Japan is experiencing record heat. Last week, the temperature in eastern Japan     1     (reach) 40℃ for the first time in June. Isesaki City in Gunma, north of Tokyo, recorded a temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday. The     2     (unusual) hot weather means people are using their air conditioners more. This is making     3     difficult for power companies to keep up with demand.     4     (help) these companies, Japan’s government has asked people to use less electricity. Spokesman Yoshihiko Isozaki said: “We ask the public to reduce energy consumption during the early evening     5     (hour).” He wants people to turn off unnecessary lights from 3 pm     6     6 pm and use air conditioners less.

Japan’s heat wave is set to continue. The weather agency said that the country’s     7     (rain) season finished at its earliest since records began in 1851. This means a     8     (long) and hotter summer. The Tokyo Electric Power Company warned there would be power shortages (短缺) if people did not use less energy. There is also     9     risk of people getting heatstroke (中暑). So far, at least 250 people in Tokyo     10     (take)to hospital after suffering from heatstroke. The government is advising people to drink more water and not to exercise outside in the heat.

7 . With more people concerned about the environment, you can expect to see many more electric vehicles( EVs电动汽车) on the road in future.     1     Drivers say there are a few things to get used to when switching to a vehicle powered by electricity. First of all, there’s no clutch (离合器). Instead, drivers use a simple selector to put EVs in park, drive, and reverse.

Since they’re powered by electricity, EVs also apply full power as soon as the driver hits the accelerator (加速器).     2     Also, EVs slow down as soon as the driver lifts their foot off the accelerator. Drivers end up using their brakes much less.

    3     The most obvious is that EVs don’t rely on gas. This means drivers of electric cars don’t need to stop at the gas station—in the long run, this can save a great deal of money. EVs are also low maintenance (维护). For example, they don’t need oil changes.     4     This is likely because of the placement of the battery, which sits just below the seats. This helps keep the vehicle’s center of gravity low.

Of course, there are also disadvantages. Most EVs can drive over 200 miles on one full charge.     5     With limited charging stations in many areas, this could cause problems on long trips. Additionally, the batteries are expensive to replace. Finally, while EVs may save drivers’ money on gas and maintenance in the long run, the price of buying an EV is often higher than that of a gas-powered vehicle.

8 . Counting stars is pretty difficult in areas with lots of light, like major cities. A study says even in the clearest skies, you’re still seeing turbulence (涡流) in the atmosphere that makes stars twinkle. Want a truly perfect view of outer space? An international research team has found the spot, but you’ll need to wrap up warm. It’s in Antarctica!

According to the University of New South Wales, turbulence causes light coming from stars to bend as it reaches the Earth’s surface. That instability( 不稳定) in the air makes stars twinkle.

The location in Antarctica, however, has so little turbulence that it hardly interferes (干扰) with the light from stars, making the view extraordinarily clear. The Chinese-led research team built a system of telescopes on the top of a plateau(高原), named Dome A, which sits 4,000 feet above sea level.

“Dome A is the highest point in the central plateau of Antarctica, and the atmosphere is extremely stable here, much more so than anywhere else on Earth,” says UNSW Professor Michael Ashley. “The result is that the twinkling of the stars is greatly reduced, and the star images are much sharper and brighter. In fact, this special place even has advantages over the famous Hubble Space Telescope.”

“Satellites are a lot more expensive,” the astronomer explains. “But another advantage of making Earth-based observations is that you can always add the latest technology to your telescope on the ground. In space, everything is delayed (延迟). So you end up with technology in space lagging that on the ground by 10 years or more.”

One of the biggest advantages Dome A’s location has is that winter nights in Antarctica are very long. In fact, scientists will be able to track stars continuously since some nights in midwinter last for almost 24 hours.

9 . Borrowing Rules of Some Public Libraries

*3 weeks for books and magazines

*2 weeks for new books

*1 week for entertainment DVDs

*1 week for documentary DVDs

*3 days for new DVDs(with stickers)

All items except DVDs, Interlibrary Loan items, and new books may be renewed once if no one is waiting for them. Renewals may be made by calling 794-4244 ext. 4721.

*30 items total from any of the Vineland, Bridgeton, and Millville libraries

*5 books from Vineland Public Library on any one topic for 3 weeks

*4 entertainment DVDs for 1 week

*4 documentary DVDs for 1 week

*6 magazines for 3 weeks

*30 items total

*3 books on one topic

*4 videos or DVDs

*6 magazines

*15 cents per day for adult books, magazines and music CDs

*35 cents a day for new books(14-day loan from the New Book shelves)

*$2.00 per day for overdue videos and DVDs

*10 cents per day on children’s materials and Audio Books

*10 cents per day on all other library materials

Borrowers are responsible for the replacement cost of any damaged or lost items. A $3 processing fee will also be charged.

10 . There have been so many improvements in detecting cancer from blood tests to virtual devices that can detect tumors(瘤) painlessly. Now, a new visual technology will allow doctors to detect skin cancers in just 10 seconds.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) have come up with a new visual technology that can find out skin cancer without ever cutting into the patient’s body. Skin cancer detection has always been a long process of doing a traditional examination of harmful changes and then waiting for the results. But this new method is so fast that you can know the results instantly.

Early detection of melanomas (a kind of tumors) can save lives according to the researchers. If a melanoma is detected early, and removed right away, the chances for a full recovery are very good. This new technology is built upon the knowledge that harmful changes give off different colors when placed under special light that shows if they are fatal (致命的)and what type of cancer is present. Instead of removing the harmful changes for examination, the research team pioneered a way to check them on the body.

The research was published in the journal Medical Physics, saying the optical technology was tested on 90 patients and it accurately identified the 5 patients with melanoma and 10 with other skin cancers. In addition, 75 other patients that had harmful changes were correctly identified as cancer-free.

The next stage involves testing the technology on many more patients in the hope that it can be used to create an easy-to-use machine that will be able to find out harmful changes on a screen. The visual technology will have the potential to cause an immense change in the field of detecting and treating skin cancer, which increases survivability and the quality of life.