Scientists say they have developed a system that uses machine learning to predict when and where lightning will strike. Researchers report the system is able to predict lightning strikes up to 30 minutes before they happen within a 30-kilometre radius.
Lightning is a strong burst of electricity in the atmosphere. Since it carries extremely powerful electric charge, it can be destructive and deadly. European researchers have estimated that between 6, 000 and 24, 000 people are killed by lightning worldwide each year. For this reason, climate scientists have long sought to develop methods of predicting lightning.
The system tested in the experiments used a combination of data from weather stations and machine learning methods. The researchers developed a prediction model that was trained to recognise weather conditions that were likely to cause lightning.
The model was created with the data collected over a 12-year period from 12 Swiss weather stations in cities and mountain areas. The data, related to four main surface conditions: air pressure, air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed, was placed into a unique machine learning algorithm (算法) , which compared it to the records of lightning strikes. Researchers say the algorithm was then able to learn the conditions under which lightning would happen.
The researchers tested the system several times. They found that the system made predictions that proved correct almost 80 percent of the time. “It can now be used anywhere,” the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology said in a statement.
The researchers plan to keep developing the technology in partnership with a European effort that aims to create a lightning protection programme. The effort is called the European Laser Lightning Rod project. Scientists working on the project are experimenting with the laser technology that could someday control lightning activity, transferring lightning charge from clouds to the ground. They hope that such technology can one day be used as protection against lightning strikes. Possible uses could be at stations, airports or places where crowds of people gather.
1. Why was the system developed?| A．To show the power of lightning. |
| B．To meet kids’ curiosity about lightning. |
| C．To protect people from lightning. |
| D．To keep track of deaths caused by lightning strikes. |
| A．It adopted a different machine learning algorithm. |
| B．It used an effective method of collecting data. |
| C．It was based on a number of samples worldwide. |
| D．It required the low cost of predicting lightning. |
| A．Generate electricity with lightning. | B．Transfer energy from lightning. |
| C．Monitor lightning activity. | D．Prevent the occurrence of lightning. |
| A．A Theory of Employing Lightning | B．A Model of Creating Lightning |
| C．A System of Controlling Lightning | D．A Method of Forecasting Lightning |
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【推荐1】Languages are important. But how they appeared is largely mystery（谜）. It is interesting to see how deaf people can create novel sign languages immediately. Observations have shown that when deaf strangers are brought together in a community, they come up with their own sign language in a considerably short amount of time. However, how exactly this happened has not been recorded, as Manuel Bohn describes, “We know relatively little about how social interaction becomes language. This is where our new study comes in.”
In a series of studies, researchers attempted to recreate exactly this process. But there was a problem: how to make children communicate with each other without them returning to talking to each other? The solution came up in Skype conversations between the two researchers from Germany and their colleague Michael Tomasello in the US. In the study, the children were invited to stay in two different rooms and a Skype connection was established between them. After a brief familiarization with the set-up, the researchers turned off the sound and watched as the children found new ways of communicating that go beyond spoken language.
The childrens' task was to describe an image with different meanings in coordination（协调）game. With concrete things like fork, children quickly found solution by copying the action（e. g. eating） in a gesture. But the researchers repeatedly challenged the children with new, more abstract pictures. In the course of the study, the images to be described became more and more complex, which was also reflected in the gestures that the children produced. In order to communicate, for example, an interaction between two animals, children invented separate gestures for actors and actions and began to combine them.
The studies show that communication cannot be reduced to words alone. When there is no way to use conventional spoken language, people find other ways to get their messages across. This phenomenon forms the basis for the development of new languages.
1. What is basically unknown to us?| A．The origin of languages. | B．Normal people's interaction. |
| C．When sign languages are used. | D．The importance of languages. |
| A．To make the children think in quiet environment. |
| B．To evaluate the children's potential modeling skills. |
| C．To let the children imagine how the deaf communicate. |
| D．To know how the children communicate without speaking. |
| A．Draw pictures of some objects. | B．Invent a couple of new words. |
| C．Describe something in their way. | D．Express their own true feelings. |
| A．A biology textbook. | B．A science magazine. |
| C．A science fiction book. | D．A travel brochure. |
【推荐2】About tem men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier, only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman.
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shades(阴影) of green. Sometimes a person can’t tell the difference between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man sees everything in shades of green--a strange world indeed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones(圆锥细胞)”. These help us see in a bright day and tell the differences between colors. There are also millions of “rods(棒条体)”, but these are used for seeing when it is nearly dark. They show us shape, but not color. Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes like blue but do not like yellow. A red light will not attract insects but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible(看不见的) colors around us.
1. The passage is mainly about .| A．color and its surprising effects on drivers |
| B．women being luckier than man because fewer of them are color blind |
| C．color blindness and how our eyes tell different colors and shapes |
| D．danger caused by color blindness |
| A．see in a weak light | B．tell different colors |
| C．tell different shapes | D．tell orange from yellow |
| A．There are fewer color blind women |
| B．Women are more careful |
| C．Women are fonder of driving than men |
| D．Women are weaker but quicker in thinking |
| A．None of them can see deep red but all can tell blue from green |
| B．Not all of them have the same problem in recognizing color |
| C．None of them can tell blue from green but all can see deep red |
| D．All of them are lucky enough to see everything in shades of green |
【推荐3】A dragonfly barely an inch and a half long appears to be animal world’s most productive long distance traveler - flying thousands of miles over oceans as it migrates from continent to continent - according to a newly published research.
Biologists who led the study say the evidence is in the genes. They found that populations of this dragonfly, called Pantala flavescens, in Texas, eastern Canada, Japan, Korea, India, and South America, have genes so similar that there is only one likely explanation. Apparently — somehow — these insects are traveling distances that are extraordinarily long for their small size, breeding (繁殖) with each other, and creating a common worldwide gene pool.
But how do insects from different continents manage to meet and hook up? Ware says it appears to be the way their bodies have evolved. “These dragonflies have adaptations such as increased surface areas on their wings that enable them to use the wind to carry them.”
Dragonflies, in fact, have already been observed crossing the Indian Ocean from Asia to Africa. “They are following the weather,” says Daniel Troast, who analyzed the DNA samples in Ware’s lab. “They’re going from India where it’s dry season to Africa where it’s wet season, and apparently they do it once a year.”
Wetness is a must for Pantala to reproduce, and that, says Ware, is why these insects would be driven to even attempt such a dangerous trip, which she calls a “kind of suicide.” The species depends on it. While many will die on the route, as long as enough make it, the species survives.
For the moment, the details of this extraordinary insect travel are an educated best guess. Much more work is needed to bring many loose ends together. Ware and Troast hope that scientists can work on plotting those routes.
1. What proves Pantala flavescens are the world’s longest-distance flyers?| A．Scientists have tracked the dragonfly across the world. |
| B．There are many Pantala flavescens in various continents. |
| C．The same dragonfly was found both in Asia and America. |
| D．Pantala flavescens in different continents have similar genes. |
| A．Their special body shape. |
| B．Their ability to use wind. |
| C．Their small and light body. |
| D．Their large and strong wings. |
| A．Damp weather. | B．Enough sunshine. |
| C．Dry environment. | D．Warm nests. |
| A．The weather. | B．The insect. |
| C．The wind. | D．The trip. |
【推荐1】Scientists claim to have developed a revolutionary new giant 3D concrete printer that can build a 2,500-square-foot house in just 24 hours.
The 3D printer, developed by Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis from the University of Southern California, could be used to build a whole house, layer by layer, in a single day.
"It is basically scaling up 3D printing to the scale of building," said Khoshnevis.
The giant robot replaces construction workers with a nozzle (喷嘴), which can quickly build a home based on a computer pattern, MSN News reported.
Contour Crafting, as it is named, is a layered fabrication (构造) technology. Using this process, a single house or a colony of houses, each with possibly a different design, may be constructed in a single run, embedded (嵌入) in each house all the wires and pipes for electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning.
The potential applications of this technology are far-reaching including in emergency, low-income, and commercial housing.
"Our research also addresses the application of Contour Crafting in building habitats on other planets. Contour Crafting will most probably be one of the very few feasible approaches for building structures on other planets, such as the Moon and Mars, which are being targeted for human habitation before the end of the new century," researchers said on the project website.
The technology may potentially reduce energy use and emissions. And the main advantages of the Contour Crafting process over existing technologies are the superior surface finish that is realized and the greatly increased speed of construction.
1. Professor Khoshnevis has recently developed a 3D printer that can ________.| A．build a 2500-square-foot house in a single day |
| B．construct a skyscraper, layer by layer |
| C．design a group of houses automatically |
| D．assist construction workers in their work |
| A．a nozzle | B．a computer pattern | C．a robot | D．an air-conditioner |
| A．emergency vehicles | B．low-income housing |
| C．commercial centers | D．space stations on other planets |
| A．It creates more jobs. | B．It is less time-consuming. |
| C．It saves the building cost. | D．It emits no carbon dioxide. |
【推荐2】A recent study has showed that a wearable soft robot, named Reliebo, can improve the experience of patients in medical treatments, such as injections (注射) and other unpleasant treatments. The goal of the robot is to help ease pain and defend people against anxiety. The study, led by researchers at the University of Tsukuba, was inspired in part by the numerous needles people had to put up with while being vaccinated. Some people felt an intense di like for these needs, which led to fewer people getting vaccinated.
The robot is soft and covered in fur. It contains small airbags internally that inflate(膨胀) in response to hand movement. Participants in the study who wore the robot while subjected to a medium heat stimulation, experienced less pain in the test than those who did not wear the robot.
The research team checked the effectiveness of the wearable robot while being handled by participants under certain conditions, based on the clenching (紧握) of the hand. The team placed painful heat stimulation on the other arm that was not holding the robot. They then measured cortisol (皮质醇) levels from the participants’ saliva samples, suggesting levels of stress hormones. The pain felt by the patients was given specific ratings and was also recorded using an assessment table. The people in the study were given a survey test to assess their fear of injections before and after the experiment with the wearable robot was completed.
The study proved that a wearable-informed robot may serve as a prospective tool to ease the experience of patients who were receiving injections. The research team hopes to use this study to advance the robot for use during painful situations, such as getting medical shots or similar conditions.
1. What is the function of the robot?| A．To make doctors inject accurately. | B．To prevent patients from getting il. |
| C．To help relieve people’s pain from injections. | D．To assess the effects of vaccines. |
| A．The reasons for doing the experiment on the robot. |
| B．The proposals of reducing people’s fear of injections. |
| C．The contributions of the new robot in the medical field. |
| D．The methods of testing the effectiveness of the robot. |
| A．Useless. | B．Promising. | C．Narrow. | D．Disgusting. |
| A．A news report. | B．A music website. | C．A sports magazine. | D．A science fiction. |
【推荐3】How fit are your teeth? Are you lazy about brushing them? Never fear: An inventor is on the case. An electric toothbrush senses how long and how well you brush and it lets you track your performance on your phone.
The Kolibree toothbrush was exhibited at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. It senses how it is moved and can send the information to an Android phone or iPhone via a Bluetooth wireless connection.
The toothbrush will be able to teach you to brush right (don’t forget the insides of the teeth!) and make sure you’re brushing long enough. “It’s kind of like having a dentist actually watch your brushing on a day-to-day basis,” says Thomas Serval, the French inventor.
The toothbrush will also be able to talk to other applications on your phone, so developers could, for example, create a game controlled by your toothbrush. You could score points for beating monsters among your teeth. “We try to make it smart and fun,” Serval says.
Serval says he was inspired by his experience as a father. He would come home from work and ask his kids if they had brushed their teeth. They said “yes,” but Serval would find their toothbrush heads dry. He decided he needed a brush that really told him how well his children brushed.
The company says the Kolibree will go on sale this summer, from $99 to $199, and the U. S. is the first target market.
1. What’s new about the new toothbrushes?| A．It can move by itself. | B．It can track your performance. |
| C．It senses how long and how well you brush. | D．It can make you brush your teeth every day. |
| A．The introduction of the new special toothbrushes. | B．How the toothbrush teaches you to brush right. |
| C．What the toothbrush can do on your phone. | D．How a dentist watches your brushing. |
| A．Because he thinks it smart and fun. |
| B．Because he needed to keep his teeth healthy. |
| C．Because he found his children’s teeth brushes quite dry. |
| D．Because he wanted to know how well his children brushed. |
| A．A New Electric Toothbrush is on Sale |
| B．A Father Invented a New Electric Toothbrush |
| C．A New Electric Toothbrush is Going onto the Market |
| D．A New Electric Toothbrush Makes Your Teeth Healthy |
Dr. Ian Stephen said, “Most people think that the best way to improve their skin color is to get a suntan（棕褐色）. But our research shows that eating lots of fruit and vegetables is actually more effective.”
The team first assessed the skin color of people in relation to their diet. Those who ate more fruit and vegetables a day were found to have a more golden, yellow skin color. Those with a healthy glow had a higher presence of carotenoids（类胡萝卜素）, which play a role in the immune system. Carotenoids are commonly found in fruit and vegetables such an yellow and red peppers, spinach, apricots and melons.
The team then studied the relation between skin tone and attractiveness. They used specialist software to operate the skin color on the images of 51 faces to simulate（模拟）more or less carotenoids and suntans. Participants were then asked to adjust the skin color to make the faces look as healthy as possible. Given the choice between skin color enhanced by suntans and skin color enhanced by carotenoids, people preferred the carotenoids skin color.
The study shows that not only do people use skin color to judge how healthy other individuals are, but they are accurate when they make those judgments. While this study focus on Caucasian（白种人的）faces, it suggests this phenomenon may exist across cultures, since similar preferences for skin yellowness are found in an African population.
1. Which statement is TRUE according to the text?
| A．Carotenoids are only found in the fruit. |
| B．Carotenoids are important in the immune system |
| C．Carotenoids can be improved by catching sun rays. |
| D．Carotenoids are the only factor that affects the skin color. |
| A．the yellow skin color |
| B．the skin color as white as possible |
| C．the skin color enhanced by suntans |
| D．the skin color enhanced by carotenoids |
| A．Young girls should not eat many melons. |
| B．There’s no need to worry about our skin color. |
| C．We cannot judge a person from his appearance. |
| D．Skin color is a clue to judge whether a person is healthy or not. |
| A．To show us how to get glowing skin. |
| B．To persuade us to get suntans every day. |
| C．To explain different diets in different cultures. |
| D．To share his experience of improving the skin. |
【推荐2】What would happen to you if you fell into a black hole? Some physicists believe you would burn up the moment you entered one. Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicts that you would pass through, unaware that you were lost to the rest of the universe.
Black holes have a bottom, but you wouldn’t live to see it. Gravity, as you fell, would grow stronger. The pull on your feet, if you were falling feet first, would be so much greater than the pull on your head that you would be stretched until you were torn apart. But pieces of you would reach the bottom. From there, some physicists believe that those pieces that once were you could end up in another universe.
However, nobody has ever seen or will see a black hole. A black hole is invisible, a blank spot in space, but scientists are able to know its existence by the effect it has on things around it. For example, if an object comes close to a black hole, it should be possible to see the powerful gravity of the black hole trying to pull the object in. In fact, this is exactly what scientists are planning to do: to observe one while it eats a very large object.
The black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is peaceful but is currently pulling a gas cloud toward itself fast. As the gas cloud begins to enter the black hole, telescopes will be able to take a picture of a black hole in action. This will be the best proof so far that black holes certainly exist.
A black hole is an eater. The nearer objects get to it, the hotter they become. Black holes also spin (旋转), and the extreme heat and spinning break up and expel large amounts of matter at extremely high temperatures. This heated matter flies through space, away from the hole at unbelievable speed. It can travel millions of light-years straight through a galaxy. The material then cools, comes together, and eventually forms new stars around the galaxy, thus the birth of new universes.
1. According to paragraph 2, what is the consequence of falling into a black hole?| A．Being reduced to pieces. | B．Being stretched into a single piece. |
| C．Being burned in another universe. | D．Being pulled to the bottom instantly. |
| A．To prove that no one can see a black hole. |
| B．To show that black holes can in fact be detected. |
| C．To observe while a black hole eats a huge object. |
| D．To see the powerful gravity a black hole possesses. |
| A．Set up. | B．Take in. | C．Throw off. | D．Call for. |
| A．What a black hole is and its various aspects. |
| B．Why a black hole is invisible and its final discovery. |
| C．How a black hole is formed and its unknown mysteries. |
| D．When a black hole bears a universe and its amazing origin. |
【推荐3】In the world of Chinese archaeology (考古学), a sign of a dig's importance is the sight of Zhou Mingsheng at work. A field technician who has worked at archaeological sites all around China. Master Zhou is credited with the gentlest touch in his profession. Born into a farming family, he is a “national-level craftsman” with a talent for using simple tools to get relics (遗物) that would crumble in other hands, says his current boss, Wang Xu, director of an archaeological site at Shuanghuaishu, a Neolithic (新石器时代的) settlement near the Yellow River in the central province of Henan.
It is not beauty that attracts visitors to Shuanghuaishu. At 5, 300 years old, the settlement is the work of a culture too simple to have left behind many buried treasures. The single most precious find, to date, is a finger-length sculpture of a silkworm. Nor is the setting lovely: an area surrounded by deafening insects, between a highway and two power stations. Rather, the site's importance is historical. For since the birth of Chinese archaeology in the 1920s, it has been inseparable from claims that China has the oldest unbroken civilisation on Earth.
Leading archaeologists say that the site has the right combination of location, age and distinctive cultural elements to be the capital of an early Chinese kingdom. That would make it a bridge between China's written history and the era of the Yellow Emperor, who is said to rule over these central plains almost 5,000 years ago, though many foreign scholars doubt his existence. Chinese media call the site proof of China's 5,000 years of history.
Foreigners complain about a lack of written records, Mr Wang notes. Perhaps they are missing symbols that will one day be understood, for instance in patterned pottery. Outsiders "can't keep using Western standards to apply to Chinese ruins," he argues.
1. What does the underlined word “crumble” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Result. | B．Break. | C．Wait. | D．Shine. |
| A．It is of great historical significance. | B．It has various precious treasures. |
| C．It has appealing scenery. | D．It is easily accessible. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Tolerant. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
| A．Chinese history amazes the world | B．Chinese archaeology catches on |
| C．China follows its tradition | D．China digs its past |
