Louis Braille was born in France in 1809. Sadly when he was a little boy, he had an accident. By the time he was four years old, he was completely blind. However, at the age of ten, Louis was lucky enough to go to one of the first schools for blind children in Paris. At this particular school they had special books. They were written in ordinary French but the letters raised up off the page, so that the students could feel the shape of the words and read them. But there were two problems with this system. First, the letters were huge and difficult to read. Second, the books were very expensive so the school library only had fourteen altogether.
In 1821, when Louis was twelve years old, a soldier came to his school. This man had invented a system for soldiers to send and receive messages in the dark. Although this idea had not worked very well, Louis became very excited and began experiments with it. By the time he was fifteen, he had invented a perfect system which used only six dots. And by 1827 the first book using his system was published.
It still took a long time before people realized what a wonderful invention Braille’s system was. In fact, Louis died in 1852 and did not live to see the success of his system, which has been adapted to almost every language in the world. Thanks to him, blind or weak-sighted people are able to read or write as well as any sighted person.
【小题1】What did books for the blind look like when Louis was a boy?| A．No books designed for the blind. |
| B．Books with raised dots on each page. |
| C．Books with letters raised up off each page. |
| D．The same books as those for the able-bodied. |
| A．The letters were huge and difficult to read. |
| B．Books designed for the blind were too costly. |
| C．The number of books for the blind was very small. |
| D．A messaging system for soldiers to use in the dark. |
| A．In 1821 | B．In 1824 | C．In 1827 | D．In 1852 |
| A．It helps make the blind independent to learn. |
| B．It is easy and convenient for the blind to live. |
| C．It has been adapted to every language in the world. |
| D．It contributes to producing more books for the blind. |
Israeli Company Develops 3D Printed Beef
If there were an award for the funniest company name of 2022, then the 3D printed meat company “Steakholder” would win that award.
Israeli company Steakholder Foods Ltd. has introduced its new product, Omakase Beef Morsels, which are bioprinted with cultured meat. The bites are inspired by the world-famous Wagyu beef, famous for its fat marbling patterns (大理石花纹) in the meat, which is also very expensive.
The company was formed in 2019 and has an office in Israel and Belgium, and is now expanding its operations to the US.
Stakeholder uses stem cells from cattle for the production of its printed beef, and the muscle tissue and fat are printed from two separate bio-inks.
“This product marks a major step forward for us and for the cultured meat industry in general,” said Arik Kaufman, CEO of Steakholder Foods. “It is the result of a lot of hard work and our desire to achieve the highest level of meat possible through bioprinting and cell culture processes.”
So there you have it, guilt-free meat eating may be just around the corner.
| A．The company has already achieved several milestones since it was founded. |
| B．Its goal is to create sustainable meat products to replace meats such as beef, chicken and even fish. |
| C．The layers of meat and fat can be regrouped in different proportions to create different flavor experiences. |
| D．Additionally, producing meat without having to raise and kill cattle may work out better for ensuring animal welfare and overall health. |
| E．The meat product is the first of its kind and was created using a specific 3D-bioprinting technology that was recently patented by the company. |
| F．In the final steps, the muscle cells and fat cells are turned into meat, ready to be processed into the final product, whether it’s a burger, steak, or even a meatloaf. |
| G．The process works by first selecting the animals to extract (提取) the stem cells from. |
When Jack Andraka was 15 years old, he created a new diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer. Jack's test is 28 times faster, 26,000 times less expensive and over 100 times more sensitive than the current diagnostic tests. His test earned him first prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, which is like the Olympics of science fairs.
It was after a close family friend died of pancreatic cancer that Jack Andraka became interested in finding a better early-detection diagnostic test. Jack said the solution came to him during his high school biology class. He was secretly reading an article about nanotubes while the teacher was talking about antibodies. Jack said the two ideas came together in his head, and he thought he could combine what the teacher was saying with what he knew about nanotubes to create an early detection test for pancreatic cancer.
Jack Andraka used what he found through Google searches and free online science journals to develop a plan and a budget. Jack contacted about 200 people including researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health with a proposal to work in their labs. He got 199 rejections before he finally got an acceptance from Dr. Anirban Maitra, Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Jack worked after school every day, on weekends and over holidays at Maitra's lab until he developed his test.
So, think about Jack Andraka the next time you hear that something can't be done. Or, if you receive numerous rejections (close to 200 in Jack Andraka's case) or you're simply hesitating to give one of your ideas a shot. Also, keep in mind that you don't necessarily need a giant team, billions of dollars in resources or even more than 15 years of life experience to do something amazing.
【小题1】Why did Jack decide to work on the diagnostic test?| A．The existing test was not widely used. | B．He wanted to win a prize in a science fair. |
| C．A family friend died of pancreatic cancer. | D．He got inspired in his high school biology class. |
| A．By cooperating with Google. | B．By doing experiments in the lab. |
| C．By conducting researches online. | D．By contacting about 200 people. |
| A．Life Style & Trends | B．Hospitals & ICUs |
| C．Inspirational Stories | D．Interesting Discoveries |
Apps such as WeChat and TikTok have gained popularity in recent years.
WeChat is particularly relied upon as a secure part of the structure of our technologically advancing societies.
Many features of WeChat alongside its well-thought-out design has meant that the app has dominated its competitors domestically,especially during the disorderly origin years of 2012-13,when it was gaining traction.
The ability to move through web pages without tags and save articles alongside other offline content within the app simplified the online experience.
The intuitive(直观的）design is what makes WeChat not just an app in communicating with friends and family.
| A．Residents in Guangzhou can use the app to store their ID cards. |
| B．Many may bring up the fact that you can pay for goods and services. |
| C．WeChat alone,as of 2020,boasts more than I billion users worldwide. |
| D．The app itself has no doubt also been an influence on many Western apps. |
| E．In a web browser,a list of favourite sites saves for future use while browsing. |
| F．Users didn't have to switch constantly from app to app depending on the type of multimedia they consumed. |
| G．The continuity(连续性）in the online and offline browsing experience makes WeChat successful in keeping our attention on the display of our phones. |
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