Tears not only deliver oxygen and nutrients to our eyes and remove waste, but also contain various chemicals originally present in blood, some of which serve as markers of some diseases. That's a primary reason why doctors order blood tests. But it also means that physicians — and maybe in the near future, you — can look for signs of illness by looking at your tears.
Scientists have already found that markers of many serious diseases including cancers are found in tears. And recently, a technology named Tear Exo has been developed for breast cancer screening using tears collected by patients themselves. That could offer a cheaper way of testing and aid in the earlier detection of deadly disease.
But the potential advantages of tears as indicators of health go beyond occasional testing. One tear-based technology is a small contact lens that continuously monitors a patient's biomarkers, significantly improving disease prevention and detection. It has attracted the attention of some major companies such as Novartis, and is currently under development in research laboratories around the world.
More recently, a smart contact lens has been successfully developed for continuous monitoring and treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Such a product probably won't be ready for commercial use in several years. But according to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, about 45 million people in the U.S. already wear contact lens to correct their sight. Switching to a smart version would be simple for them.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential in tears beyond crying. Tears can provide an inexpensive, rapid and easy-to-use choice to monitor health. Given the advantage of tear technology, such technology will almost certainly bring about more effective prevention of diseases—rather than having to deal with the difficulty of treating them.
1. In which way do people benefit from Tear Exo?| A．Preventing breast cancer. | B．Saving time for screening tests. |
| C．Reducing the costs of testing. | D．Detecting some diseases earlier. |
| A．It has a promising future. | B．It can improve patient's sight. |
| C．It is available on the market. | D．It monitors eyesight continuously. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Positive. | C．Negative. | D．Cautious. |
| A．What role do tears play? | B．Tears contain high levels of chemical. |
| C．How can we prevent tears? | D．Your eyes may save your life someday. |
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【推荐1】Robot: your future nurse
Dr. Pekomon, from the Yale university, has established an international team that coached a robot to copy natural human actions.
“I, as a roboticist, believe that robotic assistant and coworkers will surely change the whole market, but that won’t steal our job opportunities.
Dr. Pokemon’s team photographed a person conducting numerous different reaching actions, in a way similar to handing devices to a surgeon. These camera captures were stored into the computer network of a robotic arm, which is vital to controlling movements. Then, a human operator guided the robotic arm in copying the reaching actions that the human subject had initially performed. Although the robotic and human actions can’t be overlapped completely, they were broadly similar.
These results are promising, although further research is necessary to confirm or refine Dr. Pekomon’s conclusions. If robotic arms can indeed imitate human behavior, it would be necessary to build conditions in which humans and robots can operate effectively in high stress environments like operating rooms.
| A．His work indicates that humans and robots can effectively cooperate during high-task events such as surgeries. |
| B．This future may not be what you think in your mind. |
| C．Robots can’t successfully imitate doctors motions in the operating room. |
| D．They will just allow us to decrease workload and achieve better performances in several tasks. |
| E．The nursing assistant for your next trip to the hospital will still be human beings. |
| F．Finally, several humans observed as the robotic arm made numerous motions. |
【推荐2】As we have seen, the focus of medical care in our society has been shifting from curing disease to preventing disease — especially in terms of changing our many unhealthy behaviors, such as poor eating habits, smoking, and failure to exercise. The line of thought involved in this shift can be pursued further. Imagine a person who is about the right weight, but does not eat very nutritious foods, who feels OK but exercises only occasionally, and who has no chest pains or abnormal blood counts, but sleeps a lot and often feels tired. This person is not ill. He may not even be at risk for any particular disease. But we can imagine that this person could be a lot healthier.
The field of medicine has not traditionally distinguished between someone who is merely “not ill” and someone who is in excellent health and pays attention to the body’s special needs. Both types have simply been called “well”. In recent years, however, some health specialists have begun to apply the terms “well” and “wellness” only to those who are actively attempting to maintain and improve their health. People who are well are concerned with nutrition and exercise, and they make a point of monitoring their body’s condition. Most importantly, perhaps, people who are well take active responsibility for all matters related to their health. Even people who have a physical disease or handicap (缺陷) may be “well”. In this new sense, if they make an effort to maintain the best possible health, they can in the face of their physical limitations. “Wellness” may perhaps best be viewed not as a state that people can achieve, but as an ideal that people can struggle for. People who are well are likely to be better able to resist disease and to fight disease when it strikes. And by focusing attention on healthy ways of living, the concept of wellness can have a beneficial influence on the ways in which people face the challenges of daily life.
1. Today’s medical care is placing more stress on ________.| A．keeping people in a healthy physical condition |
| B．monitoring patients’ body functions |
| C．removing people’s bad living habits |
| D．ensuring people’s psychological well-being |
| A．to best satisfy their body’s special needs |
| B．to strive to maintain the best possible health |
| C．to meet the strictest standards of bodily health |
| D．to keep a proper balance between work and leisure |
| A．People who have strong muscles as well as slim figures. |
| B．People who are not presently experiencing any symptoms of disease. |
| C．People who try to be as healthy as possible, regardless of their limitations. |
| D．People who can recover from illness even without seeking medical care. |
【推荐3】Every day on the respiratory (呼吸道) ward at one of Kyrgyzstan’s biggest hospitals, Aidai Temiraly kyzy, a 24-year-old nurse, puts on the music and leads her patients in the Kara Jorgo, the national dance of the central Asian country.
This involves a range of body movements and leaves everyone smiling — but Temiraly kyzy is not doing it for fun. The session is part of a treatment programme offered to people with COPD — a common, preventable and treatable lung condition.
COPD develops from midlife onwards; symptoms include breathlessness, a chronic cough, and tiredness. It is one of the top three causes of death worldwide, and 90% of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Globally, there are 3 million deaths a year from COPD but this number is expected to rise to 5.4 million by 2060.
Treatment for COPD in many countries involves prescribing (开处方) oxygen, inhalers and antibiotics (抗生素), which patients have to buy. In Kyrgyzstan this can cost more than a monthly salary. Sooronbaev, director of the National Centre of Cardiology and his team started experimenting with pulmonary rehabilitation, a physical exercise programme designed in 2016 for people with lung conditions.
Over the years, the programme has expanded and now it is already in place in three hospitals. Added to lectures and patient support groups is a regime (体系) of physical exercise incorporating (融合) elements of volleyball, walking, cycling on exercise bikes and dance.
Dr. Azamat Akylbekov, a pulmonologist in Bishkek, has seen the transformative effect. “I remember one woman who was 63,” he says. “She cried because she had severe shortness of breath, coughed all the time and took a lot of strong antibiotics and inhalers. She was really depressed.”
She was invited to take part in the programme and the results surprised him. “Afterwards, she was like a flower — she smiled and her body language was more active. That sticks in my mind.”
Sooronbaev wants pulmonary rehabilitation to be available throughout the country from this year. Patients who have undergone the programme are being trained to teach others, and Sooronbaev and colleagues are due to speak at medical conferences to inform other healthcare professionals about their progress with the programme.
1. Why does the author mention Temiraly kyzy’s story?| A．To show the hardship of being a nurse. | B．To stress the significance of happiness. |
| C．To call on patients to dance to music. | D．To introduce a new approach to COPD. |
| A．The causes of COPD. | B．The severity of COPD. |
| C．The distribution of COPD cases. | D．The various symptoms of COPD. |
| A．It has proved to be effective. | B．It needs more tests on patients. |
| C．It is a heavy cost to COPD patients. | D．It is widely practiced in Kyrgyzstan. |
| A．The programme will be extended. |
| B．The programme will be difficult to practice. |
| C．The programme is being taught in schools. |
| D．The programme lacks professional support. |
【推荐1】Most of us control our technology using our fingers and hands. But for years, people with disabilities have used their eyes as a way to control digital interfaces (界面). Some tablets give disabled people the ability to use the Internet, communicate and even play games using just their eyes as a mouse.
Now, researchers are experimenting with ways to bring eye-tracking technology to general users. At a conference last week scholars presented two new methods for able-bodied people to take advantage of a user interface that has mostly stayed within the field of assistive technology.
One of the most annoying things about writing is mistakes. Researchers at the university of Auckland and the university of Bath suggest using your gaze (凝视) to fix those little mistakes. First, you look at the wrong word you want to fix. Then you start typing the program called Re-Type, identifies the word you’re trying to change based on your gaze and replaces it with whatever you type. Then you just have to press ENTER to continue. It turns your eyeballs into a mouse. The research team has patented Re-Type and wants to turn it into a product.
It has been found that developers spend about 35% of their time looking through their code while they’re working. When they’re removing mistakes from a computer program, they spend about 50% of their time looking for information—something that slows them down greatly. To solve this problem, Weber and his workmates at media design school in New Zealand and the University of Bath used eye-gaze technology to look into whether using their eyes would save developers’ time. The researchers found that relying on one’s gaze was similar in speed to using a keyboard, though it was slower than using a mouse. However, they also found that when given the choice, most developers chose to use their gaze.
Both studies show that eye tracking could be used to increase productivity and one’s gaze could become a compliment (补充物) to the mouse or even replace it altogether.
1. Why does the author mention “disabled people” in Paragraph 1?| A．To help introduce the topic. |
| B．To call on us to help the disabled. |
| C．To inform us of their different abilities. |
| D．To show their ability to use the technology. |
| A．You needn’t type the word you want. |
| B．It prevents you from making mistakes. |
| C．The patent has benefited general users. |
| D．You can replace the mouse with your gaze. |
| A．Consuming time. | B．Developing programs. |
| C．Removing mistakes. | D．Seeking information. |
| A．Eye tracking will help the disabled. |
| B．Your eyeballs will work as a mouse. |
| C．The technology will free us of mistakes. |
| D．Assistive technology will determine our future. |
【推荐2】If you’re someone who has been worrying about the rise of the robots—hold on there just a second, and let them help you impress your friends with some newfound skills in a foreign language. Using artificial intelligence (AI) to help us learn and improve those skills is not new—some of the online language tools we turn to every day are powered by AI.
But as new technologies flood into the market, now is a great time to take advantage of the tech. And according to experts, these tools aren’t replacing teachers—they’re making their lives easier. One of the things that stops some of us from practicing speaking in a new language is a lack of self-confidence. AI can help—chatbots don’t judge you. Of course, teachers don’t either, but for some people, communicating with a bot may erase that fear of failure or shyness.
The latest chatbots use something called natural language processing that allows them to understand human speech or writing, providing a human-like response right away. While chatbots are extremely useful for learners working individually, teachers can also offer course material and ask an AI system to produce personalized textbooks for groups of students. The AI can also provide feedback (反馈) in seconds—gone are the days of waiting a week for work to be graded.
Past online language tools and games were able to tell you when you were wrong, but they weren’t always able to explain why. Now, not only has that changed, but the explanations are detailed and immediate. But this is not to underestimate the role of the teacher, who can use the technology to help learn more about the strengths and shortcomings of their students and personalize their teaching.
So, if you want to impress your friends with your perfect speech, don’t be afraid of AI. Just think of it as a useful tool for both teachers and language learners, which will give you more time and space to enjoy learning something new!
1. What is the main idea of the article?| A．The dangers of Al-robots. |
| B．The history of online language tools. |
| C．The benefits of AI in language learning. |
| D．The role of teachers in the modern classroom. |
| A．Because bots grade work faster. |
| B．Because bots provide textbooks. |
| C．Because bots are more knowledgeable. |
| D．Because bots may remove the fear of failure or shyness. |
| A．It saves time for teachers. | B．It reduces the cost of education. |
| C．It meets individual students’ needs. | D．It provides detailed lesson plans. |
| A．weakness. | B．awareness. | C．witness. | D．darkness. |
【推荐3】A man paralyzed (瘫痪的) in 2011 has regained the ability to stand and walk with the help of implants (植入物) placed in his brain and spinal cord (脊髓).
The patient, 40-year-old Gert-Jan Oskam of the Netherlands, was told he would never walk again after a biking accident. Now, using the implants, “we’ve read the thoughts of Oskam and translated these thoughts into stimulation of the spinal cord to reestablish voluntary movement,” said Gregoire Courtine, a neuroscientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
The technology “enables natural control over the movements of his legs to stand, walk, and climb stairs,” the study authors write. Oskam can walk more than 330 feet at once and stand for several minutes without using his hands for support. “A few months ago, I was able, for the first time after over ten years, to stand up and have a beer with my friends,” Oskam says. “That was pretty cool.”
The new technique involved placing two implants in Oskam’s brain. When he wants to move, the implants read his brain signals and send that information to sensors on a device on his head. A computer uses these signals to predict how Oskam intends to move, then turns his intentions into commands and sends these commands to another implant in the spinal cord. Finally, the spinal implant stimulates Oskam’s muscles according to his intended movement. Through this “digital bridge,” the researchers re-opened a line of communication between Oskam’s brain and spinal cord.
For now, the device is still at the experimental stage. Next, the researchers would like to be able to make the device’s hardware, which Oskam carries in a backpack, more compact (小巧的). They hope the technology can one day be used to help people regain the capacity for other movements and bodily functions. Harvey Sihota, CEO of the U.K. charity Spinal Research, says the technology still has a long way to go before becoming available to the public, but the results are “very encouraging.”
1. How might Oskam feel after the implants were put in?| A．Cheerful. | B．Secure. | C．Disappointed. | D．Uncomfortable. |
| A．The brain implants. | B．Sensors on his head. |
| C．A computer. | D．The spinal implant. |
| A．Mass-produce it. | B．Test it on a larger sample size. |
| C．Explore its other functions. | D．Improve its hardware. |
| A．Brain implants cure paralyzed man completely |
| B．Paralyzed man walks again using his thoughts |
| C．Digital bridge connects paralyzed men closely |
| D．New technology offers hope for biking accident victims |
【推荐1】Homes are usually warmed with radiators (暖气片). Some homes are warmed by floor heating. Now, a new way of heating is being developed by using the “wallpaper” on your walls. This wallpaper is not decorative. It actually goes under and not over the wall — electrically heats a room. And this type of heating technology heats objects, even people, instead of the air and this helps you feel warmer.
The electric heating panels which are hidden in the wall are connected to the main electrical panels of your home. Each room can be used independently through an app so you do not have to heat unused rooms. It takes around 20 minutes to heat a room.
With rising prices for home heating, the panels seemed like the right way to go. “It makes me happy that I don’t rely on gas.” Kris Bilski, an early user, said. An estimated 23 million homes in the UK are connected to the gas grid (网) but the government wants to phase out gas-fired boilers by 2035. Home heating is responsible for 17 percent of greenhouse gas emissions so removing fossil fuel-based heating will help the environment.
The new electric heating systems are available for private homes and the company is currently testing the new technology in public housing in some cities. The versions being tested can be installed (安装) while people are still living in the apartment so it makes installation a lot easier.
Heating your home with this type of technology does not heat your water so an additional heating system is required but an energy efficient heater can be used.
While the wallpaper is greener, electricity in the UK is very costly so it is not an economic way to heat homes unless there is a renewable energy source like solar panels used. Still, reducing the dependance on fossil fuels will go a long way to green the UK and help the country meet its climate targets.
1. What is special about the wallpaper compared with radiators?| A．It is decorative. | B．It is traditional. |
| C．It is unseen. | D．It is more efficient. |
| A．Stop using. | B．Improve greatly. |
| C．Restore gradually. | D．Finish developing. |
| A．It looks beautiful. | B．It’s easy to be fitted. |
| C．It heats up instantly. | D．It fits all buildings. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Enthusiastic. | D．Disapproving. |
【推荐2】If you ever get the impression that your dog can “tell” whether you look content or annoyed, you may be onto something. Dogs may indeed be able to distinguish between happy and angry human faces, according to a new study.
Researchers trained a group of 11 dogs to distinguish between images (图像) of the same person making either a happy or an angry face. During the training stage, each dog was shown only the upper half or the lower half of the person’s face. The researchers then tested the dogs’ ability to distinguish between human facial expressions by showing them the other half of the person’s face on images totally different from the ones used in training. The researchers found that the dogs were able to pick the angry or happy face by touching a picture of it with their noses more often than one would expect by random chance.
The study showed the animals had figured out how to apply what they learned about human faces during training to new faces in the testing stage. “We can rule out that the dogs simply distinguish between the pictures based on a simple cue, such as the sight of teeth,” said study author Corsin Muller. “Instead, our results suggest that the successful dogs realized that a smiling mouth means the same thing as smiling eyes, and the same rule applies to an angry mouth having the same meaning as angry eyes.”
“With our study, we think we can now confidently conclude that at least some dogs can distinguish human facial expressions,” Muller told Live Science.
At this point, it is not clear why dogs seem to be equipped with the ability to recognize different facial expressions in humans. “To us, the most likely explanation appears to be that the basis lies in their living with humans, which gives them a lot of exposure to human facial expressions, and this exposure has provided them with many chances to learn to distinguish between them,” Muller said.
1. The new study focused on whether dogs can_________.| A．distinguish shapes | B．make sense of human faces |
| C．feel happy or angry | D．communicate with each other |
| A．Researchers tested the dogs in random order. |
| B．Diverse methods were adopted during training. |
| C．Pictures used in the two stages were different |
| D．The dogs were photographed before the lest. |
| A．A suggestion for future studies. | B．A possible reason for the study findings. |
| C．A major limitation of the study | D．An explanation of the research method. |
【推荐3】You’ve probably heard that brick-and-mortar retail (实体零售) is in trouble. Even industry giants are closing hundreds of stores. Given retail’s gradual change to mobile and e-commerce (电子商务), you may be wondering, “What will retail look like in the future?” Nobody knows. But here are a few things you can expect to see based on current technology.
Ultrafast delivery is coming. Today, the normal practice is two-day delivery. But if you’ve been paying attention, you know that’s changing. In fact, a surprisingly high 25% of consumers said that they would abandon their orders if one-day delivery wasn’t available. Of course, that’s just the beginning. Two-hour delivery is coming in the foreseeable future, and Amazon has already been trying 30-minute delivery.
Your kitchen will resupply itself. You won’t have to worry about running out of essentials like coffee, pet food or snacks because your containers will sense stock (库存) levels and replace those items without you having to lift a finger. No more waking up to find your coffee store is empty or last-minute trips to the grocery store because you forgot to buy pet food.
Know exactly what’s in stock and where. Have you ever gone to a store hoping to buy something, only to learn that they were out of stock? A new feature from Google Home allows people to ask Google Assistants to find in-stock products at the closest store. For example: “Google, where can I find the Nintendo Switch console?” An assistant will tell you how many stores have it right then and how close they are. Of course, it isn’t currently available for all stores in all locations, but you can already see a future when it has become standard.
Convenience, experience, and options—retail will take on a new look.
1. How does the author develop the passage?| A．By asking and answering. |
| B．By clarifying and describing. |
| C．By analyzing and commenting. |
| D．By comparing and concluding. |
| A．Consumers can’t get their orders in one day now. |
| B．It is possible to deliver goods within two hours in the future. |
| C．The delivery will be in two days in the future. |
| D．Superfast delivery has widely been used now. |
| A．Retail will disappear gradually. |
| B．Industrial giants will rule the whole retail trade. |
| C．Shopping will be more convenient and effective. |
| D．People will ask Google Assistants to purchase goods. |
| A．What will retail be like in the future? |
| B．How will new technology change the world? |
| C．How will we run the retail trade in the future? |
| D．What benefits will high-tech bring in the future? |
