Many great inventions(发明)have changed our lives．The first great one is still very important today-the wheel(轮子)．This invention made it easier to carry heavy things and travel long distances．

　　In the early 1800s，the world started to change．There was little unknown island left in the world．People didn't have to explore much any more．They began to work instead to make life better．

　　In the second half of the 19th century，many great inventions were made．Among them were the camera，the electric light and the radio．These all become important parts of our life today．

　　The first part of the 20th century also saw more great inventions．For instance，the helicopter(直升飞机)in 1909，sound movies in 1926，the computer in 1928 and let planes in 1930．

　　The middle part of the 20th century brought new inventions to help people get over diseases(疾病)．They worked very well．They made people healthier and live longer．

　　By this time，most people had had a very good life，but man now want to explore more．They begin to look for ways to go into space．In 1969，man took his biggest step away from earth．Americans first walked on the moon．This was just a beginning．New inventions will some day allow us to do things we have never dreamt of．

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阅读理解

French and American doctors have done an operation(手术) together in which the doctors were outside the operating room.This kind of operation is known as robotic operation ndline.

　　Doctor Marescaux did the operation in an office in New York City last month,while a sixty-eight-year-old woman patient was in a hospital in Strasbourg,France.

　　A doctor in Strasbourg got the patient ready.He placed medical tools and a small video camera in her stomach area(胃部).Doctor Marescaux in New York watched the patient on a video screen.Then he used the computer to send messages to the robot machine.

　　The robot moved the tools that cut the woman's gall bladder(胆囊) away.The woman got well soon after the operation and left the hospital two days later.

　　Experts say the main problem with such a robotic operation is based on high-speed telecommunications(通讯系统) between the doctor and the robot. Technology must be able to send a doctor's order to a robot to move the tool quickly.

　　Experts also say a successful robotic operation will improve an operation.For example,the robot can make such smaller movements(动作) than a person can.A robot machine can turn tools in ways that a doctor's hand cannot.

　　Doctors say such a robotic operation will make it possible safer and better operations in the future.They say it will improve doctor training.It will also mean that doctors could do an operation on people in dangerous places far away.And it could mean that people could have operations done by top doctors without having to travel to the city where the doctors work.

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