When Purdue University researchers set out to develop a new paint, the goal was to create one that would reflect sunlight away from a building. It turns out they also set an official Guinness world record for the whitest paint on the planet.
“When we started this project about seven years ago, we had saving energy and fighting climate change in mind,” Professor Xiulin Ruan said.
The paint reflects 98.1% of solar radiation while also emitting infrared (红外线的) heat.
Because the paint absorbs less heat from the sun than it emits, a surface coated with this paint is cooled below the surrounding temperature without consuming power. Typical commercial white paint gets warmer rather than cooler, Paints on the market that are designed to reject heat reflect only 80%-90% of sunlight and can’t make surfaces cooler than their surroundings.
“Conventional air conditioners consume power that is often from burning fossil fuel. Meanwhile, while they move the heat from inside of a house to the outside, they turn the electricity into heat and leave even more heat to the surrounding and earth, further causing a heat island effect and warming up the Earth,” Professor Ruan told IFLScience.
“In contrast, our paint does not consume any power, and directly sends off all the heat to the deep space, thus helping cooling down the Earth. According to a previous model, painting 0.5-1% of the Earth’s surface (roofs, roads, cars, unused land, etc) with our paint will stop the warming trend. Painting many human made-structures would be a great way to fight the climate crisis in many ways. The paint is not yet available commercially and the scientists are working with a commercial company to speed up the paint production and put it on the market.
1. What’s the purpose of creating the whitest paint?| A．To make the street cleaner. |
| B．To help fight climate change |
| C．To remind people of climate warming. |
| A．It sets an official standard for the whitest paint on the earth. |
| B．It turns the light into heat and makes the houses much cooler |
| C．It makes whatever it’s painted on much cooler than its surroundings. |
| A．About 80%. | B．About 90%. | C．About 98.1%. |
| A．The World’s Whitest Paint |
| B．Paint the Earth White |
| C．A Wonderful Invention |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Sarah Park has known about the effect of music on the brain since a young age. The 13-year-old, who has been playing violin since she was 4, says she noticed its positive effect on those around her, especially her grandmother, who suffered from a mental health illness.
Now Sarah Park, the middle-schooler hopes to use music therapy (疗法) to help others struggling with mental health. Her invention, Spark Care+, earned her the title of America’s Top Young Scientist at the 3M Young Scientist Challenge on October 19, 2021. “I was pretty shocked when they announced my name as the grand prize winner,” Park said. “I am excited and thrilled with what’s to come next with Spark Care+.”
Spark Care+ requires participants to respond to a series of questions based on the Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scale, designed to assess the person’s mental state. The device’s inbuilt sensors record vital mental health indicators, such as heart rate and blood pressure. Spark Care+’s AI (Artificial Intelligence) component analyzes the information and recommends the appropriate music to help lift the participant’s spirits. It also monitors its impact on the listener.
In addition to being an inventor, Park is also a musical prodigy(天才) who has won several violin competitions, including the Florida state championship. She also plays the piano and is a math champion. The teen aspires to be an innovator and researcher in the medical field using technology and robotics. Her advice to other young scientists? “Dream big, ask questions, and anything is possible.”
Now in its 14th year the 3M Young Scientist Challenge is an annual national competition that invites students in grades 5-8 to find a unique solution to an everyday problem. In addition to the well-renowned title of “America’s Top Young Scientist”, the grand prize winner receives a special guidance of a 3M scientist, a $25,000 cash prize, and a special destination trip. The second and third place winners each receive $1,000 in prize money and a special destination trip.
1. What is the function of the AI component in Spark Care+?| A．To analyze problems quickly and accurately. |
| B．To choose the right music for the participants. |
| C．To encourage participants to interact better. |
| D．To cure participants with appropriate music. |
| A．Argues. | B．Bets. |
| C．Desires. | D．Tends. |
| A．An inventor becomes famous for her invention. |
| B．A little girl has a gift for music and medicine |
| C．A young scientist stands out in a competition. |
| D．A teenager’s music therapy won the grand prize. |
【推荐2】Imagine getting ready for bed, brushing your teeth, setting your alarm and then putting a device on your head that allows you to control your dreams. It might sound like something out of a Christopher Nolan movie, but it’s also the real-life promise of a new futuristic-looking headband called Halo, currently in development by US tech start-up Prophetic.
Planned for release in 2025, Halo aims to allow you to have more lucid dreams-dreams where you are aware that you’re dreaming. In some cases, you might also exert (施加) a degree of control over what happens in these dreams, perhaps in ways that benefit your waking life, such as solving work problems, visiting faraway lands, practising guitar and much more.
The state-of-the-art approach taken by the team behind the Halo device involves two stages. First, they are using EEG (脑电图) and fMRI (功能性磁共振成像) to collect vast amounts of brain data from volunteers experiencing lucid dreams. This information will be key for the second main area of investigation, which involves using TUS (超声) to manipulate brain activity in a way that will induce (诱导), sustain and influence lucid dreams by employing high-frequency sounds.
So, is there any reason not to be excited about the Halo headset? One issue is that TUS is a relatively new approach to brain stimulation and it's not entirely clear what the long-term consequences of zapping your brain with high-frequency sounds might be. A second Issue is that some sleep scientists believe dreams have basic functions. One potential concern is that by using a device to alter (更改) the nature of your dreams, you risk interfering with the usual purpose of your dreams: A final consideration is that there are already several established techniques for inducing lucid dreams that do not involve cutting-edge technology, such as training by repeatedly pairing a sound with deliberate thoughts of self-awareness, which are cheaper than the Halo headset.
With all these issues taken into consideration, the journey ahead is not without obstacles, and only time will reveal the future path of Halo.
1. How does Halo aim to impact users’ dreams?| A．By keeping a clear track of dreams. | B．By enabling more conscious dreams. |
| C．By producing more frequent dreams. | D．By increasing the duration of dreams. |
| A．Too much control over dream content. |
| B．Known long-term impacts on the brain. |
| C．Privacy concerns about collecting brain data. |
| D．Interference with the basic functions of dreams. |
| A．Dreams altered by Halo would lose all usual functions. |
| B．Other. established techniques are less effective than Halo. |
| C．Halo is the most advanced device for lucid dreams so far. |
| D．High-frequency sounds cause permanent damage to the brain. |
| A．The Basic Functions of Lucid Dreams |
| B．The Promising Future of Halo Headband |
| C．The Pros and Cons of Dream Controlling |
| D．Halo Headband: a Device for Lucid Dreams |
【推荐3】Sugar cane（甘蔗）contains around 10% sugar. But that means it contains around 90% non-sugar—the material known as bagasse （甘蔗渣）which remains once the sugar-bearing juice is squeezed out. World production of cane sugar was 185 million tonnes in 2017 , which results in a lot of bagasse.
At the moment, most of it is burned. But Zhu Hongli, a mechanical engineer at Northeastern University, in Boston, thinks it can be put into better use. As she, and her colleagues describe, in Matter this week, with a bit of improving bagasse makes an excellent and biodegradable （可生 物降解的）replacement for the plastic used for disposable food containers such as coffee cups.
Dr. Zhu is not the first person to have this idea. But previous attempts tended not to survive contact with liquids. She knew from previous research that the main reason why past efforts fell to pieces when wet is that bagasse is composed of short fibres which are unable to hold the finished product. She therefore sought' to insert a suitably long-fibred substance.
Bamboo seemed to be the best choice. It grows quickly /degrades readily and has appropriately long fibres. And it worked. When the researchers blended bamboo remaining into bagasse, they found that the result had a strong crossing of short and long fibres.
To put their new material through its paces, Dr. Zhu and her colleagues first poured hot oil onto it and found that, rather than passing through the material, as it would have with previous, bagasse products, the oil was resisted by their invention.
They also found that when they made a cup out of the stuff and filled it with water heated almost to boiling point, the cup remained unbroken for more than two hours. Though this is not as long as a plastic cup would Hast, it-is long enough for all practical purposes.
1. What do we know about bagasse?| A．It is widely used. | B．It is usually wasted. |
| C．It can not be degraded. | D．It takes up 10% of sugar cane. |
| A．The cups are not disposable. | B．The fibres of bagasse are short. |
| C．The plastic can not be replaced. | D．The material is not biodegradable. |
| A．It can let oil pass through. | B．It can be boiled in the water. |
| C．It can hold liquid and resist heat. | D．It can reduce the use of bamboo. |
| A．New Bamboo Containers | B．A New Application of Fibres |
| C．Young and Promising Materials | D．A Perfect Mix of Cane and Bamboo |
【推荐1】The World’s Most Beautiful Places
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda
Dense, lush and otherworldly, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is one of the last habitats of the mountain gorilla. Several hundred call this UNESCO-protected national park home, with the chance for visitors to trek to and meet habituated groups. Its biodiversity extends far beyond its most famous inhabitants, however, almost 350 bird species and around 220 butterfly species can be found within its 331-square-kilometer expanse.
Samburu, Kenya
Thanks to its relative inaccessibility in the heart of Kenya, Samburu is a shelter for some of Africa’s most attractive wildlife. The grassland and acacia(金合欢树)-dotted landscapes of its national reserve are home to the endangered reticulated (网状的) giraffe and Grevy’s zebra, as well as the pioneering Elephant Watch Camp.
Mount Toubkal, Morocco
At 4,167 meters(13,671 feet),Mount Toubkal lays claim to the title of “the roof of North Africa.”The path to its summit zigzags across empty valleys, past holy lands and up steep snowfields before emerging onto a ridge that falls away to give climbers matchless views across the Atlas Mountains.
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China
China’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan Province is known for its towering sandstone pillars.
Best explored on foot, its back trails make for an easy way to escape the crowds and find the best views. As the mists descend, it’s easy to see why this area has long been an inspiration for traditional Chinese paintings.
1. What do we know about Bwindi Impenetrable Forest?| A．It is the last habitat of the mountain gorilla. | B．Almost 350 birds can be found there. |
| C．There are exactly 220 butterfly species there. | D．We can find a diversity of species in it. |
| A．It has acacia-dotted landscapes. | B．There is a vast grassland there. |
| C．The weather there is fit for wildlife. | D．It is difficult for people to go there. |
| A．They are both under the protection of UNESCO. |
| B．They are both known for its towering sandstone pillars. |
| C．They both have diverse species. |
| D．They both have empty valleys. |
【推荐2】When a package from an e-commerce shopping platform arrives on the doorstep, how many of us think about where it comes from?
It is not merely the “last mile”—the delivery, which adds to our carbon footprints but every step: from when a product was made, all the way to when it makes it into our hands.
1. Package design
When we think about a single package, the amount of tape used to secure each one might seem insignificant.
2. Green warehousing (储仓)
Behind an efficient operation are large, highly-automated warehouses. In some of the automated areas, robots can operate in the dark, so there is no need for lighting systems.
| A．The answer is probably not too many. |
| B．It is impossible for one party to achieve this on their own. |
| C．Put simply, the supply chain is extremely carbon intensive (密集的). |
| D．Actions were taken to ensure a responsible and recycled process. |
| E．But what if we are talking about the billions of parcels used in this industry? |
| F．One solution is using packaging boxes that can be circulated throughout the ecosystem. |
| G．The rain collection system below the warehouses serves as a source of water supply. |
At the age of seven, while his friends were spending their allowances on candy and toys, Jose Adolfo Quisocola was busy saving money for basic purchases. To try to get his peers (同龄人) to do the same, the boy from Peru came up with the idea of an eco- bank, the Bartselana Student Bank, which allows kids of all ages to become financially independent while also helping the environment.
Set up in 2012, the bank is the world's first bank for kids. To become a member, a kid has to bring in at least 5 kilograrms of solid waste and set a savings goal. Once accepted, all bank “partners” are required to deposit at least one additional kilogram of recyclables on a monthly basis and observe other requirements, such as attending financial education and environmental management workshops.
The waste accumulated is sold to local recycling companies, which, thanks to Jose's efforts, pay a higher - than - market rate for everything brought in by the bank members. The money received is placed in the personal account where they collect until the savings goal is reached. The account holder can then withdraw the money, or choose to leave it and make it continue to grow for a bigger target. “At the beginning, my teachers thought I was crazy or that a child could not undertake this type of project,” Jose recalls. “They did not understand that we are not the future of the country but its present. Luckily, I had the support of the school headmaster and an assistant in my class.”
The boy's efforts paid off, and by 2013, the bank had over 200 members, who brought in one ton of recyclable waste. Today, the eco - bank, which now has the support of several local institutions, boasts ten educational centers. They are designed to teach over 3, 000 students, aged 10 to 18, to become financially independent, use their money wisely, and help the environment. Not surprisingly, Jose's efforts have earned him several national and international awards. On November 20, 2018, Jose won Children's Climate Prize, which comes with a medal and $ 5, 500 in prize money and is given to a child or youth who has accomplished an extraordinary achievement for the climate or environment.
1. Why did Jose set up the bank? (No more than 10 words)2. How can a kid be admitted to the eco - bank? (No more than 15 words)
3. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 3 mean? (No more than 3 words)
4. What's the fourth paragraph mainly about? (No more than 10 words)
5. Suppose you were in charge of a Green Club of your school, what activity will you organize? And why? (no more than 20 words)
【推荐1】Though the Tokyo Olympic Games drew to a close on Aug 8, the public is still watching the athletes. Their outfits and the cutting-edge technologies that helped them in the competition have aroused people's interest.
Su Bingtian, the first Chinese sprinter (短跑运动员) to reach an Olympic 100m final, has owed his breakthrough to scientific training, "It takes Su 47 steps to run 100 meters. Each step counts." Liang Dong, a member of Su's training team, told Shenzhen Evening news. "Randy Huntington. Su's American coach and a biomechanics (生物力学) expert in track and field, has collected a lot of data on outstanding sprinters and built a database. He put in all of Su's data and got a nearly perfect model. When Su is training, the team uses high-speed cameras to record his training and compares it with the model to find out his weaknesses."
The technologies have also brought a new boost to table tennis. On July 27, the semifinal match between China's Sun Yingsha and Japan's Mima Ito was in full swing at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. You wouldn't have guessed that besides players, judges and audiences, a powerful Al platform was monitoring the match.
Every movement of Mima Ito was recorded by this Al cloud platform. At an average speed of 100 Mbps, the data was sent to the technical team of the Zhejiang University Table Tennis Intelligent Big Data Analysis Platform, 2,442 kilometers away from the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, according to The Paper.
The platform has stored the data of more than 8,000 matches so far. The research team has been working on match simulation (模拟) since 2018. "Using big data and Al, we can precisely simulate and predict how the winning rate will change when players change certain strategies," Professor Wu Yingcai, the main developer of the platform, told CCTV-2.
The Tokyo Olympic Games have seen not only scientific support in training, but many technologies in athletes' devices. For example, the Kenya women's volleyball team's GPS devices fed data on each player's blood pressure, heart rate and so on to coaches, who used the information to prevent injury and personalize training plans for each athlete. South China Morning Post reported.
1. The underlined word "cutting-edge" in paragraph 1 probably means "_________”.| A．special | B．advanced |
| C．handmade | D．unique |
| A．It helps judges provide objective comments. |
| B．Players can know their own weaknesses. |
| C．It helps players improve their winning rate. |
| D．Players can study other players' strategies. |
| A．fully understand players' fitness level |
| B．make better decisions for future training. |
| C．give proper treatment for sports injuries |
| D．track players' movement during the game |
| A．The ways athletes prepared for the Tokyo Olympics. |
| B．The advantages of using Al at the Tokyo Olympics |
| C．The highlights of the Tokyo Olympics |
| D．Technologies that helped athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. |
【推荐2】Suppose your permanent residence, or hukou, was in Chongqing, you worked in Beijing and you needed to get a passport for a business trip abroad. What should you do?
You have to go back to Chongqing, which is 1,500km away, and apply to local public security authorities for the passport, because in China public services are closely linked to hukou. But a new regulation, which is part of the hukou reform, will make this annoying experience a thing of the past.
The regulation targets China’s newly introduced residence permit system, which will take effect on Jan 1, 2016. It allows people who don’t have local hukou to receive more access to basic public services in the cities where they are living. These include education, basic employment services, automobile registration, and passport and ID card application processing.
You can apply for a residence permit at the local police station, which has jurisdiction (管辖权) over the area where you live. The documents needed for the permit application include your ID card, photos and materials that prove that you have a job, a place to live, or that you are studying at an education institution.
To certify that you have a place to live, a house rental contract or property ownership certificate will do. For employment, a business license, job contract, or employment certificate can do the trick. If you are a student applying for the permit, show your student card or other documentation issued by your school.
Despite all this, maybe you are still not happy about not having a local hukou. Don’t worry. People will have a chance, as the country is reforming the hukou system further.
1. What is the purpose of the first 2 paragraphs?| A．To introduce the topic of the passage. | B．To emphasize the focus of the passage. |
| C．To summarize the main idea of the passage. | D．To arouse the readers’ interest of reading |
| A．receive more access to basic public services |
| B．provide proofs of identification |
| C．present a house rental contract |
| D．show your student card or other documentation |
| A．apply | B．prove | C．permit | D．test |
| A．China plans to create a new hukou system |
| B．Getting a hukou may be easier with new policies |
| C．Other reforms that will bring people more happiness |
| D．People will not need hukou in China soon. |
【推荐3】Once a satellite is launched, it’s impossible to repair or refuel it in low-Earth orbit. This leads to a number of useless satellites drifting (漂流) in space. Human missions to repair broken satellites would be too costly to be effective. But with more and more satellites being launched, attention is turning toward repairing them in new ways.
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have started a project which is aimed to develop a new robotic network of spacecraft that could help satellites repair each other in low-Earth orbit.
The effort is being led by aerospace engineer Ou Ma, who has worked on projects relating to the robotic arms. The team’s plan is to develop a network of robots that can work together to eventually repair a satellite in space. Ma, along with a group of students, put robots to the test. They had the robots move strings with an attached mark to a specific spot on a table. Because the robots can only control one string individually, the other robots had to work together to eventually move the mark to the correct spot. The researchers found that using five robots allowed them to complete the task of repairing a satellite, even if one of the robots failed.
The team aren’t the only ones thinking about repairing satellites. NASA announced a few years ago they were creating a servicer spacecraft called Restore-L, which will be launched in 2025 with a mission to serve satellites. “Restore-L will meet with, grasp, refuel, and relocate a satellite to extend its life,” according to NASA.
1. What’s the disadvantage of repairing satellites by humans according to Paragraph 1?| A．It needs too much fuel. |
| B．It causes too much pollution. |
| C．It costs too much money. |
| D．It needs too much high technology. |
| A．Quick action. |
| B．A flexible arm. |
| C．Independent thinking. |
| D．Team work. |
| A．Restore-L will replace a satellite. |
| B．A servicer spacecraft will serve satellites. |
| C．The project is to be started in 2025. |
| D．Restore-L will merely refuel a satellite. |
| A．The Latest Development in Robotics. |
| B．Robots Fix Satellites. |
| C．Advanced Satellites. |
| D．Robots Work in Satellites. |
