阅读理解。
Last Monday,David Nichol,Australia's top kidney (肾)doctor,successfully removed a
diseased kidney from a woman.What's so unusual about that?David Nichol was in his
office in Australia while the woman lay on an operating table in New Zealand.
What connected them was a technology called remote surgery(手术).
Remote surgery itself is not new.In 2001,a group of doctors in New York,US,removed
a gall bladder (胆囊)from a patient lying in France.It was the first successful case of remote
surgery used on a human across international borders.
Now,Nichol's operation is to be the first one performed on the kidneys.Nichol used
joysticks (操纵杆)to direct robotic arms in the New Zealand operating room during
the two-hour operation.The joysticks and the robotic arms are linked by a computer
network.Nichol could watch the robot's work while doctors in New Zealand checked
the patient and changed the instruments as needed."Before this technology,I would have
been in the operating theatre (手术室)when they were performing the operation," Nichol
said.During remote surgery,the doctor is the one in control.The robots carry out the
operation using a complex method.
Doctors have found that a robot is better than a human surgeon at carrying out this
difficult operation—even when it is controlled thousands of miles away.Unlike humans,
robotic "arms" do not shake when they target a small piece of tissue (组织)or organ.In
remote surgery such as the removal of kidney stones,the robotic arm inserts a long special
needle into the patient's body and X-rays guide it to the kidney.
Once the robotic arm has reached the hard kidney stone,the needle gets wider so that
a tiny telescope can travel down it and look at the organ.Then instruments are used to
break up the stone and get rid of the remaining waste.
For doctors,the technology means less stress in the operation room.And for patients,it
means far less chance of suffering blood loss or damage to a nearby organ.
However,the remote surgery is not widely used because it's still very expensive.A remote
operation on a gall bladder costs more than US $1 million.A normal operation costs US
$2000.It will be some time yet before the price falls and the operation is available to people
throughout the world.
1.Why was this kidney operation so unusual?Because ________.
A.remote surgery was only used on the kidney operation
B.it as a robot that was carrying out the operation
C.the patient and the doctor in control were in different countries
D.it was the first successful operation of remote surgery performed on kidneys
2.What does the underlined word "target" mean in this passage? ______.
A.aim at
B.cure
C.meet with
D.get close to
3.What is the key part of the operation of remote surgery? ______.
A.The joysticks.
B.The robot.
C.The network.
D.The doctor. .
4.What advantage do the operations of remote surgery have mainly?______.
A.The doctors are less stressed during the operations.
B.It is more convenient for doctors to perform the operations.
C.The patients will have less chance of suffering blood loss or damage to a nearby organ.
D.The robot is better than a human surgeon
