There's a robot to prevent drowning

江蘇 李蓉蓉

主題語境：人與社會 篇幅：356詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1Because of a lack of trained lifeguards to watch over swimming pools,a team of scientists from Germany has developed an underwater robot,intending to assist lifeguards in rescuing swimmers in emergencies.

2According to scientists,there are some typical postures that you can use to recognize when someone is in danger.The robot has been tested in a variety of settings including indoor pools and open water.If swimmers'movements are consistent with drowning,the information of the drowning person will be sent out,which is stored in a docking station on the pool floor,and it will be released by a signal from the monitoring cameras.Once the robot receives the signal and reaches its destination,it will carry the endangered person to the surface.What's more,the robot is designed with a mechanism to keep the lifeless person from sliding down as the robot surfaces.

3When the robot is tested at lakes and other outdoor settings,drones took on the task of the monitoring cameras.For rescues in swimming lakes where the visibility is restricted,the underwater vehicle must be equipped with acoustic sensors (聲傳感器).Sound wave echoes can be used to determine people's positions so precisely that the robot can autonomously head for the target person and pick them up.When the robot is informed of an emergency,a signal will alert the team immediately.

4The current system is 90 centimeters long,50 centimeters high,and 50 centimeters wide and looks like an underwater submersible that might be used for exploring shipwrecks.The central innovation of the system is the side folding wings that fix lifeless people on a stretcher without injuring them.To bring them to the surface of the water,balloons are filled with a total of 15 to 20 kilos of buoyancy(浮力).

5The research team are still doing research on the robot,aiming to make future versions smaller,lighter and less expensive.At present,a patent has already been filed for the aquatic robot.In modified versions,it can take on further tasks—such as offshore and dam wall inspections or being used to monitor the health of fish in fish farms.

Reading Check

Detail 1.Why did German researchers invent an underwater robot?

A.To prevent swimmers practising.

B.To assist lifeguards to rescue.

C.To check if there are emergencies.

D.To watch over the swimming pools.

Gist 2.What does paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A.The mechanism that the robot has.

B.The procedures of the robot's rescue.

C.Different typical postures of drowners.

D.The great success of the underwater robot.

Detail 3.How can the robot locate drowning people?

A.Through the special drones.

B.Through the docking station.

C.Through the sound sensors.

D.Through the monitoring cameras.

Detail 4.What can we know about the robot according to the last paragraph?

A.It will get further improved.

B.It can help to build dam walls.

C.It will be widely used in each field.

D.It won't take long to receive a patent.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Difficult sentence in the text

Because of a lack of trained lifeguards to watch over swimming pools,a team of scientists from Germany has developed an underwater robot,intending to assist lifeguards in rescuing swimmers in emergencies.由于缺乏訓練有素的救生員來看管游泳池，德國一組科學家研發(fā)了一種水下機器人，旨在幫助救生員在緊急情況下營救游泳者。

【點石成金】本句中，Because of a lack of trained lifeguards to watch over swimming pools 為介詞短語作狀語；intending to assist lifeguards in rescuing swimmers in emergencies為現(xiàn)在分詞短語作伴隨狀語的結構，表示主動。

Ⅱ.Text-centered chunks

watch over 看管

in danger 處于危險中

a variety of 各種各樣的

be consistent with 和……一致

be equipped with 配備……

be informed of 知道

take on further tasks 承擔進一步的任務