On average, cars sit, doing nothing, 96 percent of the time. That makes them ideal candidates for the sharing economy. The potential to reduce traffic jams is enormous. A handful of car-sharing systems are already having a major impact on the total number of vehicles in our cities. Scholars have estimated that every shared vehicle removes nine to 13 privately owned cars from the streets.
The benefits will grow greatly as autonomous vehicles, that is, self-driving cars, currently available in experimental forms, gain a notable portion of the market. “Your” car could give you a lift to work in the morning and then, rather than sitting in a parking lot, give a lift to someone else in your family—or to anyone else in your neighborhood or social media community.
As a result, a single vehicle could go from one to 24 hours of use a day. A recent paper by our colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology report s that, under such conditions, the mobility demand of a city like Singapore could be met with only 30 percent of its existing vehicles. In addition to vehicle sharing, autonomy could open up a new wave of ride sharing. Already applications such as Via, uberPOOL and Lyft Line allow different people to share the same ride, cutting operating costs and individual fares. Autonomy could boost ride sharing even more because all trips could be managed online. In cities, the potential for ride sharing is significant, based on analyses by our Sense able City Lab at M. IT.
New York City, for example, is obviously shareable. Our lab’s HubCab project gathered data from 170 million taxi trips involving 13,500 taxis in the city—specifically, the GPS coordinates (协调) for all pickup and drop-off points and corresponding times between the two. We then developed a mathematical model to determine the potential effect of ride sharing applied to those journeys. The project introduced the concept quantitative results revealed how taxi sharing could reduce the number of cars by 40 percent with only rainimal delays for passengers.
Combine car sharing and ride sharing, and a city might get by with just 20 percent the number of cars now in use, with its residents traveling on-demand. Of course, such reductions are theoretical. In real life, they would depend on how willing people are to share rides and adopt self-driving technology. But any drop in the number of vehicles could lower the costs and energy associated with building and maintaining our mobility infrastructure (基础建设). Fewer cars might also mean shorter travel times, fewer traffic jams and a smaller environmental impact.
1. What does the author imply in the first paragraph?A.Car-sharing is still in its infancy. |
B.Cars aren’t made full use of at present. |
C.Privately-owned cars have decreased by 13%. |
D.There have been fewer traffic jams in big cities. |
A.They can reduce the mobility demand of big cities. |
B.They will account for a large portion of the market. |
C.They can make it convenient for people to share the same ride. |
D.They will raise people’s awareness of environmental protection. |
A.how trip-sharing has helped the city |
B.how ride-sharing can be put into practice |
C.why people are worried about taxi sharing |
D.why mathematical models matter in making a city shareable |
A.We should share not only cars but also rides. |
B.People have no confidence in self-driving technology. |
C.The estimated reductions of cars on streets are theoretically groundless. |
D.Our mobility infrastructure cannot support the development of autonomy. |
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With the summer holiday just around the comer, it seems like everybody is busy planning their vacations. Here an some tips that can help you enjoy your holiday without emptying your pocket:
Travel off-season
Go to your desired destination while the demand is low and take advantage of huge discounts. During the peak season, the hotel and flight prices increase quickly, and you’ll likely spend more of your vacation time standing in line due to the rush of tourists.
Websites can help you find discount hotel rooms. Look for places that do not charge extra for children if they use the existing bedding. Stay with the locals. If you and your family are going to stay for a longer period, renting a small apartment is a good choice.
Eat like a local
Why eat at big chain restaurants when you can experience something new?
Don’t hesitate to bargain
Tourist- heavy places are known for overcharging for just about everything. Clothes, travel goodies, souvenirs, etc. are very expensive at these places.
Choose local transportation
A.Save on hotels. |
B.Surf the Internet while traveling. |
C.Therefore, avoid buying anything there. |
D.So it’s best to find out when the off-season starts. |
E.Planning your meals is another way to reduce your travel costs. |
F.For this reason, you shouldn’t feel ashamed to ask for bargains. |
G.As a tourist, avoid taking taxis whenever possible, since they are expensive. |
【推荐2】Several studies in recent years have suggested that ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft can worsen traffic problems in cities, which continue to have high rates of private vehicle ownership.
Recently, a new study has found that ride-sharing services result in much more pollution than other kinds of private and public transportation. Ride-sharing trips also draw passengers away from more environment-friendly methods of travel, like public transportation, walking or biking, the study found.
The new study, carried out by the not-for-profit group Union of Concerned Scientists, represents an attempt to center on how ride-sharing services affect pollution. The research examined the effects of ride-sharing services on seven of America’s largest cities.
Overall, the researchers reported that ride-sharing trips now “result in an estimated 69 percent more climate pollution on average than the trips they displace.” The study notes that the same passengers could have chosen to travel by bus, train, bike, scooter or on foot.
One of the big reasons they give for this result is that ride-sharing vehicles are often driven with no passengers in the car. This happens when drivers are either waiting for rider requests, are on the way to pick up passengers or are driving in between pickups. This situation, known as “deadheading”, takes up about 42 percent of all ride-sharing driving activity, the study found. The researchers said that deadheading results in about 50 percent more carbon dioxide than one person driving in a private vehicle. Both Uber and Lyft do offer a choice of a “pooled” ride, which involves drivers picking up additional riders during the same trip.
The study urges services like Uber and Lyft to work to increase the number of pooled rides. It also urges the two companies to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road and to improve connections to public transportation centers.
Both Uber and Lyft have said in the past that most studies on the subject overstate the effects of their services on pollution. They have noted that the majority of vehicles on the road belong to private individuals or companies. Uber told Reuters news agency in a statement it had no comment on the latest report. But the company said it aims to be part of the solution to address climate change by working directly with cities. The statement added that Uber would continue to promote pooled trips and other means of transportation.
1. What does the underlined word “they” in Para. 4 refer to?A.The researchers. | B.Ride-sharing trips. |
C.The same passengers. | D.Environment-friendly methods of travel. |
A.Most studies have overstated the effects of Uber’s and Lyft’s services on pollution. |
B.Ride-sharing services are playing an active role in dealing with climate change. |
C.People may be discouraged from taking public transportation due to ride-sharing services. |
D.Climate pollution resulting from ride-sharing trips has increased by 69 percent on average. |
A.Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft can worsen traffic problems in cities. |
B.The reasons for more pollution caused by ride-sharing services have been found. |
C.Ride-sharing trips lead to more pollution than other kinds of private and public transportation. |
D.The disadvantages of ride-sharing trips outweigh the advantages they have brought to people. |
【推荐3】This month, Germany’s transport minister, Alexander Dobrindt, proposed the first set of rules for autonomous vehicles. They would define the driver’s role in such cars and govern how such cars perform in crashes where lives might be lost.
The proposal attempts to deal with what some call the “death valley” of autonomous vehicles: the grey area between semi-autonomous and fully driverless cars that could delay the driverless future.
Dobrindt wants three things: that a car always chooses property damage over personal injury; that it never distinguishes between humans based on age or race; and that if a human removes his or her hands from the driving wheel — to check email, say — the car’s maker is responsible if there is a crash.
“The change to the road traffic law will permit fully automatic driving,” says Dobrindt. It will put fully driverless cars on an equal legal footing to human drivers, he says.
Who is responsible for the operation of such vehicles is not clear among car makers, consumers and lawyers. “The liability (责任) issue is the biggest one of them all,” says Natasha Merat at the University of Leeds, UK.
An assumption behind UK insurance for driverless cars, introduced earlier this year, insists that a human “be watchful and monitoring the road” at every moment.
But that is not what many people have in mind when thinking of driverless cars. “When you say ‘driverless cars’, people expect driverless cars,” Merat says. “You know — no driver.”
Because of the confusion, Merat thinks some car makers will wait until vehicles can be fully automated without human operation.
Driverless cars may end up being a form of public transport rather than vehicles you own, says Ryan Calo at Stanford University, California. That is happening in the UK and Singapore, where government-provided driverless vehicles are being launched.
That would go down poorly in the US, however. “The idea that the government would take over driverless cars and treat them as a public good would get absolutely nowhere here,” says Calo.
1. What does the phrase “death valley” in paragraph 2 refer to?A.A place where cars often break down. | B.A case where passing a law is impossible. |
C.An area where no driving is permitted. | D.A situation where drivers’ role is not clear. |
A.stop people from breaking traffic rules | B.help promote fully automatic driving |
C.protect drivers of all ages and races | D.prevent serious property damage |
A.Singapore | B.the UK | C.the US | D.Germany |
A.Autonomous driving: Whose liability? | B.Fully automatic cars: A new breakthrough |
C.Autonomous vehicles: Driver removed! | D.Driverless cars: Root of road accidents |
【推荐1】Sometimes it takes a crisis (危机) to bring friends together. When Hurricane (飓风) Maria went through the island of Cayo Santiago in 2017, the monkeys living there became kinder toward each other, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology.
The findings show the monkeys made more friends and became more patient to one another. Although the hurricane destroyed two-thirds of the plants on the “Monkey Island”, the increased competition for resources caused the monkeys to become more amicable, which helped them widen their friendship circles.
“We expected the monkeys would use their closest partners to deal with the destruction of the hurricane and so would strengthen their existing relationships,” said lead author Testard.
But that was not what happened. Instead, the monkeys built new relationships, rather than strengthening their old ones, which surprised the researchers. Monkeys that were the most lonely before the storm increased social connections the most afterward. The study showed that monkeys often befriended the friends of their friends. This “easy” way to making friends is often mirrored in human society.
The findings could also indicate how people might deal with the increasing threat of climate change. The monkeys are close evolutionary relatives to humans and share many features of their biology and behavior with human beings. The climate crisis has increased the likelihood of extreme weather events and natural disasters. Humans can learn a thing or two from studying how the monkeys cope with the unpleasant effects of climate change.
The main takeaway the study offers humans: go beyond your close-knit circle of friends and form a broader social network to survive tough times. “Our best friends can give us many things. But sometimes, what we need is a social network where everyone is just friendly enough,” Testard says.
1. What does the underlined word “amicable” probably mean?A.Attacking. | B.Frightening. | C.Friendly. | D.Energetic. |
A.They shared the limited resources. | B.They took advantage of old bonds. |
C.They established new relationships. | D.Isolated monkeys were most popular. |
A.Its process. | B.Its result. | C.Its purpose. | D.Its significance. |
A.Ups and Downs of the Monkey Island |
B.Connection between Humans and Monkeys |
C.A Crisis Leads to New Monkey Friendships |
D.Learn from Monkeys for Broader Social Network |
【推荐2】One of the ocean’s noisiest creatures is smaller than you’d expect — snapping shrimp (鼓虾). They create a widespread background noise in the underwater environment, which helps them communicate, protect their homes and hunt for food. When enough shrimp snap (发出噼啪声) at once, the noise can be deafening.
Aran Mooney, a biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, suggested that with increased ocean temperatures, snapping shrimp will snap more often and louder than before. This could raise the background noise of the global ocean. “They make a sound by closing a claw so fast. This makes a bubble (泡泡) and when that bubble bursts, it makes that snapping sound,” said Mooney.
Mooney discovered a strong relationship between warmer waters and more frequent snapping shrimp sounds after experimenting with the shrimp in tanks in the lab and by listening to the shrimp in the ocean at various water temperatures. “As the temperature rises, the snap rate increases,” he said. This makes sense because shrimp are essentially cold-blooded animals, meaning their body temperature and activity levels are largely controlled by their living environment. “We can actually show in the field that not only do snap rates increase, but the sound levels increase as well.”
How the louder snapping shrimp would affect or benefit the surroundings remained to be seen. “We know that fish use sound to communicate,” Mooney said. “If the environment gets noisy, it has the possibility to influence that communication. That’s something we have to follow up on.” There is also the possibility that the change of snapping shrimp affects machines humans use to discover mines, which could lead to unpleasant results.
1. What can we know about the snapping shrimp’s sound?A.It aims to protect the shrimp. | B.It is important to the ecosystem. |
C.It has different uses for the shrimp. | D.It is hard to be discovered by other creatures. |
A.By observing snapping shrimp in the field. | B.By recording the snap rates in the lab. |
C.By analyzing the way shrimp make noise. | D.By comparing shrimp’s sound in different places. |
A.Other uses of shrimp’s sound. | B.Influences of the noise on other creatures. |
C.Means of communication among fish. | D.Methods of stopping shrimp’s snapping. |
A.Underwater World Is No Longer Quiet | B.Small Animals Make a Big Difference |
C.Warming Oceans Are Getting Louder | D.Snapping Shrimp’s Noise Speaks Much |
【推荐3】“Why do people enjoy saying that they are bad at math?” wonders Petra Bonfert, a professor of engineering at Dartmouth College. After seeing too many examples of adults “passing on mathematical anxiety like a virus,” Bonfert has an important message for math-phobic parents and educators: “We are passing on from generation to generation the fear for mathematics.”
Many people hold the view that math is inherently hard, and only people with an inborn mathematical ability can understand it. While well-meaning adults may think they’re encouraging kids by sharing their own math fears, research has shown the opposite. Research has found that the problem is particularly significant for girls, who “are especially affected when a teacher publicly announces math hatred before she picks up the chalk.” Moreover, a study published recently reported that female mathematical achievement was diminished in response to a female teacher’s mathematical anxiety. The effect was correlated: the higher a teacher’s anxiety, the lower the scores.”
Parents’ anxiety about math can have a similar effect on kids’ achievement and their attitude toward the subject. Children who received math homework help from mathematically fearful parents showed weaker math achievements than their peers, which in turn resulted in increased math anxiety for the children themselves. New research on math anxiety confirms that these parents unintentionally teach kids to expect that math will be beyond their capabilities.
Fortunately, Sian Beilock, a cognitive scientist of Barnard College, has found a surprisingly easy way for parents to stop passing on math anxiety and build their children’s math confidence. The most important finding is the importance of normalizing math at home in a way that’s relaxing and playful: from using math-themed books and stories, playing with math games and toys to cooking together. He argues that we need to teach kids that “working on mathematical skills is not unlike practicing a sport. Neither can be learned by watching others perform the activity and both require encouragement and effort. You do not need an inborn mathematical ability in order to solve mathematical problems. Rather, what is required is perseverance, a willingness to take risks and feeling safe to make mistakes.
1. Why do some people share their math fear with kids?A.To expect kids to learn from their mistake. | B.To prove only geniuses can learn it well. |
C.To give encouragement to their kids. | D.To stress the importance of genetic factors. |
A.Decreased. | B.Measured. | C.Improved. | D.Influenced. |
A.Normalizing maths at home is relaxing and full of fun. |
B.Having an inborn math ability is essential to children. |
C.Developing mathematical skills differs from doing a sport. |
D.Encouragement and efforts help yield math learning success. |
A.Math-phobic adults are to blame for math failure. |
B.Math anxiety is nothing to be afraid of at all. |
C.Parents and teachers pass on math fear to kids. |
D.Risks and mistakes are what success takes. |