A team of engineers at Harvard University has been inspired by Nature to create the first robotic fly. The mechanical fly has become a platform for a series of new high-tech integrated systems. Designed to do what a fly does naturally, the tiny machine is the size of a fat housefly. Its mini wings allow it to stay in the air and perform controlled flight tasks.

“It’s extremely important for us to think about this as a whole system and not just the sum of a bunch of individual components (元件),” said Robert Wood, the Harvard engineering professor who has been working on the robotic fly project for over a decade. A few years ago, his team got the go-ahead to start piecing together the components. “The added difficulty with a project like this is that actually none of those components are off the shelf and so we have to develop them all on our own,” he said.

They engineered a series of systems to start and drive the robotic fly. “The seemingly simple system which just moves the wings has a number of interdependencies on the individual components, each of which individually has to perform well, but then has to be matched well to everything it’s connected to,” said Wood. The flight device was built into a set of power, computation, sensing and control systems. Wood says the success of the project proves that the flying robot with these tiny components can be built and manufactured.

While this first robotic flyer is linked to a small, off-board power source, the goal is eventually to equip it with a built-in power source, so that it might someday perform data-gathering work at rescue sites, in farmers’ fields or on the battlefield. “Basically it should be able to take off, land and fly around,” he said.

Wood says the design offers a new way to study flight mechanics and control at insect-scale. Yet, the power, sensing and computation technologies on board could have much broader applications. “You can start thinking about using them to answer open scientific questions, you know, to study biology in ways that would be difficult with the animals, but using these robots instead,” he said. “So there are a lot of technologies and open interesting scientific questions that are really what drives us on a day to day basis.”

(392 words)

1.The difficulty the team of engineers met with while making the robotic fly was that __________.

A．they had no model in their mind

B．they did not have sufficient time

C．they had no ready-made components

D．they could not assemble the components

2.It can be inferred from paragraphs 3 and 4 that the robotic fly __________.

A．consists of a flight device and a control system

B．can just fly in limited areas at the present time

C．can collect information from many sources

D．has been put into wide application

3.Which of the following can be learned from the passage?

A．The robotic flyer is designed to learn about insects.

B．Animals are not allowed in biological experiments.

C．There used to be few ways to study how insects fly.

D．Wood’s design can replace animals in some experiments.

4.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．Father of Robotic Fly

B．Inspiration from Engineering Science

C．Robotic Fly Imitates Real Life Insect

D．Harvard Breaks Through in Insect Study

 

CORVALIJS. Ore.-- Engineers at Oregon Suite University have made a breakthrough in the performance of microbial (微生物的)fuel cells that can produce electricity directly from wastewater，opening the door to a future in which waste treatment plants not only will power themselves, but will sell extra electricity.

The new technology ,developed at OSU, can now produce 10 to 50 more times the electricity, per volume, than most oilier approaches using microbial fuel cells,and 100 times more electricity than some.

Researchers say this could eventually change the way that wastewater is treated all over the world, replacing the widely used “activated sludge (泥浆) ” process that has been in use for almost a century. The new approach would produce significant amounts of electricity while effectively cleaning the wastewater,

“If this technology works on a commercial scale the way we believe it will ,the treatment of wastewater could be a huge energy producer, not a huge energy cost.” said Hong Liu ，an associate professor in the OSU Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering. “This could have an impact around the world, save a great deal of money, provide better water treatment and promote energy sustainability.”

The biodegradable (能降解的）characteristics of wastewater, if developed to their full potential, could theoretically provide many times the energy that is now being used to process them, with no additional greenhouse emissions.

OSU researchers reported several years ago on the promise of this technology, but at that time the systems in use produced far less electrical power. With new concepts, the technology can now produce more than two kilowatts per cubic meter of liquid reactor volume.

The new system also works better than an alternative approach to creating electricity from wastewater, based on anacrobic (臭氧的）digestion that produces methane (甲烷）.It treats the wastewater more effectively, and doesn’t have any of the environmental drawbacks of that technology, such as production of possible release of methane, a significant greenhouse gas.

1.Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?

A．The treatment of wastewater is a huge energy cost.

B．Wastewater is being treated differently over the world.

C．Waste treatment plants have found a new way to power themselves.

D．Microbial fuel cells will produce more electricity from wastewater.

2.What can we learn about the new technology from the passage?

A．It can produce 100 times more electricity than any approach used today.

B．Through it more electricity can be created and water can be cleaned better.

C．It has already changed the way that wastewater is treated all over the world

D．It has opened the door to put microbial fuel cells to productive use.

3.What attitude does Professor Liu hold towards the new technology?

A. Supportive.      B. Critical.       C Unconcerned.    D. Curious.

4.According to the last paragraph, why does the new system work better than the alternative approach?

A．Because it is co-friendly and treats wastewater more effectively.

B．Because it can make full use of anaerobic digestion producing methane.

C．Because it may produce less methane than the alternative approach.

D．Because it can produce 10 times the energy than the alternative approach.

 

SAS Institute 2012 rank: 1 (2011 rank: 2)

Headquarters: Cary, N.C., USA

Software company SAS climbed to the top of the global list this year, edging up from the No. 2 spot it held last year. So what makes this company so great to work for? Well, for one thing, its leaders are certainly accessible. CEO Jim Goodnight hosts monthly “Conversations Over Coffee,” unscripted breakfast meetings that are open to all employees. These conversations are so popular that other division heads have begun to hold similar events for their employees.  

Google 2012 rank: 2 (2011 rank: 4)

Headquarters: Mountain View, Calif., USA

Google moved up by two spots in this year’s ranking of global workplaces. The highly desirable tech receives 61 times as many applicants as they have existing jobs, and for good reason. Google seems to be all about coaching. The company’s “CareerGuru” program makes 43 of its senior leaders available for one-on-one, confidential career coaching sessions with other Googlers.  

Engineering employees at all levels can also get advice from “EngAdvisors”, senior engineers at Google who can discuss any number of issues, like work-life balance, conflict resolution, and performance reviews.

NetApp 2012 rank: 3 (2011 rank: 3)

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, Calif., USA

All new employees at data storage provider NetApp participate in the TOAST (“Training On All Special Things”) orientation program, which introduces new arrivals to NetApp’s senior management. The meetings are held every month and are always led by the executive team.  

Microsoft 2012 rank: 4 (2011 rank: 1)

Headquarters: Redmond, Wash., USA

As part of Microsoft’s commitment to promoting women in technology, the company established its DigiGirlz program in 2000. Microsoft hosts a series of DigiGirlz Day events where female high school students meet Microsoft employees and learn about careers in technology. In 2011, some 36 Microsoft locations across the world hosted more than 2,000 girls. Microsoft also holds DigiGirlz High Tech Camps, multi-day programs where participants get hands-on experience with technology during workshops and meet with tech executives.

1. What helped make SAS climb to the top of the list in 2012?

A. Accessible leaders.                                         B. Popular divisions.

C. Qualified employees.                                               D. Quality software.

2.Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Microsoft employed over 2,000 girl workers in 2011.

B. New engineering Googlers could get advice from senior Googlers.

C. All NetApp employees had to attend a special training.

D. All leaders in SAS had the same conversations with their employees.

3.These American companies are ranked according to _________.

A. the training program each company establishes 

B. the wealth each company possesses now

C. the level of technology each of the company reaches

D. the number of people willing to work for the company

 

CORVALIJS. Ore.-- Engineers at Oregon Suite University have made a breakthrough in the performance of microbial (微生物的)fuel cells that can produce electricity directly from wastewater，opening the door to a future in which waste treatment plants not only will power themselves, but will sell extra electricity.
The new technology ,developed at OSU, can now produce 10 to 50 more times the electricity, per volume, than most oilier approaches using microbial fuel cells,and 100 times more electricity than some.
Researchers say this could eventually change the way that wastewater is treated all over the world, replacing the widely used “activated sludge (泥浆) ” process that has been in use for almost a century. The new approach would produce significant amounts of electricity while effectively cleaning the wastewater,
“If this technology works on a commercial scale the way we believe it will ,the treatment of wastewater could be a huge energy producer, not a huge energy cost.” said Hong Liu ，an associate professor in the OSU Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering. “This could have an impact around the world, save a great deal of money, provide better water treatment and promote energy sustainability.”
The biodegradable (能降解的）characteristics of wastewater, if developed to their full potential, could theoretically provide many times the energy that is now being used to process them, with no additional greenhouse emissions.
OSU researchers reported several years ago on the promise of this technology, but at that time the systems in use produced far less electrical power. With new concepts, the technology can now produce more than two kilowatts per cubic meter of liquid reactor volume.
The new system also works better than an alternative approach to creating electricity from wastewater, based on anacrobic (臭氧的）digestion that produces methane (甲烷）.It treats the wastewater more effectively, and doesn’t have any of the environmental drawbacks of that technology, such as production of possible release of methane, a significant greenhouse gas.
【小题1】Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?

A．The treatment of wastewater is a huge energy cost.

B．Wastewater is being treated differently over the world.

C．Waste treatment plants have found a new way to power themselves.

D．Microbial fuel cells will produce more electricity from wastewater.

【小题2】What can we learn about the new technology from the passage?

A．It can produce 100 times more electricity than any approach used today.

B．Through it more electricity can be created and water can be cleaned better.

C．It has already changed the way that wastewater is treated all over the world

D．It has opened the door to put microbial fuel cells to productive use.

【小题3】What attitude does Professor Liu hold towards the new technology?
A. Supportive.      B. Critical.       C Unconcerned.    D. Curious.
【小题4】According to the last paragraph, why does the new system work better than the alternative approach?

A．Because it is co-friendly and treats wastewater more effectively.

B．Because it can make full use of anaerobic digestion producing methane.

C．Because it may produce less methane than the alternative approach.

D．Because it can produce 10 times the energy than the alternative approach.

A team of engineers at Harvard University has been inspired by Nature to create the first robotic fly. The mechanical fly has become a platform for a series of new high-tech integrated systems. Designed to do what a fly does naturally, the tiny machine is the size of a fat housefly. Its mini wings allow it to stay in the air and perform controlled flight tasks.
“It’s extremely important for us to think about this as a whole system and not just the sum of a bunch of individual components (元件),” said Robert Wood, the Harvard engineering professor who has been working on the robotic fly project for over a decade. A few years ago, his team got the go-ahead to start piecing together the components. “The added difficulty with a project like this is that actually none of those components are off the shelf and so we have to develop them all on our own,” he said.
They engineered a series of systems to start and drive the robotic fly. “The seemingly simple system which just moves the wings has a number of interdependencies on the individual components, each of which individually has to perform well, but then has to be matched well to everything it’s connected to,” said Wood. The flight device was built into a set of power, computation, sensing and control systems. Wood says the success of the project proves that the flying robot with these tiny components can be built and manufactured.
While this first robotic flyer is linked to a small, off-board power source, the goal is eventually to equip it with a built-in power source, so that it might someday perform data-gathering work at rescue sites, in farmers’ fields or on the battlefield. “Basically it should be able to take off, land and fly around,” he said.
Wood says the design offers a new way to study flight mechanics and control at insect-scale. Yet, the power, sensing and computation technologies on board could have much broader applications. “You can start thinking about using them to answer open scientific questions, you know, to study biology in ways that would be difficult with the animals, but using these robots instead,” he said. “So there are a lot of technologies and open interesting scientific questions that are really what drives us on a day to day basis.”
(392 words)
【小题1】The difficulty the team of engineers met with while making the robotic fly was that __________.

A．they had no model in their mind

B．they did not have sufficient time

C．they had no ready-made components

D．they could not assemble the components

【小题2】It can be inferred from paragraphs 3 and 4 that the robotic fly __________.

A．consists of a flight device and a control system

B．can just fly in limited areas at the present time

C．can collect information from many sources

D．has been put into wide application

【小题3】Which of the following can be learned from the passage?

A．The robotic flyer is designed to learn about insects.

B．Animals are not allowed in biological experiments.

C．There used to be few ways to study how insects fly.

D．Wood’s design can replace animals in some experiments.

【小题4】Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．Father of Robotic Fly

B．Inspiration from Engineering Science

C．Robotic Fly Imitates Real Life Insect

D．Harvard Breaks Through in Insect Study