For many buyers, electric vehicles (EVs) are simply too expensive, their range is too limited, and charging them isn’t as quick and convenient as refueling at the gas stations. All these limitations have to do with the lithium-ion batteries (锂电池) that power the vehicles. They’re costly, heavy, and quick to run out of juice. To make matters worse, the batteries rely on liquid electrolytes (电解质) that can burn during crashes.
Making electric cars more competitive with gas-powered ones will require a breakthrough battery that overcomes those shortcomings. That, at least, is the argument of Jagdeep Singh, chief executive of QuantumScape, a Silicon Valley startup that claims to have developed just such a technology. The company says it did so by solving a chemistry puzzle: how to use lithium to boost the amount of energy that can be packed into a battery without posing a routine risk of fire or otherwise weakening performance. The company says it achieved this by developing a solid version of the flammable (易燃的) liquid electrolyte.
In an online presentation in December, QuantumScape displayed a series of charts showing that a single-layer lab version of the battery can be charged to more than 80% of its capacity in 15 minutes, last for hundreds of thousands of miles, and work fine at freezing temperatures. The company expects the batteries to be able to boost electric vehicles’ range by more than 80%: a car that can go 250 miles on a single charge today could drive 450 miles instead.
Indeed, the battery field is littered with examples of startups that promised breakthrough technologies but ultimately failed. And the challenges ahead of QuantumScape are enormous, particularly when it comes to turning its samples into commercial products that can be produced cheaply.
If the company succeeded, it could transform the EV marketplace. Cutting costs, boosting the range, and making charging convenient enough could broaden demand beyond people who can afford charging ports at home, and ease the anxieties of those who fear being left on longer trips.
1. What does the author mainly want to tell us in the first paragraph?A.The high cost of electric vehicles. | B.The complaints of vehicle consumers. |
C.The disadvantages of present batteries. | D.The inconvenience of charging cars. |
A.They consume more energy than gas-powered ones. |
B.They should reduce performance to avoid the risk of fire. |
C.They have gained an advantage over gas-powered ones now. |
D.They need technology improvement in batteries’ performance. |
A.By showing lab data online. |
B.By testing the battery capacity on site. |
C.By challenging the previous range record. |
D.By displaying the working principles of electric cars. |
A.Dismissive. | B.Objective. | C.Doubtful. | D.Positive. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】A flexible patch could help people with voice disorders talk
The human voice, with its unique ability to attract audiences, express love and sometimes annoy neighbors, is a delibate thing. Doppler’s vocal cords can easily get damaged by stress, infections, or overuse.
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, have developed a soft patch that attaches to the neck, detecting muscle movements and translating them into clear speech using machine-learning algorithms. Even though the device is still in the early stages, it could be a significant improvement over existing communication aids for those who have lost their voice.
The patch works based on the magneto-elastic (磁弹性的) effect When magnetic nanoparticles are mixed into flexible materials like elastic or silicone, stretching the material can change its magnetic properties. Every time the material changes shape, the particles either rotate or move against each other, altering the material’s magnetic strength. The patch, with its copper coil border that creates a stable magnetic field, can precisely track these changes.
The patch is also designed to be user-friendly. It stays on even when the skin is sweaty and can be worn for 40 minutes without getting too warm.
However, there is more work to be done. For now the device can only recognize five pre-trained phrases.
A.But the magnetization of the material holds great promise in the future. |
B.Plus, individual differences in vocal-cords means the algorithm has to be personalized to each user. |
C.When the throat muscles move under the patch, the changes in the magnetic field can also be turned into electrical signals. |
D.Currently, people might resort to typing, texting, or writing, which can be slow or hard to read in poor light. |
E.It is not just enthusiastic performers who risk damaging their voices. |
F.In tests, the patch accurately recognized sentences spoken. |
【推荐2】I spoke to my parents last night and for a moment I forgot I wasn’t really speaking to them, but to their digital replicas (复制品). They live inside an app as voice assistants constructed by the company HereAfter AI.
In fact, my parents are still alive and well; their virtual versions were made to help me understand the technology. Grief tech, which lets you “talk” with the people you’ve loved and lost, has been appearing in science fiction. But now it’s becoming a reality. Although the thought of it makes some frightened, it’s not hard to see the appeal that people might turn to digital replicas for comfort.
However, there is one major limitation. These replicas may sound like someone you love, but they know nothing about you. Anyone can talk to them, and get the same reply in the same tone. “The biggest issue with the technology is the idea that you can generate a single universal person,” says Justin Harrison, founder of a technological service.
Creating a virtual avatar you can have more conversation with contributes to your feeling connected to someone you loved and lost, says Erin Thompson, a clinical psychologist. But a grieving person needs to know that these bots can only capture a small part of someone rather than replace healthy, functional human relationships.
And there are other risks. Any service that allows you to create a digital replica of someone without that person’s participation raises complex moral issues. While some might argue that permission is less important with someone who is dead, can’t you also argue that the person who generated the other side of the conversation should have a say too? And what if that person is not, in fact, dead?
If digital replicas become mainstream, there will inevitably need to be new regulations around what we leave behind online. And we’ll be better off if we cope with the possibility of these replicas’ misuse before, not after, they reach mass adoption.
Anyway, I feel lucky to still have the precious opportunity to spend more time with my parents, face to face, no technology involved.
1. Which of the following is not a drawback of digital replicas?A.They can’t vary their response accordingly. |
B.They can’t mirror every aspect of a person. |
C.They may pose threat to the interests of people alive. |
D.It’s hard to gain permission from someone who is not alive. |
A.Favorable. | B.Reasonable. | C.Critical. | D.Indifferent. |
A.Technology is advancing faster than imagined. |
B.Safety risks can be surely avoided by regulations. |
C.Replicas will not be misused before widely adopted. |
D.Cherish the beloved ones when they are still around. |
A.Reflections on grief tech. | B.Ways to overcome our grief. |
C.Technology to change our life. | D.Controversy over digital replicas. |
【推荐3】The artificial-intelligence chatbot ChatGPT has shaken educators since its November release. New York City public schools have banned it from their networks and school devices. There is, perhaps surprisingly, one subject area that doesn’t seem threatened, It turns out ChatGPT is quite bad at maths.
“I’m not hearing maths instructors express concern about ChatGPT,” said Paul von Hippel, a professor at the University of Texas who studies data science and statistics. “I’m not sure it’s useful for maths at all, which feels strange because maths was the first-use case for the artificial-intelligence devices.”
ChatGPT’s struggle with maths is inherent in this type of AI, known as a large language model. It scans a large amount of text from across the web and develops a model that might be extremely effective for writing grammatically correct responses to essay requirement, but not for solving a maths problem.
In an email, I asked Debarghya Das, a search-engine engineer, why ChatGPT gets some simple questions right but others completely wrong. “Maybe the right analogy (类比) is if you ask a room of people, who have no idea what maths is but have read many hieroglyphics (象形文字), ‘What comes after 2+2,’ they might say, ‘Usually, we see a 4,’ That’s what ChatGPT is doing.” But, he adds, “Maths isn’t just a series of hieroglyphics. It’s the process of calculating.”
It isn’t great for pretending you know it through a maths class because you only recognize the mistakes if you know the maths. Another reason that maths instructors are less anxious about this innovation is that they have been here before. The field was upended for the first time decades ago with the general availability of computers and calculators.
“Maths has had the biggest revolution based on machinery of any mainstream subject,” said Conrad Wolfram, the strategic director of Wolfram Research. “In the real world, since computers came along, have maths, science and engineering gotten conceptually simpler? No, completely the opposite. We’re asking harder and harder questions, going up a level.”
Eventually, AI will probably get to the point where its maths answers are not only confident but correct. A pure large language model might not be up for the job, but the technology will improve. In general, however, AI, like computers, will likely ultimately be most useful for those who already know a field well. They know the questions to ask, how to identify the shortcomings and what to do with the answer. A tool, in other words, is for those who know the most maths, not the least.
1. What does the underlined word “inherent” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?A.Stable. | B.Practical. | C.Limited. | D.Natural. |
A.Calculating requires some knowledge of hieroglyphics. |
B.ChatGPT is good at solving mathematical questions by analogy. |
C.Reading hieroglyphics prevents ChatGPT solving maths questions. |
D.ChatGPT’s response is based on language models instead of calculations. |
A.ChatGPT is useful to identify maths mistakes. |
B.Technical revolution made maths easier to understand. |
C.New technology will end up pushing the boundaries of maths. |
D.ChatGPT has been banned from networks and school devices. |
A.It will play the largest role for professionals in a field. |
B.It will become confident to solve all the maths problems. |
C.It will turn the maths field over again just like computers. |
D.It will take the jobs from humans as the technology improves. |
【推荐1】If you’re gathering your teenage kids in the living room to watch “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” on Disney+, just know there’s a good chance they’d rather be playing “Fortnite”, a popular game.
That could totally be the case according to a new study from a consulting firm in Deloitte, which analyzed the generational divide in at-home entertainment.
The study, based on an online survey of more than 2,000 consumers, showed preferences are changing rapidly between millennials and the younger generation when it comes to how they want to spend their leisure time.
For Gen Z, defined as those born from 1997 to 2007,video - whether movies or television shows - is not a priority, the study found. 26% of Gen Zers in the survey said playing video games as their favorite entertainment activity, compared to 14% for listening to music, 12% for browsing the Internet and 11% for engaging on social media. Only 10% said they would rather watch a movie or TV show at home.
That compares to millennials (born 1983 to 1996),18% of whom chose watching movies and TV shows as their preferred mode of entertainment. Video games were the the entertainment option of choice for 16% of millennials.
“Gen Z would much rather spend time gaming, listening to music or using social media,” Jana Arbanas, entertainment leader at Deloitte, said. “That was a really alarming contrast that we saw relative to the shift that's happening and how Gen Z will impact this industry.”
“Millennials took the behaviors they developed as teenagers, and they've taken them forward into their early 30s, and so if Gen Z is anything like that, their behaviors may change slightly, but I don't see a complete aging out of their behaviors,” said Kevin Westcott, technology, media and telecom leader.
1. What does paragraph 1 tell us about teenagers today?A.They are addicted to Fortnite. | B.They prefer games to movies. |
C.They don't like being told what to do. | D.They tend to spend leisure time alone. |
A.It will offer fewer games and more music. | B.It will see a decline in the use of social media. |
C.It will be impacted by the need of millennials. | D.It will be influenced by the preference of Gen Zers. |
A.They may outgrow their behaviors over time. |
B.They’ll stop watching movies and TV shows. |
C.They may not change much in their behaviors. |
D.They’ll develop the same behaviors as millennials. |
A.A medical report. | B.A shopping website. |
C.A popular newspaper. | D.An entertainment fiction. |
【推荐2】Body language varies significantly across cultures. But what remains consistent across all known cultures are microexpressions. Microexpressions occur in everyone in a second, often without their knowledge. These facial expressions including surprise, anger, fear, disgust, happiness, and so on can reveal our true feelings about another person or situation.
People might try to hide or obscure (模糊)them in different ways informed by culture, but to a practiced reader the true emotions are always visible. In the Philippines, showing both positive and negative emotion is a sign of openness and honesty. But visible negative emotion is seen as rude or aggressive while expressing too much positive feeling is considered embarrassing in Japan. However, when we evaluate people from both countries for their microexpressions, we find that they actually experience emotions at more or less the same level of frequency.
A few years ago, my husband and I traveled to Qatar to lead a body language discussion for 200 HR (人 力资源)leaders. Women's bodies were completely covered, so we couldn't see the posture or gestures. When standing on stage, all the men looked only at my husband and all the women merely at me. Luckily, we knew from the videos we'd previously made of Qataris that the flashes of emotion in their faces reflected the same feelings we might find from audience members anywhere else in the world. And so we could adjust what we want to show accordingly, and felt just as comfortable as we would have at home.
To recognize and understand miroexpressions, you should first study the common microexpressions to know the typical feature of each. And then educate yourself on the local body language 一 including masking techniques before visiting or interacting with another culture. Third, when you're in the moment, pay much more attention. You can't interpret microexpressions if you don't notice them. Fourth, listen to your intuition (直觉).When you notice a tiny facial movement, ask yourself, "What could that mean?” Besides, you might also try to imitate the movement.
1. What is special about microexpressions?A.They are brief and unaware. | B.They are hidden and unusual. |
C.They are natural but unnecessary. | D.They are flexible but unavailable. |
A.Getting well prepared. | B.Being well organized. |
C.Reacting with others actively. | D.Using body language accordingly. |
A.Step One. | B.Step Two. |
C.Step Three. | D.Step Four. |
A.Developing Greater Social Skills |
B.Getting Better at Reading People |
C.Behaving More Differently in Public |
D.Learning More about Microexpressions |
【推荐3】Writer Walter Benjamin argued that what makes certain works of art great is that they contain a mysterious “aura(气息)”. This mystery is part of what makes the works wonderful. However, since the late 1990s, with the spread of high-quality digital photography, there have been many discoveries about famous paintings.
Hieronymus Bosch has been at the centre of art-historical controversy(争论)this year. After an exhibition at the Noordbrabants Museum in the artist’s hometown, a new exhibition at the Prado in Madrid is on the way. The Noordbrabants displayed 17 existing Bosch paintings, while the Prado now exhibits 24. The difference is the result of digital discoveries, first accepted at the Noordbrabants show.
Artists did not regularly sign their works until the 19th century, and attribution(归属)based on a work’s style leaves room for error. Since artists always worked in studios or workshops, students would develop a style very similar to that of their master. Then again, later artists learned by copying past masters, sometimes so well that it’s hard to tell the difference. However, attribution can change, especially when new technology comes to light.
In the case of the Bosch discoveries, some researchers found evidence that led them to downgrade(降级)the attribution of certain works. Extracting the Stone of Madness, which was originally going to be lent by the Prado to the Noordbrabants, is listed as “by Bosch”, and considered to have been painted between 1501 and 1505. But the researchers informed the Prado that they would be listing the painting as “by the workshop or a follower of Bosch”, and dating it 1500-1520 (Bosch died in 1516). The museum’s director Miguel Falomir said, “It is unacceptable to request a painting as a Bosch and then show it as something different.”
One of the beautiful things about art history is that it can never be an exact science. Digital art-historical discoveries have led to controversy rather than resolutions(问题解决). The evidence is there, but it’s up to us how we explain it.
1. Why are some artworks great according to Walter Benjamin?A.They didn’t survive in history. | B.Their styles are kind of mystery. |
C.They leave room for imagination. | D.Their creators were not well-known. |
A.It owns the paintings by Bosch. |
B.It was convinced by the researchers. |
C.It broke the agreement with the Prado. |
D.It borrowed all Bosch paintings from the Prado. |
A.Find out the signature hidden in the picture. |
B.Consult the museum that has been displaying it. |
C.Interview the followers of the master who did it. |
D.Analyze its style and the year when it was created. |
A.Digital discoveries explain art in a better way. |
B.Museums have a fierce debate on Bosch paintings. |
C.Hieronymus Bosch paintings become controversial. |
D.Digital discoveries destroy the beauty of art history. |