A six-wheeled robot travels underground in Hefei to discover warning signs of faults inside the pipeline network, "It looks like a toy car at first, but it's much more complicated than that," said Xu Mao, the robot 's operator.

The pipeline robot, developed by Wuhan Easy-Sight Technology, is made up of four parts — crawler, camera, cable reel, and controller. A full charge can enable the robot to work for four to five hours, covering a distance between 800 and 1 ,000 meters in the underground p ipeline.

The robot made its appearance last month in Shushan District. It will carry out inspections of the underground pipeline network stretching 150 kilometers. " Whether the pipe is leaking, damaged or blocked, we can clearly see its situation through high-definition(高清晰度的)cameras fixed into the robot, " said Qi Chuanshuai from the provincial construction engineering and testing institute.

The real-time data including video images of the pipe will be up loaded and displayed on a computer. "If we find any problems, we stop the robot and record the flaws," Xu said. "We report the faults to local government, who will arrange the repair as soon as possible. "

With the rapid develop merit of cities, it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage underground pipelines. Among all the difficulties, discovering faults in the sewage (污水)and rainwater pipelines comes first. Many other cities such as Wuhan, Nanjing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai are using the robots to inspect their pipelines, the robot ' s developer said.

Equipped with environmental detection sensors, the robots can monitor temperature and damp, poisonous gases, oxygen levels and smoke density, while providing color diagram in real time. "Compared with human workers, robots are able to enter smaller pipes and are immune (有免疫力的)to poisonous gases in sewage pipes," said Ge Shengli from Shushan District' s city management company. " No digging is required and there is no need to interrupt traffic," Ge added.

【小题1】What does Paragraph 2 mainly tell us about the pipeline robot?

A．Its developer.

B．Its components.

C．Its characteristics.

D．Its outward appearance.

【小题2】What is the toughest in managing underground pipelines in cities?

A．Locating the position where the pipelines are.

B．Handling the poisonous gases in sewage pipes,

C．Arranging the repair and maintenance of pipelines.

D．Discovering flaws in the sewage and rainwater pipelines.

【小题3】What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 5?

A．Add some background information.

B．Introduce a new topic for discussion.

C．Summarize the previous paragraphs.

D．Present some new functions of robots.

【小题4】What is Ge Shengli's attitude towards the pipeline robots?

A．Doubtful.	B．Appreciative.
C．Critical.	D．Indifferent.