科普类 知识点题库

    Robots seem new to most people, but they have a long history.1one was made by a Greek. The robots in the films are usually stronger,2and cleverer than people. In real life, most robots are used in factories. They are used to do many dangerous, difficult or boring3. Some people can't look after4and robots can help them. For example, some people can't see, and they use dogs5themselves move around. This kind of dog is called a guide dog. But now scientists are making robots to help them. In the future, robot dogs6take the place of these guide dogs.

    Today robots are7used in American hospitals. In the hospital, a robot8meals from the kitchen to the patient's room. It never loses its way because it has a9of the hospital in its computer system.

    Robots can help us in a lot of different ways. However, they10take the place of humans.

Marco Polo and the Silk Road

    China and Europe(欧洲) are very far from each other. Today, people can fly between the two in a few hours. But in the past, it took m or even years to go from one place to the other. When people traveled from China to Europe, they went on the Silk Road.

    In fact, the Silk Road was not a China and Europe(欧洲) are very far from each other. Today, people can fly between the two in a r road, it was a large group of trade routes(路线). But, by following it, people could not get from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. It was called the Silk Road because the Chinese transported(运输) silk to the w on it.

    The Silk Road became very famous because of Marco Polo. He was an Italian adventurer (冒险家). With his father and uncle, he left Italy and r twenty-four years later. He had taken the Silk Road to China. He had many adventures. He even became an advisor to the emperor. When he came back, he wrote a book, The Travels of Marco Polo, to tell people a his travels and people in Europe started to know China more.

    Can you imagine a life without salt? No, salt is very important to us, and we need salt in our food every day. Without enough salt in the food, you will get ill. Animals need salt, too. They need salt to grow strong and faster.

    Most of the salt in our country comes from the sea. People dig very big pools and let seawater in. When the sundries up the water, people can get salt from the ground. The salt is white, clean and beautiful.

    There are a lot of salt wells in Sichuan Province of China. A salt well is much like a water well. People bring the well water up to the ground and then dry it in big jars over fire. In this way, they get salt.

    We can also get salt from salt mines. A salt mine may be found under the ground. Some years ago, people inJiangxi Province found a big salt mine and soon opened it. People there don't need salt from other places anymore.

    In the northwest of our country, there are a great number of salt lakes. Some of these lakes are very big. The saltin a big lake will be enough for all the people in our country for as long as hundreds of years.

    Trees are an important part of the Earth. They provide wood for buildings and things for making paper. They provide homes for all kinds of insects, birds and other animals. For example, many birds live in trees. Many kinds of fruits come from trees, such as apples, oranges, pears and peaches.

    Trees also help keep our air clean and our ecosystems healthy. We breathe in oxygen and breathe out harmful gases. However, trees breathe in harmful gases and breathe out oxygen. And trees can help other plants grow because they can hold the soil. Trees keep the soil from being blown away, so plants can fight against strong winds.

    Trees do much for us, our environment, other plants and animals, but we don't just love trees for that. Trees can also be very beautiful—tall enough to touch the sky and so big around that we can't even hug them. So we should stop cutting down trees and enjoy the beauty of them.

    Space travel is nothing new. The first spaceship with a human was sent up1space in 1961. Since then, people have not only travelled to space, 2many of them have also lived there in space stations for some time.

The Soviet Union (苏联) sent the3space station into space in 1971. This space station was called Salyut I. It 4as a place where people could live while they observed space and did experiments. The first group of astronauts lived there for 23 days. The Soviet Union went on to make six more Salyut space stations. At about the same time, the United States had5own space station, called Skylab.

    Astronauts6in these space stations for a short time. However, it wasn't until the late 1980s when the Soviet Union sent the Mir space station that people began to live in space for a7time.

    Living in space stations seems to be fun, but astronauts face many problems. One of them8food. All the9on space stations are put together on Earth and sent there by space shuttle. Because the food has to last a long time, a lot of it has to be stored in cans. The space station does not have a fridge, but it has a cool room to keep fruit and vegetables fresh. Astronauts also eat many other foods10dried meat that do not need special care.

At the beginning of 2020, pangolins(穿山甲)come into the eyes of people with the Covid-19（新型冠状病毒）.Scientists find that they may be the middie host（寄主）of the Covid-19. What are pangolins? If you never hear of them, you're not alone.

Pangolins live on the earth for over 40,000,000 years. And there are 8 different kinds of pangolins around the world, half of them in Asia and the others in Africa. Most of them live on the ground, but some can climb trees. They go out at night and sleep during the day. When they meet dangers(危险), their hard coats get closed and it looks like a ball.

As we all know, pangolins are our friends. Every year a pangoiin can eat 7,000,000 harmful ants(有害的蚂蚁). This is good for our forests. When pangolins find one family of ants, they just eat a half and leave the other half to live. How kind the little animals are!

The pangolin is a kind of animals in danger. Some people eat pangolins as delicious food. Also, people use them in Chinese medicine（中药）.In the last 10 years, 1,000,000 pangolins are on sale in the black market. About every 5 minutes, one pangolin has to leave its home, because some bad people want to catch the pangolin. What gloomy news! We should do something to stop that.

    A special copyright (版权)case has recently drawn attention because it is related to (和….有关的)artificial intelligence (AI). A court (法庭)in Shenzhen ruled that a news report written by Tencent's AI enjoys copyright protection.

This is the first case in China that has provided copyright protection to work done by AI. But what does it indicate (表明)?

    Probably not. Al is not yet able to write creative stories. The news report mentioned above is mainly about data.  Some newspapers also use AI to report on stories about natural disasters (灾害),which mainly require basic facts such as "where" and "when". As Forbes wrote, instead of losing their jobs, journalists can make their work more efficient (高效的) by using AI so that they can focus more on storytelling and less on numbers.

     For example, Wayne MeGregor, a British choreographer (编舞),is famous for using AI to create new dances. For him, AI is a powerful tool that can help choreographers break out of common movements. MeGregor is not worried that AI might replace human artists.""

    "It's time to stop worrying about if AI can be creative," according to Forbes. Instead. we should focus on how humans and AI can work together in ways that we have never dreamed of before.

Do you like writing by hand or wit a keyboard?

A new brain research, led by researchers at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. shows that choosing handwriting instead of using a keyboard results in better learning and memory.

"When you write your shopping list or class notes by hand, you simply remember what you wrote better later, " said Audrey van der Meer, who did the study.

12 young grown-ups and 12 children took part in the study. This is the first time that children have taken part in such a study. Special machines were used to follow and record brain wave (电波) activity. Each person wore a special cap with over 250 electrodes (电极) on the head, and was asked to write by hand and use a keyboard. The sensors (传感器) in the electrodes picked up the activity that took place in the brain. Each examination took 45 minutes for each person.

The results showed that the brain in both young grown - ups and children is much more active when writing by hand than when using a keyboard. According to Van der Meer, plenty of senses become active by holding a pen and pushing it down on paper, seeing the letters written and hearing the sound made while writing. These build connection between different parts of the brain, opening the brain up for learning.

Van der Meer believes that the results call attention to the importance of children being asked to draw and write at an early age, especially at school. "Learning to write by hand is a bit slower course, but it's important for children to experience the tiring step of learning to write by hand," she said.

The hand movements used to form the shapes of letters are helpful in several ways. "If you use a keyboard, you use the same movement for each letter. Writing by hand requires control of your fine motor (精细动作) skills and senses. It's important to put the brain in a learning condition as often as possible," Van der Meer added. For example, you might use a keyboard to write an article, but you should take notes by hand during a class.

Qomolangma is the world's highest mountain. You may have learned from your textbooks that its height is 8,844 meters. But not all sides are in agreement on this. Different researchers have give different results. Also, the height of the mountain can change over time.

That's why a 30-member Chinese survey team set out to reach the peak of Qomolangma to re-measure（重新测量）its height on May 6th, 2020.

It is not an easy task. The air temperature on the mountain is -29℃ — four degrees lower than in Antarctica — and strong winds blow all the time. In such bad conditions, surveying drones（无人机）cannot work at the peak of the mountain. That's why it's still necessary to sendhuman experts to the peak to get reliable（可靠的）results. But does a difference of a few meters really matter when it comes to a high mountain?

In fact, measuring the height of Qomolangma is about more than just getting one exact（确切的）number. Mount Qomolangma is at the point where the Eurasian plate（欧亚板块）meets the Indian plate. It formed 38 million years ago as the two plates hit each other. Changes in the peak's height can show whether the two plates are heading toward or away from each other. This can help us understand the movement of Earth's crust（地壳）.

The survey team will also get firsthand information about environmental conditions at the top of the mountain. This will help us understand how climate（气候）change has affected（影 响）the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau.

"What! You, too? I thought I was the only one. "Have you ever said this to someone? If so, you may have ended up becoming friends with this person.

It seems that similarity often helps form friendships. The Greek philosopher (哲学家) Aristotle once said, "Some define (下定义) it 'friendship' as a matter of similarity; they say that we love those who are like ourselves."

Now, there is some science behind this idea. Scientists from University of California said friends have similar brains, Scientific American reported.

The scientists invited 42 university students to take part in an experiment. Each student watched the same set of videos, which included a comedy, a discussion and a soccer match. Meanwhile, scientists study their brains and recorded their brain activity.

According to their study, friends who watched the same video clips reacted in similar ways. Similar parts of their brains lit up while watching the videos, especially parts that are connected with motivation (动力), learning and memory.

However, people who weren't friends had different reactions to the same clips.

Having close friends whose brains read like ours "may be rewarding because it makes one's own values, opinions, and interests strength," lead scientist Carolyn Parkinson told Business Insider.

But brain similarity is not the only thing that can result in friendship. Scientists from the University of Leipzig, Germany, found that friendship is also based on how physically close you are to someone.

They did an experiment with first-year college students who met in class for the first time. In this experiment, students who sat in neighboring seats were more likely to become friends.

China has taken a whole new step in its moon exploration. President Xi Jinping on Dec. 17, 2020 congratulated the complete success of the Chang'e-5 mission(任务) that brings back the country's first samples collected from the moon. Following America and Russia, China has become me the third country in the world to collect rocks from the moon.

Change-5 first took off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan on November 24, 2020. It landed on a massive lava plain (熔岩平原) of the moon on December1,2020. Then it started to collect the samples. The samples may help scientists understand more about the moons origins. It may help work out how the moon comes into being and how it develops. Hopefully, the success of the collection will set an example for other more difficult missions in the future which will be carried out on other planets.

After the returning capsule (太空舱)landed back on Earth, it will be taken to Beijing by plane, where the capsule will beopened and the samples will be ready for study. "China will also provide some of the samples to scientists in other countries", said Pei Zhaoyu, a director at the CNSA.

As the Chang'e-5 mission has been completed successfully, Chinese scientists are already making plans for future moon exploration, including project to build a scientific research station on the moon "We hope to work together with other countries to build the international lunar scientific research station, which could provide a shared platform for lunar scientific exploration and technological experiments," Pei said.

The bicycle is one of the simplest and most useful inventions in the world. What is the most surprising is that it was not1earlier, although the great inventor Leonardo da Vinci had drawn pictures for bicycles and also for flying machines and some other things. Those things were not produced2 long after he died.

A person riding a bicycle uses 3energy to make the bicycle move, and there is no pollution at all when you are riding. Even so, in most developed 4, most people don't travel to work by bicycle. It is not because the bicycles are expensive or people feel 5 if they ride to work. It's because 6 cars on the roads becomes larger. It certainly becomes 7to ride a bicycle. As a result, more people put their bicycles away and go to work 8 their cars and, in this way, the situation is made more serious. 9 the best way to make riding safer and more popular is to create paths（开设通道）only for bicycles, and to make 10 so difficult and expensive for drivers to take their cars into the city that they will go back to use their bicycles.

NEW DICOVERIES are popular among our students and let's take a close look at what they are.

When people think of healthy food for eyes, they think of carrots. Yes, carrots are good for eyes. But there is also much other healthy food for eyes. If you want to have healthy eyes, eat them.

Kale is a dark green vegetable. It looks like a cabbage. If you often eat kale, you will still have healthy eyes when you are old. The vitamin A in it can help you see well in the dark.

Chicken is great food for eyes. And you can cook it in many ways. You can cook chicken soup, gongbao chicken, chicken noodles and chicken salad. All of them are delicious.

Salmon is a kind of fish. It has a lot of omega-3. If you often feel you have dry eyes, omega-3 in salmon can help you. You don't need to eat a lot each time. A little will be OK.

Whales are the largest living organisms (生物) living on the surface of the earth. An adult blue whale weighs up to 173 tonnes with 30 meters in length. When a whale dies in the ocean, its body usually falls to the sea floor and a special deep-sea ecosystem will be formed in a long time. Scientists give a name to this: the whale fall.

Recently, some scientists on a Chinese research ship called Tansuo-1 found a whale fall at the depth of 1,600 meters in the South China Sea. Whale falls are seldom found by humans. This is the first time China has found this type of ecosystem. So far, less than 50 modem natural whale falls have been found by humans around the world.

The whale fall is really important to deep-sea animals, as it provides food for them. Usually, the whale fall goes through three stages. The first stage comes just after the whale dies. The body attracts lots of big sea animals such as shark and they come to eat the body. This stage lasts from months to years. At the second stage, smaller animals come for the whale's bones and leftovers. This stage can last one or two years. Bacteria (细菌) play a role at the third stage. They break down what has been left. This stage can last as long as 100 years.

The whale fall found in the South China Sea is 3 meters long. It is still at the first stage. The scientists said it would take them a long time to study the whale fall because they knew it would help them understand the deep-sea ecosystem better.

Have you ever thought about having an alpaca (羊驼) as a pet? Many people have. The alpaca is so cute that many people in China have shown great interest in buying one as a pet.

An alpaca looks like a sheep. It mainly lives in Australia and South America. It is cute, smart so it can be a good pet. But for the time being, alpacas are rare in China, and only a small number of people keep pet alpacas.

Alpacas are expensive, because they are transported (运输) from abroad, mainly from Australia or New Zealand. Most people buy the animal on the Internet. They cost as much as RMB 70.000 each. One Internet user said, “I really want to buy an alpaca for my daughter. It is so cute! But the price just seems a little too high.”

Although quite a few people want to have an alpaca keeping the animal is not easy. Buyers need to provide an area of open and cool land for it alpacas do not like hot weather. Besides, keeping an alpaca also means large costs. The alpaca likes to eat hay (干草) and carrots. If you raise an alpaca. the food will cost you about RMB 1,000 a month, not to mention the animal will even spit (吐口水) at you when it is not happy!

Inventions That Will Make Your life Easier

LynQ

Getting separated from friends or a family member at a music festival can be a real headache. LynQ helps you find your loved ones when you get separated from the group. Unlike your smartphones , the small thing does not need any Wi-Fi to stay connected. It is a great tool for family vacations.

HabitAware

A common New Year's resolution centers around the idea of kicking some kind of bad habit. HabitAware is here to make your life a little easier. The beautiful little thing vibrates (颤动) anything it catches you falling into the bad habit you are trying to break.

Philips Somneo

The company Philips has something to help you get up earlier in 2020. The Philips Somneo is here to help you wake up better, without the very annoying (烦人的) sounds of a traditional alarm clock. The Somneo creates what is like a natural sunrise each morning while helping with your sleeping habits.

Eargo

The American company, Eargo is here to add a little excitement to the hearing aid (助听器) market. With 48 million Americans having hearing problems, the team hopes that their easy-to-use comfortable product will give these people the ability to hear again.

Everyone has their favorite food. Some might love chocolate. Some might love potato chips。

Think about your favorite food. Have you ever wondered why your favorite food tastes so good? The answer is about your tongue (舌头)and your nose.

There are some taste buds (味蕾) on your tongue. They give you the sense of taste. How do the taste buds work? In fact, they have many tiny hairs on them. These tiny hairs send messages to your brain about the tastes of different food. In this way, you know whether it is sweet, sour, bitter or salty.

An average person has about 10, 000 taste buds. They keep working all the time when we enjoy our food. The taste buds don't always stay the same. They are replaced every two weeks or so. However, as a person gets older, some of these taste buds don't get replaced. An older person may only have 5, 000 working taste buds. That's why some food may taste stronger for you than they do for an older person.

Besides your tongue, your nose also helps you learn about the taste of food. Sometimes, strong smells can even confuse（使困惑）your sense of taste. Try holding an onion under your nose while eating an apple. What do you taste?

So the next time you enjoy salty pizza and sweet ice cream, thank your tongue and your nose. Without them, you won't have any sense of taste at all! Without the sense of taste, life will be boring.

Bing Dwen Dwen is the mascot of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. It has become a popular s in every corner of the world. It is a c little panda wearing a full-body "shell" made of ice, like a spacesuit. What are the ideas behind its design? The design team of the mascot told the story.

In order to make it look pleasant, they flew to China Wolong Daxiongmao Museum in Sichuan Province for observation. They found that a baby panda's head and body proportion is different from that of an a panda's. So they improved the image based on the baby panda.

They also e why the mascot got the name "Bing Dwen Dwen". "Bing" has several m, though the most common one is ice. It is also the symbol of purity and strength, while "Bing Dwen Dwen" means strong and lively, and also represents children.

    Regular physical activity is good for our health, but most of us do not do enough of it.

    Please try walking. It is one of the easiest ways to exercise. Unlike most other forms of exercise, walking is free and requires no special equipment or training. Nearly every- one at any age can walk. You can walk almost anywhere at any time. Walking is safe, without any danger of injuries or accidents. One can easily do some walking: walk to work- places, schools or shops, visit a place of interest and walk the dog. You can enjoy yourself as you walk in different places and different seasons. You do not need to concentrate on the walking itself, leaving you free to enjoy your- self or just relax.

    Walking right is very important. Walk with your head up and your shoulders back. Walk in the way that the heels of your feet touch the ground first and your toes point forward. Swing your arms as you walk. Fitness walking has become popular these days. If you cannot run or just do not like jogging, fitness walking can help you achieve what you want.