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The Final Product. Questions. 13. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the list.
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The Final Product
Going back to designing our robot that will help take out the trash, it might be nice for the robot to be fast, but is that really the most important thing? It might be better to have a slower robot take out the trash. That way, there’s less of a chance the robot will fall and drop the trash (making it necessary for you to clean it up). In that case, let’s go back to the robot that moves sort of like an inchworm. That robot had a lot of body mass on the ground, so it was tough to tip over — think about tipping over a butter dish versus a candlestick.
Maybe when the robot has taken the trash out, you will want it to be fast. The best thing to do then is allow it to separate its front section into two legs, and its back section into two legs. Then it can move in that cheetah-like style, going faster. Perhaps the design of incorporating both ideas into one will result in a final product that isn’t completely an inch-wormer, and isn’t completely a cheetah either. The robot’s body is a little too sleek to be a worm and a little too lumpy to be a cheetah. But the beauty of the final design is that the robot is more versatile, and can do everything you need it to do. Hopefully, these types of robots will enter our lives soon. The Cornell researchers will just have to keep brainstorming different types of robot bodies, so we can always have the best selection of traits to pick from.
Questions
1. What are scientists at Cornell University trying to figure out?
a. How to build a computer program that simulates the movement of softbots.
b. All the different tasks robots could perform.
c. All the different materials robots could be made of.
d. All the different ways robots could move.
2. Why does the author describe the different robot scientists are creating with a computer program?
a. To show that scientists are unsure about what type of robot to build.
b. To show how complex these computer programs can be.
c. To show that the scientists’ brainstorm session will take a long time.
d. To show a variety of ways that robots could move.
3. Scientists must consider a variety of factors when designing a robot. What evidence from the text supports this conclusion?
a. Researchers are already imagining a world in which robots become a more integrated part of our lives.
b. Scientists at Cornell University have built a computer program that allows them to simulate the movement of a robot before they develop a final design of the robot.
c. If a softbot is being designed to take out the trash, the softbot’s ability to be steady must be balanced with its ability to be quick.
d. The fastest robot created by scientists runs in a bounding motion, similar to how a cheetah moves.
4. What can be concluded about the purpose many robots will have in the future?
a. Robots will be created to allow scientists to use computer programs.
b. Robots will be created to move in non-traditional ways.
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c. Robots will be created to make life easier for humans.
d. Robots will be created to help scientists brainstorm.
5. What is this passage mainly about?
a. Scientists who work at Cornell University.
b. The process scientists are using to design robots.
c. Computer programs scientists are using to design robots.
d. Robots that can move like humans.
6. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence “Scientists have built a computer program that simulates several kinds of softbots, ________ they can figure out which model works best. ”
a. however
b. so
c. although
d. after
7. After scientists have a number of ideas about robot movement in mind, what types of tests do they then perform? (an open answer)
8. According to the passage, what would be a good design for a softbot that would take out the trash? (an open answer)
9. Scientists need to test different abilities of the robots. While scientists perform these tests, they measure how much energy the robots require to function for a long period of time and how much space they take up. Why do the scientists run these tests and track these measurements to create a final model? Use evidence from the text to support your answer. (an open answer)
13. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the list.
instances, sufficient, maximum, coordinates, remove, demonstrate, framework,
volume, physical, consent
1. The cost to repair your car should be no more than $500, ________. 2. We need to draw up a ________ for payment of our debts before they become too big. 3. An ostrich egg is equal in ________ to 24 chicken eggs. 4. The police cannot search your house without your ________ unless they have a legal warrant. 5. To obtain ________ nourishment, a panda consumes as much as 36 kilograms of bamboo daily. 6. We need the latitude and longitude ________ of your ship in order to locate you more quickly. 7. Do you want me to ________ how the software works for you? 8. In Japan, the second Monday of October is called Taiiku no Hi, or Sports Day, and is a national holiday intended to foster healthy minds and bodies through ________ activity. 9. Any further ________ of poor behavior on your part will be severely punished. 10. The robot was able to ________ its own head, and fix it whenever necessary.
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