🔥Nature's Useful Designs: Đề thi thật IELTS READING (IELTS Reading Recent Actual Test) - Làm bài online format computer-based, kèm giải thích từ vựng

READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 on pages 6 and 7.

Nature's Useful Designs
A What has fins like a whale, skin like a lizard, and eyes like a moth? The future of engineering. Almost all living organisms are uniquely adapted to the environment in which they live, some so well that scientists study them in the hope of replicating their natural design in technology. This process, called biomimetics, is the crossroads where nature and engineering meet.

B Perhaps the best example of biomimetics is Velcro. In 1948 a Swiss scientist, George de Mestral, had trouble removing a prickly weed that was stuck to his dog’s fur, so he studied it under a microscope. Impressed by the stickiness of the prickle’s hooks, he copied the design, engineering a fastener made of two pieces. One piece has stiff hooks like the prickle, while the other has soft loops that allow the hooks to stick. De Mestral named his invention Velcro—a combination of the words "velour" and "crochet."

C Andrew Parker, a research fellow at the Natural History Museum in London and at the University of Sydney, is a leading proponent of biomimetics—applying designs from nature to problems in engineering, materials science, medicine, and other fields. He has investigated iridescence in butterflies and beetles and antireflective coatings in moth eyes—studies that have led to brighter screens for cellular phones and an anticounterfeiting technique so secret that only his company is behind it. He is working to make cosmetics that mimic the natural sheen of diatoms (a type of algae) and, with the British Ministry of Defense, to imitate the water-repellent properties of these same creatures. He even draws inspiration from nature’s past: one is the eye of a 45-million-year-old fly trapped in amber that he studies in a museum in Poland. Parker noticed microscopic corrugations that reduced light reflection. This feature is now being built into solar panels.

D To Parker, every species, even those that have become extinct, is a success story, optimized by millions of years of natural selection. His ethos: why not learn from this? Parker explored how the metallic sheen and dazzling colors of certain birds derive not from pigments but from neatly spaced microscopic structures that reflect specific wavelengths of light. Such structural color, fade-proof and more brilliant than pigment, is of great interest to people who manufacture paint and holograms on credit cards. Glowworms produce a cool light with almost zero energy loss (a normal light bulb wastes 98 percent of its energy as heat), and bombardier beetles have a highly effective combustion chamber in their posterior that heats chemicals and fires them at would-be predators.

E For all nature’s sophistication, many of its clever devices are made from simple substances like keratin, calcium carbonate, and chitin, which are manipulated into structures of fantastic complexity and toughness. The abalone, for example, makes its shell out of calcium carbonate, the same stuff as chalk. Yet, by coating this substance into walls of staggered, nanoscale bricks through a subtle play of proteins, it creates an armor 3000 times harder than chalk. Understanding the microscale and nanoscale structures responsible for a living material’s exceptional properties is critical to recreating it synthetically.

F Though impressed by biological structures, Robert Cohen, an engineer at MIT in the United States, considers biology merely a starting point for innovation. “You don’t have to reproduce a lizard’s skin to make a wearable, collective device or a moth’s eye to make an antireflective coating,” Cohen says. He believes biological structures can inspire us to do what is useful. But maybe you can do it better. Ultimately, he considers a biomimetics project a success only if it has the potential to make a useful product. “Looking at pretty structures in nature is not sufficient,” Cohen says. “What I want to know is, can we actually transform these structures into something with true utility in the real world?”

G This, of course, is the tricky bit. Potentially one of the most useful embodiments of natural design is the bio-inspired robot, which could be deployed in places where people would be too conspicuous, bored to tears, or killed. But such robots are notoriously hard to build. Ronald Fearing, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, has taken on one of the biggest challenges of all: to create a miniature robotic fly that is swift, small, and maneuverable enough for use in surveillance or search-and-rescue operations.

H The key to making his micromechanical flying insect (MFI) work, Fearing says, is not to attempt to copy the fly, but to isolate the structures crucial to its feats of flying. The fly’s wing is driven by 20 muscles, some of which only fire every fifth wing beat, and one can only stand in wonder, “what on earth just happened there?” says Fearing. Some things are just too mysterious and complex to be able to replicate.

I For all the power of the biomimetics program, and the brilliant people who practice it, bio-inspiration has led to surprisingly few mass-produced products, and arguably only one household word: Velcro. Some biomimetics blame industry, whose short-term expectations about how soon projects should be completed and become profitable clash with the time-consuming nature of biomimetics research. Others lament the difficulty in coordinating joint work among diverse academic and industrial disciplines, which is required to understand natural structures and mimic what they do. But the main reason biomimetics has not yet come of age is that from an engineering standpoint, reproducing such intricate nanostructures is hard. Nonetheless, the gap with nature is gradually closing.

Questions 14-19

Reading Passage 2 has nine paragraphs, A-L.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 14-19 on your answer sheet.

14. How an organism turns a basic material into something incredibly strong
15. A claim that biomimetics has had limited commercial impact so far>> Form đăng kí giải đề thi thật IELTS 4 kĩ năng kèm bài giải bộ đề 100 đề PART 2 IELTS SPEAKING quý đang thi (update hàng tuần) từ IELTS TUTOR
16. A difficulty that led to a researcher's accidental discovery
17. An example of nature being far more efficient than a common household object
18. An ancient specimen that inspired a modern innovation
19. Situations where it is preferable to replace a human with a machine

Questions 20-22

Look at the following statements (Questions 20-22) and the list of people below.
Match each statement with the correct person, A, B, C, or D.
Write the correct letter, A, B, C, or D in boxes 20-22 on your answer sheet.

20. All living things provide something useful for humans to discover.
21. Natural designs are sometimes impossible for people to copy.
22. Biomimetics achieves nothing unless it has a practical application.

List of People:
A. George de Mestral
B. Andrew Parker
C. Robert Cohen
D. Ronald Fearing

Questions 23-26

Complete the sentences below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.

23. Andrew Parker is studying the shiny surface of diatoms in order to develop __________.
24. Paint companies are interested in the way some __________ get their color.
25. Bombardier beetles protect themselves by shooting hot __________ at their enemies.
26. One scientist is studying the __________ to build a tiny robot that can help people in danger.

• Biomimetics
  Vietnamese: Sinh học mô phỏng (kỹ thuật học theo thiết kế của thiên nhiên)
  Explanation: A field of study that takes inspiration from nature's designs to solve engineering problems.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "This process, called biomimetics, is the crossroads where nature and engineering meet."

• Velcro
  Vietnamese: Vật liệu dính (loại khóa dán dùng trong các đồ vật)
  Explanation: A fastening material consisting of two parts, one with hooks and one with loops, that stick together.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "De Mestral named his invention Velcro—a combination of the words 'velour' and 'crochet.'"

• Iridescence
  Vietnamese: Sự ánh sáng thay đổi màu sắc (hiện tượng màu sắc thay đổi khi nhìn từ các góc khác nhau)
  Explanation: The phenomenon of showing different colors when viewed from different angles, as seen in some insects.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "He has investigated iridescence in butterflies and beetles..."

• Anticounterfeiting
  Vietnamese: Chống giả mạo
  Explanation: The act of preventing or detecting counterfeit products.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "...an anticounterfeiting technique so secret that only his company is behind it."

• Diagonally
  Vietnamese: Chéo, theo đường chéo
  Explanation: In a slanted or oblique direction, often used to describe a pattern.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "...the eye of a 45-million-year-old fly trapped in amber that he studies in a museum in Poland."

• Keratin
  Vietnamese: Keratin (protein cấu tạo tóc, móng tay và da)
  Explanation: A protein that is a key component of hair, nails, and skin.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Many of its clever devices are made from simple substances like keratin, calcium carbonate, and chitin..."

• Chitin
  Vietnamese: Chitin (chất hữu cơ có trong vỏ côn trùng, tôm, cua)
  Explanation: A substance found in the exoskeletons of arthropods and insects.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Many of its clever devices are made from simple substances like keratin, calcium carbonate, and chitin..."

• Microscale
  Vietnamese: Quy mô vi mô
  Explanation: Referring to structures or phenomena at the microscopic level.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Understanding the microscale and nanoscale structures responsible for a living material’s exceptional properties..."

• Nanoscale
  Vietnamese: Quy mô nano
  Explanation: Referring to extremely small structures, typically at the scale of nanometers (one billionth of a meter).
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "...and nanoscale structures responsible for a living material’s exceptional properties..."

• Combustion
  Vietnamese: Sự cháy, sự đốt cháy
  Explanation: The process of burning or igniting a substance.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Bombardier beetles have a highly effective combustion chamber in their posterior..."

• Inspiration
  Vietnamese: Cảm hứng
  Explanation: The process of drawing ideas or influence from something.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "He even draws inspiration from nature’s past: one is the eye of a 45-million-year-old fly..."

• Micromechanical
  Vietnamese: Cơ học vi mô
  Explanation: Referring to small mechanical systems, often at the microscopic level.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Fearing has taken on one of the biggest challenges of all: to create a miniature robotic fly that is swift, small, and maneuverable enough for use in surveillance..."

• Feats
  Vietnamese: Thành tựu, kỳ công
  Explanation: Remarkable or extraordinary accomplishments.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The fly’s wing is driven by 20 muscles, some of which only fire every fifth wing beat..."

• Maneuverable
  Vietnamese: Dễ di chuyển, dễ điều khiển
  Explanation: Capable of being moved or directed easily.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Fearing has taken on one of the biggest challenges of all: to create a miniature robotic fly that is swift, small, and maneuverable enough..."

• Embodiment
  Vietnamese: Hiện thân
  Explanation: A tangible or visible form of an idea or concept.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Potentially one of the most useful embodiments of natural design is the bio-inspired robot..."

• Deploy
  Vietnamese: Triển khai
  Explanation: To use or arrange something for a specific purpose or in a specific way.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Potentially one of the most useful embodiments of natural design is the bio-inspired robot, which could be deployed in places..."

• Surveillance
  Vietnamese: Giám sát
  Explanation: Close observation or monitoring, typically for security or intelligence purposes.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "...for use in surveillance or search-and-rescue operations."

• Trapped
  Vietnamese: Bị mắc kẹt
  Explanation: To be caught or enclosed in a place from which one cannot escape.
  IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Parker even draws inspiration from nature’s past: one is the eye of a 45-million-year-old fly trapped in amber..."

Passage 2

1. E
2. I
3. A
4. D
5. C
6. B
7. B
8. D
9. C
10. Cosmetics
11. Birds
12. Chemicals
13. Fly