A team of engineers at Harvard University has been inspired by Nature to create the first robotic fly. The mechanical fly has become a platform for a series of new high-tech integrated systems. Designed to do what a fly does naturally, the tiny machine is the size of a fat housefly. Its mini wings allow it to stay in the air and perform controlled flight tasks.

    “It's extremely important for us to think about this as a whole system and not just the sum of a bunch of individual components (元件),” said Robert Wood, the Harvard engineering professor who has been working on the robotic fly project for over a decade. A few years ago, his team got the go-ahead to start piecing together the components.“The added difficulty with a project like this is that actually none of those components are off the shelf and so we have to develop them all on our own,” he said.

    They engineered a series of systems to start and drive the robotic fly. “The seemingly simple system which just moves the wings has a number of interdependencies on the individual components, each of which individually has to perform well, but then has to be matched well to everything it's connected to,” said Wood. The flight device was built into a set of power, computation, sensing and control systems. Wood says the success of the project proves that the flying robot with these tiny components can be built and manufactured.

    While this first robotic flyer is linked to a small, off-board power source, the goal is eventually to equip it with a built-in power source, so that it might someday perform data-gathering work at rescue sites, in farmers' fields or on the battlefield. “Basically it should be able to take off, land and fly around,” he said.

    Wood says the design offers a new way to study flight mechanics and control at insect-scale. Yet, the power, sensing and computation technologies on board could have much broader applications. “You can start thinking about using them to answer open scientific questions, you know, to study biology in ways that would be difficult with the animals, but using these robots instead,” he said. “So there are a lot of technologies and open interesting scientific questions that are really what drives us on a day to day basis.”

    It could happen just about any time you step out in public. You get onto an almost-empty bus, but the next passenger in decides to ignore dozens of empty seats to sit right next to you. While you're waiting in line at a supermarket, the next customer insists on standing only two inches behind you and shouting into his cell-phone. You go into a public restroom, and the next person to enter decides to use the next stall. Transgressions(冒犯) like these don't just make us feel uncomfortable; we often feel anxious, alarmed; and violated(被侵犯的). It is the attack of the personal-space invaders.

    In any society, shared definitions of personal space govern how we interact with other people. People living in densely(密集地) populated cities like Mumbai, Beijing, or Mexico City tend to require less personal space than people living in sparsely(稀少地) populated places within the country. In America, New Yorkers often have smaller requirements than residents of western states, like Montana, Shenandoah and Wyoming. Because everyone has different standards, gestures that are innocent in one place can be interpreted as opposite in another, especially in Britain.

    As the British etiquette(礼仪) website Debrett puts it, as a British person, somebody standing too close may make you "focus less on what somebody is saying than on how close they are to you". Simple acts like putting an arm around someone you don't know may seem friendly in China, but they can make us very uncomfortable. People from many European countries such as France and Spain kiss each other on the cheek when they meet, yet to British person, this seems too friendly and "touch-freely". The website explains! "The British are not backslappers(拍人后背的人) and generally do not show affection in public".

    Are British people unfriendly? Far from it. The website adds that they are not as "stand-offish and aloof' as they may seem, but very friendly and helpful to foreigners. However, remember not to be too close. If you are going to come closer than an arm's length, please let them know.

阅读理解

    In the famous fairy tale, Snow White eats the Queen's apple and falls victim to a curse（诅咒）;in Shakespeare's novel, Romeo drinks the poison and dies; some ancient Chinese emperors took pellets（药丸）that contained mercury（水银）, believing that it would make them immortal, but they died afterward.

    Poison has long been an important ingredient in literature and history, and it seems to always be associated with evil, danger and death. But how much do you really know about poison?

    An exhibition, The Power of Poison, opened last month at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, intended to give the audience a more vivid understanding of poison.

    The museum tour starts in a rainforest setting, where you can see live examples of some of the most poisonous animals: caterpillars（毛毛虫）, frogs and spiders. Golden poison frogs, for instance, aren't much bigger than a coin, but their skin is covered with a poison that can cut off the signaling power of your nerves, and a single frog has enough venom to kill 10 grown humans.

    "Poisons can be bad for some things," Michael Novacek, senior vice president of the museum, told NBC News. "Yet they can also be good for others."

    A poisonous chemical found in the yew tree is effective against cancer, which is what led to the invention of a cancer-fighting drug called Taxol.

    The benefits from natural poisons are not limited to just medicine. Believe it or not, many substances（物质）that we regularly ingest（摄入）-chili, coffee and chocolate-owe their special flavors or stimulating（提神的）effects to chemicals that plants make to poison insects.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案，并将选定答案的字母标号填在题前括号内。

    The booking notes of the play “the Age of Innocence”:

    Price: $10

    BOOKING

    There are four easy ways to book seats for performance:

    In person

    The Box Office is open Monday to Saturday, 10a.m-8p.m.

    By telephone

    Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard and Amex accepted)

    By post

    Simply complete the booking form and return it to Global Theatre Box Office.

    Online

    Complete the on-line booking form at www.Satanfiedtheatre.com

    DISCOUNTS:

    Saver: $2 off any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday Savers are available for children up to 16 years old, over 60s and full-time students.

    Supersaver: Half-price seats are available for people with disabilities and one companion. It is advisable to book in advance. There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show.

    Standby: Best available seats are on sale for $ 6 from one hour before the performance for people eligible (suitable) for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers.

    Group Bookings: There is a ten percent discount for parties of twelve or more.

    School: School parties of ten or more can book $6 standby tickets in advance and will get every tenth ticket free.

    Please note: we are unable to exchange tickets or refund money unless a performance is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

    When you're on the go, your best friend and resource can be your phone. In the age of smart phones, apps are like guiding stars: They can point you in the right direction for a hotel, list expenses, send postcards, and much more. When used together, these apps can be the basic travel tool, placing a wealth of information at your fingertips no matter where you are on the planet. U.S. News Travel has picked the essential travel apps, known for their utility and reliability. Best of all, they cost absolutely nothing.

    Trip It

    Your Personal Travel Agent

    Be your own travel agent and plan every detail of your trip-- from car rental to accommodating restaurants-- with Trip It. You can make travel schedule by hand, or simply forward the email confirmations of your flight, rental car, train tickets, and hotels to plans.

Weather Free

    Your Go-To Meteorologist(气象学者)

    Stop trying to explain the weather forecast on the evening news (particularly when it's in a foreign language.) The Weather Free app informs you (in English) of the climate in various locations. It features the local weather, and other key factors that will inform your decision about what to wear before stepping outside.

    Goby

    Your Event Guru

    When you're in a foreign city, you sometimes look around and ask: Where are all the people? Goby has the answer. This app pinpoints the neighborhood hot spots (including museums, hotels, eateries, and more) in your neighborhood. But its true value comes in finding nearby events. You'll discover concerts, plays, and more right around the corner.