Houses of the Future What will houses be like in thirty years&39;time？ No one really knows

Human and the Environment

One of the most pressing challenges that the United States and indeed the world will face in the next few decades is how to alleviate (减轻点)the growing stress that human activities are placing on the environment. The consequences are just too great to ignore. Wildlife habitats (栖息地)are being degraded(使退化) or disappearing altogether as new developments take up more land. (46) As many as 30 percent of the world's fish stocks are over-exploited. And the list goes on.

(47) Advances in computing power and molecular biology(分子生物学) are among the trem endows increases in scientific capability that are helping researchers gain a better understanding of these problems. Recent developments in science and technology could provide the basis for some major, and timely(及时的) actions that would improve our understanding of how human activities affect the environment.

One priority for research is improving hydrological(水文学的)forecasting. (48) Already, widespread water shortages have occurred in parts of China, India, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. The need for water also is taking its toll (造成损失)on freshwater(淡水)ecosystems (生态体系)in the United States. Only 2 percent of the nation's streams are considered in good condition, and close to 40 percent of native fish species are rare or extinct. Using a variety of new remote sensing tools scientists can learn more about how precipitation(降水量)affects water levels, how surface water is generated and transported, and how changes in the landscape affect water supplies.

To prevent outbreaks of infectious(传染性的)diseases in plants, animals, and humans, more study is needed on how pathogens (病原体), parasites(寄生生物), and disease-carrying species-as well as humans and other species they infect-are affected by changes in the environment. (49) Researchers can take advantage of new technologies in genetics and computing to better monitor and predict the effects that environmental changes might have on disease outbreaks.Humans have made changes to earth's surface, such as tropical deforestation(砍伐森林), reduction of surface and ground water, and massive development, so dramatic that they approach the levels of transformation that occurred during glacial periods(冰川期). (50) Recent advances in data collection and analysis should be used to record and better understand the causes and consequences of changes in land cover and use.

A. It has been estimated that the world's water use could triple in the next two decades.

B. Plant and animal species are becoming extinct at a greater rate now than at any time in earth's history.

C. The overuse of antibiotics (抗生素) both in humans and in farm animals has contributed to the growth of antibiotic resistant micro-organisms (微生物).

D. Yet, there is reason to have hope for the future.

E. Until recently, very little information was documented about changes and consequences of land usage.

F. Such changes cause changes in local and regional climate, and will determine the future of agriculture.

(46)

LED Lighting

1 An accidental discovery announced recently has taken LED lighting to a new level, suggesting it could soon offer a cheaper, longer-lasting alternative to the traditional light bulb. The breakthrough adds to a growing trend that is likely to eventually make Thomas Edison&39;s bright invention obsolete. LEDs are already used in traffic lights, flashlights, and architectural lighting. They are flexible and operate less expensively than traditional lighting.

2 Michael Bowers, a graduate student2 at Vanderbilt University, was just trying to make really small quantum dots, which are crystals generally only a few nanometers big. Quantum dots contain anywhere from 100 to 1,000 electrons. They&39;re easily excited bundles of energy, and the smaller they are, the more excited they get. Each dot in Bowers&39; particular batch was exceptionally small, containing only 33 or 34 pairs of atoms.

3 When you shine a light on quantum dots or apply electricity to them, they react by producing their own light, normally a bright, vibrant color. But when Bowers shined a laser on his batch of dots, something unexpected happened. He was surprised when a white glow covered the table. The quantum dots were supposed to emit blue light, but instead they were giving off a beautiful white glow.

4 Then Bowers and another student got the idea to stir the dots into polyurethane and coat a blue LED light bulb with the mix. The lumpy bulb wasn&39;t pretty, but it produced white light similar to a regular light bulb.

5 LEDs produce twice as much light as a regular 60 watt bulb and burn for over 50,000 hours. The Department of Energy estimates LED lighting could reduce U. S. energy consumption for lighting by 29 percent by 2025. LEDs don&39;t emit heat, so they&39;re also more energy efficient. And they&39;re much harder to break.

6 Quantum dot mixtures could be painted on just about anything and electrically excited to produce a rainbow of colors, including white. The main light source of the future will almost surely not be a bulb. It might be a table, a wall, or even a fork.

Paragraph 1 ______

A LED Lighting Is Not MatureB LED Lighting Will Replace Traditional LightingC Almost Everything Could Be the Main Light Source in the FutureD LED Lighting Has Many AdvantagesE Bowers Made an Unexpected DiscoveryF LED Light Bulbs Look Lumpy

Paragraph 3 ______

A LED Lighting Is Not MatureB LED Lighting Will Replace Traditional LightingC Almost Everything Could Be the Main Light Source in the FutureD LED Lighting Has Many AdvantagesE Bowers Made an Unexpected DiscoveryF LED Light Bulbs Look Lumpy

Paragraph 5 ______

A LED Lighting Is Not MatureB LED Lighting Will Replace Traditional LightingC Almost Everything Could Be the Main Light Source in the FutureD LED Lighting Has Many AdvantagesE Bowers Made an Unexpected DiscoveryF LED Light Bulbs Look Lumpy

Paragraph 6 ______

A LED Lighting Is Not MatureB LED Lighting Will Replace Traditional LightingC Almost Everything Could Be the Main Light Source in the FutureD LED Lighting Has Many AdvantagesE Bowers Made an Unexpected DiscoveryF LED Light Bulbs Look Lumpy

Unlike traditional lighting, LEDs do not give out heat so ______.

A traditional lighting is less durable and dearerB a laser excited the quantum dotsC America adopted LEDsD graduate students work hardE quantum dot mixtures are magicF it is more efficient

Edison&39;s bright invention is likely to be outdated because ______.

A traditional lighting is less durable and dearerB a laser excited the quantum dotsC America adopted LEDsD graduate students work hardE quantum dot mixtures are magicF it is more efficient

Something unexpected happened during Bower&39;s experiment when ______.

A traditional lighting is less durable and dearerB a laser excited the quantum dotsC America adopted LEDsD graduate students work hardE quantum dot mixtures are magicF it is more efficient

Over one quarter of energy consumption for lighting could be saved by 2025 if ______.

A traditional lighting is less durable and dearerB a laser excited the quantum dotsC America adopted LEDsD graduate students work hardE quantum dot mixtures are magicF it is more efficient

请帮忙给出每个问题的正确答案和分析，谢谢！

Adult Education

Voluntary learning in organized courses by mature men and women is called adult education. Such education is offered to make people able to enlarge and interpret their experience as adults. Adults may want to study something*which they missed in earlier schooling, get new skills or job training, find out about new technological developments, seek better self-understanding ,or develop new talents and skills.

This kind of education may be in the form. of self-study with proper guidance through the use of libraries, correspondence courses, or broadcasting. It may also be acquired collectively in schools and colleges, study groups, workshops, clubs, and professional associations.

Modern adult education for large numbers of people started in the 18th and 19th centuries with the rise of the Industrial Revolution. Great economic and social changes were taking place: people were moving from rural areas to cities, new types of work were being created in an expanding factory system. These and other factors produced a need for further education and re-education of adults.

The earliest programs of organized adult education arose in Great Britain in the 1790s, with the founding of an adult school in Nottingham and a mechanics’ institute in Glasgow. The earliest adult education institution in the United States was founded by Benjamin Franklin and some friends in Ph People recognize that continued learning is necessary for most forms of employment today.

For example, parts of the adult population in many countries find it necessary to take part in retraining programs at work or even to learn completely new jobs. Adult education programs are springing up constantly to meet these and other needs.

A. Necessity for developing adult education

B. Early days of adult education

C. Ways of receiving adult education

D. Growth of adult education

E. Institutions of adult education

F. Definition of adult education

Paragraph 2 _______

a few other primates, including chimpanzees, apes, and orangutans) laugh.

2. Even if scientists still do not know why we laugh, they have learned a lot about it. For example: The sound of laughter is created when you inhale deeply and then release the air while your diaphragm moves in a series of short, spasmodic contractions. The typical laugh is made up of pulses of sound that are about 1/15th of a second long and 1/5th of a second apart.

3. One of the most interesting things researchers have learned is the powerful healing effect of laughter. Well, actually they' re re-learning it after centuries of neglect: In the Middle Ages, doctors "treated" their patients by telling them jokes, but modem medicine discounted the curative properties of laughing. That began to change in 1979, when editor Norman Cousins wrote Anatomy of an Illness, in which he credited watching humorous videos with helping him reduce pain and recover from ankylosing spondylitis (类风湿性脊椎炎), a lifethreatening degenerative spinal disease. The book inspired researchers to look into whether laughter really could aid in healing and recovery from illness.

4. In 1995, two researchers at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine had 10 medical students watch a 60-minute videotape of Gallagher, a stand-up comedian famous for smashing watermelons and other objects with a sledgehammer. The researchers found that after watching the video, where was a measurable decrease in stress hormones, including epinephrine and dopamine, in the students' blood, plus an increase in endorphins-the body' s natural painkillers. But the most changes were found in the students' immune systems. These included

&8226; Increased levels of gamma interferon, a hormone that "switches on" the immune system, helps fight viruses and regulates cell growth.

&8226; Increased numbers of "helper T-cells," which help the body coordinate the immune system's response to illness

&8226; More "Compliment 3," a substance that helps antibodies destroy infected and damaged cells

&8226; An increase in the number and activity of "natural killer (NK) cells," which the body uses to attack foreign cells, cancer cells, and cells infected by viruses

5. Some of the levels even began to change before the students watched the video-just from the expectation that they were about to laugh. "Say you' re going to your favorite restaurant," Dr. Berk explains. "You can visualize the food; you can almost taste it. You are already experiencing the physiology of enjoying it. Your immune system [also] remembers. By using humor to combat stress, you can condition yourself to strengthen your immune system."

6. Chimpanzees, apes and a few other primates laugh, but no other animals do Chimps' laugh sounds like rapid panting, but unlike humans, they are unable to regulate or control the air as they breathe out. This lack of ability to control airflow is same thing that deprives them of speech. Chimps and gorillas that have learned sign language have been known to sign one another for laughs

A. The Process of Laughter.

B. Why Laughter Developed?

C. Laughter and Other Creatures.

D. Mordern Breakthrough in Humour for Therapy.

E. Various After-effects of laughing.

F. Anticipatorv Effect on the Immune System.

Paragraph 3. ______

ing shark, which feed on plankton and small fish. The adult whale shark grows to about 13 meters long, while the basking shark extends a little over 8 meters.(46)On the other hand, there are a number of them which have attacked and killed swimmers. These sharks include the great hammerhead, blue, whitetip, and, of course, the great white shark.

(47)The great white grows to between 5 and 8 meters long and can weigh more than 1300 kilograms. It can swim through the eater at speeds reaching 32 kilometers per hour. However, one of the fastest swimmers in the shark family is the blue shark, which can swim at a speed of nearly 752 kilometers per hour.

(48)They can grow as long as 5 centimeters, and they are very sharp. Unlike humans, who have two sets of teeth in their life time, some sharks can have as many as 5 or 6 sets. It is rare for a shark to have fewer than 4 sets. It is rare for a shark to have fewer than 4 sets. As the shark's teeth are worn out, they fall out and are replaced by the next row.

(49)In a lifetime some sharks can grow and lose between 10,000 and 30,000 teeth.

Sea biologists have discovered that the shark has a remarkably large brain and a well-developed sensory system. The animal has an extraordinary sense of smell and excellent vision.

(50)Special sensory pits on the shark's nose and chin can detect weak electrical fields in the water that are produced by fish and other animals. Scientists have concluded that sharks associate food with electrical fields. Scientists also believe that sharks create their own electrical fields to aim them in knowing where to go in the sea.

A. Must of the species are not particularly cruel.

B. Sharks have lived on earth for more than 180 million years.

C. The great white is the largest and cruelest of all animals known to attack humans.

D. Some sharks can wear out a full set of teeth in less than 6 months.

E. One of the most unusual aspects of the shark is its teeth.

F. But sharks are also sensitive to electrical fields.