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What it does
The self-cleaning door handle is combining with advanced photocatalytic ( 光 催 化 ) and blacklight technology. A light source activates the door’s handle coating, telling it to start cleaning. It can minimize the risk of infection by contact and improve the cleanliness of a space.
How it works
The working principle of the product is that a thin advanced photocatalytic coating can effectively decompose bacteria ( 细 菌 ) on the surface of a substance. A consistent UV light source—inside a transparent glass door handle—is required to activate the door’s handle coating on the outer surface for disinfection, so a generator is used to provide electricity to light up a UV LED lamp by the motion of an opening and closing door. Then, the door handle can clean by itself.
Design process
We made the first version by using stainless steel. However, it caused the door handle to be heavier. Then, we tried aluminum, which made it light and easy to fix. We also improved the generator output which effectively turned energy from door movement into a light source.
How it is different
Our innovative design is simple, effective, and attractive. It has an elegant smooth shape, and its minimalist appearance stands out in today’s world of inventions. Nowadays, people use chemical cleaning materials to clean up public areas but it harms the human body. Our design can be used for a long time and is effective. It can self-clean after each use. In the door lock and door handle market, it is a unique design because there are no similar products.
Future plans
In the future, we will commercialize the product and hope that it can compete on the market with similar products. We are going to connect with public properties, for example, shopping malls, hotels, hospitals and public restrooms, where the risk of spreading infection is higher.
Awards
In addition to winning the James Dyson Award, it has also received the Gold Award, and in 2016, it was featured in the 44th International Geneva Inventions Exhibition.
1.How does the self-cleaning door handle function?
A.It controls the door movement automatically.
B.It minimizes the risk of infection by less contact.
C.Chemical cleaning materials are used to clean it up.
D.The light source tells the door handle coating to clean itself.
2.Compared with the first version of the product, the present one is ______.
A.safer and cheaper B.cleaner and easier
C.less heavy and more effective D.more attractive and expensive
3.What do we know about the new invention according to the passage?
A.It has been widely used in public areas.
B.It has received recognition for its innovation.
C.It is quite competitive among similar products.
D.It will replace traditional chemical cleaning materials.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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This little South American Magellanic penguin swims 5,000 miles, to a beach in Brazil, every year in order to be reunited with the man who saved its life. It sounds like something out of a fairy tale, but it’s true!
71-year-old retired brick worker Joao, who lives in an island village just outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, found the small Magellanic penguin lying on rocks at his local beach in 2011. The penguin was covered in oil and running out of time fast. Joao rescued the penguin, naming it Din, cleaned the oil off its feathers and fed him a daily diet of fish to rebuild its strength. After a week of recovery, Joao attempted to release the penguin back into the wild. However, Din had already formed a family bond with his rescuer and wouldn’t leave.
“He stayed with me for 11 months and then, just after he changed his coat with new feathers, he disappeared,” Joao recalls. “I love the penguin like it’s my own child and I believe the penguin loves me,” Joao told Globo TV. “No one else is allowed to touch him. He pecks (啄) them if they do. He lies on my lap, lets me give him showers, and allows me to feed him.”
Professor Krajewski, a biologist who interviewed the fisherman for Globo TV, told The Independent: “I have never seen anything like this before. I think the penguin believes Joao is part of his family and probably a penguin as well.”
However, environmentalists warn that, while hundreds of the Magellanic species are known to naturally migrate (迁徙) thousands of miles north in search of food, there has been a worrying rise in the phenomenon of oceanic creatures washing up on Brazil’s beaches. Professor David Zee from Rio de Janeiro’s State University, said the increase is due in part to global climatic changes. Professor Zee added that sea animals face increased danger from leaked tanker oil.
Luckily the ending for Joao and Din has been a happy one, even though it is illegal in Brazil to keep wild animals as pets.
Professor Krajewski said: “Professionals who work with animals try to avoid relationships like this occurring so they are able to reintroduce the animal into the wild. But in this single case the authorities allowed Din to stay with Joao because of his kindness.”
1.Every year Din swims a long distance to a beach in Brazil to ______.
A.avoid being killed B.meet his rescuer
C.escape from ocean currents D.find much more fish
2.When Din was found in 2011 ______.
A.he was dying B.he was running on the beach
C.he was resting on a rock D.he was cleaning oil off his feathers
3.What can we learn about Joao from the passage?
A.He is not allowed to keep the penguin as a pet by the authorities.
B.He overprotects the penguin by keeping him away from others.
C.His contact with the penguin is encouraged by professionals.
D.His kindness wins the penguin’s trust.
4.The story in the passage mainly shows ______.
A.the environmental impact on wildlife
B.the love between humans and wildlife
C.the tendency of wildlife to bond with humans
D.the protection of threatened wildlife by mankind
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Store owners have been inventing new tricks to get consumers into their stores and purchasing their goods. Even as we find new strategies to resist, neuroscientists (神经科学家) are employed at marketing agencies across the country to best figure out what is going through a consumer’s brain at each point in the decision process.
We consumers overspend due to the fact that we have a fear of missing the really good deal or having to pay more for the same thing and lose money. Normally, the prefrontal cortex ( 前 额皮 层 ) controls our emotional reactions to things, and keeps us from acting unreasonably by calming down our fears. But an advertiser can disturb our prefrontal cortex just by displaying flashy deal signs, encouraging it to do math on how much money we might save now by buying more of something we don’t actually need yet.
Nostalgia, that regretful affection for past events, is another strong influencer during the holiday season, and it’s shaped by emotion. Emotion—whether good or bad—enhances the formation of memories, engaging more parts of the brain. So hearing a nephew singing a carol, for instance, might reawaken memories associated with that particular song in a much more powerful way than hearing that same nephew sing another song. These kinds of memories are brought back even more easily by sensory input. This might be why we are often greeted by a sensory reminder everywhere we go in a month.
Wherever you purchase gifts, there are social influences on what you buy as well. The holidays are a time when we are especially conditioned to pay more for the label because we’re buying gifts. Receiving a brand-name gift sends the message that “this person has spent more on me, so he or she must value me more.” And it makes sense. If two things seem pretty much the same, how do I know which to choose? Humans have survived as a social species, and we have to rely on each other. So when our brains are trying to make decisions, one of the shortcuts is to assume that if a lot of other people prefer something (and higher cost is often a predictor of that), then there must be a reason.
Much of our holiday spending is driven by unplanned purchases. Plan ahead, resist the urge to purchase in the moment, make notes for comparison shopping, and if the deal is actually good, then it will hold up to inspection and you’ll feel good about your purchases later. Before you blow your budget this season, remember that your brain might be fooling you into that next purchase.
1.From Paragraph 2, we learn that ______.
A.the prefrontal cortex is the calculation center
B.the common consumers always act unreasonably
C.the sight of flashy deal signs may fill consumers with fear
D.the advertisers make consumers pay more for the same thing
2.According to Paragraph 3, which of the following can work on consumers?
A.Creating a festival atmosphere. B.Following the current fashion.
C.Preparing more free samples. D.Offering a bigger discount.
3.Why do we buy brand-name gifts during the holiday?
A.They are more reliable. B.They are a sign of social status.
C.They make people feel valued. D.They are favored by most people.
4.To avoid overspending, the author suggests we ______.
A.buy in the moment B.reduce our budget
C.return unnecessary products D.make a plan in advance
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
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The Impossible Burger is entirely free of meat. But it looks, smells, feels and—most importantly—tastes so much like real hamburger beef. In fact, plant-based burger alternatives have set off a strong resistance from the beef industry. The Center for Consumer Freedom, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of the fast food and meat industries has launched an “informational” campaign targeting plant-based meats. The campaign has included TV and online ads, as well as print ads in newspapers. The ads seem to imply that not only is an artificial burger too processed, but that it might be even less healthy than the average beef burger.
While it’s true that a plant-based meat alternative is processed and it’s true that eating one is not as healthy as a pile of raw vegetables, it’s best to take the ads with a generous pinch of salt.
For instance, the additives and preservatives in plant-based meat highlighted in one ad sure sound scary. Who wants something called titanium dioxide (二氧化钛) in their meal? But the truth is that additives such as those listed in the ads are regularly used in all sorts of packaged foods. And if methylcellulose, a food thickener, sounds unpleasant, it’s really nothing compared with salmonella (沙门菌) poisoning you can get from regular meat.
Also, the ad campaign misses the bigger point. Choosing an Impossible or Beyond burger isn’t just about eating healthy. Burgers, whether they are made from processed pea protein or processed meat, will never be as healthy as organic raw vegetables.
What’s appealing is the prospect of enjoying a juicy burger without the bitter aftertaste of guilt.
Let’s face it, there are huge environmental costs to eating cows. Cattle raising is contributing to climate change, and not just because methane (甲烷) from cows and cattle is responsible for about 14.5% of greenhouse gas. More broadly, our global food production system releases more than a third of the world’s greenhouse gases. Yet we can’t seem to control our meat appetite even knowing that large areas of the Amazon forest have been ruined, and continue to be cut down to make room for more cattle to feed the growing demand for beef. Humans also know full well that many animals live short, cruel lives in awful conditions for the purpose of becoming foods for humans to enjoy at dinner.
A plant-based meat that satisfies meat desires and delivers protein but with a smaller climate footprint is a potential environmental game changer and the reason Impossible Foods was one of those receiving the U.N. Global Climate Action Award in 2019. No wonder the meat industry is on guard.
1.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 most probably mean?
A.These ads deserve little consideration.
B.We should spread the message of these ads.
C.We’d better be cautious when reading these ads.
D.These ads tell people a lot about plant-based burgers.
2.What do we know about additives and preservatives in plant-based burgers?
A.They are likely to cause poisoning.
B.Their use is within the normal range.
C.Some have not been used in hamburgers.
D.They are used to ensure burgers taste good.
3.What is the author’s attitude towards plant-based burgers?
A.Supportive. B.Neutral.
C.Disapproving. D.Doubtful.
4.Which of the following shows the development of ideas in the passage?
I: Introduction P: Point Sp: Sub-point (次要点) C: Conclusion
A.
B.
C.
D.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
