control and even change its body shape as it travels in different environments to fit through gaps. It’s 2 centimeters long, weighs less than 0.97 grams and can travel at a speed of 6 centimeters per second.It’s the smaller, faster replacement to CLARI, which was designed by the same team.

“Because of the robot’s small size and ability to change shape, we expect usage of this technology in four important areas,” the lead author Kaushik Jayaram said. These include disaster (灾害) response , check on high-value objects, environmental monitoring and medical treatment.

“In the long term, we hope such robots will be used more widely in moving through human bodies and performing surgeries that can’t be easily done at present,” Jayaram said. With mCLARI, Jayaram’s team is moving closer to creating robots that can fit in different environments—just like the insects they’re inspired by.

The mCLARI robot has four legs and can move in narrow spaces by changing between running forward and side-to-side and can use different speeds in human bodies. Its legs are joined to its body through joints (关节), which enables mCLARI to change its body shape based on the environment it is in. For example, its legs can be lengthened up to 50% in certain spaces.

As follow-up work, the scientists want to give mCLARI more power and sensing ability while helping the surgeries. “We are also excited about understanding the effect of shape change on improving functions of robots,” Jayaram said. “And this is sure a great one-step forward of the technology. The robot will have entered the market by 2025 and will bring greater benefits to mankind, especially in medical treatment.”

Zhang Pihe, a Bai woman from Dali, is introducing the Bai culture to visitors who come to Hequn Village in Sangzhi County, Hunan Province．People watch how she     1    (skillful) folds and rolls (卷) the cloth —     2     important step in the traditional tie-dyeing (扎染) of the Bai ethnic group．

Up to now, a great many visitors     3    (attract)to the village．With     4    (it) rich Bai culture, Hequn Village becomes well-known far and wide．

About 700 years ago, some Bai people came to Hequn Village from Dali．After that, they were too busy making a living away from their homes     5    (learn)the Bai culture．As a result, nowadays many parts of the Bai culture are disappearing．For example, the Bai-style dance,     6     has more than 80 types of moves, is being lost．

Brought up and deeply influenced by the Bai culture, Zhang hopes she can help protect and pass it down．So when she moved to Hequn Village, she started her lifelon g career．“I hope to take advantage of the traditional cultural resources of the Bai ethnic group to help the     7    (develop)of our villages,” said Zhang．

On her arrival, Zhang set up the Bai tie-dyeing room,     8    (buy)tools and began training villagers in tie-dyeing skills．    9     a cultural advisor to the Bai cultural projects, Zhang also gave local women lessons on the music and dance of the Bai ethnic group,     10    (teach) them each movement with great patience．

“I have more confidence in spreading our Bai culture,” said Zhang．

Every October, my neighbor Ollie and I would enter the Halloween costume contest (服装比赛) in our neighborhood park．And each year the theme was different, such as “Superheroes” or “Far m Animals”．But this year’s theme was not so specific．It was just “Be Creative”．

Walking home along the road lined with tall trees, the two of us had a heated discussion about what “Be Creative” meant．We looked back on the themes we had really enjoyed．For “Superheroes”, we made costumes of Super-Force Flying Eagle．And for “Farm Animals”, we were dressed as a cow and a horse．Ollie even put a pair of wings for the horse, saying that he’d love to see a “flying horse” eating grass with a cow on the farm．

“Now that’s the creative spirit we need for this challenge!” I said．“Maybe, since we don’t know exactly what we want to be yet, we should start by choosing some cool costume-making materials.”

Just at that moment, a falling golden leaf happened to have landed on Ollie’s shoulder．“I’ve got it!” Ollie said joyfully, picking up some fallen leaves from the ground．“We can make costumes out of leaves and pretend to be trees．I can ensure, no one will be a tree as great as me.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” I said．“I like your creative idea and I have just got a perfect way to be another tree.”

We filled up two bags with different kinds of leaves: Ollie’s grandma, Abuela, an experienced tailor (裁缝), helped us with tons of excellent costume-making supplies and we started to work．When we were done, we each tried on the self-designed costumes and they were really wonderful．On the morning of the contest, we got up early and spent hours making preparations．We arrived at the park early and waited for our turn nervously and eagerly．

The big time came for us to go onto the stage．

6 . As we all know, swimming is great fun. But it often comes with _________. Drowning (溺水)is a real possibility even for the most _________ swimmers. However, this dangerous situation can be changed with watchful eyes. This summer in Florida, two young men helped to _________ one drowning death.

Griffin Emerson, a 6-year-old child, swam in an apartment block’s pool. He enjoyed the pool’s _________ area. But he began to _________ toward the deeper part slowly, struggling to keep his head above water.

All that came about as no one else, including his mother, seemed to _________ him. Griffin’s frightening _________ in the water happened over the course of a full minute, ending up with the child going down to the _________ of the pool.

However, one young man, Noah, did find Griffin in the pool. He told his friend Weston to call 911 at once. And Noah _________ to jump into the pool to ____________ the 6-year-old.

Noah made it to Griffin, caught him and ____________ him to the surface and then to the side of the pool. Before the emergency services’ arrival, Noah and Weston tried their best to ____________ life-saving steps. ____________, a few minutes later, Griffin recovered his breath.

Griffin’s mother was ____________ to Noah and Weston for their heroic actions. But the two young men thought it was no big deal and hoped that this act of kindness would be ____________.

7 . A new study, led by Dr. Rebecca Stone, has shown that children as young as four years old eat 79% more calories when they are bored, compared to when they are in a normal mood (情绪) .

The researchers have explored the behaviors that make children more likely to eat when they experience negative emotions. Often when children experience bad emotions such as boredom or sadness, caring adults will use food to soothe them. However, this behavior, known as emotional feeding, appears to increase the possibility of children eating more when they are in low spirits. As time passes, too many calories intake will have a significant effect on children’s health both mentally and physically.

Dr. Stone stresses that the experience of boredom is important in the development of children’s sense of self and creativity, so she does not recommend that children should avoid being bored. Instead, she suggests children learn to experience boredom without turning to food. She also suggests that parents turn their children’s attention away from food when they feel bored, or restructure the home food environment to make it less likely that children turn to food in response to being bored.

While there do appear to be individual differences between children in terms of their eating when bored, it is helpful to know that the feeding practices that adults use around food might shape the likelihood of this happening. Although it is attractive to use food as a tool to help children, emotional feeding might lead to greater emotional eating in the future. It is important for parents and caregivers to be aware that this short-term fix could create future problems.

It is hoped that, on the original basis of the study, the team will deeply explore other negative mood states in children and offer advice and support for families to find more effective ways to manage challenges around children eating behavior.

9 . Culture shock is the experience that often accompanies moving to an unfamiliar place. It could be marked by feeling lost, anxious or hesitant.     1     You’ll become accustomed to the same things that initially “shocked” you! Read on for tips for overcoming culture shock in a short time.

When deciding to visit an entirely new place, don’t expect the traditions and cultures followed by your current home to be followed by the new land.     2     So keep your expectations low.

Even though it is an unfamiliar environment hosting different cultures and traditions from the one you’re used to, it’s vital to broaden your mind and be willing to try new things. Don’t be quick to form discriminatory judgments just because it is “odd”. Have a go at something different, like a food or clothing — different isn’t necessarily bad.     3    

Social psychologists claim that lack of information is the biggest contributor to prejudices. Talk to the local population and ask them about how their culture works instead of assuming the worst.     4     Plus, you’ll make some friends who can ease your transformation.

Keep yourself open-minded, await new experiences and familiarize yourself with the conduct of the people.     5     Go out there and have fun!

10 . There are many differences in ways of thinking between East and West. Many of them are reflected in daily behaviour. In particular, Chinese people sometimes attach more importance to their appearance and social status than to their inner qualities, while Westerners think the opposite. However, Socrates (Ancient Greek philosopher) and Confucius share significant similarities that are universal.

Both philosophers share several teachings in common; for example, their understanding of the nature of knowledge and their opinions on education. Socrates believed “There is only one good, knowledge;and only one evil, ignorance.” Similarly, Confucius said, “Isn’t it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?” But both also acknowledge the limits of knowledge. Socrates said: “All I know is that I know nothing.” Similarly, Confucius said, “When you know a thing, to hold you know it; when you don’t know a thing, to allow you don’t know it-this is knowledge.”

However, there are important differences in their understanding of morality. Confucius believed each person should follow certain regulations according to virtue(德行). Everyone should play their role in a society where people are interdependent in order to achieve harmony in the whole society. For instance, when asked how to govern a country, Confucius stated “An emperor should act like an emperor, a subject should act like a subject.” Socrates, however, places self-knowledge over social knowledge.

Another difference between them is their attitude towards political domination(支配). Confucius believed the best way to govern a country isn’t through legal system, but through virtue. Socrates, by contrast, declared that “nothing is more important than justice”.

Why have East and West developed such different cultural values? A widely accepted theory holds that Eastern civilization was an agricultural civilization. Hence the need for a collective society and friendly relations with neighbors was strong. Western civilization, however, was nomadic(游牧的). Their mobility makes them less dependent on society after migration.

In spite of their differences, the two cultures have more in common than differences. The shared concern for moral values in the teachings of Socrates and Confucius also shows us more fundamental similarities between Eastern and Western cultures in their pursuit of virtuous lives.