Robots shaping the future of strawberry picking机器人正在塑造草莓采摘的未来
作者: 冉红丽主题语境:农业与科技 篇幅:337词 建议用时:6分钟
1 In a strawberry field surrounded by strawberryfields on the outskirts of Santa Maria, a pair ofrobots have been picking strawberries all summer.
2 Each robot, made by a Colorado company calledTortuga AgTech, rolls in the field on wheels,and then stops in front of a plant. A mechanical arm operates its sensor among theleaves; machine vision software scans the sensor data in search of ripe strawberries. Ifan unripe strawberry is in the way, the robot will reposition for a better angle. As thenipper‑grabber (机器人的夹爪) mounted, the sensor stretched to cut the strawberrysstem (茎), and the robot then cautiously placed it in a waiting plastic container at therobots base.
3 Tortugas robots are designed to pick strawberries from plants grown on hydroponic (水培的) tabletops, not the ground strawberries. The tabletop system enables Tortugasstrawberry robots to work by adjusting berms positions so that they can be poked upwith robotic arms, which protects the robots from direct exposure to the elements.
4 Since hitting this field in the spring of 2021, the robots have been on their way topicking nearly as many strawberries as human pickers, and with 95% accuracy, accordingto Tortuga. Unlike humans, robots which don't need breaks or get sick are alwaysready to work and can pick all day and into the night. With wages making up so muchof a grower's expense, the allure of robots increased reliability and potential to becomemore cost‑efficient over time is hard to resist.
5 I do think the best humans are going to be able to outperform the robot at thesejudgment‑driven tasks,” said Eric Adamson, Tortuga's cofounder and chief executive.“But that's OK. It doesn't have to be better than every human; it just has to be betterthan enough people.”
6 Meanwhile, the team behind Tortuga sees agricultural robots as more than labor‑savingdevices. They see them as the only way that an industry facing climate change, landuse and chemical regulation can adapt and survive.
Reading
Check
1. How can the robot detect ripe strawberries?
A. By analyzing the sensor data.
B. By observing their positions.
C. By monitoring their stems.
D. By testing them in containers.
2. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 3?
A. Add some relevant information.
B. Provide some advice for growers.
C. Summarize the previous paragraphs.
D. Introduce a new topic for discussion.
3. What does the underlined word “allure” in paragraph 4 probably mean?
A. Pressure. B. Impact. C. Appeal. D. Expansion.
4. According to Eric Adamson, what is required for robots in judgmentdriven tasks?
A. Being applied to more fields.
B. Outperforming enough people.
C. Adapting and surviving in agriculture.
D. Replacing all humans in the industry.
Language
Study
Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text
The tabletop system enables Tortugas strawberry robots to work by adjustingberms positions so that they can be poked up with robotic arms, which protects the robotsfrom direct exposure to the elements. 台式系统使得Tortuga的草莓机器人能够通过调整护提的位置,使其可以被机械手臂伸入,从而保护机器人免于直接暴露在环境中。
【点石成金】本句是一个复合句。句中,so that引导的是一个目的状语从句;which引导的是一个非限制性定语从句,用于指代前面整句话。
Ⅱ. Text‑centered chunks
be surrounded by 被……环绕
in search of 寻找
in the way 挡路;碍事
protect...from 保护……免受……
make up 组成
see...as 把……看作……