Scientists have created a new app designed to identify dangerous mosquitoes based on sounds the insects make. The app, called Abuzz, is aimed at helping fight major diseases spread by mosquitoes.
Haripriya Vaidehi Narayanan is one of the researchers who helped develop the app. Narayanan told VOA that anyone with a mobile phone could use the app to identify mosquitoes. “If they see a mosquito around, they just take out their phone, open up the app, point their phone towards the mosquito and hit the record button,”she said. “Then, when the mosquito flaps its wings and starts flying around, it makes that noise, that annoying buzzing noise. That noise is what gets recorded by the Abuzz app.” she added.
Many diseases that mosquitoes carry do not have cures or vaccines. So, targeting the flying insects is the best way to control them. “The most important step is to know where the mosquitoes are,” Narayanan said.
Traditional methods for hunting mosquitoes are costly and can take a very long time. The process also requires labor-intensive trapping as well as trained scientists to identify the insects.
Manu Prakash is a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University and a lead investigator on the project. He says that out of about 3,500 different mosquito species, only about 40 are dangerous to humans. Prakash says the goal of the project was to find out whether the mosquitoes around a person's house are just an annoyance, or whether they are possibly dangerous.
When mosquitoes move their wings up and down, they produce buzzing sounds. But each kind of mosquito makes a slightly different buzzing noise. The app records these sounds. Users of the app can get an answer by recording as little as one or two seconds of the buzzing sound. The app compares this recording to a collection of other recordings. It then predicts which species of mosquito it is most likely to be.
By making use of mosquito information worldwide, the app can help build maps of where dangerous mosquitoes are. This can help scientists and health officials identify areas where disease is likely to break out and where to target mosquito control.
1. Why is it important to locate mosquitoes?| A．Because they are very small and hard to find. |
| B．Because diseases carried by them are a big problem. |
| C．Because mosquitoes flap their wings very quickly. |
| D．Because the buzzing noise of mosquitoes is annoying. |
| A．Compare it to a database and identify its species. |
| B．Make a somewhat different buzzing noise. |
| C．Release some chemicals to kill the mosquito. |
| D．Draw a map of the place where the mosquito was. |
| A．It can help people control the number of mosquitoes. |
| B．It can help people avoid some species of mosquitoes. |
| C．It can help predict where mosquito-carried diseases are most likely to occur. |
| D．It can help record the mosquito hiding places very quickly. |
| A．The Different Species of Mosquitoes in the World |
| B．New Ways to Fight Disease Caused by Mosquitoes |
| C．How to Identify Sounds Made by Different Mosquitoes |
| D．A New App That Can Identify Dangerous Mosquitoes |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】The morning after a storm, you wake up, open the window, and find a dead bird lying outside. On closer inspection, the bird is still breathing and moving slightly. Unless you have experience, you likely won’t be able to cure an injured bird. But that doesn’t mean you can’t rescue (援救) it.
For a smaller bird, all you need to do is grasp it gently around the body, put it in a soft paper bag, and place it where it won’t get stepped on or attacked by a pet. Don t use a box because if the bird tries to flap (拍打) its wings against the hard sides, it might hurt itself. Then give it some time to recover in the dark, where it’s not too stressed out about what’s happening around it. Every species has a different diet, so don’t try to feed it seeds or worse, bread.
If you start to hear some movement in the bag, that means the bird is in shock and is now ready to go. Take it to a tree-filled area, away from traffic if possible, and tip the bag over on the ground to let the animal fly out. If it doesn’t exit willingly or has trouble using its wings, it might have a more serious injury. In that case, look for a wildlife rehabilitator in the area or contact your local animal control agency.
For a larger bird like a hawk or woodpecker that might try to sink a beak or talon (喙或爪子) into your skin, call in an expert right away. If they can’t get to you quickly, calm the bird down by dropping a towel over its head: It should stop struggling once its sight is covered. You can then hold it by the body (again, avoid picking it up by the wings or legs) and move it into a box or pet carrier. Pile the towel up against the sides to keep the bird from flapping itself against cardboard or plastic.
1. What should you do when finding an injured small bird?| A．Feed it with some bread. | B．Move it into a soft bag. |
| C．Leave it alone in the woods. | D．Put it into a wooden box. |
| A．Seller. | B．Trainer. | C．Rescuer. | D．Keeper. |
| A．Fastening its wings with a rope. | B．Keeping it out of all the buildings. |
| C．Being careful not to let it fly away. | D．Trying to avoid getting it hurt by itself. |
| A．How to help injured birds. | B．How birds end up on the ground. |
| C．Why some birds get injured. | D．Where to keep injured birds. |
【推荐2】Cats have no emotions. At least, that’s what my husband once claimed. I argued that my two cats experience emotions. They feel anger, fear, and happiness. He agreed with me, but stuck to his opinion that cats don’t feel love. However, my cat, Sebastian, would teach him otherwise.
When my next-door neighbour moved in, he had a cat named Juliet. She was an indoor lady, always watching the environment through the window. Then one day when I accompanied my cat to the backyard for his playtime, Sebastian caught sight of Juliet gazing at him behind the window. It soon became obvious that they were attracted by each other. So every day thereafter, whenever I let Sebastian out, he would rush straight to the backyard next-door and they would sit gazing lovingly at each other through the screen, she inside, and he outside. Even my husband watched in amazement, and he would murmur, “But cats can’t feel love...can they?”
Five months later, my neighbour had to move because of work. My heart sank. I wondered how Sebastian would react to Juliet’s leaving.
For months after Juliet moved away and the new neighbour moved in, I often caught Sebastian sitting by Juliet’s window, looking into the apartment in search of his lady. The new neighbour didn’t mind having the “Peeping (偷看) Sebastian” after I explained his reason for being there. Sebastian marked the small area outside that window as his territory. Other male cats were allowed in the backyard, but not near Juliet’s window, which he guarded until his death.
Even now, when my husband and I walk through the backyard and see that window, he reminds me of the lesson Sebastian taught him...that cats do indeed fall in love.
1. What can be inferred from paragraph 2?| A．Juliet was allowed to go out. |
| B．Sebastian enjoyed the moment with Juliet. |
| C．The author was the only person to accompany her cat. |
| D．The author’s husband hated the two cats staying together. |
| A．Because he couldn’t play in the backyard. |
| B．Because he couldn’t get along with other cats. |
| C．Because there were few places for him to play. |
| D．Because the area was guarded by him for Juliet. |
| A．The death of Sebastian. | B．The neighbour’s sudden departure. |
| C．The story between the two cats. | D．The argument between him and the author. |
| A．Cats, Like People, Have Feelings | B．Cats Love People |
| C．Love—the Only Feeling Between Cats | D．Cats Are Not Able to Fall in Love |
【推荐3】Do dogs understand us? Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think.
A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word learning skills are as good as those of parrot or chimpanzee(黑猩猩). In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn't see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words. In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before.
The correct object was chosen in seven out of 10 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination (排除法) month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive. Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is border collie, a breed (品种) known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months. It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big wet kiss in return!
1. From paragraph 2 we know that ________.| A．animals are as clever as human beings. |
| B．dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees. |
| C．chimpanzees have very good word learning skills. |
| D．dogs have similar learning abilities as 3-year-old children. |
| A．Rico is smart enough to get all commands right |
| B．Rico can recognize different things including toys |
| C．Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics |
| D．Rico won't forget the names of objects once recognizing them |
| A．The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie's mental abilities. |
| B．Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training. |
| C．The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects. |
| D．Rico is born to understand its owner's commands. |
| A．To train your dog. | B．To talk to your dog. |
| C．To be friendly to your dog. | D．To be careful with your dog. |
【推荐1】For years, life went something like this: We’d grow up in one place, head off to college, then find a city to live in for a few years to pursue a job or higher education. The end goal was to find somewhere to settle down, buy a house, start a family, and begin the whole cycle all over again. But a new model for living is emerging: Some people are increasingly opting to move from city to city throughout their entire lives, sometimes as frequently as every month.
Just ask Alex Chatzielefteriou, who has had a front-row seat watching this evolution unfold. Six years ago, he launched a startup called Blueground that rents out beautifully designed, fully furnished apartments for a month at a time, at rents that are cheaper than hotels. Today, the company has 3,000 properties in six U.S. cities, along with Dubai, Istanbul, London, Paris, and Chatzielefteriou’s native Athens, and a staff of 400.
The company just landed $ 50 million in Series B funding, bringing its total investment to $ 78 million, to continue its rapid expansion. It hopes to have 50,000 properties in 50 cities over the next three years, and the goal is to make each one feel unique and cozy, rather than standardized, like what you might find in a traditional hotel.
Chatzielefteriou first came up with the idea for Blueground while he was working as a management consultant for McKinsey. “The accommodation of choice for consultants is the hotel,” he says. “I had to spend five years in a hotel room, living in 12 different cities. I loved seeing the world, but I didn’t love feeling like I didn’t have a home.”
As he spoke to his friends and coworkers, he realized that many people were dejected with this lifestyle that meant living out of a suitcase in the same few hotel chains that all began to blend together. And what’s more, hotels aren’t a particularly cost-effective solution for companies either. In Chatzielefteriou’s case, McKinsey sometimes paid $10,000 or more for him to stay in a major city for a month, which was far more expensive than local rents.
1. Chatzielefteriou launched the company Blueground for the following reasons except ________.| A．he wants to feel like home when exploring the world |
| B．many people around him are tired of hotels |
| C．hotels are comparatively more expensive |
| D．he doesn’t have a real home |
| A．An apartment that costs dearly but is fully furnished. |
| B．An apartment that is standardized and commonly seen. |
| C．An apartment that has its own style and is comfortable to live in. |
| D．An apartment that is simply designed with only necessary furniture. |
| A．frustrated | B．confused | C．inspired | D．satisfied |
| A．An introduction of a new hotel for consultants. |
| B．An introduction of a creative company founder. |
| C．An introduction of new accommodation for travelers. |
| D．An introduction of the history of a promising company. |
【推荐2】How does running a marathon and burning over 1, 000 calories per hour without even getting off your sofa completely sound? That's exactly what BionicGym, an advanced wearable neuro-stimulator (神经刺激器), claims to help you achieve.
Let's be honest, we've all seen similar devices in sci-fi movies or teleshopping advertisements before, but they're really not that effective. However, BionicGym creator Dr Louis Crowe says this product is truly revolutionary.
Crowe says he came up with the idea for this unique neuro-stimulator over 16 years ago, when he would get into the cold Atlantic ocean so he could observe the effects of shivering (颤栗). He discovered that as he got colder he didn't shiver faster, but he shivered at the same rate. He also found that this natural way of burning calories allowed a person to burn a lot of calories without actually doing any exercise.
Crowe did more research on how to use shivering as an effective training and weight-loss tool, and developed BionicGym. He's teamed up with Dr Barry Broderick to bring it to market. To do so, they need some funding to redesign the device. Then it has to be approved by regulators. BionicGym may be ready for sale by November this year. But people seem so impressed by the abilities of BionicGym to give them a workout while resting on a sofa that they seem to have no problem parting with $ 300 for the chance to one day try it out. Crowe's crowdfunding campaign had a goal of $ 20, 000, but with 11 days to go, it's already passed the $ 287. 000 mark.
In a promotional video, Crowe presents a graph showing that used at top levels. BionicGym can burn around 1, 100 calories per hour, and get your heart rate up to around 180 bpm-beats per minute. Crowe warns that using the device at top levels makes for a very tough workout, requiring previous training. Beginners or older people can use it at lower levels and make their way up to the tougher programs.
1. Why does the author mention the question in Paragraph 1 ?| A．To express his doubts. |
| B．To introduce the topic of the text. |
| C．To describe the benefits of running. |
| D．To compare different calorie-burning ideas. |
| A．A sci-fi movie. | B．His imagination. |
| C．A teleshopping ad. | D．His own experience. |
| A．It's hard to win a chance to try using BionicGym. |
| B．BionicGym can't win regulators 'approval easily. |
| C．The public show great enthusiasm for BionicGym. |
| D．BionicGym's future will be determined by its funding. |
| A．It especially appeals to old people. |
| B．It can meet the needs of different people. |
| C．It is tough for beginners to use the device. |
| D．It can burn around 1, 100 calories every day. |
【推荐3】Researchers at the University of Chicago have trained an artificial intelligence( 人工智能) system, to write fake( 伪 造 的 ) reviews( 评 论 ) on Yelp, a website showing customers reviews on shopping or something else, and it's pretty hard to tell them apart from a human review.
Their study, which will be presented at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security in October, aimed to throw attention onto how easily these systems can write reviews like humans and how damaging they can become if they’re not monitored properly.
Since many small businesses depend on online reviews to help grow and keep their reputation, a future where someone—like a rival or angry customer—could crazily fill their page with negative reviews written by a machine is pretty worrying.
And, according to the research team, the threat goes far beyond fake reviews on Yelp. “In general the threat is bigger,” Ben Y. Zhao, one of the authors of the study, said. “I think the threat towards society is large and it really misleads users and shakes our belief in what is real and what is not. I think that' s going to be even unimaginable.”
To test how believable these reviews are, the researchers invited 40 volunteers and had AI make five fake reviews for 40 actual restaurants. The volunteers were asked how useful they thought the review was and whether or not they thought it was fake. The AI reviews was regarded as “effectively unrecognizable ” from real reviews，according to the study. Further, the fake reviews were given a 3.15 "usefulness" rating, compared to a 3.28 rating for human reviews.
1. What can the new artificial intelligence system do according to the passage？| A．It can help train new reviewers. |
| B．It can tell the real reviews from the fake ones. |
| C．It can write human-like reviews. |
| D．It can easily damage the businesses. |
| A．A person who respects you deeply. |
| B．A person who is against you. |
| C．A person who loves to give fake reviews. |
| D．A person who can control you from distance. |
| A．Artificial intelligence can put the society in danger. |
| B．The artificial intelligence is only used by the researchers |
| C．Ben Y. Zhao is optimistic about the further development of artificial intelligence. |
| D．The artificial intelligence will help people shake. |
| A．Tips on Giving Reviews. | B．How to Tell the Fake Reviews. |
| C．Development of AI in Review on Yelp. | D．AI is coming to Steal Your Reviews. |
【推荐1】The characteristic (特征) of shyness is to feel frightened and nervous in new social situations or when being the center of attention. Whether shyness is part of your children’s personality or just something they feel when they are in front of a group of strangers, it is a common experience, according to a study.
To look at shyness, researchers brought 152 children aged 7-8 into a lab and told them they would give a speech, which would be filmed and shown to other children. The study showed that about 10% of the children showed a level of stress over time when giving the speech. About 25% of the children were not reported to be shy in the eyes of their parents, but in fact showed a level of social stress from giving the speech. This finding provides the fact that shyness may be a part of these children’s temperament (性情).
For children at this age, shyness may be a quite common and normal experience when they face a speech task. For a smaller group of shy children, however, being the center of attention may be stressful at different times and environments.
A shy temperament isn’t always valued by society like an outgoing personality, but that doesn’t mean there is something wrong. Everyone can feel shy at times depending on the environment. And those who are particularly shy often have happy social lives—they just aren’t likely to be the liveliest people in a crowded room.
Although shyness itself may not necessarily be a problem, parents should pay attention to signs of worry, particularly in their shy children. Importantly, however, we know that not all shy children are the same, and that many shy children grow up to be well-balanced adults.
1. What can we learn from paragraph 1?| A．Shyness is not an unusual characteristic. |
| B．Shyness is born with personality. |
| C．Shyness will appear when one is in public. |
| D．Shyness means not communicating with others. |
| A．Few kids like to give a speech to others. |
| B．Some kids can get shy while giving speeches. |
| C．Some kids appear less shy with their parents. |
| D．Some kids are stressed when being separated. |
| A．Bring them to crowded space. |
| B．Care for them and give them confidence. |
| C．Keep them away from shyness. |
| D．Let them be alone. |
| A．When are people shy? | B．Ways of beating shyness |
| C．Why is shyness a bad thing? | D．The discoveries about shyness |
【推荐2】Appealing to rich people's desire to control events is a better tactic to get them to donate to the charity, rather than their community spirit. That's the finding of a psychological study building on previous research which found that the wealthy people value the ability to control the outcome of different events compared to lower-income people.
Donations from high earners were 1.5 times larger when researchers tailored(定制)the words of letters requesting financial support to play on this desire.
Experts from Harvard University wrote to 12,000 alumni of an Ivy League business school—who were earning $ 100,000 (£ 80,000) per year or more—asking them to donate to the school. Two sets of letters were sent out—one saying the “community” needed to take action, while the other called on individual action. The letter were phrased respectively as "Sometimes, one community needs to come forward and support a common goal" or "Sometimes, one person needs to come forward and take individual action”.
Respondents to the second letter gave $ 432 (£ 340) on average compared to the $ 270 (£ 215) average from the first group.
New Scientist Ashley Whillans, who led the research, said, "We think that giving high-income earners a sense of control makes them want to give more.”
1. What is the finding of the psychological study?| A．Community spirit is more important in getting donation. |
| B．Meeting wealthy people's desire of controlling events can get more donation. |
| C．Wealthy people do not care about their community spirit at all. |
| D．Lower-income people are more likely to control the result of events. |
| A．experts. | B．letters. |
| C．events. | D．alumni. |
| A．Your help can benefit the blind boy. |
| B．Let's take action for a common goal. |
| C．It's necessary to help the blind boy. |
| D．Our community works together to help the blind boy. |
| A．assist the poor to lead a meaningful life |
| B．stress the impact of the rich's controlling desire on donation |
| C．appeal to more people to focus on the poor's feeling |
| D．persuade the rich to donate more to the charity |
【推荐3】We all have stress sometimes. Stress comes from good or bad things that happen to us. For some people, it happens before having to speak in public, while for others, it might be because of a first date. What causes stress for you may not be stressful for someone else.
When you are stressed, you feel as though you are in danger, which speeds up your heart, makes you breathe faster, and gives you a burst (迸发) of energy.
Sometimes stress is useful. It can encourage you to get things done quickly. For example, it helps you finish an important job on time. But if stress happens too often or lasts too long, it can cause diseases and bad feelings. That’s why you need to deal with it immediately when you feel the bad results of stress. The sooner, the better.
The first step to deal with your stress is to try to find out the cause of the stress. It is usually caused by too much work, money worries, or a bad relationship. If you know the cause of your stress, pull yourself out from it or change the situation. Even if you are only able to get away for a few seconds or minutes, the break is important for it can lead to the final disappearance of stress. If you can’t find out the cause of your stress, you need to discuss your situation with your family, friends, or someone who can help. Talking with others can help you find ways to relax and calm down. Listening to music and taking exercise are also of great help.
1. Which of the following is NOT true according to the first three paragraphs?| A．People feel stressed for different reasons. |
| B．Not all stress is bad for our health. |
| C．Stress makes the heart beat faster. |
| D．Stress always makes us feel bad. |
| A．Understand the bad results of stress. |
| B．Look for ways to pull you out of stress. |
| C．Find out what is making you stressed |
| D．Have a break for a short time. |
| A．the cause of stress |
| B．the ways to control stress |
| C．the role of music and exercise in reducing stress |
| D．the importance of discussing your stress with others |
| A．What happens when you are under stress? |
| B．What can you do about stress? |
| C．What are the causes of stress? |
| D．How do you work out your stress level? |
