Unit 5 Learning from nature

Section Ⅰ Starting out & Understanding ideas

基础训练

单词拼写 根据首字母或汉语提示，用本部分所学单词的正确形式填空。

1.Jim is always m____Miss Li in class, which makes her quite angry.

2.A____have long had the feeling that the places we live in can affect our thoughts, feelings and behavior.

3.A large amount of solar energy has been c____into electrical energy since amounts of advanced equipment were introduced.

4.Our football players gave a s____performance in the final and we all cheered.

5.There’s a new ____(前沿) in 3D printing that’s beginning to come into focus: food.

6.The park on the ____(滨水地区) is bound to be a good place for rest and entertainment.

7.We once walked across a frozen ____(池塘) at two in the morning.

8.All the workers were working day and night to make sure the ____(管道系统) system ran smoothly.

选择填空 用方框中所给短语的适当形式填空。

（respond to take... for granted live in harmony with covert... into meet the needs of）

1.We must never lose sight of the fact that man must ____nature.

2.Traditional teaching methods can’t ____the social and economic development.

3.Capturing energy from the sun and ____it ____electricity to run your toaster sounds like magic.

4.We are always been told not ____any emails requesting personal information, no matter how official they look.

5.Don’t ____anything _______. You had better know that the harder you work, the luckier you’ll be.

课文语法填空

Trees, plants and flowers are all around us and we enjoy their beauty every day. Nature is presented in various___1___ (architect) designs as well.

People___2___ interest is exploring the relationship between art and science will enjoy Singapore’s ArtScience Museum. The building was designed___3___ (show) the connection between nature and the modern city environment. Visitors are often amazed to find themselves in an urban building that so___4___ (true) captures the beauty of natural forms.

Harare’s Eastgate Centre is___5___ superb example of biomimicry. Zimbabwean architect Mick Pearce was inspired to create the Centre while___6___ (watch) a nature documentary in which termites were constructing their nests. The design reduces the need for traditional air conditioning and heating systems.

The world’s first algae­-powered building is in Hamburg, Germany, whose surface is covered in panels that contain algae. The panels capture heat___7___ the sun and convert it into energy that___8___ (power) the building. And the algae inside the panels can___9___ (harvest) and used to produce fuel.

___10___ (create) buildings such as these enables us to live in closer harmony with our environment.

1. ____ 2. ____ 3. ____ 4. ____ 5. ____

6. ____ 7. ____ 8. ____ 9. ____ 10. ____

能力提升

阅读理解

Traditionally, robots have been hard, made of metal and other rigid materials. But a team of scientists at Harvard University in the US has managed to build an entirely soft robot—one that draws inspiration from an octopus (章鱼).

Described in science journal Nature, the Octobot could pave the way for more effective autonomous robots that could be used in search, rescue and exploration. “The Octobot is a minimal system which may serve as a foundation for a new generation of completely soft, autonomous robots,” the study’s authors wrote.

Robots built for precise, repetitive movements in a controlled environment don’t do so well on rough terrains (地形) or in unpredictable conditions. And they aren’t especially safe around humans, because they’re made out of hard and heavy parts that could be potentially dangerous to their users.

So researchers have been working on building soft robots for decades. They’ve taken inspiration from nature, looking to animals from jellyfish to cockroaches, which are often made up of more flexible matter.

But creating a completely soft robot remains a challenge. Even if engineers build a silicone(硅酮) body, it’s still a grand challenge to construct flexible versions of essential parts, such as a source of power.

“Although soft robotics is still in its early stage, it holds great promise for several applications, such as search-and-rescue operations and exploration,” Barbara Mazzolai and Virgilio Mattoli of the Italian Institute of Technology Center for Micro-BioRobotics, wrote in a comment. “Soft robots might also open up new approaches to improving wellness and quality of life.”

1. What is the special feature of Octobot?

A. It’s very small.                                               B. It’s made of metal.