【推荐1】Why I Love Cycling

One of the first things I did when I moved to a new city was to hire a bike. Why?    1    You travel much faster than on foot and you notice so much more of your surroundings than when in a bus or a car. It’s more appealing to wander down small streets if they seem interesting, as you can quickly get back to the main road.

Besides, I soon discovered plenty more benefits to cycling. A bike means that fewer places, especially in a small city like the one where I live now, feel far away. For example, cycling to work takes me half the time that it would to walk.    2    For example, I planned to go to a concert on the other side of town. While my cyclist friends and I simply looked at a map, our friends without bikes had to deal with the complicated bus system.

Of course, there are obvious health benefits of cycling—a bit of extra movement as part of your daily routine can help you keep fit and healthy. Cycling on my way to work also makes me feel more energetic in the mornings.

    3    While cars pollute the environment, bikes are carbon-neutral. Furthermore, thanks to being petrol-free, bikes are cheaper to run, buy and fix than cars. Even if you don’t own a car, a bike can pay for itself when compared to the price of bus tickets.

    4    Always wear a helmet, pay attention to other traffic and don’t forget your lights at night. Make sure you know the road rules, especially in a new place. Some cities are more cycle-friendly than others.    5    Luckily, where I live now is pretty easy to ride a bike around, thanks to having lots of cycle lanes and not too many hills!

【推荐2】Petrol and diesel (柴油）cars may still dominate our roads, but their days are numbered. A recent university study found that current electric cars could be used for 87 per cent of daily car journeys in the US. That figure could rise to 98 per cent by 2020.

One hurdle to the widespread adoption of electric cars has been ‘range anxiety’ — drivers’ concerns about running out of juice on a journey. While petrol stations are conveniently located across national road systems, the necessary network of electric charging stations is still being developed. That said, charging points are becoming increasingly common throughout the USA.

Attitudes towards electric vehicles have changed quite considerably over the last few years. Not that long ago, electric cars were met with distrust, and their large price tags（标签） drove customers away. Thanks to improvements in battery capacity, recharging times, performance and price, the current generation of electric cars are starting to persuade critics. Plug-in cars will soon give internal combustion（燃料） engine models a run for their money.

As well as advancements on the road, electric vehicles are taking to the seas and skies. Electric boats are among the oldest methods of electric travel, having enjoyed several decades of popularity from the late 19th to the early 20th century before petrol-powered outboard motors took over. Now, the global drive for renewable energy sources is bringing electric boats back. Steps towards electric air travel are also being made, with Airbus and NASA among the organizations developing and testing battery powered planes. The experiments could soon make commercial electric flight a reality.

Electric vehicles do not produce any emissions. Were the US to act on the study’s findings and replace 87 per cent of its cars with electric vehicles, it would reduce the national demand for petrol by 61 per cent. However, because of the production processes and the generation of electricity required to charge these vehicles, they cannot claim to be completely emission-free. That said, as many countries continue to increase their use of renewable energy sources, electric vehicles will become even cleaner.

【推荐3】“An Uber self-driving car hit and killed a woman crossing the street in Arizona，U．S．，”police said on Monday，marking the first death caused by an autonomous vehicle and a potential blow to the technology expected to transform transportation．

The ride services company said it was delaying North American tests of its self-driving vehicles，which are currently going on in Arizona，Pittsburgh and Toronto．

So-called robot cars，when fully developed by companies including Uber，are expected to thoroughly cut down on motor vehicle deaths and create billion-dollar businesses．But Monday’s accident highlighted (凸显)the possible challenges ahead for the promising technology as the cars face real-world situations involving real people．

“This catastrophic accident highlights why we need to be exceptionally cautious when testing and applying autonomous vehicle technologies to public roads，”said Edward Markey，   a member of the transportation committee，in a statement．

“Elaine Herzberg，49，was walking her bicycle outside the crosswalk on a four-lane road in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe at about 10 p．m．   MST Sunday when she was struck by the Uber vehicle traveling at about 65 kilometers per hour，”police said．The car was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel．U．S．   federal safety officials were sending teams to investigate the crash．Canada’s transportation ministry in Ontario，where Uber conducts testing，also said it was reviewing the accident．

“Uber and Waymo on Friday urged Congress to pass a law to speed the introduction of self-driving cars into the united states．However，some congressional(国会的)representatives have blocked the legislation over safety concerns，and Monday’s death could hamper passage of the bill，”congressional assistants said Monday．

【推荐1】Scientists have recently developed a method to 3D-print greener buildings using local soil that they say has the potential to revolutionize the construction industry.

Sarbajit Banerjee, a professor of chemistry and materials science and engineering at Texas A & M University, said 3D printing was extensively used and allowed them to print entire architectural facades (正面), although getting such structures to meet existing building regulations remained a significant challenge.

Concrete remains the primary material used in many construction projects but it cannot be recycled and requires a lot of energy to mix and transport. The research team’s aim is to print structures using the type of soil that can be found in any garden.

“While the widespread use of concrete has made housing accessible and enabled the growth of cities, this has come at a considerable environmental cost,” said Banerjee.

The move to 3D-print concrete threatens to worsen this problem. However, we imagine a new example of construction that uses naturally sourced materials. Using such materials will further pave the way for building designs that are specifically adapted to the needs of the local climate.

What’s more, the use of local materials would reduce the need to transport concrete long distances, further reducing the environmental impact of the buildings.

The research team’s plan to replace concrete with the earth beneath our feet depends on their ability to improve the soil’s ability to stand the weight of the whole house, to which Banerjee said “they are making excellent progress”.

Once they have a clearer idea of the limits of the technology, Banerjee and his team plan to further investigate how it might allow for building on other planets. For instance, they have worked on addressing the problem of building all-weather roads in the subarctic (亚北极区). They hope the technology could one day be used beyond Earth, to create settlements on the moon or even Mars.