Behold, the bus of the future
It looks rather like a futuristic stretch limousine, but its actual function is rather more populist: the Superbus is a novel publictransport system being developed in the Netherlands by the Delft University of Technology. It is an electric bus designed to be able to switch seamlessly between ordinary roads and dedicated "supertracks", on which it can reach speeds of 250kph (155mph). It could thus present an alternative to much more expensive magneticlevitation trains.
Though it is as wide and long as a standard city bus, the Superbus is only 1.7 meters high, or roughly the same height as a sportsutility vehicle. Joris Melkert, the project’s manager, explains that the designers managed to keep the Superbus this small by doing away with the central aisle usually found in today’s buses, a vestigial design feature that allows passengers to stand upright, but also gives conventional buses the aerodynamic profile of a brick.
The lowriding Superbus, in contrast, has a separate door for each of its 30odd seats. The low ceiling and the use of lightweight materials make for a far more streamlined vehicle, which in turn requires only a modest electric motor: though engineers have not yet decided whether the Superbus will be powered by fuel cells or batteries, they estimate that it will be able to accelerate from rest to 100kph in a leisurely 36 seconds.
The individual doors also allow for rapid loading and unloading of passengers, which will need to be fast if the Superbus is to live up to its promised doortodoor mission: instead of making predetermined stops, the vehicle will pick up and drop off passengers based on their textmessaged requests. This kind of flexibility is a central tenet of the project; the estimated threeyear lifespan of a Superbus (as opposed to thirteen years for a standard European bus) will also allow the latest technologies to be phased in quickly as they become available.
To start with, that might include satellitebased tracking to keep the Superbus on course, sensors to scan the road for obstacles up to 300 meters ahead and a smart suspension system that remembers the rough spots in the road.
Some detractors have suggested that making so many stops would erode the Superbus’s speed advantage, and others question whether a new cog in the Netherlands’ alreadyintricate transport infrastructure is even needed. Furthermore, the Superbus does not yet exist, whereas maglev trains are already operating successfully in Shanghai.
The future of the project is uncertain. Its intended route, a new transport link connecting Amsterdam with the northern city of Groningen, was recently scrapped by the Dutch government (although the Superbus was deemed the most feasible of all the options considered, which also included a maglev train). In spite of the setback, the project has since received an extra 7m ($9m) in government funding, plus 1m from Connexxion, a local bus company. The Superbus team’s latest plan is to unveil a fully functional prototype at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. With its combination of low emissions, high speed and snazzy design, this might prove to be a bus that is.
alternative
a.两者挑一的；n.可供选择的事物，替换物，选择对象
［真题例句］ I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her muchpublicized resignation from the editorship of She after a buildup of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of "juggling your life", and making the alternative (a.) move into "downshifting" brings with it far greater rewards than financial
success and social status.［2001年阅读5］
［例句精译］ 我已经发现（由于压力过大，凯尔茜已多次公开宣称要辞去《她》杂志编辑的职务，在这之后她也许会有同样发现）放弃"忙忙碌碌"的生活哲学，转而过一种"放慢生活节奏"的生活所带来的回报，比经济成功和社会地位更有价值。
magnetic
a.①磁的，有磁性的；②有吸引力的
conventional
a.惯例的，常规的
［真题例句］ Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural elite, so their work tends to reflect the conventional values of this elite.
［2001年阅读3］
［例句精译］ 记者们往往属于广义的社会文化精英的一个部分，因此他们的工作往往反映了这些精英传统的价值观。
flexibility
n.弹性，适应性
［真题例句］ Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides adaptive flexibility specifically through forgetting.
［1995年阅读5］
［例句精译］ 另一种思路则假定人的记忆存储系统储量有限，这个系统专门通过遗忘提供适应的灵活性。
available
a.①可用的，可得到的；②可以见到的，随时可来的
［真题例句］ However, there are still no forecasts for when fasterthanlight travel will be available (①), or when human cloning will be perfected, or when time travel will be possible.［2001年翻译］
［例句精译］ 然而，对于何时能够进行超光速旅行，何时人类克隆技术能够完善，何时时间旅行成为可能，仍未作出预测。
scrap
n.①碎片；②废料；v.废弃，报废
Little Tips:
荷兰发明了兼具跨市列车速度和巴士行驶灵活度的21世纪环保“超级巴士”。它外表像蝙蝠侠的“蝙蝠车”，时速近250公里。研制它的荷兰宇航科技教授奥克尔斯形容，它将是未来举足轻重的大众运输。
“超级巴士”跟普通巴士一样长。它两边各有8道门，其流线型车身仅高1.6米，以便尽量发挥空气动力学效用，既能在一般公路行驶，也可在专设的高速快线以250公里行驶。它靠司机用电脑系统辅助自动驾驶，由电力驱动。为使行车流畅，它将采用能适应凹凸路面的先进避震系统，及使用先进雷达探测前面几百米路面的阻碍物和意外。
看呀! 未来的巴士
乍看之下超级巴士更像一辆未来派风格的加长型豪华轿车，但是它实际的作用却更加平易近人：这辆超级巴士是荷兰代夫特理工大学开发的新一代公共交通系统。这是一种能够在普通路面和专用“超级车道”间平稳过渡的电动巴士，在“超级车道”上时速可达250公里（相当于155英里）。这样，它或许能够成为替代价格昂贵的磁悬浮列车的另一种选择途径。
尽管超级巴士车身的长与宽同标准的城市巴士没什么两样，但是它的高度只有1.7米，差不多是一辆运动型多功能车的高度。项目负责人Joris Melkert解释说，设计者们去掉了现有巴士里常有的中间过道的设计，从而使得超级巴士体积非常小巧。尽管中间过道的设计给乘客提供了站立的空间，但是因为砖类外形上也同样给普通巴士带来了空气动力学的包袱。
相比之下，低底盘的超级巴士为车上30个单人座各配备了一个车门。低车顶和轻质材料令车身更符合流线型，这样的汽车对电力发动机的要求不高：虽然工程师们还没有决定是让超级巴士采用燃料电池还是蓄电池，但他们估计该汽车静止加速到时速100公里仅仅需要36秒。
单独的车门设计便于快速上下客，因为这对于实现许诺的“门对门”服务是必不可少的：汽车会根据乘客提供的文本消息的命令决定上下客，而不需要事先设定车站。这种灵活性体现了这一项目的主要原则；据估计一辆超级巴士的使用寿命是3年（与此相对应，一辆标准的欧洲巴士的使用寿命达13年），这使得各种最新的技术一旦成型便可以迅速投入使用。
超级巴士在启动加速前会采用一系列技术手段：卫星跟踪技术追踪行驶中的超级巴士、传感器扫描巴士前方300米内的障碍物以及智能悬浮减震系统记录路面上起伏颠簸的地点。
一些批评者认为，停靠的站点过多会抵消超级巴士高速度的优势，另一些反对者质疑荷兰本已错综复杂的基础交通系统是否需要这个新“玩意”。此外，超级巴士还未存在，而磁悬浮列车已在上海成功服役了。
该项目的前景还难以预料。最近，荷兰政府驳回了该项目计划建设的一条连接阿姆斯特丹同北部城市格罗宁根的交通线（虽然人们认为超级巴士是包括磁悬浮列车在内的所有备选方案中最具可行性的）。尽管遭受挫败，但那之后该项目同时获得了政府提供的700万欧元（900万美元）的额外资助和一家当地巴士公司Connexxion提供的100万欧元。超级巴士研究小组的近期打算是在2008年北京奥运会上向公众展示一款功能完备的原型。由于超级巴士集低排放、高速度和超时尚设计于一身，它或许能够被证明是一款值得人们翘首以待的巴士。
Biometrics gets down to business
For many people, "biometrics" conjures up images of a Big Brotherish surveillance society. But tell them they could save a few precious seconds at the supermarket checkout just by waving their fingers over a scanner, and they will sign up in their millions.
After more than a decade of hype, biometrics-the use of body measurements such as eye scans or fingerprints to determine or verify identity-is finally taking off. And all it took to convince the public of its merits, it seems, was the promise of shorter queues or a few extra loyalty points. In the past year there has been an explosion in the commercial use of biometrics, utterly eclipsing the uphill efforts of various governments to introduce identity cards and passports that store electronic signatures derived from facial images, fingerprints or eye scans.
For a long time it was assumed that biometrics would be a governmentled technology, says Sapna Capoor, an analyst at Frost and Sullivan, a consultancy. But in the past couple of years this has quietly started to change. "There has been a group of biometrics vendors who have shifted away from working with governments and focused instead on commercial products," she says.
One reason for this shift is that the technology has matured, says Michael Thieme of the International Biometric Group, an industry body based in New York. In the past many biometric technologies would not work on a broad section of the population. Some types of biometric scanners worked well in the laboratory, but ran into problems in realworld environments when scanning children, old people, people with small or sweaty hands, bricklayers or subjects with eye conditions. But the technology has since improved and is considerably more inclusive, says Mr Thieme.
New regulations in the financial sector have also boosted adoption, says Mark Upson, the boss of BioPassword in Issaquah, Washington, whose company has more than 400,000 onlinebanking users enrolled in its keystrokedynamics security scheme. In a bid to tighten security and reduce online fraud and identity theft in online banking, America’s Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council is pressing banks to adopt "two factor" authentication, says Mr Upson. Previously, account holders had to provide only a single means of identity verification, such as an account number and password. Twofactor systems rely not just on something you know, however, but also on something you have, such as an electronic token, or something you are, in the form of a biometric.
Those in the industry believe the banking and retail approaches to biometrics-one of which puts security above convenience, the other convenience above security-will eventually converge, opening up new applications in the process.
As governments grapple with schemes to introduce biometric passports and identity cards, companies are pushing ahead with biometrics on their own. And what is perhaps even more surprising than the commercial adoption of the technology is the speed and willingness with which the public is embracing it. This is unlikely to be because people trust big companies more than they trust governments. Instead, it is because the commercial applications of biometrics tend to place a greater emphasis on the benefits to the customer, so providing incentives for adoption. As governments start to foist biometrics on their citizens, they would do well to bear this in mind.
A recent survey found that air passengers would welcome biometric checkin procedures at airports if it meant less queuing. People will embrace biometrics, it seems, provided there’s something in it for them.
surveillance
n.监视，监督
［真题例句］ A boom in neighborhood surveillance cameras will, for example, cause problems in 2010, while the arrival of synthetic lifelike robots will mean people may not be able to distinguish between their human friends and the droids.［2001年翻译］
［例句精译］ 比如，住宅区附近监视器的猛增在2010年会引发问题；逼真的机器人将意味着人们可能无法区分人类朋友和仿真机器人。
identity
n.同一性，身份，一致，特性，恒等式
［真题例句］ The Europe that is now forming cannot be anything other than its peoples, their cultures and national identities.［2005年翻译］
［例句精译］ 现今的欧洲只能是不同的民族、文化和传统所形成的欧洲。
explosion
n.爆炸，爆发
［真题例句］ (75) Additional social stresses may also occur because of the population explosion or problems arising from mass migration movements- themselves made relatively easy nowadays by modern means of transport.［2000年翻译］
［例句精译］ （75）由于人口的猛增或人口大量流动（现代交通工具使这种流动相对容易）造成的种种问题也会对社会造成新的压力。
signature
n.签名，署名，签字
enroll(l)
v.招收，登记，入学
［真题例句］ The journalist advocating participatory democracy in all phases of life, whose own children are enrolled in private schools.［2000年阅读5］
［例句精译］ 倡导终生参与民主制的新闻记者却把自己的子女送进私立学校。
incentive
n.①动机；②激励，鼓励；a.激励的
［真题例句］ A bill by Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, which would offer financial incentives (n.②) for private industry, is a promising start.［2005年阅读2］
［例句精译］ 西弗吉尼亚议员Robert Byrd提出议案，用资金去推动私有企业进行环保，这是一个良好的开端。
Little Tips：
生物识别技术是依靠人体的身体特征来进行身份验证的一种解决方案。人体的生物特征包括指纹、声音、脸孔、视网膜、掌纹、骨架等等。所谓的生物识别的核心在于如何获取这些生物特征，并将之转换为数字信息，存储于计算机中，利用可靠的匹配算法来完成验证与识别个人身份的过程。由于人体特征具有人体所固有的不可复制的唯一性，这一生物密钥无法复制，失窃或被遗忘。而常见的口令、IC卡、条形码、磁卡或钥匙则存在着丢失、遗忘、复制及被盗用诸多不利因素。人类追寻文档、交易及物品的安全保护的有效性与方便性经历了三个阶段的发展。第一阶段也就是最初始的方法，是采用大家早已熟悉的各种机械钥匙。第二阶段是由机械钥匙发展到数字密钥如密码或条形码等。第三阶段是利用人体所固有的生物特征来辨识与验证身份。生物识别是当今数字化生活中最高级别的安全密钥系统。
生物识别技术开始应用于商业领域
“生物识别技术”会让许多人想起一个“老大哥式”的监控社会。然而，如果他们得知只要在超市收银台前向扫描器挥挥手指就能完事，可以节省宝贵的几秒钟，他们也会加入到已经接受“生物识别”的数百万人群中来的。
生物识别是指通过检测人体的某部分（例如眼睛、指纹）来检测或验证身份，经过十几年的大量宣传，此技术应用终于推广开来。然而这项技术能给大众带来什么好处呢？大众感受到的似乎只是能少排些队、安全性更高一点。去年生物识别在商业领域的运用出现了爆炸性的增长，让各国政府在这方面的举措显得黯然失色，各国政府也在竭力引入新型身份证与护照，这些新型证件可以存储根据脸部图像、指纹、眼睛制作的“电子标识”。
在咨询公司Frost&Sullivan工作的分析师Sapna Capoor说，大家一直以为生物识别技术是个由政府主导的技术。但近两年情况已悄然改变。她说，“以前售卖生物识别产品的公司都主要做政府生意，但现在已有不少公司转而把重点放在商用产品上了。”
这种转变的其中一个原因是此技术已经成熟了，设于纽约的行业协会国际生物识别组织的Michael Thieme这样宣称。过去生物识别技术从未广泛应用于大众。有几种生物识别扫描设备在实验室表现很好，但面对各种各样的真实情况就会出现许多问题，比如应用于儿童、老年人、手特别小的人、多汗的手、砖匠的手、还有一些患眼病的人群。Thieme说但后来此技术得到了很大改进，因此应用的人群也广得多。生物识别技术的可靠性因此大大提高，能够应用于超市与笔记本电脑。
金融领域的新规则也推动了此项技术的应用，位于华盛顿的Issaquah的BioPassword公司的总裁Mark Upson说，该公司已有超过40万的网上银行用户采用了该公司的“击键力学”身份验证项目。Upson说，为了增强网上银行服务的安全性、减少服务过程中的诈骗与身份盗窃行为，美国联邦金融机构检查委员会竭力要求银行采用“双重认证”。以前，帐号持有者只需通过一重身份验证，比如帐号与密码。要通过“双重认证系统”，不仅需要你提供你所知道的信息，而且还需要你携带的东西——比如某种电子信物，或者你身体的某部分：以生物识别形式。
这说明什么呢？这说明虽然生物识别技术能使系统获得极高的安全性，但在实际应用中并不一定要达到这么高的安全性。Thieme说，在某些方面的应用中较低的安全性完全可以容忍。
各国政府还在想尽办法引入生物识别护照与身份证，各家公司却已经靠自己的力量推动该技术的应用了，这种情况十分出人意料，但比这更让人吃惊的是公众对其愿意接受，而且速度很快。其原因并不见得是公众更相信大公司而不相信政府，而是因为商业应用过程中更强调生物识别技术能给顾客带来的好处，为顾客提供了某种“激励”。各国政府想要让民众接受此技术在公共领域的应用的话，记住这一点才能成功。
最近的一个调查发现，如果在登机手续中应用生物识别技术能让乘客少排些队，乘客还是欢迎此项技术应用在机场的。看起来情况似乎是这样，如果在生物识别技术的推广过程中能给大家带来好处，大家还是会接收此项技术的。
Bluetooth’s quiet success
It was born amid a blaze of hype at the height of the dotcom boom, but initially failed to thrive. Indeed, Bluetooth, a shortrange wireless technology used to interconnect portable devices, has been declared dead on many occasions. Early versions of the technology suffered from compatibility problems; an ambitious demonstration of the technology at a trade show in 2001 failed to work. And while Bluetooth struggled despite all the hype from its backers, another wireless technology, WiFi, took off on its own. Obituaries of Bluetooth have appeared many times in the technology press, usually attributing its demise to the success of WiFi. "Bluetooth is in full retreat," declared Sean Maloney, an Intel executive, in 2001. Other analysts issued similar verdicts.
But reports of the death of Bluetooth proved to be premature: today it is in rude health. Sales of Bluetooth devices more than doubled in 2005 to reach 320m units, and the figure is expected to exceed 520m this year-equivalent to more than 10m units a week and far outstripping sales of WiFi chips. Around one in four mobile phones sold now support Bluetooth.
And after years of insisting that Bluetooth was more than just a way to link a wireless headset to a mobile phone, its backers seem to have been vindicated, as other uses for Bluetooth have at last begun to emerge. Last year 60% of Bluetooth chips went into mobile handsets and 15% into wireless headsets, says Scott Smyser of iSuppli, a marketresearch firm, but the other 25% went into other devices, from laptop computers, keyboards and mice to Bluetoothenabled clothing.
This success, after its rocky start, is due to a combination of factors, says Stuart Carlaw, an analyst at ABI Research. In many countries Bluetooth’s fortunes were boosted by new legislation banning the use of mobile phones without a handsfree kit while driving. This prompted many people to buy Bluetooth headsets. Several carmakers, led by Audi, also began to incorporate microphones and speakers, capable of connecting to a handset via Bluetooth, into their vehicles.
As consumers became more aware of Bluetooth and began to ask for it, handsetmakers started to include it as a means of differentiating their products and increasing their margins. Adding a Bluetooth chip to a phone now costs very littlearound $2, says Mr Carlaw, down from $20 in 2001-but allows the manufacturer to increase the price of the handset by far more, and opens up a new market for highmargin accessories. Finally, operators began offering Bluetooth headsets as incentives to new customers. Again, the perceived value of the headset is far higher than its cost to the operator, so this increases margins.
Greater adoption has, in turn, cleared the way for the inclusion of Bluetooth in all kinds of new products. In addition to Bluetoothenabled jackets, motorcycle helmets and sunglasses with builtin wireless headsets, the controllers for two nextgeneration videogames consoles due to be launched later this year, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii, will use Bluetooth. Because Bluetooth is an industry standard, both consolemakers can buy chips and software off the shelf, which is quicker and cheaper than developing their own proprietary technologies, says Mr Carlaw.
amid
prep.在......中
［真题例句］ Amid the outcry, many conservative leaders are seeking a return to the prewar emphasis on moral education.［2000年阅读4］
［例句精译］ 在一片抗议声中，许多保守党领导人正在力图回复到战前，强调道德教育。
thrive
v.兴旺，繁荣
［真题例句］But one insidious form continues to thrive: alphabetism.［2004年阅读2］
［例句精译］但是有一种隐蔽的（歧视）形式还在蔓延：按字母表顺序排名。
attribute
n.属性，品质，特征；v.①（to）把......归于；②认为......是......所为
［真题例句］ Not all that shift can be attributed (v.①) to the movement out of the snow belt, census officials say.［1998年阅读4］
［例句精译］ 人口普查官员说，所有这些人口迁移并非都是为了离开寒冷地带。
verdict
n.①裁决，判决；②定论；③判断；④意见
［真题例句］ Concerns were raised (49：that) witnesses might be encouraged to exaggerate their stories in court to (50：ensure) guilty verdicts (①). ［2001年完形］
［例句精译］ 人们开始担心：(接受报酬)可能会鼓励证人在法庭上夸大他们经历的事情，以保证(陪审团对被告)作出有罪的判决。
exceed
v.①超过，胜过；②越出
［真题例句］ 66. The change in Japanese lifestyle is revealed in the fact that［2000年阅读4］
［B］ the divorce rate in Japan exceeds (①) that in the US
［例句精译］ 66事实显示：日本人的生活方式发生了改变
［B］ 离婚率超过了美国
incorporate
v.合并，纳入，结合；a.合并的
［真题例句］ Thus, in the nineteenth century, local geological studies represented worthwhile research in their own right; but, in the twentieth century, local studies have increasingly become acceptable to professionals only if they incorporate (v.), and reflect on, the wider geological picture.［2001年阅读1］
［例句精译］ 因此，在19世纪，局部的地质研究本身就可形成一种有价值的研究；而到了20世纪，如果局部的研究能够被专业人员接受，那么它越来越倾向于必须体现或思考更广阔的地质面貌。
Little Tips：
所谓蓝牙（Bluetooth）技术，实际上是一种短距离无线通信技术，利用"蓝牙"技术，能够有效地简化掌上电脑、笔记本电脑和移动电话手机等移动通信终端设备之间的通信，也能够成功地简化以上这些设备与Internet之间的通信，从而使这些现代通信设备与因特网之间的数据传输变得更加迅速高效，为无线通信拓宽道路。
经历了数年的默默无闻，蓝牙技术终于走出了WiFi无线局域网技术的阴影，找到了自己的用武之地--手机和无线耳机市场，并开始成熟。摩托罗拉公司认为，目前蓝牙功能已经成为高档手机的标准配置，不久之后所有的手机产品都将添加这一功能。就全球来看，还没有哪个国家能够容忍司机一只手把方向盘开车，另一只手拿着手机打电话。在纽约和美国其他州，如果不戴耳机或者没有采用免提方式打电话是违法的。而蓝牙技术无疑就解决了人们的这种后顾之忧。
蓝牙技术悄悄取胜
在互联网热潮巅峰时期的天花乱坠之中，它耀眼地产生，但是一开始没有成功。事实上，蓝牙技术--一种用于连接便携式设备的近距离无线技术，在很多场合下都被宣告已经废弃。这个技术的早期版本遭受了兼容性问题；2001年的技术交易会上这个技术一个雄心勃勃的示范没能成功。蓝牙技术在其支持者的宣传下苦苦挣扎的时候，另一种无线技术WiFi，取代了它的地位。技术出版物上出现了很多次宣告蓝牙技术废弃的讣告，通常将它的失败归结于WiFi的胜利。"蓝牙技术正在全面败退"，英特尔的管理人员Sean Maloney这样宣称。在2001年，其他分析家得出类似的结论。
但事实证明蓝牙技术已经死亡这个结论下得太早了：现在它正在健康发展。蓝牙设备的销售量已经比2005年翻了一番，达到了3.2亿台，而且今年的销售量有望突破5.2亿台--平均每周销售超过1000万台，远远超出了WiFi芯片的销售数量。如今销售的手机中大概有四分之一支持蓝牙技术。
在连续数年强调蓝牙技术不仅仅只是用来连接无线耳机和手机的手段之后，蓝牙的支持者们似乎表明蓝牙技术的其他用途至少已经出现了。根据市场调查公司iSuppli的Scott Smyser所言，去年60%的蓝牙芯片植入了手机，15%的芯片植入了无线耳机，但是剩下的25%则植入了其他设备，从膝上型电脑、无线键盘和鼠标到支持蓝牙技术的衣服。
ABI调查公司的分析家Stuart Carlaw表示，在其艰难的开端之后，蓝牙取得的胜利应归于多种因素的综合作用。在许多国家，蓝牙的好运是由新的立法推动的，该立法规定在驾驶时禁止使用手握式手机设备。这促使许多人购买蓝牙耳机。而以奥迪为首的汽车制造商也开始在它们的汽车内装上能通过蓝牙连接手机的一体式麦克风与扬声器。
当消费者变得更加关注蓝牙技术并且开始需求它的时候，手机制造商开始将它当作一种区分他们的产品以及提高他们的利润的手段。在手机里添加一个蓝牙芯片的成本很低--Carlaw先生说大概只需要2美元左右，低于2001年时的20美元--但是可以允许制造者提高远远比这个高的价格，并且打开了一个高利润附件的市场。最后，经销商开始提供蓝牙耳机以激励新的消费者。此外，耳机的估价远远比经销商的成本高，所以这个也扩大了利润。
蓝牙技术被更大规模的采用为其适用在所有种类的新产品上开辟了道路。除了支持蓝牙技术的夹克、摩托车头盔以及内置无线耳机的太阳眼镜，今年晚些时候即将发售的两款下一代电子游戏控制台的控制器，Sony的PlayStation3和任天堂的Wii，将会使用蓝牙。Carlaw先生称，因为蓝牙是一个行业标准，所有的控制台制造商都可以现货购买芯片和软件，所以要远远比制造商开发他们自己拥有产权的技术来得便捷与便宜。
Buildings with minds of their own
What if architects could build living systems rather than static buildings-dynamic structures that modify their internal and external forms in response to changes in their environment? This provocative idea is making waves in the field of architecture. Houses, for example, might shrink in the winter to reduce surface area and volume, thus cutting heating costs. They could cover themselves to escape the heat of the summer sun or shake snow off the roof in winter. Skyscrapers could alter their aerodynamic profiles, swaying slightly to distribute increased loads during hurricanes. Office buildings could reconfigure themselves to improve ventilation.
Such "responsive architecture" would depend on two sorts of technology: control systems capable of deciding what to do, and structural components able to change the building’s shape as required. Architects have been working to improve the control systems in buildings for many years, but shape shifting technology is at a much earlier stage of development.
One approach being pursued by researchers is to imitate nature. Many natural constructions, including spiders’ webs and cell membranes, are "tensegrity systems"-robust structures made up of many interconnected elements which can be manipulated to change shape without losing their structural integrity. "These structures can bend and twist, but no element in the structure bends and twists," says Robert Skelton of the Structural Systems and Control Laboratory at the University of California in San Diego. "It’s the architecture of life."
While Dr Skelton is working on solving the engineering equations associated with tensegrity systems, Tristan d’Estrée Sterk at the Office for Robotic Architectural Media & the Bureau for Responsive Architecture, an architectural practice based in Vancouver, Canada, has begun to construct prototypes of shapechanging "building envelopes" based on tensegrity structures. Lightweight skeletal frameworks, composed of rods and wires and controlled by pneumatic "muscles", serve as the walls of a building; adjusting their configuration changes the building’s shape. Mr Sterk is also developing the "brain" needed to control such a building based on information from internal and external sensors.
Cars are already capable of monitoring their own performance and acting with a certain degree of autonomy, from cruisecontrol systems to airbag sensors. Such responsive behaviour is considered normal for a car; architects argue that the same sort of ideas should be incorporated into buildings, too.
And just as the performance of a car can be simulated in advance to choose the best design for a range of driving conditions, the same should be done for buildings, argues Gian Carlo Magnoli, an architect and the codirector of the Kinetic Design Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is devising blueprints for responsive houses. "We need to evolve designs for the best performing responsivebuilding models," he says.
So will we end up with cities of skyscrapers that wave in the breeze? It sounds crazy. But, says Mr Sterk, many ideas that were once considered crazy are now commonplace. "Electricity was a batty idea, but now it’s universal," he says. The same was true of suspension bridges and elevators. Dynamic, intelligent, adaptable buildings are "the logical next step", he claims.
Static(al）
a.静态的，静力的
component
n.①组成部分；②成分；③部件；a.组成的，合成的
［真题例句］ Of all the components (n.①) of a good nights sleep, dreams seem to be least within our control.［2005年阅读3］
［例句精译］ 在晚上睡一个好觉的组成要素中，梦是我们最无法控制的因素。
robust
a.精力充沛的
manipulate
v.①操作，控制；②应付，处理
［真题例句］ As Eugene Ferguson has pointed out, "A technologist thinks about objects that cannot be reduced to unambiguous verbal descriptions; they are dealt with in his mind by a visual, nonverbal process...The designer and the inventor... are able to assemble and manipulate (①) in their minds devices that as yet do not exist."［1996年阅读4］
［例句精译］ 正如尤金?弗格森曾指出的："技术人员思考那些不能被简化成用明确的语言进行描述的物体；这些物体在他的头脑中以视觉性的、非语言性的方式被处理加工......设计者和发明者......能把那些尚不存在的机械在头脑中组装和操作。"
［真题例句］ Intelligence seeks to grasp, manipulate (②), reorder, and adjust, while intellect examines, ponders, wonders, theorizes, criticizes and imagines.［2004年阅读4］
［例句精译］ 智力寻求的是理解、运用、整合和调节，而才学是审视、思考、探究、形成理论、批判和想象。
Evolve
v.（使）发展，（使）进化
［真题例句］ We did not evolve, because machines and society did it for us.［2000年阅读2］
［例句精译］ 我们没有进化，因为机器和社会替我们办了这一切。
LIttle Tips：智能建筑
智能建筑的概念，在本世纪末诞生于美国。第一幢智能大厦于1984年在美国哈特福德（Hartford）市建成。我国于90年代才起步，但迅猛发展势头令世人瞩目。
智能建筑是信息时代的必然产物，建筑物智能化程度随科学技术的发展而逐步提高。当今世界科学技术发展的主要标志是4C技术（即Computer计算机技术、Control控制技术、Communication通信技术、CRT图形显示技术）。将4C技术综合应用于建筑物之中，在建筑物内建立一个计算机综合网络，使建筑物智能化。
智能建筑是"通过对建筑物的4个基本要素，即结构、系统、服务和管理，以及它们之间的内在联系，以最优化的设计，提供一个投资合理又拥有高效率的幽雅舒适、便利快捷、高度安全的环境空间。智能建筑物能够帮助大厦的主人，财产的管理者和拥有者等意识到， 他们在诸如费用开支、生活舒适、商务活动和人身安全等方面得到最大利益的回报。"
有头脑的房子
如果建筑师能建造"活的"居住体系，而不仅是静止不动的建筑物，世界将会变成什么样子？这种居住体系拥有动态结构，能按环境变化更改外部与内部形态。这个引人争议的想法在建筑界掀起了不小的波澜。设想一下这样的房子，冬天能收缩，减少表面积与体积，以节约供暖成本；夏天能把自己遮盖起来，避免日晒；下雪后能把积雪抖落屋顶；飓风季节摩天大楼能作轻微摇晃，改变其空气动力形态,以分散增加的压力；办公楼则能够重新装配，以加强通风。
建造这样"有反应的建筑物"有赖于两种技术，一是能决定"做什么"的控制系统，二是能按要求改变建筑物形态的构件。建筑师们努力发展前者已经好多年了，但后者却要相对落后许多。
研发可变形构件的研究人员采取的途径之一是模仿自然。许多天然结构是"无一定尺寸限制结构体系"，比如蜘蛛网与细胞膜，这种由许多相联单元组成的结构相当牢固，能够随意改变形状，各单元却不会失去自己的结构完整性。"这种结构能弯折扭曲，但构成结构的单元却不发生变化，那是生命的构造。"Robert Skelton说，他在圣地亚哥的加州大学结构体系与控制实验室工作。
当Skelton还在努力求解无尺寸限制结构体系的工程学方程式时，Tristan d’Estrée Sterk已开始用这种结构的原理搭建"可变形的建筑物骨架"的原型了，斯德克服务于一家建筑公司的自动结构媒介与可反应建筑研究所，地处加拿大的温哥华。这个原型的轻型骨架是由金属杆与金属线组成的，由汽动装置控制，用它来作建筑物的墙壁，调整骨架布置就可以改变建筑物外形。Sterk先生还在研发控制建筑物的"大脑"，它能根据建筑物内、外部的传感器采集的信息作出相应决定。
汽车已经能监察自身状况并相应的作出一定程度的自动行为，比如行车控制系统与安全气囊感知设备。大家对汽车的有反应行为都已习以为常，而建筑师们认为类似的功能也应被整合进建筑物。
而且在设计汽车时，设计师会根据不同驾驶情况模拟出汽车的表现，以选择最适合的设计方案，建筑师Gian Carlo Magnoli认为设计建筑物时也应当这样做，他还是麻省理工学院Kinetic设计集团的联席总监。Magnoli正为"有反应的房子"设计蓝图。他说，"要设计出最出色的有反应建筑，我们的设计方式也需要进化。"
那么将来会出现满城在微风中轻摆的摩天大楼吗？听起来很疯狂是吗？不过Sterk说，以前大家觉得很疯狂的许多想法现在却变成司空见惯的事。比如，"以前大家觉得用电是个很古怪的想法，但现在电无处不在。"相同的例子还有悬索桥与电梯。Sterk称："能灵活适应环境变化的智能型动态建筑是建筑业发展的下一个合理目标。"
Can coal be clean?
Coal has several advantages as a fuel. It is abundant. It is widely distributed: countries that are short of other fossil fuels, such as Germany and South Africa, have mountains of it. As a result, it is cheap. Even though the price has risen in the past few years, it is still less expensive to run a power plant on coal than on almost anything else.
But coal is also dirty. It releases lots of soot and various noxious chemicals as it burns, and so has fallen out of favour in many Western countries. Worse, coalfired plants produce roughly twice as much carbon dioxide per unit of electricity generated than those that run on natural gas.
The obvious solution is to make coalfired generation cleaner. And that’s what utilities in Western countries have been doing for years, to comply with ever stiffer airpollution standards. Reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, however, is another matter. In Britain, as in most rich countries, the average efficiency of coalfired power stations is about 35%. But Mitsui Babcock, an engineering firm, says its most recent designs can achieve efficiencies as high as 46%. It reckons that switching from an old design to a new one can cut fuel consumption and emissions by 23%.
Many methods can reduce the various emissions produced by coalfired power stations, so that they are at least no worse than gasfired stations. But technologies also exist to make coal cleaner still, by filtering out carbon dioxide from the flue gas and storing it somehow. This is theoretically possible, but expensive. Moreover, unlike modifications that improve efficiency, there are no savings to be had by adding carboncapture technology to a power plant. As a result, no such plants have been built.
How does carbon capture work? Most utilities are eyeing one of three basic designs. The simplest, and easiest to bolt on to existing plants, treats carbon dioxide like any other pollutant, and extracts it from the flue gas. Many firms already use this "amine scrubbing" approach to remove carbon dioxide from natural gas, for example. But it is not so practical for largescale uses, since the amines are expensive, as is heating them to release the captured carbon dioxide.
"Oxy fuel" plants sidestep the difficulties of separating oxygen and nitrogen in the flue gas by burning coal in pure oxygen rather than air. The resulting flue gas is almost pure carbon dioxide. But the energy used to separate oxygen from air before burning is almost as great as that needed to filter out nitrogen afterwards, leading to a similar loss of efficiency.
The third approach, called "integrated gasification combined cycle" (IGCC), also requires oxygen, but for use in a chemical reaction rather than for burning. When heated in oxygen, coal reacts to form carbon dioxide and hydrogen. An amine solution then absorbs the carbon dioxide, while the hydrogen is burnt in a modified furnace. The amine scrubbing is cheaper than usual, since the reaction generates carbon dioxide in a more concentrated form. Engineers are also experimenting with membranes that would allow hydrogen to pass, but not carbon dioxide. There are four IGCC demonstration plants operating in America and Europe, although none currently captures carbon dioxide permanently; instead, it is simply released into the atmosphere. AEP’s planned new plants will follow a similar design.
George Bush is a believer, at any rate. In 2003 he unveiled a subsidised scheme to build a zeroemissions IGCC plant called "Future Gen" by 2013. The European Union, for its part, is giving money to utilities dabbling in oxy fuel, among other schemes. Handouts from the taxpayer are needed, power firms argue, since the technology in question is still young. But it is hard to believe that it will ever grow up unless subsidies give way to stronger measures, such as longterm caps or taxes on carbondioxide emissions. The technology to eliminate such emissions from coalfired plants exists, but it will not be adopted without regulatory incentives from governments.
distribute
v.①分发，分配；②分布；③配（电）；④（over）散布
［真题例句］ For example, a grandmotherly woman staffing an animal rights booth at a recent street fair was distributing (①) a brochure that encouraged readers not to use anything that comes from or is tested in animals-no meat, no fur, no medicines.［2003年阅读2］
［例句精译］ 例如，在近期的一次集市上，一位老奶奶站在动物权利宣传点前散发小册子，规劝人们不要使用动物制品和动物实验制品--肉类，毛皮，药物。
utility
n.效用，有用
［真题例句］ Decisions based on utility as opposed to lack of utility are straightforward.［1996年翻译］
［例句精译］ 根据项目是否有效来做决策简单明了。
capture
n.捕获，俘虏；v.①吸引（注意）；②记录；③俘虏
真题例句］ Few creations of big technology capture (v.①) the imagination like giant dams.［1998年阅读1］
［例句精译］ 重大科技创造中很少能像大型水坝这样让人痴迷的。
［真题例句］ While even the modestly educated sought an elevated tone when they put pen to paper before the 1960s, even the most well regarded writing since then has sought to capture (v.②) spoken English on the page.［2005年阅读4］
［例句精译］ 在60年代以前，甚至仅受过一般教育的人在下笔时都要寻求一种更高雅的腔调，但在那之后，即使是最受关注的文章也开始把口语用于写作。
absorb
v.①吸收；②吸收，使专心
eliminate
v.消除
［真题例句］ If the products is in short supply relative to the demand, the price will be bid up and some consumers will be eliminated from the market.［1994年阅读1］
［例句精译］ 如果商品供不应求，价格就上升，有些消费者就会被排挤出市场。
Little Tips:
由于世界石油和天然气价格居高不下，全球发电能源构成正出现重大转变，煤炭将重新成为新建电厂的首选燃料。当前世界发电燃料再度转为以煤为主决非偶然，而是由多种因素促成的。其中最重要的是清洁煤技术的研究发明，使煤炭利用更加环保、更为经济。这不仅是产业界的重大转变，更证明了科学技术对于世界能源利用的推进作用。
煤炭可能干净吗？
作为燃料，煤炭兼备多项优势。首先，它的储量丰富、分布广泛：缺乏其他化石燃料的国家，如德国和南非，却拥有堆积如山的煤炭。因此，煤炭的价格也很低廉。尽管煤炭的价格在过去几年里有所上浮，但燃煤发电站的运营成本仍低于几乎任何一种其他类型的发电站。
但煤炭也是种污浊不堪的燃料。它会随着燃烧释放大量煤烟和有害化学物质，因此许多西方国家已经不再钟情于它了。更糟的是，燃煤发电站的单位发电产生的二氧化碳量几乎是天然气发电站的两倍。
直接的解决之道是令燃煤发电变得更加清洁，而且这正是西方国家里的那些公用事业公司们多年来为达日渐苛刻的空气污染的标准所不断努力的方向。
然而，减少二氧化碳的排放量则需另辟蹊径。同大多数富国一样，英国燃煤发电站的平均燃烧效率在35%左右。但是三井巴布科克（Mitsui Babcock）能源有限公司（一家工程公司）宣称其最新设计的发电站可以将燃烧效率提升到46%。该公司预计新设计比起旧设计可以令燃料消耗和污染物排放减少23%。
许多方法均能减少燃煤发电站制造的各类排放物，所以这类燃煤发电站对环境的污染至少不会超出燃气发电站的水平。但是借由滤除烟道气体中的二氧化碳并将其储存起来从而令煤炭更加清洁的各类技术已然出世。虽理论可行，但代价高昂。另外，不同于提升燃烧效率的各种改进，给电站追加捕碳技术根本无利可图。结果，人们至今没有建造一座此类电站。
捕碳究竟如何进行呢？大多数公用事业公司都将目光聚焦在三种基本设计上。同其他污染物一样对待二氧化碳并将其从烟道气体中分离出来是改造现有发电站的设计中最简单易行的方案。许多企业已经采用这种"氨净化"途径，例如从天然气中去除二氧化碳。但是，该法还不适于大规模使用，因为用以吸收并加热后释放溶解的二氧化碳的氨溶液较昂贵。
"燃料增氧（Oxyfuel）"电站则通过其他途径避开了将氧和氮从烟道气体中分离的难题，即用纯氧而非空气燃烧煤炭，产生的管道气体几乎仅仅是二氧化碳。但是燃烧前将氧气从空气中分离所需的能源几乎不亚于上述将氮气过滤所需的耗费，这就使得两者在效率损失上不相上下。
第三种途径称为"结合气化的综合循环途径（IGCC）"。该途径同样需要氧气，但这是作为化学反应之用而不是燃料。当煤炭在氧气中加热时经化学反应会形成二氧化碳和氢气。二氧化碳经氨溶液吸收，而氢气则送往改进型熔炉燃烧。如此，氨净化的成本将低于普通方法，因为之前化学反应产生的二氧化碳是高浓度的。工程师们也正在用允许氢气而不允许二氧化碳通过的半透膜做实验。在美国和欧洲，现有四座IGCC示范电站，尽管目前为止任何一家都无法将碳永久性地封存起来；相反，很容易释放而进入大气。AEP计划的新电站将采用类似的设计。
乔治?布什是一个忠实的信徒。2003年他公布了一项补贴计划用以建造一座零排放的IGCC电站，该电站名为"Future Gen"，该计划将历时十年。就其他方案而言，欧盟正在给予涉足燃料增氧的公用事业公司财力支持，这是方案中的一部分。电力公司们强调政府的宣传报道也是必须的，因为这种存在疏漏的技术还很不成熟。但是，很难相信没有强有力的措施，如制定长期减排目标或对二氧化碳排放征税等，而仅凭苍白无力的宣传就能够促使该技术不断成长和发展。除去燃煤电厂产生的排放物的技术已经出现，但是离开政府的监管和激励后将无人问津。