职称英语理工类B级阅读理解文章33篇Word格式.docx
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Threeyearsago,thecompanyintroducedtheThinkCitytwo-seatercarandagolfcartcalledtheTHINKorThinkNeighhor6.Ithopedtosell5,000carseachyearand10,000carts.Butalackofdemandmeansonlyabout1,000ofthecarshavebeenproduced,andlessthan1,700cartshavebeensoldsofarin2002.
“Thebottomline7iswedon’tbelievethatthisisthefutureofenvironmenttransportforthemassmarket,”TimHolmesofFordEuropesaidonFriday.“Wefeelwehavegivenelectricourbestshot8.”TheThinkCityhasarangeofonlyabout53milesanduptoasix-hourbatteryrechargetime.GeneralMotors’EVIelectricvehiclealsohadalimitedrange,ofabout100miles.
Theveryexpensivebatteriesalsomeanelectriccarscostmuchmorethanpetrol-poweredalternatives.AnelectricToyota9RAV4EVvehiclecostsover$42,000intheUS,comparedwithjust$17,000forthepetrolversion.ToyotaandNissan10arenowtheonlymajorautomanufacturerstoproduceelectricvehicles.
“Thereisafeelingthatbatteryelectrichasbeengivenitschance.Fordnowhastomoveonwithitshybridprogram11,andthatiswhatwewillbejudgingthemon,”RogerHigman,aseniortransportcampaigneratUKFriendsoftheEarth,toldtheEnvironmentNewsService.
HybridcarsintroducedbyToyotaandHondainthepastfewyearshavesoldwell.Hybridenginesoffergreatermileagethanpetrol-onlyengines,andthebatteriesrechargethemselves.Fordsaysitthinkssuchvehicleswillhelpitmeetplannednewguidelines12onvehicleemissions13intheUS.
Howevertitisnotyetclearexactlywhatthoseguidelineswillpermit.InJune,GeneralMotorsandDaimlerChrysler14wonacourtinjunction,delayingbytwoyearsCalifornianlegislationrequiringcar-makerstooffer100,000zero-emissionandotherlow-emissionvehiclesinthestateby2003.Carmanufacturershopethelegislationwillberewrittentoallowformorelow-emission,ratherthanzero-emission,vehicles.
第二篇WorldCrudeOilProductionMayPeakaDecadeEarlierThanSomePredict
Inafindingthatmayspeedeffortstoconserveoil,scientistsinKuwaitpredictthatworldconventionalcrudeoilproductionwillpeakin2014.Thispredictionisalmostadecadeearlierthansomeotherpredictions.TheirstudyisinACS’Energy&Fuels1.
IbrahimNashawiandcolleaguespointoutthatrapidgrowthinglobaloilconsumptionhassparkedagrowinginterestinpredicting"
peakoil"
."
Peakoil"
isthepointwhereoilproductionreachesamaximumandthendeclines.Scientistshavedevelopedseveralmodelstoforecastthispoint,andsomeputthedateat2020orlater.OneofthemostfamousforecastmodelsiscalledtheHubbertmodel2.Itassumesthatglobaloilproductionwillfollowabellshapedcurve3.Arelatedconceptisthat4of"
PeakOil."
Theterm"
PealOil"
indicatesthemomentinwhichworldwideproductionWillpeak,afterwardstostartonirreversibledecline.
TheHubbertmodelaccuratelypredictedthatoilproductionwouldpeakintheUnitedStatesin1970.Themodelhassincegainedinpopularityandhasbeenusedtoforecastoilproductionworldwide.
However,recentstudiesshowthatthemodelisinsufficienttoaccountfor5morecomplexoilproductioncyclesofsomecountries.Thosecyclescanbeheavilyinfluencedbytechnologychanges,politics,andotherfactors,thescientistssay.
ThenewstudydescribesdevelopmentofanewversionoftheHubbertmodelthatprovidesamorerealisticandaccurateoilproductionforecast.Usingthenewmodel,thescientistsevaluatedtheoilproductiontrendsof47majoroil-producingcountries,whichsupplymostoftheworld’sconventionalcrudeoil6.Theyestimatedthatworldwideconventionalcrudeoilproductionwillpeakin2014,yearsearlierthananticipated.Thescientistsalsoshowedthattheworld'
soilreserves7are
beingreducedatarateof2.1percentayear.Thenewmodelcouldhelpinformenergy-relateddecisionsandpublicpolicydebate,theysuggest.
第三篇CitizenScientists(C级)
Understandinghownaturerespondstoclimatechangewillrequiremonitoringkeylifecycleevent—flowering,theappearanceofleaves,thefirstfrogcallsofthespring—allaroundtheworld.Butecologistscan’tbeeverywheresothey’returningtonon-scientists,sometimescalledcitizenscientists,forhelp.
Climatescientistsarenotpresenteverywhere.Becausetherearesomanyplacesintheworldandnotenoughscientiststoobserveallofthem,they’reaskingforyourhelpinobservingsignsofclimatechangeacrosstheworld.Thecitizenscientistmovementencouragesordinarypeopletoobserveaveryspecificresearchinterest—birds,trees,
flowersbudding,etc.—andsendtheirobservationstoagiantdatabasetobeobservedbyprofessionalscientists.Thishelpsasmallnumberofscientiststrackalargeamountofdatathattheywouldneverbeabletogatherontheirown.Muchlikecitizenjournalistshelpinglargepublicationscoverahyper-localbeat,citizenscientistsarereadyfortheconditionswheretheylive.Allthat’sneededtobecomeoneisafewminuteseachdayoreachweektogatherdataandsenditin.
AgroupofscientistsandeducatorslaunchedanorganizationlastyearcalledtheNationalPhenologyNetwork.“Phenology”iswhatscientistscallthestudyofthetimingofeventsinnature.
Oneofthegroup’sfirsteffortsreliesonscientistsandnon-scientistsaliketocollectdataaboutplantfloweringandleafingeveryyear.Theprogram,calledProjectBudBurst,collectslifecycledataonavarietyofcommonplantsfromacrosstheUnitedStates.Peopleparticipatingintheproject—whichisopentoeveryone—recordtheirobservationsontheProjectBudBurstwebsite.
“Peopledon’thavetobeplantexpertstheyjusthavetolookaroundandseewhat’sintheirneighborhood,”saysJenniferSchwartz,aneducationconsultantwiththeproject.“Aswecollectthisdata,we’llbeabletomakeanestimateofhowplantsandcommunitiesofplantsandanimalswillrespondastheclimatechanges.”
第四篇MotoringTechnology
1.2millionroaddeathsworldwideoccureachyear,plusafurther50millioninjuries.Toreducecarcrashrate,muchresearchnowisfocusedonsafetyandnewfuels.—thoughsomeelectricvehicleandbiofuel1researchaimsatgoingfaster.
Travellingatspeedhasalwaysbeenrisky.Onecuttingedgearea2ofresearchinmotoringsafetyistheuseofdigitalin-carassistants3.Theycanensureyoudon’tmisscrucialroadsignsorfallasleep.Theuseofartificialintelligencesoftwareallowstheseassistantstomonitoryourdrivingandmakessureyourphoneorradiodoesn’tdistractyouatavitalmoment.Mostcrashesresultfromhumanandnotmechanicalfaults.
Somesafetydevelopmentsaimtoimproveyourvision.Radarcanspot4obstaclesinfog,whileothertechnology“seesthrough”high-sided5vehiclesblockingyourview6.Andimprovementstoseatbelts,pedalcontrolsandtyresaremakingdrivingsmootherandsafer.Thecolourofacarhasbeenfoundtobelinkedwithsafety,ashave,lesssurprisingly,sizeandshape7.
Andalternativestofossil-fuel8basedpetrol,suchasplantoils,areahotareaofresearch.Fuelcells9basedonhydrogenburncleanly,andarethesubjectofaseriousresearcheffort.
Butwhateverisinthefueltank,youdon’twantathiefinthedrivingseatandtherehavebeenmanyinnovations,someusingsatellitetrackingandremotecommunications10,tofightagainstcartheft.Thesecommunicationsystemscanalsocomeintoplay11ifyoucrash,automaticallycallingforhelp.
Accidentscausemanytrafficjams,buttherearemoresubtleinterplaysbetweenvehiclesthatcancausejamsevenonaclearbutbusyroad.Suchjamscanbeanalysedusingstatisticaltools.Roboticdriverscouldbeprogrammedtomaketrafficflowsmoothlyandwillperhapsonedaybeeveryone’spersonalchauffeur,buttheirlatesteffortssuggestthatwon’tbesoon.
第五篇Late-NightDrinking
Coffeeloversbeware.Havingaquick“pick-me-up”cupofcoffee1lateinthedaywillplayhavocwith2yoursleep.Aswellasbeingastimulant,caffeineinterruptstheflowofmelatonin,thebrainhormonethatsendspeopleintoasleep.
Melatoninlevelsnormallystarttoriseabouttwohoursbeforebedtime.Levelsthenpeakbetween2amand4am,beforefallingagain3.“It’stheneurohormonethatcontrolsoursleepandtellsourbodywhentosleepandwhentowake,”saysMauriceOhayonoftheStanfordSleepEpidemiologyResearchCenteratStanfordUniversityinCalifornia.ButresearchersinIsraelhavefoundthatcaffcinatedcoffeehalvesthebody’slevelsofthissleephormone.LotanShiloandateamattheSapirMedicalCenterinTelAvivUniversityfoundthatsixvolunteerssleptlesswellafteracupofcaffeinatedcoffeethanafterdrinkingthesameamountofdecaf.Onaverage,subjectsslept336minutespernightafterdrinkingcaffeinatedcoffee,comparedwith415minutesafterdecal.Theyalsotookhalfanhourtodropoff4—twiceaslongasusual—andjiggedaround5inbedtwiceasmuch.
Inthesecondphaseoftheexperiment,theresearcherswokethevolunteerseverythreehoursandaskedthemtogiveaurinesample,Shilomeasuredconcentrationsofabreakdownproductofmelatonin.Theresultssuggestthatmelatoninconcentrationsincaffeinedrinkerswerehalfthoseindecafdrinkers.InapaperacceptedforpublicationinSleepMedi