As 3D printing technology improves, people keep finding new uses for it. And the latest is pretty sweet: cheesecake. Researchers with the department of mechanical engineering at Columbia University created a seven-ingredient slice of cake using a 3D printer, and they say printing foods could be a new cooking option with several benefits.
Such printers have been used to make organs before, and similar technologies already exist in the food space 一like pizza and bread robots, pasta printers and automatic cake decorators, the researchers say in the study, published in the NPJ Science and Food journal.
The researchers defined printed food as“the controlled deposition(沉淀), of an ingredient; as such, any ingredient that was pushed into paste(酱),” and they say many existing processed foods can be considered “printed” by this definition. So, in order to make the 3D-printed peanut butter -banana cheesecake with a cherry coat, all the ingredients had to be converted into paste-like substances. All seven ingredients were put in to the 3D printer and then printed out in layers into the shape of a piece of cheesecake.
The researchers say 3D printing food could allow cooks to control the nutrient content in a meal and also offer the ability to make more customized meals. It also reduces human contact with food, which could prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses and diseases.
They also see sustainability benefits to printing food, because ingredients can be locally sourced, plant-based meals can be created and the shelf life of the foods could be extended.
Printing food could also help people with swallowing and other digestive disorders,by providing new food options, rather than the bland foods they may be restricted to.
While some processed foods could have better taste, texture, cleanliness and shelf lives, processing foods can also degrade their nutrients. However, the researchers hope developing the 3D printing technology can help prevent nutrient degradation while processing foods.
1. What does the author intend to tell us in paragraph 2?| A．Printing food is not as strange as it sounds. |
| B．Such printers were only used in medical before. |
| C．Printing pizza is similar to printing bread robots. |
| D．This technology gets the approval of many scientists. |
| A．By squeezing them into paste. |
| B．By cutting them into pieces. |
| C．By shaping them into layers. |
| D．By putting them into different printers. |
| A．Increasing human contact with food. |
| B．Making meals become more nutritious. |
| C．Promoting the spread of food-borne diseases. |
| D．Treating the disorders associated with food. |
| A．A diet dairy. | B．A cookbook. | C．A medical magazine. | D．A science journal. |
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In China and even in the world, Huawei is a wonder. Although it started producing mobile phones not many years ago, it has become one of the most famous phone companies.
Now Huawei has got third place at the mobile market, just following Apple and Samsung. After seeing more of its smartphones were sold last year, Huawei appears to be more confident in its bigger goals.
“We hope that in three years our market share can be the top two and in five years our market share can be the top one,” Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s Consumer(消费者) Business Group, said in a recent TV interview.
The company sold 108 million smartphones in 2015, compared with 2014, the number increased by 44 percent, though it was much smaller than Apple’s 231.5 million iPhones and Samsung’s 317.2 million smartphones.
“The number of our smartphones is still growing,” Yu said, “and our company is expecting an increase of 30% in smartphone shipments (出货量). It’ll be a great success.”
Although Huawei’s smartphones sold well in Western Europe and China, the market in the US is another example. Yu said that the company was “so late” to the US. However, we are trying hard to raise our market share there in the next few years.
1. According to the passage, which are top two biggest smartphone companies now?| A．Apple and Huawei | B．Samsung and Apple | C．Samsung and Huawei |
| A．份额 | B．分享 | C．股票 |
| A．108 million | B．231.5 million | C．317.2 million |
| A．Huawei has a very long history of making smartphones. |
| B．Huawei’s market share will be the top one in two years. |
| C．Huawei is trying hard to make its market share rise in America. |
| A．Travel | B．Science | C．Food |
【推荐2】Anthill Plastics Group, in Clearwater, Florida, recently welcomed a new team member. On his first day routine he performed the repetitive tasks required of him with flexibility, cooperating comfortably alongside employees. Sawyer is one of the fleet of robots now laboring in the world’s factories. Some earlier industrial robots have been created to displace people. Instead, Sawyer is a collaborative robot, also known as a “co-bot”.
Direct interaction between robots and humans at work is changing the face of manufacturing. Such interaction also means that roboticists need to design effective teammates as well as efficient workers. Co-bots operate in a field where human thoughts, human modes of communication and human safety are paramount (首要的). Rethink Robotics, a firm in Boston, had this in mind when it developed Sawyer, a one-armed co-bot, and his two-armed colleague, Baxter, with cameras and touch sensors. And their most noticeable feature is a screen that displays cartoonlike human facial elements. Such faces are not meant to please workers (though they do). They are, rather, in-tended to promote communication between humans and machines.
Then there is a basic precaution. If the robot detects force topping a safe level, it stops moving instantly, to ensure there is no risk of injury to anyone. Too much of this stop-start can, however, lower efficiency. Researchers of Rethink Robotics have found, by tracking in detail human movements such as the relationship between shoulders and elbows, or the swing of the body, that they can predict where a robot should avoid being next, if it is to avoid human contact.
Rethink Robotics are also looking at safety-in their case by creating robots with softer top layers. Softer materials not only provide greater flexibility for the co-bots when grasping, but also lessen the risk of injury when incidental contact is made between humans and robots. How long, if ever, it will be before such robots truly match the marketing slogan of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, a fictional firm in Douglas Adams’s creation, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, remains to be seen. But even if not actually fun to be with, your plastic pal will become increasingly effective.
1. Why was Sawyer invented according to paragraph 1?| A．To work with human workers. | B．To deal with the repetitive tasks. |
| C．To enable workers to work flexibly. | D．To replace the longtime employees. |
| A．Baxter is an updated co-bot. | B．Robots have cartoonlike human faces. |
| C．Co-bots are designed for efficient workers. | D．Human-centered needs are co-bots’ priority. |
| A．Tracking human movements. | B．Predicting a lower risk nearby. |
| C．Constantly stop to avoid potential risks. | D．Frequently physical contact with humans. |
| A．Tolerant. | B．Ambiguous. | C．Appreciative. | D．Disapproving. |
【推荐3】The DNA of 6.7 million species could be stored inside the Moon in case there's a disaster that destroys life on the Earth. Scientists have a plan to create a “lunar ark”, which is like “Noah's Ark”, the ship in which Noah saved animals from a food, according to the Bible. The lunar ark would contain millions of samples of reproductive cells and seeds from all he 6.7 million known plant, animal and fungi species on the Earth. The researchers think the lunar ark could be put in the hollowed out lava tubes that exit on the Moon's surface. It is thought that these cave-like networks were created by lava billions of years ago. Robots would be sent inside the tubes to start building the ark.
When the ark is complete, scientists think it could be powered by solar panels on the surface so that all the samples inside can be kept at cryogenic temperatures without the risk of being rotten over decades, if not centuries. I will also ne things like an airlock and lighting for human visitors.
Researcher Jekan Thanga and a team of students from the University of Arizona in the US have mapped out the theory. They think it would take 250 rocket trip to the Moon to complete the lunar ark. “Earth is naturally likely to change suddenly,” Professor Thanga said, “It's safer to sore the samples on the Moon in case the Earth is destroyed.”
The lunar ark concept was presented by the researchers at the IEEE Aerospace Conference in early March. They listed super-volcanoes, asteroid impacts and climate change as reasons we might need to store samples of life in case we need to start again. Thanga said: “The environment and human civilization are both very fragile.” Not all of the technology needed to make the ark exists yet but the scientists think it could be made reality within the next 30 years.
1. Where will the lunar ark be placed on the Moon?| A．On the ship created by Noah. | B．In the cave-like networks made by robots. |
| C．On the panels powered by the Sun. | D．In the empty lava tubes formed a long time ago. |
| A．Mild. | B．Mediate. | C．Low. | D．High. |
| A．Some problems are to be solved before the lunar ark is built. |
| B．150 rocket trips to the Moon will be needed to build the lunar ark. |
| C．The lunar ark can run well without energy. |
| D．The environment on the Earth is a steady as human civilization. |
| A．A Lunar Ark Grown from Volcano Eruptions | B．A Lunar Ark against Asteroid Impacts |
| C．A Lunar Ark for Life Preservation | D．A Lander for Human's Lunar Exploration |
【推荐1】Who would have thought that there was any connection between a cup of coffee and a bird, butterfly, or even a bat? Such seems to be the case, however, as methods for growing coffee plants have gradually changed over time.
Coffee plants were first discovered growing in Africa hundreds of years ago. The plants grew under a wide cover of forests, which protected the coffee plants’ leaves from the burning sun. As coffee was introduced to other countries, farmers would naturally try to grow the plants in the shade of tall trees. These trees provided more than shade for coffee plants; they were also home for many species of birds, insects, and other plants.
Over the past 30 to 40 years, people developed a new kind of coffee plant, one which grows well in open sunlight. Sun-grown coffee produced two times more coffee than shade-grown coffee in the same amount of time and space. As a result, the growing need for coffee makes the sun-grown method appear to be the best way to grow coffee.
However, this newer method has some unexpected results. First, the lack of tree cover leaves the land open to heavy rainfall, which can wash away the soil’s nutrients (营养物质). This necessitates an increased use of fertilizers and additives, which is likely to create health risks. Second, as forests are taken down to make way for sun-grown coffee plants, native and migratory birds no longer have a home. This is threatening many species, and the effect is now being examined and recorded by ornithologists, who are discovering sharp falls in some species that travel to the northern United States each year. Finally, more pesticides (农药) are used in the sun-grown method, all of which have a bad influence on both the environment and the long-term health of the coffee plants themselves.
Today, as more people recognize the problems of coffee grown in the sun, perhaps they will be willing to pay the higher prices, encouraging coffee growers to return to the more natural method of producing this worldwide product.
1. Compared with shade-grown coffee, sun-grown coffee _____.| A．grows more slowly |
| B．tastes much better |
| C．is more productive |
| D．is more expensive |
| A．Protect forests. |
| B．Grow coffee. |
| C．Make pesticides. |
| D．Study birds. |
| A．Grow shade-grown coffee. | B．Improve coffee production. |
| C．Sell coffee at lower prices. | D．Plant a new kind of coffee. |
| A．coffee and forests |
| B．coffee production and the environment |
| C．coffee farmers and animals |
| D．coffee and sunlight |
【推荐2】A smile is the key to a thousand doors, but deploying it in every situation without mastery of its use is dangerous, says a new social science study.
Scientists say it takes a great many muscles to smile; scientists at Queen’s University Belfast in a recent study found that subtle differences in the way in which a person smiled had not-so-subtle impacts on the opinions which the test participants had about the smiler. “Smiling at another person does not always lead to trust and cooperation,” said Dr. Stephanie Carpenter from the University of Michigan, a co-author of the study. “Subtle differences in a smile can definitely have a real impact on whether people trust each other and choose to cooperate. In fact, the way you smile in a good or bad situation can impact whether people trust you.
“Think about movie villains, for example in James Bond films,” said Dr. Magdalena Rychlowska from Queen’s University, who led the research published in Cognition and Emotion journal. “They often make happy smiles when something bad has happened or is about to happen. This context makes these otherwise happy and normal smiles feel threatening and unpleasant.” She adds, “The findings of this study show the power of subtle facial expressions and the positive consequences that an affiliation smile can have in difficult situations. It also highlights the importance of social context — a happy smile that could be read as a signal of trustworthiness in one setting can, but in another setting, it can be seen as the evidence of bad intentions.”
Mastery of the smile then, can be an excellent way of getting out of difficult social situations, while the lack thereof can be an excellent way of getting into one.
1. Which of the following about smiling is right according to the passage?| A．Deploying smiling is very dangerous in every situation. |
| B．Subtle difference in smiling has little impact. |
| C．The way you smile will impact whether you can be trusted. |
| D．Smiling will always lead to trust and cooperation. |
| A．By using numbers and giving examples. |
| B．By giving examples and citing scientific proof. |
| C．By giving examples and making a comparison. |
| D．By making a comparison and citing scientific proof. |
| A．A happy smile can always be read as a signal of trustworthiness. |
| B．People always make happy smiles when something bad has happened. |
| C．Mastering the smile can help you avoid troubles. |
| D．Subtle facial expressions have positive consequences. |
| A．the advantages of smiling | B．the impact of smiling |
| C．A trusting smile | D．Subtle differences in smiling |
【推荐3】Little New Year usually falls a week before the lunar New Year. It is also known as the Festival of the Kitchen God, the deity (神) who oversees the moral character of each household. Here are six things you should know about the Little New Year, another sign of the start of spring.
1. Offer sacrifices to Kitchen God
One of the most distinctive traditions of the Little New Year is the burning of a paper image of the Kitchen God, who will report on the family’s conduct over the past year. The offerings to the Kitchen God include pig’s head, fish, sweet bean paste, melons, fruit, boiled dumplings, barley sugar, and Guandong candy. Most of the offerings are sweets of various varieties. It is thought that this will seal the Kitchen God’s mouth and encourage him to only say good things about the family when he ascends to Heaven to make his report.
2. House cleaning
According to Chinese folk beliefs, during the last month of the year ghosts and deities must choose either to return to Heaven or to stay on Earth. It is believed that in order to ensure the ghosts and deities’ timely departure people must thoroughly clean both their persons and their houses, down to every last drawer and cupboard.
3. Eat Guandong candy
Guandong candy, a sticky treat made out of glutinous millet and sprouted wheat, is a traditional snack that Chinese people eat on the Festival of the Kitchen God.
4. Paste paper-cuts to windows
In the Little New Year, old couplets and paper-cuts from the previous Spring Festival are taken down, and new window decorations, New Year’s posters, and auspicious (吉利的) decorations are pasted up.
5. Bath and hair-cut
As the old Chinese saying goes, whether they’re rich or poor, people often have a haircut before the Spring Festival. The activity of taking bath and haircut is often taken on the Little New Year.
6. Preparations for the Spring Festival
People start to stock up necessary provisions for the Spring Festival since the Little New Year. Everything needed to make offerings to the ancestors, entertain guests, and feed the family over the long holiday must be purchased in advance.
1. What is the most unusual tradition in the Little New Year?| A．Offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God. |
| B．Burning a paper image of the Kitchen God. |
| C．Preparing the necessities for the New Year. |
| D．Cleaning houses and people themselves. |
| A．Collecting the information of the man’s world. |
| B．Protecting the character of each home. |
| C．Gathering sacrifices for other Gods in Heaven. |
| D．Watching out for the moral people in the world. |
| A．Because the Kitchen God loves sweet foods. |
| B．Because it is the traditional custom. |
| C．Because people hope the God says good for them. |
| D．Because sweets are the best sacrifices. |
| A．Little New Year always falls in February. |
| B．House cleaning is to welcome the New Year. |
| C．In the Little New Year only paper-cuts are pasted up. |
| D．People will make full preparations for the coming New Year. |
