2014年高三英语 阅读复习第三期 科普知识与现代技术7【导读】本文讲述了机器人苍蝇的研发，面临的困难以及前景。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 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.“Its 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 its 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.”【文章大意】本文为一篇说明文，讲述机器人苍蝇的研发，面临的困难以及前景。【篇章结构】段落关键词、句大意推测第一部分（Para. 1）create the first robotic fly; the mechanical fly; a platform for a series of new high-tech systems; what a fly does naturally; the size of a fat housefly; mini wings; perform controlled flight tasks.哈佛大学的一组技师在自然界的激发下，创造了第一部机器人苍蝇。进而描述了机器人苍蝇的样子与用途。第二部分（Para. 2）extremely important; as a whole system; not just the sum of a bunch of individual components(元件); has been working on；for over a decade；got the go-ahead to start piecing together the components.；the added difficulty; off the shelf; have to develop them all on our own机器人苍蝇要的是一套完整的体系，而不是一组独立原件简单地相加。哈佛大学Robert Wood教授数十年都在致力于研究机器人苍蝇这个课题。几年前，他的团队就开始了拼装原件。但这个项目也遇到了困难：那些元件没有一件能现货供应的，只能自己做。第三部分（Para. 3-4）a series of systems to start and drive；has a number of interdependencies on the individual components; was built into a set of power, computation, sensing and control systems; the success of the project proves that; these tiny components can be built and manufactured; is linked to; a small, off-board power source; equip it with; a built-in power source; someday perform data-gathering work at rescue sites, in farmers fields or on the battlefield; be able to take off, land and fly around.从两个方面说明机器人苍蝇：一.机器人苍蝇所需要的一套体系。看上去相当简单地能够移动翅膀的系统却在那些单个原件中有很多相互依赖的成份，每个成分不仅要各自运转良好，还要和与它相连的所有成分都配合好。二. 机器人苍蝇配有内置电源，是为了将来有一天能在营救点，在牧场上或者战场上从事数据收集工作。第四部分（Para. 5）a new way to study flight mechanics and control at insect-scale; on board could have much broader applications; open scientific questions; difficult with the animals; usinginstead; drives us on 此设计为研究飞行力学和控制昆虫规模提供了一种崭新的方法。然而(搭载的)动力设备，传感以及运算技术会有更广泛的应用。Wood设计的机器人苍蝇在某些动物实验方面可以用来代替动物。【信息提取】1. The difficulty the team of engineers met with while making the robotic fly was that _.A. they had no model in their mindB. they did not have sufficient timeC. they had no ready-made componentsD. they could no assemble the components2. It can be inferred from paragraphs 3 and 4 that the robotic fly_.A. consists of a flight device and a control systemB. can just fly in limited areas at the present timeC. can collect information from many sourcesD. has been put into wide application3. 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. Woods design can replace animals in some experiments.4. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?A. Father of Robotic FlyB. Inspiration from Engineering ScienceC. Robotic Fly Imitates Real Life