Reinventing the Table[综合类职称英语教材]
An earth scientist has rejigged the periodic table1 to make chemistry simpler to teach to students.
1 But Bruce Railsback from the University of Georgia3 says he is the first to create a table that breaks with tradition and shows the ions of each element rather than just the elements themselves.
“I got tired of breaking my arms trying to explain the periodic table to earth students,”he says,criss-crossing his hands in the air and pointing to different bits of a traditional table. 2 But he has added contour lines to charge density,helping to explain which ions react with which.
“Geochemists just want an intuitive sense of what’s going on with the elements,”says Albert Galy from the University of Cambridge4. 3
4 He explains that sulphur,for example,shows up in three different spots—one for sulphide,which is found in minerals,one for sulphite,and one for sulphate,which is found in sea salt,for instance.
He has also included symbols to show which ions are nutrients,and which are common in soil or water. 5 .
词汇：
resign n.调整,重新安排
criss-cross vt.交叉
geochemist n.地球化学家
sulphide n.硫化物
sulphate n.硫酸盐
ion n.离子
proton n.质子
sulphur n.硫磺
sulphite n.亚硫酸盐
nutrient n.滋养物
注释：
1.the periodic table：元素周期表
2.Mendeleev：门捷列夫
3.the University of Georgia：乔治亚大学
4.the University of Cambridge：剑桥大学
练习：
A.There have been many attempts to redesign the periodic table since Dmitri Mendeleev2drew it up in 1871.
B.Railsback has still ordered the elements according to the number of protons they have.
C.“I imagine this would be good for undergraduates.”
D.Railsback has listed some elements more than once.
E.And the size of element’s symbol reflects how much of it is found in the Earth’s crust.
F.The traditional periodic table was well drawn.
答案：1.A 2.B 3.C 4.D 5