Read the following passage carefully then answer the questions in complete sentences in your own

words .

World’s Smallest Flying Robot Takes Off

1 [1] Scientists in the US have created a robot the size of a fly that is able to perform the agile
manoeuvres of the common insects. This "robo-fly", built from carbon fibre, weighs a fraction
of a gram and has super-fast electronic "muscles" to power its wings. Its Harvard University
developers say tiny robots like theirs may eventually be used in rescue operations. It could, for
example, navigate through tiny spaces in collapsed buildings.
5
[2] The robot was made by Dr Kevin Ma from Harvard University and his team, led by Dr Robert
Wood. It also has the fly-like agility that allows the insects to evade even the swiftest of human
efforts to swat them. This comes largely from very precise wing movements. By constantly
adjusting the effect of lift and thrust acting on its body at an incredibly high speed, the insect's
(and the robot's) wings enable it to hover, or to perform sudden evasive manoeuvres. And just
10 like a real fly, the robot's thin, flexible wings beat approximately 120 times every second. The
researchers achieved this wing speed with special substance called piezoelectric material,
which contracts every time a voltage is applied to it. By very rapidly switching the voltage on
and off, the scientists were able to make this material behave like just like the tiny muscles that
makes a fly's wings beat so fast. "We get it to contract and relax, like biological muscle," said Dr
15 Ma.

[3] The main goal of this research was to understand how insect flight works, rather than to
build a useful robot. He added though that there could be many uses for such a diminutive
flying vehicle. "We could envision these robots being used for search-and-rescue operations to
20 search for human survivors under collapsed buildings or [in] other hazardous environments,"
he said. "They [could] be used for environmental monitoring, to be dispersed into a habitat to
sense trace chemicals or other factors.” Dr Ma even suggested that the robots could behave
like many real insects and assist with the pollination of crops, "to function as the now-struggling
honeybee populations do in supporting agriculture around the world".

[4] The current model of robo-fly is tethered to a small, off-board power source but Dr Ma says
the next step will be to miniaturise the other bits of technology that will be needed to create a
"fully wireless flying robot". "It will be a few more years before full integration is possible," he
said. "Until then, this research project continues to be very captivating work because of its
similarity to natural insects. It is a demonstration of how far human engineering ingenuity has
reached, to be mimicking natural systems."
 said these flying robots were "impressive feats of engineering". "The physics of flight at
such small scales is relatively poorly understood which makes designing small flying systems
35 very difficult," he told BBC News, adding that biological systems provided "critical insights
into

Refer to the article and answer questions 19 to 26 on the Answer Sheet. (10 marks)
For questions 19-23, write the letter of each answer only. (1 mark each)
19. What was the scientists’ main goal in building the robot?
A. To help in search-and-rescue operations.
B. To monitor the environment.
C. To understand more about insect flight.
D. To assist with the pollination of crops.

20. What does the word ‘it’ refer to in paragraph 2, line 10?
A. The robo-fly.
B. The material used to make the insect’s wings.
C. Muscle tissue.
D. A real fly.

21. In paragraph 2, line 3, what does the word ‘precise’ mean?

22. The purpose of this article is

23. Why does Dr Jon Dyhr think that the robots are particularly
impressive?
A. Because it is difficult to understand how to make very small things fly.
B. Because it can do so many things that can make the world better.
C. Because its wings can move so fast.
D. Because it can fly both up and down.
 Answer questions 24-26 in complete sentences in your own words. (5 marks)
24. Give three potential practical uses for the robo-fly mentioned in the article. (3 marks)

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25. What needs to be done before the robot becomes fully wireless? (1 mark)
How might the robo-fly be useful in an earthquake?

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