生活中的科技

生活中的科技越简单，生活越舒适。

Tires Change Shape

The shape of these new tires（轮胎）can change. It happens really fast！ The car does not have to stop or even slow down. A person in the car pushes a button， and tires change from a round shape to triangular tracks（三角形的履带）in just two seconds. Engineers made the tires to help people drive in different conditions.

Round tires are best for hard， flat roads. Tires shaped like triangles touch more of the ground than round tires do. They are best for soft or bumpy ground. These new tires make it easy to drive off-road（越野的）. People in the army can use the tires. Then they can get where they need to go.

生詞好句

triangle /tra？？？gl/ n. 三角（形）；三角形之物

I like my triangle ruler. 我喜欢我的三角尺。

bumpy /b？mpi/ adj. 颠簸的；崎岖不平的

It is going to be a bumpy ride. 这将是一段颠簸的旅程。

考点详解

make it +adj./n. +to do sth.

These new tires make it easy to drive off-road. 这些新轮胎使越野驾驶变得很容易。

在“make + it + adj. / n. + to do”结构中，it为形式宾语，不定式to do为真正意义上的宾语，而adj. / n. 为宾语补足语。如：

1）The Internet makes it easy to communicate with each other.互联网使得彼此间交流很容易。

2） He makes it a rule never to borrow money. 他立志决不向别人借钱。

变形轮胎

这款最新轮胎拥有快速变形的设计。车辆无需减速或停止，只需按下按钮，便可在2秒内从圆形车轮变为三角形履带。工程师们研发的这项新技术，让轮胎能够适应各种路面。

传统的圆形轮胎适合坚硬、平坦的道路，而三角形的轮胎与地面接触面积更大，面对坑洼、泥泞的路段，有较好的表现。如此一来，车辆能够全地形行驶，满足军方的行军需求。

我来挑战

"Watch" TV With Your Fingers

聋哑人可以“看”电视啦

Some people are deaf. They cannot hear. Some people are blind. They cannot see. Other people are both deaf and blind. They cannot hear or see. They use the sense of touch instead. They read using touch. Now they can use touch to find out what is on TV！

People who are both deaf and blind use a kind of writing called Braille（盲文）. People feel bumps with their fingers to read. They can use a special machine to read in Braille. The machine has pins that go up and down， making bumps that spell out different words.

Now， a computer program from Spain helps turn TV into Braille. Computers can send the words from a TV show to a smart phone. The phone sends the words to the machine. People can use their fingers to read what is happening on TV.

有些人耳聋，他们听不见。有些人是盲人，他们看不见。还有些人既聋又盲，有视听障碍。他们只能利用触觉阅读。如今，他们通过触摸，也能及时享受电视节目了！

盲人使用的文字叫做“点字”或“凸字”。通过盲文机的针孔运行在纸张上制作不同组合的凸点，代表不同的字母组合，继而可以用手指触摸进行阅读。

如今，西班牙开发了一款软件，能够将电视节目转换为盲文。软件编译字幕后，将其转发到智能手机上，然后通过程序发送至盲文机，完成手指阅读与电视节目的完美同步。

Take A Bite Out Of Plastic Trash

吃掉包装

A lot of food comes wrapped in plastic（塑料）. Plastic keeps food fresh and clean. But all those wrappers end up in the trash or as litter. Plastic can stay on the ground for a very long time. It can also harm animals that try to eat it.

But what if there was a different kind of wrapper that was safe to eat？ Wrappers that people eat would not end up in the trash， and even if they did， they would fall apart fast.

Scientists are trying to make food wraps from fruits and vegetables. These wraps are like thin fruit strip（條状的）snacks. They taste good and help protect food from germs. But so far， they do not stay strong in water. Also， they do not stretch as much as plastic wrap does. So the scientists are working to improve them.

Scientists in Oregon（俄勒冈州）made a different kind of food wrap. They combined material that comes from wood with something from the shells of crabs（蟹）and shrimps（虾）. The wrap they made stays strong in water. Just like plastic wrap， it protects food and keeps it fresh. But you cant eat plastic. This new wrap is good to eat.

These new food wraps are not on the market yet. But soon you may be able to eat your food—and its wrapper， too！

大多数食品是用塑料包装包裹的。塑料虽能保持食物的清洁与新鲜，但也造成了大量难以降解的废弃物，还会伤害误食的动物。

若是某天，食物包装可以吃了呢？不仅垃圾量减少，难降解的问题也解决了。

科学家们正在研制用蔬菜和水果制作包装材料。这种包装材料看起来就像薄薄的零食水果条，除了可以阻隔细菌，味道还很不错。不过，目前它在水中的溶解速度过快，弹性也较差。研究人员正在尝试改进。

美国俄勒冈州的专家们则研制成功另一类新型包装材料。他们将蟹壳与虾壳中的成分与木头提取物混合起来，制造出更加抗湿的可食用包装纸，气密性也同样出色。

以上这些包装材料都在不断改良中，预计很快便会出现在货架上！

No Teacher In The Classroom

师生实现“隔空互动”

Soon， some university students may have virtual teachers who are not in their classroom. The teacher can be anywhere， even in another country. A special system makes a 3D video of the teacher and sends it to the classroom.

One camera records the teacher， while at the same time， a video plays in the classroom. A computer program makes it looks as if the teacher is in the room！ Another camera records all the students in the class. The teacher sees the video and can point to the students to call on them. Would you like to have a teacher who was not in your classroom？

一些大学课堂即将出现“全息投影”的讲师。分隔再远，师生也能进行互动。这项技术主要通过录制教师的三维影像与声音，然后投影到教室。

教师的录制与教室的投放同时进行，然后利用软件实现三维效果的显示，仿佛真人出现一般。教师可以实时看到学生并进行交流，实现隔空互动。你是否也想要一位不在教室的“全息”老师呢？

New Plant Cleans Air In Houses

转基因绿萝净化空气

Sometimes harmful gases get into the air we breathe. A new plant may be able to clean up these gases inside our homes. The new type of ivy（綠萝）is a genetically modified organism （GMO）（转基因生物）. Engineers took a small part called a gene（基因）from an animals liver（肝脏）cells. They added it to the cells（细胞）of the ivy.

The liver is an organ. It takes harmful things called toxins（毒素）out of an animals body. But it cannot take toxins out of the air. Plants take in air through their leaves. They use carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）from the air to make food and give off oxygen（氧气）. The engineers made the plant that takes in two toxic gases from the air and turns them into something safe.

The ivy is now for sale in Canada， but stores in some other countries cannot sell GMOs. People want to wait and see if the plant is safe for the environment.

研究人员对一种常见的家庭植物——绿萝进行了基因改造，以去除室内空气中的有害物质。他们在动物肝脏中提取了一小部分基因加入绿萝，来减轻室内空气污染。

肝脏能够帮助我们去除体内毒素，但无法吸收空气中的污染物。而植物的绿叶在光合作用下能够吸收二氧化碳，产生有机物，并释放氧气。于是研究人员将两者合二为一。改良后的绿萝能够有效吸收并降解空气中的有毒气体，起到净化空气的作用。

目前加拿大已经批准了这一新型植物的销售。但许多国家对于转基因生物较为警惕。它们是否会对自然环境造成威胁，还需要进一步测试。