专限时训练(三十) [科普知识型阅读理解(二)]
(限时：每篇7分钟)
(一)
Schools of robotic fish could be sent into the Thames to produce a 3D pollution map of the river.
Researchers at the University of Essex in Colchester are working on the robotic fish as part of a ￡2.5million EUfunded project to find new ways of monitoring water waste.
Each fish will be about 50cm long, 15cm high and 12cm wide.They will be packed with pollution sensors(传感器)that can electronically “smell” harmful chemicals in the water.
Scientists have developed “swarm(群)intelligence techniques” which allow the fish to work as a team without humans.
The robotic fish will communicate with each other using wifi as they seek out areas of pollution.They work out where they are with inbuilt GPS systems and artificial intelligence software will enable them to move without the need for a human operator: they will only warn staff if areas of pollution are found.
A fish that finds pollution sends the data of the location to others.
“Each school will contain five fish, and they will constantly monitor for pollutants，” said Dr.Dongbing Gu, who is leading the research.
“When they find something, they will send a message to the rest of the school, who will then gather in the area to take readings.”
The fish move their bodies up and down like waves—driven by motors—and use fins and a tail to change direction.It is hoped they will travel at speeds of up to half a metre per second.
Working models could be available within 18 months.Different sensors will be fitted to hunt for different pollutants.The data could be used to build a “real time” 3D map of areas of pollution in the water, allowing operators to determine the best way to clean up the area.
The fish will initially be used in ports to monitor leaks from large ships, but Dr Gu said the same system could be used in the Thames.Researchers hope the robotic fish will be able to spend up to 24 hours in the water before needing to be recharged.
()1.The purpose of the robotic fish project is to ________.
A.find out whether inbuilt GPS systems are useful
B.find new ways to monitor water waste
C.prove that robotic fish can be sent into the Thames
D.test the speed of the robotic fish
A. change direction immediately
D.The robotic fish cannot change direction in water.
()5.The passage mainly tells us about ________.
A.the robotic fish to smell out pollutants
B．a ￡2.5 million EUfunded project
C.researchers working on robotic fish
D．a 3D pollution map of the Thames
(二)
Plants have family values, too, it seems, with new research suggesting they can recognize close relatives in order to work together.
An ability to tell family from strangers is well known in animals, allowing them to cooperate and share resources, but plants may possess similar social skills, scientists believe.
Susan Dudley and Amanda File of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, report they have demonstrated for the first time that plants can recognize their kin.
This suggests that plants, though lacking recognition and memory, are capable of complex social interactions.
“Plants have this kind of hidden but complicated social life，” Dudley said.
The study found plants from the same species of beachdwelling wildflower grew aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their families.
Sea rocket, a North American species, showed stronger and healthier root growth when planted in pots with strangers than when raised with relatives from the same maternal(母系的) family, the study found.
This is an example of kin selection, a behavior common in animals in which closely related individuals take a group approach to succeeding in their environment, the researchers said.
Kin selection also applies to competition, because if family members compete less with each other, the group will do better overall. “Everywhere you look, plants are growing right up next to other plants，” Dudley said，“ Usually it’s a case of each plant for itself. But sometimes those plants are related, and there are benefits to not wasting resources on being competitive, and there is not really a cost to not being competitive as long as your neighbor is also not being competitive.”
Learning and memory appear to be important for kin recognition in animals, but this isn’t an option for plants, she noted.
Some researchers speculate(猜测) that plants communicate through their roots, identifying themselves using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant’s family.
()6.What’s the main idea of the message?
A．Studies find plants can recognize, communicate with relatives.
B．Kin selection is important for plants.
C．Animals can recognize and memorize their relatives.
D．Competition asks plants to recognize their relatives.
()7.Which of the following is NOT right about animals’ social skill?
A．Animals can recognize and memorize their relatives.
B．Animals’ social skill is to cooperate and share resources.
C．Animals’ social skill can recognize close relatives in order to work together.
D．Animals’ social skill is no use at all.
()8.Plants’ kin selection is to ________.
A．grow well
B．compete with other kinds of plants
C．strengthen the relationship among siblings
D．find which one is the best
()9.From the passage，we learn that ________.
A．sea rocket is a South American species
B．sea rocket grows aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors
C．sea rocket grows aggressively alongside its siblings
D．sea rocket is a kind of bush without flowers
()10.How can the plants communicate with each other according to experts’ suppose?
A．Plants communicate by using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant’s family.
B．Plants communicate with each other through their roots.
C．Plants communicate with each other by their leaves.
D．Plants communicate with each other with their flowers.
(三)
Schools are almost all connected to the Internet. But some have more technology, and use it more, than others. For example, some schools use computers for activities like video conferencing, to bring the world into the classroom.
And some classrooms are equipped with things like a Smart Board, a kind of interactive whiteboard. Interactive whiteboards are large displays for presentations. They connect to a computer and can operate by touch. They can be used for documents or writing or to project video.
Some teachers are trying creative new ways to teach with devices like iPods and mobile phones. But educators say the most important thing, as always, is the content.
Yet technology can have special importance in some cases. Cosmobot is a therapy robot. It stands about half a meter tall and has a blue body and a friendly face with big eyes.
One child who works with it is sixyearold Kevin Fitzgerald. Kevin has developmental dyspraxia;_he has difficulty moving his mouth and tongue.
He works with Carole SemangoSprouse as he interacts with the Cosmobot during therapy for his condition. Here, he uses a set of buttons attached to a computer to make the silent robot move forward, backward or around in circles.
Kevin’s mother thinks the robot has had a calming influence, helping her son get along better with his friends.
Cosmobot was developed by Anthro Tronix. Corinna Lathan started the company ten years ago to work with children with cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, autism and other developmental disabilities.
Children become friends with the robot, she says. That can have a big effect on their behavior, helping them work harder and longer in therapy sessions.
Corinna Lathan is currently working with a British company to develop other socially helpful robots. She says they are still considered research tools in the United States, and not used as much as in places like Britain and Japan. But she hopes to change that.
()11.It’s known from the text that ________.
A．schools have easy access to the Internet today
B．new technology is seldom applied to teaching
C．the Internet is of equal importance in schools
D．using computers for activities is laborsaving
()12.Which of the following is NOT right about Smart Board?
A．It’s a kind of teaching facility.
B．It can be used to project video.
C．It’s a display for presentation.
D．It’s not easy to be connected to computers.
()13.What’s “dyspraxia” according to the text?
A．Speech barrier.
B．Movement disorder.
C．Visual impairment.
D．Loss of memory.
()14.Which of the following is RIGHT according to the text?
A．Cosmobot is designed to play with.
B．Cosmobot is costly and not userfriendly.
C．Cosmobot can be controlled by a computer.
D．Anthro Tronix is a designer of a certain company.
()15.What can we learn from Corinna Lathan?
A．She’s employed by a British company.
B．Cosmobot is popular around the world.
C．She wants to make previous products widespread.
D．IPods and mobile phones are valued in class.
专限时训练(三十)
(一)