职教手机网

Archive Gallery: The Best of Bionics(仿生学)

Humans might be the most highly-evolved species on the planet,but most animals possess skills we can only dream of having. Imagine how much electricity we could save if we could see in the dark the way cats do. Imagine leaping from tree to tree like a monkey. Giraffes(长颈鹿),which are otherwise calm and good-natured,sleep only 4.6 hours a day.

We realized a long,long time ago that nature provides the best blueprint(蓝图)for invention. We’ve borrowed canals from beavers(河狸)and reflectors from cat’s eyes. Although the words"bionics" became popular only after the 1960s,history shows that nature has always provided ideas on solving everyday problems. Our archives（档案）don’t go back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci and his bird-like flying machines,but we can take you to the late 19th century,where we applied those same principles for building our first practical airplanes.

To prepare for their flight at Kitty Hawk,the Wright brothers studied the movements of pigeons to figure out how they stayed high up when they were heavier than air. Their success inspired scores of successors to improve on the airplane by studying various aspects of nature. One of Orville Wright’s pupils caught and stuffed seagulls to examine their wingspan. Meanwhile,two French inventors examined spinning sycamore(梧桐) seeds in an effort to apply those same motions,reversed,to a helicopter.

Some examples are more obvious than others. The outside of the airplane designed by the Wright brothers looks like a minimalistic (简单抽象艺术) structure. On the other hand,Barney Connett’s fish submarine (潜水艇) actually looks like a fish.

Some bio-inspired concepts have yet to be invented. In the 1960s,the US Army commissioned several university professors to conduct research on the motor skills animals in hope of applying those same abilities to tanks. Tanks that run like horses or jump like grasshoppers(蚂蚱)-sounds shocking,doesn’t it? But imagine how life would change if we could achieve that.

31."cats","monkeys" and"giraffes" mentioned in paragraph 1 are examples to illustrate

A. they are highly-evolved species as humans.

B. humans can learn animals’skills.

C. they are skillful in different ways.

D. animals have skills that humans do not possess.

【参考答案】D

【解析】题意：第一段列举猫、猴、长颈鹿的例子是为了说明什么?

由第一段第一句…but most animals possess skills we can only dream of having(很多动物的技能是人类梦寐以求的)，可确定D选项“动物拥有人类所不具备的技能"是正确的。

32. Which of the following can be found in the archive gallery?

A. History books.

B. The Wright brothers’sculpture.

C. First practical airplanes built in the late 19th century.

D. Leonardo da vinci’s bird-like flying machines.

【参考答案】C

【解析】题意：下列哪项可以在档案馆中找到?

根据文中第二段最后一句Our archives don’t go back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci and his bird—like flying machines，but we can take you to the late l9thcentury，where we applied those same principles for building our first practical airplanes可知，档案馆中没有达芬奇的鸟类飞行器，但是有最 初的实用飞机。所以C选项First practical airplanes built in the late l9th century是对的。

33. What happened after the Wright brothers’success?

A. People carried out a systematic study on pigeons.

B. People studied more animals and plants to develop the airplane.

C. People cound fly their airplane for fun.

D. People kept their airplane at a French gallery.

【参考答案】B

【解析】题意：怀特兄弟成功后发生了什么?

文中第三段Their success inspired scores of successors to improve on the airplane by studying va—rious aspects of nature可知怀特兄弟成功后，很多人通过研究大自然的方方面面来改进飞机。这与B 选项People studied more animals and plants to develop the airplane说法是一致的。

34. Which of the following in true about the research carried out by the US Army?

A. It has changed our life.

B. It has cost a large sum of money.

C. It has improved the abilities of tanks.

D. It has not succeeded yet.

【参考答案】D

【解析】题意：关于美国军方开展的研究，下列哪项是正确的?

本句的关键词是US Army，回到文章可以看到最后一段都在描述美国军方的设想，但是他们的设 想还没有演变成现实。如果能实现的话会改变我们的生活。所以D选项是正确的。

35. What does the writer want to tell in the passage?

A. Many inventions get ideas from nature.

B. Some animals possess unique skills.

C. People should protect nature.

D. Bionics is far from perfect.

【参考答案】A

【解析】题意：作者通过这篇文章想告诉我们什么?

通读全文可知，作者意在阐述人类运用仿生学创造了很多发明。所以A选项正确。