Did you know that the custom of turning our clocks an hour ahead during the year first originated in World War I? By making the days “longer” , the goal was for households to conserve electricity and other forms of energy like fuel. Recently, the US Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act. The bill must also go through the House of Representatives before it can be signed by the President. If passed, Daylight SavingTime(DST) could become the permanent system of the time.
Although the specific dates of the time change differ, many countries around the world observe a biannual system of the time. From mid-March to November in the US, most states practice DST by turning the time forward by an hour from the Standard Time(ST), the local time observed in an area.
Though the original purpose of DST was to encourage the conservation of energy, multiple studies suggest that the time shift has not made a significant impact on saving energy costs. While less money is spent on electricity, costs are still likely to rise with the usage of devices such as air conditioners and computers. Research conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has shown that DST time changes lead to a greater risk of car crashes.
According to researchers, ST is much more closely related to the body’s circadian rhythm(昼夜节律) which regulates our organs as well as our sleep-wake cycle. By permanently living in DST, children would have to get up and be in school long before the sun rises—which could be 9 am in Seattle and other western states!
Proponents argue that because DST maximizes daylight, it encourages safety by lowering crime rates and reducing seasonal depression. DST provides more waking time to enjoy with families and friends, or even to get more work done.
The bill is certainly a hot topic of discussion, but one thing is for sure: everyone is in favor of getting rid of the biannual time switch.
【小题1】What do we know about DST according to researchers?A.It can make schools start late. |
B.It helps improve people’s sleeping quality. |
C.It increases the possibility of traffic accidents. |
D.It can reduce the usage of electronic devices. |
A.People who are in favor of DST. |
B.People who are efficient in working |
C.People who have seasonal depression. |
D.People who enjoy the company of friends. |
A.Positive. | B.Neutral. |
C.Unclear. | D.Negative. |
A.The influence of ST | B.The significance of ST |
C.The debate about DST | D.The histroy of DST |
Since the old times, art has always been with us. Art has always been very important to people. It shows our feelings, ideas, and what we see around us. From the first simple cave drawings to the latest computer art, the way art has changed is a very interesting part of human history.
But art is more than just pretty. Art isn’t just about looking nice.
Art can make us think and inspire us to do different things. In the 1900s, artists started making abstract art.
How art grows also shows how technology gets better over time.
Art serves as a universal medium for the exchange of ideas, transcending (超越) language and cultural barriers. It allows for a form of communication that is accessible to all. It is away of sharing ideas with everyone.
A.Take the oldest art as an example. |
B.Take the Renaissance as an example. |
C.People can understand it, no matter where they are from. |
D.It means they tried to paint a lot of pictures to make a living. |
E.This means they didn’t try to paint pictures of things we know. |
F.Nowadays, with computers and the Internet, art is changing again. |
G.It can also say important things about society and can help change things. |
A “virtual (虚拟的) cocktail” glass that lets you change the flavor (味道) of your drink using your Smartphone has been developed by scientists.
Offering a customizable (定制的) range of drinks and tastes, the Vocktail can change a glass of water into a cocktail at the press of a button. The world’s first technology tricks your brain into thinking it is experiencing a specific flavor by fooling your senses of sight, smell and taste.
Developed by researchers at the National University of Singapore, the glass’ three sensory components are controlled via a Smartphone App. Because the software can combine a number of smells, colors and tastes, the Vocktail can create almost any flavor.
Developer Nimesha Ranasinghe said: “Our approach is to increase drinks flavor experience by overlaying outer sensory stimuli (刺激物). For example, in the Vocktail we overlay color, taste and smell sensations to create an adjustable flavor experience. Flavor is mainly how we feel food and that is achieved through the use of these senses. Therefore, by changing the color of the drink, using different smells and changing the taste through electricity, we are able to copy the flavor of a drink without it actually changing the liquid.”
The glass houses three fragrance containers connected to micro-air pumps. The pumps release smell that change your feeling of the drinks, flavor. For example, a lemon fragrance will trick your brain into believing it is tasting lemon-flavored drink.
On the outside edge of the glass are two electrode strips (电焊条) that send electric pulses into your tongue to stimulate your sense of taste and flavor differs with different pulses.
【小题1】How does the Vocktail work?A.By transforming the inner liquid. |
B.By stimulating the tip of one’s tongue. |
C.By putting different kinds of drinks together. |
D.By tricking one’s brain into flavor experience. |
A.The flavor. | B.The software. |
C.The Vocktail. | D.The button. |
A.Smartphone Create a Kind of Liquid. |
B.Vocktail Make Water Taste Like Cocktail. |
C.Approaches Found to Change Water into Wine. |
D.Smartphone Produces Smells, Colors and Tastes. |
The giant panda’s special black-and-white fur makes it one of the most recognizable animals on the planet. But why does it have this unique coloring? To hide from natural enemies, both in the snow and in the shadows, study lead author Tim Caro, a professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology at the University of California, Davis, said in a new statement. Moreover, the large black circles around a panda’s eyes may help other pandas recognize it, the researchers said.
Understanding why the giant panda has such noticeable color has been a long-term problem to solve. To find out the answer, Caro and his colleagues looked at photos of pandas and 195 other carnivore(食肉动物) species, including 39 subspecies of bear. Then, they recorded the coloring on each area of those animals’ bodies, and compared them with areas of the panda’s body. “Compared with the previous studies, the breakthrough in this study was treating each part of the body as an independent area,” Caro said.
The research team tried to figure out the purpose of the dark-colored furry areas. After going through many comparisons, the researchers determined that the white parts of the giant panda help it hide in the snow. In contrast, its black arms and legs help it hide in the shadows, they said. The panda’s white-and-black coloring didn’t appear to be related to temperature regulation. Nor did they find evidence that the dark circles around a panda’s eyes helped to make them look cuter.
“This really was a great effort by our team, finding and scoring thousands of images and scoring more than 10 areas per picture from over 20 possible colors,” study co-author Ted Stankowich, an assistant professor of biology at California State University, Long Beach, said in the statement. “Sometimes it takes hundreds of hours of hard work to answer the simplest question: Why is the panda black and white?”
【小题1】What does the new study focus on?A.How pandas hide from natural enemies successfully. |
B.Why pandas have unique black-and-white coloring. |
C.Whether the black circles around a panda’s eyes are useful. ” |
D.What makes pandas so cute and eye-catching. |
A.Researching more carnivore species. | B.Using the method of comparison. |
C.Treating each part of the body separately. | D.Recording the number of photos. |
A.The giant panda gets used to living in the snow. |
B.The white-and-black fur can help pandas hide. |
C.The coloring of pandas is related to temperature. |
D.The function of the dark-colored areas is unknown. |
A.Keeping your curiosity can make a difference. |
B.Hundreds of hours of hard work is annoying. |
C.Scientists dislike doing research on simple issues. |
D.It needs efforts to find the why behind what you see. |
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