Lesson 3 Learning from Nature’s Genius
Nature’s Inspiration
From flying birds to self-cleaning plants, the ____ nature works fascinates us.
Some people not only use nature but also imitate it to find solutions ____ their problems.
____ da Vinci (1452-1519) was one such person.
He wondered how ____ could fly.
He closely watched birds, made notes, and drew pictures ____ them.
Even though ____ invention was not successful, he imitated a bird’s wings to try to make a flying machine.
Since then, more and more people have successfully imitated the surprising abilities of nature’s ____
Let’s explore some ____ them.
Learning from a Bird: Moving Fast and Quietly
The high-speed train was first ____ in Japan.
But it had ____ problem.
When the train entered a ____ the sudden increase in air pressure created a very loud sound.
It often woke people up and caused ____
A team of engineers tried to solve the problem, but they didn’t know how they could reduce ____ noise.
One day, one of the engineers was watching a bird in search ____ a meal.
He saw the ____ quickly and quietly diving into the water.
He wondered ____ the bird entered the water so gracefully.
So, he studied more about the bird and ____ its long, narrow beak.
He redesigned the front of the train by ____ the bird’s beak.
____ was successful.
Now the new train travels not only more quietly but also 10% ____ with 15% less electricity.
Learning from Burrs: Inventing an All-Purpose Fastener
One day, a Swiss engineer, George de Mestral, was hiking in the woods with ____ dog.
On his way home, he saw that burrs were ____ to his clothes and his dog’s hair.
He wanted to know how ____ happened.
He took a closer look at the ____ and noticed that the ends of the burr needles were not straight.
____ wondered if he could apply that to make something useful.
After a ____ of testing, he finally invented two new materials.
____ had many tiny needles like those of burrs and the other had a hairy surface.
When they were ____ together, they became a very good fastener.
____ was not only strong but also easy to use.
Since then, many people have used his invention in many ____ ways.
It is often used for clothing, ____ and bags.
Some people use it to play a number ____ different games.
In ____ it keeps things from floating away.
There is nothing useless in ____
We just have to become ____ and ask questions.