2 . Born in Shiqian county in Guizhou province, 34-year-old Sun Xiaojun used to be the naughtiest student in class. This changed after he broke an ankle and was diagnosed with osteomyelitis (骨髓炎) at the age of 9. His right leg later had to be amputated. His family spent all of their money for the operation. The young man then made the decision to study hard.
In 2006, Sun was admitted to the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, Hubei province, majoring in material forming and control engineering. In 2009, he won the opportunity to continue his studies at Japan’s Tohoku University. “I started to wear a prosthesis (假肢) two years after I began studying in Japan. I had never worn one before, so it took quite a long time to get used to it.” he said.
The experience wasn’t very comfortable. He would sometimes fall over when he tried to walk fast, which made him feel awkward. In 2013, he came up with the idea of creating a smarter prosthetic that used robotics. In 2018, he founded BionicM in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, to create inventions to help those with a disability. Sun won the Red Dot Best of the Best award in 2020 because of his robotic prosthetic knee.
“I myself use a prosthetic limb, and I’m also a researcher. There are about 4 million people in China with amputated lower limbs,” he added. “The cost of an ordinary prosthesis is around 60,000 to 100,000 yuan, unaffordable for most.” Sun said most prosthetics are produced in Europe. “I didn’t start my company for the money, but to make a product that is useful to society. Amputees have a basic need to walk,” he said. According to Sun, the robotic knee his company produces is priced at around 300,000 yuan per pair, while similar products sold elsewhere average around 800,000 yuan. Admitting that this is not ideal, he said that his robotic knees are still in small-scale production. He hopes that by raising more money, he’ll be able to expand production and make his devices more affordable.
1. What does the underlined word “
amputated” probably mean in Para. 1?
| A．attended | B．cured | C．repaired | D．removed |
2. What can we learn about Sun Xiaojun?
| A．Science and Technology were his majors. |
| B．His robotic prosthetic knee earned him reputation. |
| C．He was the naughtiest student in class at the age of 34. |
| D．He wore his first prosthesis right after he went to Japan. |
3. What’s
NOT Sun’s expectation?
| A．Earning more money. | B．Mass production. |
| C．Lowering the price. | D．Helping more people. |
4. Which word can best describe Sun?
| A．Cold-hearted. | B．Talkative. | C．Caring. | D．Stubborn. |
