相关试卷

Developed by a team of WSU researchers, the robots' tininess largely relies on a material known as a shape memory alloy (合金) . Although shape memory alloys change form when heated, they can "remember" their original shapes and return to them after cooling. Because of this, the two micro-robots do not require standard motors, and they use light and small ones instead of bulky moving parts.

Both the robots'motors are each made up of two shape memory alloys, allowing them to move their fins as fast as 40 times a second while also lifting over 150 times their weight. "They're very technologically sound. The development of the very lightweight robots opens up new possibilities in micro-robotics," said Conor Trygstad, a material engineering PhD student and study lead author. "Although the robots are impressive when compared to other robots, the pair still fall behind their biological relatives'," Trygstad said. They can currently move at a speed of about six millimeters a second; a water strider, by comparison, speeds along at about a meter per second. For now, the robots also require wired (连线的) power sources, thus seriously preventing any real-world applications for the moment.

Going forward, however, the team plans to copy other small insect species while also creating a new water strider robot which can move at a higher speed. Depending on using small batteries could also greatly increase the robots' areas of use, If the breakthrough designs continue improving, similar micro-robots could one day be employed to monitor hard-to-reach dangerous environments.

African forest elephants help lessen climate change by increasing carbon storage in their forest habitats, meaning they help remove heat-trapping CO₂ from the atmosphere. They do this by influencing the forest structure, including by increasing the diversity and abundance of plant species. It's estimated that one forest elephant can increase the net carbon capture (捕获) capacity of the forest by almost 250 acres. This is equal to removing from the atmosphere a year's worth of emissions (排放量) from 2,047 cars.

"As strange as it seems, all that eating and destruction help the forest pull more carbon out of the air," says Alison Pearce Stevens in the book Animal Climate Heroes! . Elephants eat more than 400 pounds of food a day, so they spend a lot of time searching for food. As they walk through the forest, they do a lot of damage to the surrounding smaller trees, leading to the survival of trees that have the ability to absorb and store more CO₂.

In addition, their thirst for fruits also helps to promote forest growth. This is because elephants disperse fruit seeds. In other words, the seeds pass through the elephant bodies until they drop back to the forest floor.

But African forest elephants are seriously endangered and continue to face threats. These mainly come from hunting for the illegal international trade in elephant ivory (象牙), but also from habitat loss and fewer food sources. The number of forest elephants fell by more than 86% over a period of 31 years, and their habitats are thought to have reduced by 75%. Protecting forest elephants and the forests they depend on means we are safeguarding their ecological contributions that we all rely on.

Kanazawa is living proof (证明) that you're never too old to hit the gym and achieve the body you've always dreamed of. A champion bodybuilder in his youth, Kanazawa stopped exercising completely after he retired at age 34, drinking, smoking and eating whatever he liked. It wasn't until he turned 50 that he got his motivation to regain the perfect body of his younger years.

Kanazawa's wife felt sick frequently, and the former bodybuilder remembered that she had never been happier than when he won the national championship. So to please her, he decided to return to the gym and completely change his diet.

His workout schedule had to be adjusted to his age as well. In his youth, he would spend up to six hours training in the gym every day, and his body would recover within two days after a particularly intensive (强化的) workout, but that was not the case anymore. He cut the daily gym time to three hours and started giving his body one week to recover after exercising every muscle group.

Kanazawa's efforts paid off. In 2016, at the age of 80, Kanazawa defeated many opponents and placed sixth in the world in a contest for bodybuilders over 65, and won the admiration of the crowd.

Sport keeps this elderly man healthy, as he claims not to have suffered so much as a cold since he started bodybuilding again at age 50.

"I want to be a super old man in the bodybuilder community," Kanazawa said, "If I have a goal, I can continue moving forward. I have to work much harder."

The world's best-loved general-interest publication contains something for everyone. Reader's Digest magazine is bursting with stories, articles, advice, recipes, reviews, tips, jokes and anecdotes. Each issue is small enough to fit in your handbag or pocket, but big enough to keep you entertained for weeks on end.

From regular columns packed with information to gripping (扣人心弦的) human-interest stories and helpful how-tos, our magazine offers knowledge, positivity and humour. In this month's issue you'll find...

An interview with Hugh Dancy:

The newest addition to the cast of Downton Abbey on New York, Law & Order, and the nostalgia (怀旧) of playing an English gentleman.

Saving the sound of the Stradivaius:

Meet the experts fighting to save the unbeatable sound of history's greatest violins, meeting the love of her life.

Community Power:

Across the UK, communities are coming together to save their pubs, shops, and more.

If Grace Dent ruled the world:

The restaurant critic shares her manifesto (宣言) for world domination.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY FROM AS LITTLE AS £ 22. 99

Our best price yet — It's only £22. 99 for a full one-year subscription — A Saving of over 50% OFF the usual £47.88 retail price — and what's more, we will deliver it direct to your door for free!

If you don't want to commit to a full year, we have the perfect taster package.

TRIAL NOW with 3 Issues for ONLY £3!

Plus, make sure you always keep up to date with all of the top stories, news and promotions from Reader's Digest by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.

Dark rain clouds were gathering in the sky. I was cycling as fast as I could to get home before the downpour. When I felt a few big drops on my head, I decided to dash for a bus stop, about a hundred meters away. As I was nearing the bus stop, I saw a lady rushing towards it from the opposite direction, a little boy following her. The little boy was finding it hard to keep up with her, so, finally, she just picked him up and carried him.

Suddenly, a motorcycle roared past me, almost knocking me down. He turned to look at me, and for a split second, I saw his face - cruel, glaring eyes. A flood of fear crept over me. However, courage from nowhere got me to shout "Hey! Are you mad!" My voice trembled a bit. He just sped on. Then, I realized that he was rushing right toward the woman and the little boy!

"Watch out! Watch out!" I shouted. I saw the lady turn to look at the motorcyclist, with worry on her face. In an instant, the motorcyclist reached the lady. He stretched out an arm and grabbed hold of her handbag, hitting her on the back at the same time. The impact sent the lady hurtling (猛冲) forward. The mother and child fell on the road, landing right in the path of a van.

"Stop! Stop!" I screamed at the van driver, waving my arms wildly in the air. Thankfully, the van stopped a few meters from the spot where the mother and child lay. I saw the lady crawling on the road towards the crying child. Throwing my bicycle to the side of the road, I ran to help them.

注意：

1. 续写词数应为150左右；

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

By the time I got there, the van driver had reached them.                                                                             

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I realized that, by this time, the motorcyclist must have gone far from that spot, with the lady's handbag.             

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. 介绍该美食；

2. 喜欢的原因。

注意：

1. 写作词数应为80左右；

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Hello, everyone!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you.

The suanpan is an abacus (a tool for counting) of Chinese origin first described in a book of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Usually, a suanpan is about 20 cm tall and differs in(wide) depending on the application.

The abacus is a   (wood) frame. Inside the frame, there are usually at least seven vertical sticks and a horizontal beam(梁). After setting a number, operator can move beads(带孔的珠子) up or down towards the beam(do) the calculation.

The Chinese abacus had a beam,(divide) beads into two parts: two beads above the beam(each represents five) and five it (each represents one). This type of abacus(use) in China now.

Abacus calculation is also called bead counting. One must recite a law by the calculations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division can all be simplified into the acts of moving the beads.

In the past, in addition to the ability to write elegant characters with a brush pen, another(require) skill for businessmen was to use an abacus(skillful). Whenever there was a calculation, there was an abacus.

I was5 and good at school, for which6 liked me but other kids did not. I felt I was a7 . I thought nobody would like me but I tried not to be8

Then one day, a9 , strong boy in the English class walked right over to me. He10 that he was on the school basketball team and asked me to help them with their English. From that moment on, life at school11 for me. I taught the basketball players about commas and subject-verb agreement while they taught me how to play basketball. And they also taught me that being smart could be a real12, which I could use to help others.

Nobody gave me any13 about being smart anymore. And though I was only five feet tall, I walked the halls feeling as tall as those towering basketball players who helped me to14 a new state, new city and new school. They gave me15 and courage to be myself—and to be a short girl who really knew how to play basketball!

Beyond issues related to a person's appearance, feedback is also vital for learning and growth.In workplaces, feedback from managers can improve performance. We also give feedback in our personal lives, like telling our partners the dish they cooked was too hot.We might feel embarrassed or cautious that the feedback could upset the person receiving it, or even harm our relationship with them. Besides, some researchers assume that another reason why we may be unwilling to give feedback is that we don't realize how valuable it is to the person receiving it. They did an experiment in which they found while less than half of the feedback givers wanted to provide feedback when given a choice, 86% of people wanted to receive feedback, showing there is a gap between giving and wanting. Particularly, the receivers thought the feedback was highly valuable.

Finally, we should still be careful about immediately or eagerly telling anyone and everyone how they can improve.In many cases, asking someone if they would like your feedback can be a good start.

A. So what are proper ways to provide feedbacks?

B. There's no doubt many of us avoid giving feedback.

C. Students need feedback so they can improve their grades.

D. So why are we sometimes unwilling to provide feedback elsewhere?

E. Constant and eager feedbacks have a significant impact on the receivers.

F. Constructive feedback should be specific, actionable and delivered in a timely fashion.

G. Therefore, we can see that many people are unwilling to provide feedback on account of their failing to appreciate its value.