日本の折り紙の技術は、医療の複雑な問題にシンプルな解決策を与えてくれています！興味深い情報が詰まったこの英語のビデオレッスンで、Brigham Young大学で医療機器の開発をするために、どのように折り紙の原理を取り入れているかを知ることができます。いつもと違う比較構文も学ぶことができますよ！
The Japanese art of origami is being used in science to provide simple solutions to complex problems in medicine! In this very informative English video lesson we will look at how Brigham Young University is applying the principles of origami in order to create the next step in medical devices. We will also learn some new comparative structures!
Useful Words and Expressions
- Much the same (expression)
Almost the same.
He’s trying to pass the EIKEN for much the same reason as his older brother: he wants to have an international career, too.
- Invasive (adjective)
(in the medical context) A procedure that involves inserting medical instruments into the body or in body cavities.
He might need some minimally invasive surgery to correct this health issue.
- License (verb)
to authorize the use, performance, or release of (something).
The developer company licensed their newest product to Softbank.
- Patent (noun)
The exclusive right over something, usually an invention, that prohibits others from copying it.
Our company holds the patent for the formula of this medicine.
- Grasp (verb)
To seize and hold firmly.
He was very scared, grasping his mother's sweater.
- To suture (verb, medical)
To close a wound or incision with needle and thread.
The small incision was sutured.
- Chomper (noun, informal)
Someone who chomps, who chews or bites down noisily.
I can’t stand people who chomp at the table.
- Prototype (noun)
The first version of a device or vehicle from which other versions are developed.
Toyota just released a prototype of their newest sports car.
- Part count (collocation)
How many parts there are.
The more advanced the machine, the higher the part count.
- Large scale (collocation)
Large size.
The hangar at the military base can fit large scale aircraft.
- Complexity (noun)
The state of being complex, of having many and different connected parts. The opposite is simplicity.
The complexity of human psychology is something scientists have been trying to understand for centuries.
- Lab (noun, informal)
Short for “laboratory”. A room or building that has equipment for scientific experiments, research, teaching and manufacturing drugs or chemicals.
I’ll send these blood samples to the lab for testing.
- To enable (verb)
To make something possible.
This new technology will enable faster production and higher profits.
Grammar: advanced comparative structures
In the video, Robert J. Lang, an American physicist and origami artist, uses two different comparative structures to explain why origami is useful in medicine.
"If you have something that is flat and sheet-like, but you want to get it into the body, you want it to go in through as small a hole as possible."
Sheet-like is just another way of saying “like a sheet”. You can use this structure to turn a noun into an adjective, especially if you’re listing characteristics and there is no adjective to describe a characteristic. In this case, “sheet-like” is adjective #2 (#1 is “flat”) on a list.
As small a hole as possible is another way of saying “a hole as small as possible”.
This is the basic structure: As + adjective + a + noun + as
Essentially, the noun and the adjective switch places. This is a more refined structure, but it’s not very difficult to use.
Try changing the following sentences to use the points you just learned
Fill in the blanks
