[00:19.70]Unit One Making a difference Listening
[00:26.36]Who were the famous scientist described on the tape?
[00:30.93]1.This one is one of the greatest scientist of all times.
[00:37.59]Even her name tells you that she likes science.
[00:42.84]A good scientist should want to find out answers and ask many questions.
[00:50.78]In other words,they should be curious.
[00:54.94]This woman was certainly curious.
[00:59.30]Together with her husband she tried to learn the secrets of radio activity.
[01:06.06]The couple were award the Nobel Prize for physics in 1903.
[01:12.91]Eight years later,she received the second Nobel Prize,this time for chemistry.
[01:20.27]2.It is said this English Gentleman was sitting in his garden one day,
[01:27.43]when suddenly he was hit by a falling apple.
[01:32.58]The story is probably not true,but this man did mention,
[01:38.53]that he got one of his best-known ideas
[01:43.11]while watching apples fall from a tree.
[01:47.55]His name makes you think that he was not too interested in all things.
[01:55.12]He discovered the force of gravity.
[01:59.85]and he drew up the system of how objects move.
[02:05.62]His laws for motion are still used in physics today
[02:12.18]at least in schools and universities.
[02:16.93]3.Food is what sets this great mind on fire -- rice to be exact.
[02:24.59]This great mind has spent most of his life looking for ways to help farmers grow more rice.
[02:31.75]So that all of us will have enough food to eat.
[02:36.32]He is known as the Father of Modern Rice.
[02:41.28]But because of his long friendship with all the farmers in China,
[02:46.74]he would rather be known as 'the Farmer'.
[02:54.79]Work book Unit one Listening
[03:00.35]Many animals and plants have developed ways to solve problems that are similar to the ones we humans have to deal with.
[03:08.81]Part One
[03:11.48]Scientists often look at nature in order to find new ideas.
[03:17.72]In ancient times,Chinese scientists studied how spiders made silk.
[03:24.38]Modern scientists are interested in the spider too.
[03:29.42]The spider can make silk that is much stronger than most man-made materials.
[03:35.69]Spider silk doesn't break easily,instead of breaking,it gets longer.
[03:42.82]Best of all,
[03:45.88]the spider produces the silk without the use of dangerous or poisonous chemicals
[03:52.96]If we could learn to use the technique,
[03:57.11]we might be able to use the strong silk to make things like seat-belts and wires that hold up bridges.
[04:04.56]Part Two
[04:07.33]There are many other examples of how new technology has been developed by learning from nature.
[04:14.48]A group of German scientists wanted to find out why leaves and flowers are able to stay so clean.
[04:23.03]They decided to take a closer look at the white lotus,
[04:28.07]a flower that is know for it's cleaning leaves.
[04:33.35]At first,the scientists believe that the very flat leaf
[04:38.91]would be better with stain clean.
[04:42.67]However,when they looked closely at the white lotus,
[04:47.71]the scientists saw that the leaf was in fact covered with tiny hairs and needles.
[04:54.09]The needles and hairs collect the dust that falls on the leaf.
[04:59.55]So that a rain drop can easily wash it out.
[05:03.80]The German scientists use this technic to design a new kind of paint.
[05:10.15]The new paint could keep out as looking clean for years.
[05:15.14]Scientists also believe
[05:18.59]that the butterfly could teach us a way to keep our computers cool.
[05:24.26]A computer must be kept cool to function well.
[05:29.12]The fans we use today are not always good enough.
[05:33.84]The butterfly is cold-blooded and must change its body temperature all the time.
[05:40.32]Scientists have found that there are small parts on the two wings
[05:45.68] of the butterfly uses to change its temperature.
[05:50.22]If scientists can learn how it has done,
[05:54.38]it maybe possible to use the same method to keep computers from becoming too hot
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