普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语选修7 Unit 2 Robots - Reading

 LANDMINES¹ KILL OR BADLY INJURE around 26,000 people every year. That is one person every 20 minutes. What is worse is that they keep causing damage for decades after wars have ended. There are about 100 million landmines buried just beneath the surface of the ground in 60 countries. Most of the victims are innocent² people - women, children, farmers - who happen to step on them as they go about their daily lives.

By Natasha Wesley

           We seem to be losing the fight against landmines. While, every year, about 100,000 landmines are removed, 2,000,000 more are buried in the ground. Removing them is very slow and dangerous work that must be done by hand. Someone has to use a metal detector³ to find the mines. This is very inaccurate⁴ as the metal detector finds all metal objects, not just the mines, and it does not find new types of mine which are covered in plastic. Then he or she has to dig the mine out without setting⁵ it off. Using this method it could take centuries to rid the world of landmines.

          This is where robotics comes in. Several countries are working on technological⁶ solutions to the landmines problem. As part of Japan's support for finding⁷ and removing landmines in Afghanistan, Japanese scientists and engineers have been researching into robotics. One of the most exciting projects is at Chiba University, where a robot that looks something like an insect is being developed. It is 4 metres long, 1.8 metres wide, 1 metre high, and weighs 900 kilograms, about the size of a small car. It walks on 6 legs and when it finds a mine, it marks the spot with paint and sends data to a computer which can then map the mines. As well as being much safer than finding mines by hand, the insect robot is also much faster.

         The university is also experimenting with the robot so that it can use radar⁸ to search for plastic mines. The goal is for the computer to use the data it receives to determine not only whether an object is just a piece of metal or a mine, but also what type of mine it is. The researchers hope that mass production of robots will start in the next year or so and they will be used in such countries as Afghanistan and Cambodia.

            In the 1990s world opinion built up against the use of landmines and, in 1997, 122 countries signed an agreement in Ottawa, Canada, to stop the manufacture⁹ and use of landmines. However, the task of clearing mines is still a very difficult one. Perhaps robotics Will provide a solution, but as every 20minutes goes by, one more person is killed or badly injured.

1 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

2 innocent   

adj.无罪的，清白的；无害的；天真的，单纯的

参考例句：

• I'm not quite so innocent as to believe that.我还不至于简单到相信那种事的地步。
• I was very young,and very innocent.我那时非常年轻，幼稚无知。

3 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

4 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

5 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

7 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

8 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

9 manufacture   

n.产品，制造，制造业；vt.制造，加工；vi.参与制造

参考例句：

• The equipment is of our own manufacture.这设备是我们自己制造的。
• Plastic is an important manufacture.塑料是种重要产品。