Robotic Fish to Keep a Fishy Eye on the Health of the Oceans by JoAnna Klein You’re a fish in the ocean.1 It’s 2023 and humans have begun deploying swarms of sentinel robot fish along the reef where you live that will monitor your environment, track pollution and collect intelligence on your behavior. Welcome to the future, my finned fishy friends. 2 O.K., so you’re not a fish. And this sci-fi fishland doesn’t exist. But it could—not long from now. 3 Allow me to introduce SoFi—like “Sophie,” but short for “So Robotic Fish,” revealed in Science Robotics, by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab. 4 ey explained how their finned robot was created, and how her first ocean swim on a coral reef outside of Fiji went. Robotic fish like her could be essential to understanding and protecting marine life in danger of disappearing in a fragile ocean environment, threatened by human activity and climate change. 5 is foot-and-a-half long robot mimics a real fish. She can swim in the ocean at speeds up to half-its-body-length a second and at depths up to 60 feet below the surface. SoFi has a battery that will last 45 minutes before she shuts down. 6 She’s not quite fish flesh, but she’s not a typical marine robot either. Although critical for studying the ocean, remote operated vehicles and submersibles 1can be expensive to build and operate. ey also can startle the sea creatures they’re supposed to study. But without a line giving her away by connecting her to a boat, a noisy propeller or the big, rigid, awkward or angular body of a metallic land-alien, she doesn’t seem to bother or scare off real fish. Some even swim along with her. Sleek, untethered, relatively inexpensive and well-tolerated, SoFi may provide biologists a fish’s-eye view of animal interactions in changing marine ecosystems. 7 For this group of MIT roboticists, SoFi was a dream, combining their love of diving with their work on so robots. She was also an engineering challenge. 8 SoFi started as a nine-inch silicon tail that wiggled with the assistance of a hydraulic pump. 9 Page 8 GO ON Session 2 Why does the author use the phrase “my finned fishy friends” in paragraph 2? A to highlight the serious issues facing ocean life B to make readers feel a connection to the article C to establish the importance of SoFi’s fin technology D to help readers understand the ocean environment Read this sentence from paragraph 7. She’s not quite fish flesh, but she’s not a typical marine robot either. Which detail about SoFi best supports the idea expressed in this sentence? A SoFi may contribute to the protection of endangered marine life. B SoFi can swim at speeds that are similar to some fish. C Fish are not scared by SoFi and sometimes swim with her. D Divers issue commands to SoFi using a simple controller. Which detail from the article best shows the author’s point of view about SoFi? A “Robotic fish like her could be essential to understanding and protecting marine life in danger of disappearing . . .” (paragraph 5) B “is foot-and-a-half long robot mimics a real fish.” (paragraph 6) C “I was amazed at how well it was working, how well I was able to get this tail to beat back and forth or swim le and right . . .” (paragraph 10) D “And the fish can’t be as big as a submarine—unless we wanted to build a whale.” (paragraph 13) 36 37 38 Page 10 GO ON Session 2

Question

Robotic Fish to Keep a Fishy Eye on the Health of the Oceans by JoAnna Klein You’re a fish in the ocean.1 It’s 2023 and humans have begun deploying swarms of sentinel robot fish along the reef where you live that will monitor your environment, track pollution and collect intelligence on your behavior. Welcome to the future, my finned fishy friends. 2 O.K., so you’re not a fish. And this sci-fi fishland doesn’t exist. But it could—not long from now. 3 Allow me to introduce SoFi—like “Sophie,” but short for “So Robotic Fish,” revealed in Science Robotics, by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab. 4 ey explained how their finned robot was created, and how her first ocean swim on a coral reef outside of Fiji went. Robotic fish like her could be essential to understanding and protecting marine life in danger of disappearing in a fragile ocean environment, threatened by human activity and climate change. 5 is foot-and-a-half long robot mimics a real fish. She can swim in the ocean at speeds up to half-its-body-length a second and at depths up to 60 feet below the surface. SoFi has a battery that will last 45 minutes before she shuts down. 6 She’s not quite fish flesh, but she’s not a typical marine robot either. Although critical for studying the ocean, remote operated vehicles and submersibles 1can be expensive to build and operate. ey also can startle the sea creatures they’re supposed to study. But without a line giving her away by connecting her to a boat, a noisy propeller or the big, rigid, awkward or angular body of a metallic land-alien, she doesn’t seem to bother or scare off real fish. Some even swim along with her. Sleek, untethered, relatively inexpensive and well-tolerated, SoFi may provide biologists a fish’s-eye view of animal interactions in changing marine ecosystems. 7 For this group of MIT roboticists, SoFi was a dream, combining their love of diving with their work on so robots. She was also an engineering challenge. 8 SoFi started as a nine-inch silicon tail that wiggled with the assistance of a hydraulic pump. 9 Page 8 GO ON Session 2 Why does the author use the phrase “my finned fishy friends” in paragraph 2? A to highlight the serious issues facing ocean life B to make readers feel a connection to the article C to establish the importance of SoFi’s fin technology D to help readers understand the ocean environment Read this sentence from paragraph 7. She’s not quite fish flesh, but she’s not a typical marine robot either. Which detail about SoFi best supports the idea expressed in this sentence? A SoFi may contribute to the protection of endangered marine life. B SoFi can swim at speeds that are similar to some fish. C Fish are not scared by SoFi and sometimes swim with her. D Divers issue commands to SoFi using a simple controller. Which detail from the article best shows the author’s point of view about SoFi? A “Robotic fish like her could be essential to understanding and protecting marine life in danger of disappearing . . .” (paragraph 5) B “is foot-and-a-half long robot mimics a real fish.” (paragraph 6) C “I was amazed at how well it was working, how well I was able to get this tail to beat back and forth or swim le and right . . .” (paragraph 10) D “And the fish can’t be as big as a submarine—unless we wanted to build a whale.” (paragraph 13) 36 37 38 Page 10 GO ON Session 2

Which statement best explains how the ideas in paragraph 8 relate to the details in paragraphs 12 through 14? A Engineers want to build a robot to explore marine life. B Engineers create a system to guide SoFi underwater. C Engineers focus on design requirements to achieve their goal. D Engineers develop SoFi to think and act like a small fish. One aspect of technology that is oen stressed is its negative impact on the environment. Which detail from the article presents a contrast to this idea? A “ey explained how their finned robot was created, and how her first ocean swim on a coral reef outside of Fiji went.” (paragraph 5) B “But without a line giving her away by connecting her to a boat . . . she doesn’t seem to bother or scare off real fish.” (paragraph 7) C “SoFi started as a nine-inch silicon tail that wiggled with the assistance of a hydraulic pump.” (paragraph 9) D “e high-pitched signals only travel about 65 feet and are inaudible to fish, although it’s possible some whales or dolphins could hear them . . .” (paragraph 18) In paragraph 21, Mr. Katzschmann reacts positively to the idea that a shark might eat SoFi because that would A lead to further funding and research B test the strength of the underwater system C help biologists understand how to protect marine life D support the goal of studying animal interactions 39 40 41 Page 11Session 2 GO ON
Which idea would be most important to include in a summary of the article? A SoFi uses coded messages to communicate. B SoFi receives commands from a remote control. C SoFi is an important tool for understanding ocean life. D SoFi is designed to swim at different speeds in the ocean. answer all question correctly and make a little jot for why the answer is correct

Answer 1

1. B - The author uses the phrase "my finned fishy friends" in paragraph 2 to make readers feel a connection to the article and establish the importance of SoFi's fin technology.

2. C - The detail that SoFi is not a typical marine robot but also not quite fish flesh best supports the idea expressed in the sentence that she is a hybrid between a robot and a fish.
3. A - The detail that robotic fish like SoFi could be essential to understanding and protecting marine life in danger of disappearing best shows the author's point of view about SoFi.
4. C - The ideas in paragraph 8 relate to the details in paragraphs 12 through 14 by explaining the engineers' focus on design requirements to achieve their goal of developing SoFi.
5. B - The detail that SoFi doesn't seem to bother or scare off real fish presents a contrast to the negative impact of technology on the environment.
6. C - Mr. Katzschmann reacts positively to the idea that a shark might eat SoFi because it would help biologists understand how to protect marine life, which aligns with the goal of studying animal interactions.
7. C - The most important idea to include in a summary of the article would be that SoFi is an important tool for understanding ocean life.