V. Reading Comprehension
Questions 36-40 When you look up, the sky may seem calm and even but air is always on the
move. Fluid flows like water, with eddies and currents, sometimes smooth and serene,
sometimes tumultuous and violent. If an aircraft strikes it, the most turbulent air can
cause injuries or even death, as well as structural damage to planes. According to a 2024 study, aircrafts encounter moderate to severe turbulence 68,000 times every year. Turbulence can cause uncomfortable bumps or throw an aircraft out of control,
inducing chaotic rolls, pitches, and yaws.
Although modern aircraft are equipped with sophisticated weather radar
systems that pilots use to identify and navigate around areas of turbulence. However,
some turbulence can be harder to spot. For example, the severe turbulence that struck
the Singapore Airlines flight was caused by invisible "clear air turbulence" which
can strike without warning, and is one of the biggest causes of weather-related
aviation accidents. Clear air turbulence mostly occurs at high altitudes, where aircraft
cruise in seemingly calm blue skies. It can't be seen by the naked eye and is
undetectable by onboard sensors. Even satellites can't see this kind of turbulence.
From 2018 to 2019, researchers at Swansea University flew an ultralight aircraft
alongside a flock of homing pigeons. Using GPS, barometric pressure, and
acceleration data loggers attached to the birds — over 88 flights — they measured
the turbulence levels during the journeys the birds took to return to their lofts. They
found birds migrate for thousands of miles — with wind speed, direction and
turbulence all dictating the route they travel and the amount of energy they expend.
Upon their findings, they suggested the possibility of using bird-borne sensors to
shed light on air turbulence, much like the seal-borne sensors used to measure
salinity and sea temperature. They concluded that birds could act as meteorological
sensors on the move continuously collecting data about the turbulence they're
experiencing along their flight paths. This would be cheaper than using sensors fitted
to aircraft, plus birds can fly in conditions that planes can't.
In another 2020 study, researchers followed the flight of Andean condors, the
world's heaviest soaring birds. They documented when and how individuals gained
altitude, and recorded each and every wingbeat. The data revealed the lowest levels
of flapping flight recorded for any free-ranging bird, with the condors spending an
incredible 99% of all flight time in glide-mode for more than five hours. This
research provides insight into the way soaring birds exploit thermals, knowledge
which could potentially feed into the programming of autonomous flying vehicles.
(By Katherine Latham, BBC report) 【題組】39. Why does the author mention “the seal-borne sensors”?
(A)To compare the born abilities of birds to those of seals.
(B)To confirm birds are born with the ability to determine some features of
natural phenomena.
(C)To argue animals’ born sensors are more effective than board sensors.
(D)To imply using bird-borne sensors might be used to explain air turbulence.
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