Heatherwick Studio recently built a greenhouse at the edge of the National Trust’s Woolbeding Gardens. This beautiful structure, named Glasshouse, is at the centre of a new garden that shows how the Silk Road influences English gardens even in modern times.

The latest 【小题1】 (engineer) techniques are applied to create this protective 【小题2】 (function) structure that is also beautiful. The design features ten steel “sepals (萼片)” made of glass and aluminium (铝). These sepals open on warm days 【小题3】 (give) the inside plants sunshine and fresh air. In cold weather, the structure stays 【小题4】 (close) to protect the plants.

Further, the Silk Route Garden around the greenhouse 【小题5】 (walk) visitors through a journey influenced by the ancient Silk Road, by which silk as well as many plant species came to Britain for 【小题6】 first time. These plants included modern Western 【小题7】 (favourite) such as rosemary, lavender and fennel. The garden also contains a winding path that guides visitors through the twelve regions of the Silk Road. The path offers over 300 plant species for visitors to see, too.

The Glasshouse stands 【小题8】 a great achievement in contemporary design, to house the plants of the southwestern part of China at the end of a path retracing (追溯) the steps along the Silk Route 【小题9】 brought the plants from their native habitat in Asia to come to define much of the 【小题10】 (rich) of gardening in England.

One Japanese company said a “smart” mask is ready to improve for people wearing face coverings.

The use of the face masks plays a key role in reducing spread of the coronavirus(冠状病毒). 【小题1】, masks and other kinds of coverings can affect the quality of communication between wearers. It can be more difficult to hear voices through the coverings. Business and public spaces also have social distancing rules in place, 【小题2】 makes it harder for people to be heard and understood. The wearable electronic device【小题3】 (design) to solve the problem. The company calls its 【小题4】 (invent) the “e-mask”. The device is meant to fit over other kinds of face masks commonly 【小题5】 (wear) by the public.

The e-mask made of soft plastic material contains a built-in microphone and has holes in the front to let air in. When it is turned 【小题6】, the mask uses Bluetooth technology to connect to a mobile phone.【小题7】app then helps users perform several actions, including turning speech into text, completing telephone calls and making the user’s voice 【小题8】 (loud). The device can also translate a person’s voice into eight other languages.

The mask will 【小题9】 (hopeful) be put into the market next year. The designer says he【小题10】 (receive) strong interest in the product from some potential customers so far.

People have long dreamt of a car that flies through the sky. However, of the world′s more than 100 flying car projects, only a handful has succeeded with a person【小题1】board. Tomohiro Fukuzawa and his team in Japan′s SkyDrive have recently carried out a successful test flight of a vehicle carrying a person. In a video【小题2】(show) to reporters last week, a vehicle that looked like a motorcycle with propellers (螺旋桨) lifted up to two meters off the ground. It【小题3】(fly) in circles in a protected area for 4 minutes.

If the flight time can be extended to 30 minutes, the car will have more possibilities. Unlike airplanes and helicopters, “electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles”【小题4】(design) to offer quick point-to-point personal travel. They can do away with【小题5】(have) to deal with airports, traffic jams and the cost of paying for pilots. Possible uses for connecting faraway【小题6】(region) and providing transportation in disasters have also been noted.

Tomohiro Fukuzawa heads【小题7】SkyDrive effort. He hopes the flying car can be made into a real-life product by 2023. The Japanese government speaks【小题8】(high) of the futuristic project. The goal is to expand the flying car′s【小题9】(commerce) use by the 2030s.

Experts compare the excitement about flying cars to that of the days【小题10】the aviation industry got started with the Wright Brothers and the auto industry with the Ford Model T.