Spark Study Buddy (Explorer): China teen designs foldable mobile phone

[3] Lan had the idea to create a vertical foldable smartphone after noticing that while many horizontal models and inward-folded vertical ones were available, there weren’t any that folded outward, keeping the screens visible when bent.

[4] “I call it a ‘meal card machine’ because its length and width are similar to a canteen meal card after being folded, though it is much thicker,” Lan said in the video. His creation is 16mm thick when folded in half.

[5] The frame was made using a 3D printer he bought for 2,000 yuan (HK$2,135) last year. The core part of the machine was assembled with parts from old mobile phones. Most of these phones were used by members of Lan‘s family. A small percentage of the materials were bought online.

[6] A major obstacle he had was that the touch screen function did not work when the phone was unfolded. “I found the reason was that the screen was pushed out when it was unfolded,” Lan said in the clip. “I amended my design, tested it a lot and damaged several screens before solving this problem. My smartphone is at a very primitive stage, with plenty of shortcomings. But the good thing is that it is able to implement all the functions of a normal mobile phone.”

[7] The teenager’s work has been praised on mainland social media. Lan also attracted the attention of Vivo, a top mobile phone maker in China. “It is great! Vivo expects more marvellous work from you,” the company said.

[8] Lan is a Year One student in secondary school. He excels in English and geography but performs poorly in other subjects, Jimu News reported. He has been interested in handicrafts since childhood and made some military models as a primary school student. Lan’s father is a taxi driver, while his mother is an insurance sales worker. Both his parents support his hobby, he said.

Source: South China Morning Post, March 3

1. What did the video mentioned in paragraph 2 show?

2. In paragraph 4, Lan thinks his smartphone looks like a/an …
A. machine.
B. card.
C. uniform.
D. none of the above

3. According to paragraph 5, did all the materials come from old phones? If not, where did they come from?

4. What problem did Lan face, according to paragraph 6?

5. In paragraph 8, Lan is good at English and geography, … he finds other subjects difficult.
A. but
B. yet
C. so
D. or

6. Complete the questions using “How”, “Why” or “What”. (3 marks)
(i) _____________ did Lan create?

He created a vertical foldable smartphone.

(ii) _____________ did Lan create the phone?

He created it because he could not find one where the screen was on the outside when folded.

(iii) _____________ did Lan create the phone?

He created it using a 3D printer and parts of old smartphones.

1. how Lan made his smartphone

2. B

3. No, because some of the materials were bought online.

4. the touch screen function did not work when the phone was unfolded

5. but

6. (i) What (ii) Why (iii) How