PITTSBURGH – For most people, snakes seem unpleasant or even threatening. But Howie Choset sees in their delicate movements a way to save lives.

The 37-year-old Carnegie Mellon University professor has spent years developing snake-like robots he hopes will eventually slide through fallen buildings in search of victims trapped after natural disasters or other emergencies.

Dan Kara is president of Robotics Trends, a Northboro, Mass.-based company that publishes an online industry magazine and runs robotics trade shows. He said there are other snake-like robots being developed, mainly at universities, but didn’t know of one that could climb pipes.

The Carnegie Mellon machines are designed to carry cameras and electronic sensors and can be controlled with a joystick(操縱桿). They move smoothly with the help of small electric motors, or servos, commonly used by hobbyists in model airplanes.

Built from lightweight materials, the robots are about the size of a human arm or smaller. They can sense which way is up, but are only as good as their human operators, Choset added.

Sam Stover, a search term manager with the Federal Emergency Management Agency based in Indiana, said snake-type robots would offer greater mobility than equipment currently available, such as cameras attached to extendable roles.

“It just allows us to do something we’ve not been able to do before,” Stover said, “We needed them yesterday.”

He said snifter dogs are still the best search tool for rescue workers, but that they can only be used effectively when workers have access to damaged building.

Stover, among the rescue workers who handled the aftermath (后果) of Hurricane Katrina, said snake robots would have helped rescuers search flooded houses in that disaster.

Choset said the robots may not be ready for use for another five to ten years, depending on funding.  

Which institution is responsible for the development of Choset’s robots?

A. Robotics Trends.               B. Pittsburgh City Council.

C. Carnegie Mellon University.      D. Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Choset believes that his invention ______.

A. can be attached to an electronic arm

B. can be used by hobbyists in model airplanes

C. can find victims more quickly than a snifter dog

D. can sense its way no better than its operators

By saying “We needed them yesterday” (paragraph 7), Stover means that snake-like robots _____.

A. could help handle the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

B. would have been put to use in past rescue work

C. helped rescuers search flooded houses yesterday

D. were in greater need yesterday than today

What is the text mainly about?

A. Snake-like robots used in industries.

B. Snake-like robots made to aid in rescues.

C. The development of snake-like robots.

D. The working principles of snake-like robots.

【小題1】C

【小題2】D

【小題3】B

【小題4】B


解析:

【小題1】本題考查理解細(xì)節(jié)信息的能力。由第二段中“The 37-year-old Carnegie Mellon University professor has spent years developing snake-like robots ….”可知蛇形機(jī)器人研制者Howie Choset屬于Carnegie Mellon University。

【小題2】本題考查理解細(xì)節(jié)信息的能力。由第五段中 “They can sense which way is up, but are only as good as their human operators, Choset added.”可知目前這種機(jī)器人性能還不夠完善，主要取決于操作者控制水平。

【小題3】本題考查根據(jù)上下文猜測句子含義的能力。聯(lián)系下文提到的Hurricane Katrina 知道，Howie Choset很希望這種機(jī)器人能夠早日派上用場，挽救許多生命。注意would have done 的非真實(shí)的用法(虛擬語氣)。  

【小題4】本題考查概括主旨大意的能力。本文為新聞報(bào)道，新聞的主旨一般開篇指出，由第一段可知本文介紹了用于緊急情況救助的機(jī)器人。

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