One in three UK consumers throw away food just because it reaches the use-by date (使用期限), but 60% of the food we throw away each year is safe to eat.
In order to help detect spoilage (变质) and reduce food waste for supermarkets and consumers, researchers have developed spoilage sensors for meat and fish packaging. The researchers say the sensors could also finally replace the use-by date — a widely used indicator of being fresh and eatable.
The sensors cost two US cents each to make. Known as “paper-based electrical gas sensors (PEGS)”, they detect spoilage gases in meat and fish products. The information provided by the electronic nose is received by a smartphone, and then you can know whether the food is fresh and safe to eat.
The researchers made the sensors by printing carbon electrodes (电极) onto a special type of paper. The materials are eco-friendly and harmless, so they don’t damage the environment and are safe to use in food packaging. The sensors, combined with a tiny electronic system, then inform nearby mobile devices, which identify and understand the data about spoilage gases.
Lead author Dr. Firat Guder of Imperial’s Department of Bioengineering said, “Although they’re designed to keep us safe, use-by dates can lead to eatable food being thrown away. They don’t always reflect its actual freshness. In fact, people often get sick from food-borne diseases due to poor storage, even when an item is within its use-by date. These sensors are cheap enough, so we hope to see supermarkets using them within three years. Our goal is to use PEGS in food packaging to reduce unnecessary food waste.”
1. What is the purpose of PEGS?| A．To test the freshness of food. | B．To make food taste better. |
| C．To help supermarkets store food. | D．To keep the meat and fish fresh. |
| A．They are made of special paper. | B．They don’t produce pollution. |
| C．They are built in mobile devices. | D．They directly show people information. |
| A．They are not completely reliable. |
| B．They determine the freshness of food. |
| C．They can help reduce food waste. |
| D．They help prevent food-borne diseases. |
| A．The process of developing spoilage sensors. |
| B．A new device in packaging to reduce food waste. |
| C．The application of spoilage sensors in food processing. |
| D．Use-by dates’ influence on supermarkets and consumers. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Which of these ingredients have you cooked with or eaten, wild rice, rabbits or roses? Actually, they were part of Native American cuisine in the past. Sean Sherman is a chef from the Oglala Lakota tribe, who is attempting something remarkable. Through his company and his restaurant, Sherman is bringing these ingredients back into the public eye.
Sean Sherman grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. As a reservation kid, Sherman usually didn’t have access to high-quality or tasty food. His family relied on the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which meant canned goods, tasteless food, and powdered milk. After high school, Sherman started working for the Forest Service. As part of his job, he had to learn the names of the plants, which raised his curiosity about indigenous (本土的) plants and foods.
Sherman started doing lots of research on his own, and he started his company in 2014. A few years later, Sherman opened his restaurant Owamni, where he showed native ingredients and flavors. The most significant feature of the restaurant is the native ingredients, none of which is related to European civilizations.
The vibe in the restaurant is totally unique as well. There, a lot of people are really struck by it, because it’s not typical to be able to go someplace and see their native foods on the menu, see native people cooking the food and listen to native music. Therefore, it’s a wholly unique experience and it’s something that’s really special.
Native cuisine allows native people to explore their histories and cultures. It supports local businesses and comes with a host of health benefits. “We should have native restaurants in every city to show the diversity and flavors of all the different tribes across North America and thus have a future where native cuisine is more widespread, and ingredients are more familiar and well known,” Sherman explains.
1. When did Sean Sherman become interested in native foods?| A．As he was a reservation kid. |
| B．Before he entered high school. |
| C．When he worked as a chef in a restaurant. |
| D．When he was working in the forest department. |
| A．The ingredients used are native. |
| B．Native music is played all the time. |
| C．Diverse ingredients are combined in each dish. |
| D．It is a reflection of modern native civilization. |
| A．Service. | B．Decoration. | C．Scenery. | D．Atmosphere. |
| A．To boost the profits of local businesses. |
| B．To help native people to honor their history. |
| C．To present and promote the native cuisine. |
| D．To serve foods with various health benefits. |
【推荐2】Bred to be sweeter, today’s cherries, bananas and apples taste different than they used to but not necessarily better. Among fruit farmers, the word “quality” is now routinely used as a standard for “high in sugar”, though firmness, color and size are also considerations. In a recent study about ways to enhance the sweetness of fruit using “molecular (分子的) approaches”, a group of plant scientists wrote that, in general, the sugar content of many fruits are now higher than before owing to continuous selection and breeding. Modern apple varieties, the scientists stressed, were on average sweeter than older ones.
The sweetness of fruit depends not just on how it is bred but also on growing conditions, yield and harvest. The lead researcher, Sugiura, said, “If you could taste an apple harvested 30 years ago, you would feel the difference.” He believed that modern apples are picked so early that even if they are bred for sweetness, they often don’t develop their full character. The fragrance never develops in fruit that is harvested too early.
Jim Cooper, an apple farmer in England, is regretful to admit the fact that many people will never taste the “strawberry hint” in a really ripe Pearmain, a type of heritage apple. In a way, the rise of consistently sweeter fruit in our lifetimes has been a victory of plant breeding. After all, it’s a rare person who would seek out bitter grapes if they could have sweet ones instead.
But the sweetness of modern fruit is not without its problems, especially for people with diabetes (糖尿病), who have to reduce their intake of higher-sugar fruits. Fruit that is bred sweeter also tends to be lower in the chemicals that make it healthy. Considering health, maybe the real problem with modern fruit is that it has become yet another sweet thing in a world with sugar. Even grapefruits, which used to be quite bitter, are sometimes now as sweet as oranges. If you’ve never tasted a sour cherry, how can you fully appreciate a sweet one?
1. In what aspect is many fruits different from before?| A．Bright color. | B．Soft skin. | C．Sugar content. | D．High yield. |
| A．They are bred too early. | B．They are losing a good flavor. |
| C．They taste so sweet. | D．They need a higher yield. |
| A．Critical. | B．Ambiguous. | C．Favorable. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．The sweetness of fruits will cause health issues. |
| B．It’s a wise choice to breed fruits for sweetness. |
| C．Breeding sweet fruits improves the quality of fruits. |
| D．Some fruits like grapes and cherries taste the same. |
【推荐3】In late June, the US government agreed to allow two companies Upside Foods and Good Mo. to sell chicken meat that has been grown in a lab. That makes the US the second country to approve (批准) lab-grown chicken.
Unlike normal chicken meat, lab-grown meat isn’t created by raising and killing chickens. Instead, it’s a meat product developed from animal cells (细胞) that are grown in a lab.
The first cells come from live animals. Scientists have known for a long time how to keep living cells alive and grow them in a lab. In this case, they choose cells that can grow quickly and will have good taste. The cells are grown inside a “cultivation (培植) room”, where they’re fed with everything they need to grow. In a few weeks, the cells grow into sheets of meat. The companies then form this meat into more familiar shapes that can be cooked and sold
The lab-grown meat is better for the environment than meat from animals. Raising animals for food uses plenty of land and water. It also creates a lot of pollution. Lab-grown meat can also help out in other ways. For one thing, raising animals for food is very hard on animals. They are often kept in small spaces, and are treated badly.
Since lab-grown meat is made from animal cells, it is very hard to tell it apart from actual meat. It looks, smells, and tastes like chicken. However, many people aren’t too interested in lab-grown meat. Lots of people believe that it just sounds strange.
Right now, the lab-grown meat is far more expensive than meat from animals. Now that the companies have been approved, they have the huge challenge of figuring out how to make much more meat far more cheaply. The two companies say the lab-grown meat will mainly be served in high-end restaurants. It will probably be a long time before you’ll be able to buy lab-grown chicken in stores
1. What makes the development of lab-grown meat possible?| A．Scientists can grow and feed living cells in a lab. | B．Customers prefer meat grown from animal cells. |
| C．Researchers provide better food for animals. | D．Animals are much easier to be raised indoors. |
| A．It’s helpful to cut costs. | B．It creates lots of pollution. |
| C．It causes animals to suffer. | D．It’s environment-friendly. |
| A．They fail to collect enough animal cells. | B．It’s difficult to produce delicious meat. |
| C．Customers dislike the lab-grown meat. | D．It takes a long time to get final approval. |
| A．Actual Meat Still Remains People’s First Choice | B．Scientists Manage to Turn Cells into Tasty Meat |
| C．The US Approved Meat Grown from Animal Cells | D． Lab-grown Chicken Will be on the Market Soon |
【推荐1】A solar-powered car that can be charged as it runs is being tested in Germany.
Munich-based manufacturer（制造商）Sono Motors has built the new type, named Sion, and will likely help the European powerhouse hit its national target of 1 million electric cars on the road by 2020.
Sono Motors has solar cells fixed into Sion’s bodywork, with a total of 330 solar cells built into the roof, bonnet and sides of the vehicle. These enable the vehicle’s battery to be charged when sunlight is hitting the solar cells, whether it is on the road，or parked in the sunny spot in a car park.
The solar-powered vehicle is set to be launched in Germany in 2019.
Sono Motors wants Sion to be universal and allows the car to be charged using solar energy as well as conventional outlets（电源插座）, so car owners aren’t left on cloudy days.
The firm has made a 2019 date for mass production，which will be undertaken by a European manufacturer. Some 6,500 people have already placed orders for the electric vehicle. Prices for Sion tend to start from € 16,000 next year. The all-electric vehicle will offer a range of around 250 km before the battery runs out completely and it needs recharging either by solar power or using a wall plug, the company said.
Sion was designed originally as an environmentally conscious car，but will also include a number of features designed around comfort to help it compete with other modern vehicles.
“We have a seat heater, air conditioning, and a large entertainment system where I can also connect my phone, which means I really have a full vehicle,” Laurin Hahn, co-founder of the company told Reuters.
1. From the third paragraph we can know that ______.| A．the car is popular on the road |
| B．the car has a very large battery |
| C．there are 330 solar cells on the car |
| D．where there is sunlight, Sion can be charged |
| A．design | B．release |
| C．improve | D．recall |
| A．Because it is made from the rainproof material. |
| B．Because it can be charged by clouds on cloudy days. |
| C．Because it can store a great deal of energy. |
| D．Because it can be charged by conventional power outlets. |
| A．Modern, powerful and popular. |
| B．Environmental, comfortable and competitive. |
| C．Environmental, cheap and simple. |
| D．Expensive, fashionable and energy-saving. |
【推荐2】Researchers are placing robotic dogs in the homes of lonely old people to determine whether they can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck, an expert in the human-animal relationship, and Nancy Edwards, a professor of nursing, are leading the animal-assisted study concerning the influence of robotic dogs on old people’s depression, physical activity, and life satisfaction. “No one will argue that an older person is better off being more active, challenged, or stimulated (刺激), ”Edwards points out. “The problem is how we promote that, especially for those without friends or help. A robotic dog could be a solution.”
In the study, the robotic dogs, called AIBO, are placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone. Before placing AIBO in the home, researchers will collect data for six weeks. These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activities before and after AIBO being placed. Then, the researchers will study the data to determine if it has inspired any changes in the life of its owner.
“I talk to it all the time, and it responds (回应) to my voice,” says a seventy-year-old lady. “When I’m watching TV, it’ll stay in my arms until it wants to go down. It has a mind of its own.”
The AIBOs respond to certain orders. The researchers say they have some advantages over live dogs, especially for old people. Often the elderly are disabled and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it. A robotic dog removes exercise and feeding concerns.
“At the beginning, it was believed that no one would relate to the robotic dog because it is metal and not furry,” Beck says. “But it’s amazing how quickly we have given up that belief.”
“Hopefully, down the road, these robotic pets could become a more valuable health helper. They will record their masters’ blood pressure, oxygen levels, or heart rhythms. AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate older people’s minds.”
1. What is the purpose of Beck and Edwards’ study?| A．To understand the human-animal relationship. |
| B．To find the causes of old people’s loneliness. |
| C．To make lonely old people’s life better. |
| D．To promote the animal-assisted research. |
| A．To note the activities of AIBOs. | B．To keep AIBOs at home for 12 weeks. |
| C．To analyze the collected information. | D．To record their feelings and activities. |
| A．AIBOs can watch TV with their owners. | B．AIBOs can help the disabled people. |
| C．AIBOs respond to all the human orders. | D．AIBOs are easier to keep at home. |
| A．They may keep old people’s minds active. | B．They may cure certain diseases. |
| C．They may change people’s beliefs. | D．They may look more like real dogs. |
【推荐3】The challenge of storing energy year-round has been one of the biggest obstacles to the widespread adoption of green power. However, Polar Night Energy has developed the world’s first fully functional commercial sand battery, which could offer a low-cost, eco-friendly solution to the storage problem. It is the first commercial sand battery in the world, and it was built in Kankaanpaa, Finland in 2022.
Dr. Natalia Schiff, expert of Polar Night Energy, says that sand battery works by heating sand up to high temperatures (at around 500℃) using renewable energy, such as solar or wind power. The hot sand can then be stored for months or even years, and then discharged to provide heat or electricity when needed.
The Polar Night sand battery has a capacity of8 megawatt hours (MWh) of thermal (热量的) energy, and it can discharge about 200 kilowatts (kW)of power. This means that it can provide heat for about 4,000 homes for a day, or it can generate enough electricity to power about 100 homes for a day.
Sand battery is relatively inexpensive to build, and it is compatible (兼容的) with a wide range of renewable energy sources. It also can be built in larger sizes to store more energy, which is a promising new technology for storing renewable energy.
Sand batteries could be a valuable tool to combat climate change. They could help to make renewable energy more reliable and available, which would reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. They could also be used to provide heat in areas that are not connected to the electricity.
As the world transitions to a clean energy future, sand batteries could play an important role in helping to balance the energy and ensuring that we have a reliable source of energy when we need it.
1. What is the characteristic of sand battery?| A．Costly and demanding. | B．Cheap and clean. |
| C．Costly and imaginary. | D．Cheap but polluting. |
| A．Working model of sand battery. |
| B．Statistical method of the research. |
| C．Theoretical basis of making batteries. |
| D．Historical analysis of renewable energy. |
| A．Comfort. | B．Commit. | C．Fight for. | D．Fight against. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Dismissive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Favorable. |
【推荐1】When it’s getting chilly in the mornings, fortunately, humans can throw on a warm jacket or coat when it gets cold. But have you ever wondered how animals make do when the seasons change?
Animals pretty much have three options when it comes to the wintertime. They can either leave, known as migration. They can do some sort of hibernation. Or they can stay and be active all year long. Of course, for deer and other mammals that use the third option, a change of wardrobe is in order.
Many animals change color when winter comes. Snowshoe hares and Arctic foxes are examples of creatures that are gray or brown during the summer but switch to stark-white colors when the temperature drops. The new look helps them hide from predators as well as the prey that they hunt.
But you don’t have to go beyond the Arctic Circle to witness such animal coat changes. White-tailed deer are reddish-brown in the summertime but when the days start getting shorter, their bodies switch to a light-gray in preparation for winter. While this helps the animals blend in with their changing backgrounds, there’s a much more important shift taking place.
Deer actually have two layers of fur. The top coat is full of what scientists call “guard hairs”, which are longer and sometimes hollow. But beneath those, there’s a much thicker layer of underfur. That’s really what gives a deer’s coat its warm-keeping value. That underfur traps a layer of air, and that air gets warmed by the body. And that’s what keeps the deer warm in the wintertime.
When the world starts warming up again in the spring, the deer shed all their underfur, because keeping it would make them run the risk of overheating — which can be just as dangerous as freezing to death. A deer’s summer coat does not have underfur, so there’s a lot of airflow, which is basically deer air conditioning.
1. Why do some animals change colors with the seasons?| A．To hide their tracks. | B．To cover their presence. |
| C．To adapt to the lower temperature. | D．To contrast with their backgrounds. |
| A．By guarding the top skin temperature. | B．By stopping the airflow in their fur. |
| C．By storing much energy and nutrition. | D．By adding the thickness of the top fur. |
| A．They lose their underfur. | B．They feel overheated easily. |
| C．They migrate out of Arctic Circle. | D．Their gray fur help them stay safe. |
| A．The habits’ of Arctic animals. |
| B．Animals’ strange behaviors in winter. |
| C．Animals’ adjustment to season change. |
| D．The warmth-keeping function of animal fur. |
【推荐2】It’s been 150 years this summer since building work was completed on the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London. When it was completed, Tsar Nicholas I, the ruler of Russia, called it “a dream in stone”.
Important buildings have been built on this site for more than I, 000 years. In the early 8th century, a church was built that became known as the West Minster. In the l1th century it was the location of a royal residence (王室宅邸). This was the first Palace of Westminster. The first official Parliament met there in 1295. Work on the palace continued until 1834, when the building was destroyed by fire.
In 1835, the architect Charles Barry was picked to design the Parliament building in a style known as “Gothic Revival”. Another architect, Augustus Pugin, helped with the inner part. The work overran and the costs rose to three times more than planned. According to one historian it cost £2.3 million which in today’s money is more than £4 billion. It finally reopened in 1870.
The Houses of Parliament are once again considered to be a serious fire risk. Small fires broke out 40 times between 2008 and 2012 and a fire safety team has to be on site. A report in 2016 said that maintaining (维修) the building was like “trying to fill a bathtub with a thimble (顶针) while the water is flowing out of the plughole (排水孔) at the other end”. In 2018, Parliament held discussions over its restoration and decided that its members would have to move out of the building during its refurbishment (翻新).
The plan is for everyone to move out by 2025 when the restoration will begin. It is said that it will cost around £4 billion and be completed by the early 2030s. The plans include taking away all fire risks, restoring the stonework and repairing around 4,000 windows.
1. What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?| A．The site of the Parliament building is historic. |
| B．Building the Parliament building took a long time. |
| C．The West Minster was a popular place for tourists. |
| D．People had different reasons to build a palace in Westminster. |
| A．It was completed on time. |
| B．It cost less than expected. |
| C．It was designed by Augustus Pugin alone. |
| D．It was being rebuilt for more than 30 years. |
| A．No safety team. | B．A shortage of money. |
| C．A great fire risk. | D．No restoration workers. |
| A．By analyzing causes. | B．By following time order. |
| C．By giving descriptions. | D．By making comparisons. |
【推荐3】Nao, the first robot able to show feelings, has been created by a European research team. When Nao is sad, he lowers his head and looks down. When he’s happy, he raises his arms for a hug. Nothing is out of the ordinary, except that Nao is a robot.
“We’re modeling the first years of life,” says Lola Canamero, a computer scientist at the University of Hertforshire. “The feelings are shown through physical gestures and body movements rather than facial or verbal(言语的) expressions.”
In the future, says the scientist, robots are likely to act as companions, provide support for old people, and help people shop online. In such uses, the display of feeling will be important in making the interactions(交往) more natural and comfortable.
Nao has been programmed to copy the emotional skills of a one-year-old child. It can memorize faces, and knows the basic rules of good and bad. Based on these it can decide how to react to what is going on. The actions going with each feeling are pre-programmed, but Nao decides for itself when to display them.
Nao is also programmed to have different personalities. A more independent robot is less likely to call for help when exploring a room, while a more fearful robot will show distress if it finds something in the room that may be harmful.
Canamero’s team will take its emotional programming forward into medical applications. Part of the project will look at ways to use robots in hospitals to support the roles of doctors, nurses and parents. Children might find that a small, friendly-looking robot that can understand their emotional states makes them less anxious. “We want to explore different roles—the robots will help the children to understand their treatment and explain what they have to do. We want to help the children to control their anxiety.” she says.
1. According to the text, Nao_______.| A．displays different feelings in different situations |
| B．is able to imitate adult emotional displays |
| C．can remember people’s feelings |
| D．learns emotions from facial expressions |
| A．Scientists worked on facial and spoken expressions to create Nao’s emotions. |
| B．The time when Nao displays feelings has been pre-programmed. |
| C．Emotional programming is used in medicine production. |
| D．Robots with emotional skills can help children feel more comfortable. |
| A．Courage. | B．Anxiety. |
| C．Anger. | D．Satisfaction. |
| A．The relationship between humans and robots. |
| B．The roles that robots play in different fields. |
| C．The first robot able to show feelings. |
| D．The long history of robots. |
