第二篇
Japanese Car Keeps Watch for Drunk Drivers
A concept car developed by Japanese company Nissan has a breathalyzer-like detection system and other instruments that could help keep drunk or over tired drivers off the road.
The car’s sensors (传感器) check odors inside the car and monitor a driver’s sweat for traces of alcohol. An in-car computer system can issue an alert or even lock up the ignition (点火) system if the driver seems over-the-limit. The air odor (气味) sensors are fixed firmly and deeply in the driver
and passenger seats，while a detector in the gear-shift knob measures perspiration from the driver’s palm.
Other carmakers have developed similar detection systems. For example，Sweden’s Volvo has developed a breathalyzer attached to a car’s seat belt that drivers must blow into before the engine will start.
Nissan’s new concept vehicle (交通工具) also includes a dashboard-mounted camera that tracks a drivers alertness by monitoring their eyes. It will sound an alarm and issue a spoken warning in Japanese or English if it judges that the driver needs to pull over and rest.
The car technology is still in development，but general manager Kazuhiro Doi says the combination of different detection systems should improve the overall effectiveness of the technology. “For example，if the gear-shift sensor was bypassed (迂回) by a passenger using it instead of the driver，the facial recognition system would still be used,” Doi says. Nissan has no specific timetable for marketing the system，but aims to use technology to cut the number of fatalities involving its vehicles to half 1995 levels by 2015.
The car’s seat belt can also tighten if drowsiness is detected，while an external camera checks that the car is keeping to its lane properly. However，Doi admits that some of the technology，such as the alcohol odor sensor，should be improved. “If you drink one beer，it’s going to register，so we need to study what’s the appropriate level for the system to activate,” he says.
In the UK, some research groups are using similar advanced techniques to understand driver behavior and the effectiveness (效力) of different road designs.
36. Which of the following statements is NOT true of the Japanese concept care
A. It has a sensor system that could issue a warning if the driver is drunk.
B. It has sensors that detect traces of alcohol inside the car.
C. It has sensors locked up in the ignition system.
D. It has a breathalyzer-like detection system.
37. What has Volvo developed?
A. The same detection system mentioned in the previous paragraph.
B. A breathalyzer attached to a car’s seat belt.
C. A smart car seat belt.
D. An intelligent engine.
38. What is the function of the camera mentioned in Paragraph 4?
A. It monitors the driver’s eyes to see if he needs a rest.
B. It judges if the driver wants to pull over.
C. It judges if the driver wants to take a rest.
D. It issues an alarm when the driver speaks.
39. According to Doi, _____
A. the overall effectiveness of the detection technology has improved.
B. Nissan is making a timetable to market the detection system.
C. it is impossible to improve the overall effectiveness of the detection system.
D. Nissan aims to improve the detection technology to reduce the fatality rate.
40. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in Paragraph 6?
A. An external camera checks that the car is going properly.
B. The car will automatically keep to its lane.
C. The seat belt will tighten when the driver is found drowsy.
D. The technology of the alcohol odor sensor should be improved.
第三篇
Batteries Built by Viruses
What do chicken pox, the common cold, the flu, and AIDS have in common? They’re all disease caused by viruses，tiny microorganisms that can pass from person to person. It’s no wonder that when most people think about viruses, finding ways to steer clear of viruses is what’s on people’s minds.
Not everyone runs from the tiny disease carriers, though. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, scientists have discovered that some viruses can be helpful in an unusual way. They are putting viruses to work, teaching them to build some of the world’s smallest rechargeable batteries.
Viruses and batteries may seem like an unusual pair, but they’re not so strange for engineer Angela Belcher, who first came up with the idea. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge，she and her collaborators bring together different areas of science in new ways. In the case of the virus-built batteries，the scientists combine what they know about biology，technology and production techniques.
Belcher’s team includes Paula Hammond，who helps put together the tiny batteries，and Yet-Ming Chiang, an expert on how to store energy in the form of a battery. “We’re working on things we traditionally don’t associate with nature,” says Hammond.
Many batteries are already pretty small. You can hold A，C and D batteries in your hand. The coin-like batteries that power watches are often smaller than a penny. However, every year, new electronic devices like personal music players or cell phones get smaller than the year before. As these devices shrink，ordinary bakeries won’t be small enough to fit inside.
The ideal battery will store a lot of energy in a small package. Right now，Belcher’s model battery，a metallic disk completely built by viruses，looks like a regular watch battery. But inside，its components are very small-so tiny you can only see them with a powerful microscope.
How small are these battery parts? To get some idea of the size，pluck one hair from your head. Place your hair on a piece of white paper and try to see how wide your hair is-pretty thin，right? Although the width of each person’s hair is a bit different，you could probably fit about 10 of these virus-built battery parts，side to side，across one hair. These microbatteries may change the way we look at viruses.
41. According to the first paragraph，people try to
A. kill microorganisms related to chicken pox，the flu，etc.
B. keep themselves away from viruses because they are invisible.
C. stay away from viruses because they are causes of various diseases.
D. cure themselves of virus-related diseases by taking medicines.
42. What is Belcher’s team doing at present?
A. It is finding ways to get rid of viruses..
B. It is mass-producing microbatteries.
C. It is making batteries with viruses.
D. It is analyzing virus genes.
43. What expression below is opposite in meaning to the word “shrink” appearing in paragraph 5 ?
A. Broaden.
B. Spread.
C. Extend.
D. Expand.
44. Which of the following is true of Belcher’s battery mentioned in paragraph 6?
A. It is made of metal.
B. It is a kind of watch battery.
C. It can only be seen with a microscope.
D. It is a metallic disk with viruses inside it.
45. How tiny is one battery part?
A. Its width is one tonth of a hair.
B. It equals the width of a hair.
C. It is as thin as a piece of paper.
D. Its width is too tiny to measure.
