Batteries Built by Viruses

What do chicken pox，the common cold, the flu，and AIDS have in common? They’re all disease caused by viruses，tiny microorganisms that can pass from person to person.It's no wonder1 that when most people think about viruses, finding ways t0 steer clear of2 viruses is what's on people's minds.

Not everyone runs from the tiny disease carders, though3.In Cambridge, Massachusetts4, scientists have discovered that some viruses can be helpful in an unusual way.They are putting viruses to work, teaching them to build some of the world's smallest rechargeable batteries.

Viruses and batteries may seem like an unusual pair，but they're not so strange for engineer Angela Belcher，who first came up with5 the idea.At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, she and her collaborators bring together different areas of science in new ways.In the case of the virus-built batteries, the scientists combine what they know about biology, technology and production techniques.

Belcher's team includes Paula Hammond，who helps put together the tiny batteries, and Yet-Ming Chiang， an expert on how to store energy in the form of a battery.“We’re working on things we traditionally don’t associate with nature.” says Hammond.

Many batteries are already pretty small.You can hold A.C and D batteries6 in your hand.The coin—like batteries that power watches are often smaller than a penny.However。every year，new electronic devices like personal music players or cell phones get smaller than the year before.As these devices shrink, ordinary batteries won't be small enough to fit inside.

The ideal battery will store a lot of energy in a small package.Right now，Belcher's model battery，a metallic disk completely built by viruses，looks like a regular watch battery.But inside，its components are very small—so tiny you can only see them with a powerful microscope.

How small are these battery parts? To get some idea of the size，pluck one hair from your head.Place your hair on a piece of white paper and try to see how wide your hair is—pretty thin，right? Although the width of each person's hair is a bit different，you could probably fit about l o of these virus—built battery parts，side to side，across one hair.These microbatteries may change the way we look at viruses7.

詞匯：

chicken pox水痘

microorganism n.微生物

metallic adj.金屬的

collaborator n.合作者，協(xié)作者

pluck v.拔，摘，采

注釋：

1.no wonder：不足為奇的，難怪

2.steer clear of：避開，繞開

3.though：意思為“然而，可是”。在句中使用時(shí)通常放在句末。

4.Cambridge，Massachusetts：馬薩諸塞州的劍橋市。本文第三段提到的the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge即指坐落于劍橋市的麻省理工學(xué)院。麻省理工學(xué)院于1861年由著名自然科學(xué)家威廉·巴羅吉杰斯創(chuàng)立。這是美國(guó)的一所私立研究型大學(xué)，培養(yǎng)高級(jí)科技人才和管理人才，是以理工科為主的、世界一流的綜合性大學(xué)。

5.came up with：提出

6.A，C and D batteries：A、C、D均為電池型號(hào)。

7.These microbatteries may change the way we look at viruses：這些微型電池可能會(huì)改變我們看待病毒的方式。作者想表達(dá)的意思是：人們一直認(rèn)為病毒有害無(wú)益，現(xiàn)在病毒可用來(lái)制作電池，人們對(duì)病毒的看法可能會(huì)因此而發(fā)生變化。

練習(xí)：

1.According to the first paragraph，people try to

A.kill microorganisms related to chicken pox，the flu，etc.

B.keep themselves away from viruses because they are invisible.

C.stay away from viruses because they are causes of various diseases.

D.cure themselves of virus—related diseases by taking medicines.

2.What is Belcher's team doing at present?

A.It is finding ways to get rid of viruses..

B.It is mass—producing microbatteries.

C.It is making batteries with viruses.

D.It is analyzing virus genes.

3.What expression below is opposite in meaning to the word "shrink" appearing in paragraph 5?

A.Broaden.

B.Spread.

C.Extend.

D.Expand：

4. Which of the following is true of Belcher's battery mentioned in paragraph 6?

A.It is made of metal.

B.It is a kind of watch battery.

C.It can only be seen with a microscope.

D.It is a metallic disk with viruses inside it.

5. How tiny is one battery part?

A.Its width is one tenth of a hair.

B.It equals the width of a hair.

C.It is as thin as a piece of paper.

D.Its width is too tiny to measure.

答案與題解：

1.C短文第一段的大致意思是，許多疾病都由病毒引起，諸如水痘、感冒和艾滋病，所以人們想盡辦法躲避病毒。這是C所表達(dá)的意思。A不是正確選擇，因?yàn)槲恼虏�沒(méi)有說(shuō)人們想方設(shè)法去殺死病毒。B的后半句的內(nèi)容(病毒肉眼看不見(jiàn))和D的內(nèi)容(吃藥治療病毒引起的疾病)文中沒(méi)有提到.

2.C短文的第二段明確提供了答案。

3.D 根據(jù)上下文，shrink在此的意思是“收縮”，即“縮小”。所以，它的反義詞是expand(增大，擴(kuò)張)。C不是正確選擇，因?yàn)閑xtend的意思是become longer，即“延伸”或“加長(zhǎng)”。A的意思是“加寬”，也不是答案。B的意思是“伸展，展開”，在一定的上下文里也可以做shrink的反義詞，但在第五段這個(gè)語(yǔ)境里，B不是最佳選擇。

4.D第六段第二句中提到的metallic disk是指“金屬圓盤”，它是微型電池的外形，其內(nèi)部是由病毒構(gòu)成的電池部件。微型電池不是由金屬組成的，所以A不是答案。本段提到，這種電池looks like a regular watch battery，與手表里電池外形相似，但并不等同手表電池，所以B也不是正確選擇。文章只是說(shuō)電池的部件(但并沒(méi)有說(shuō)整個(gè)電池)小到只能用顯微鏡才能看到，所以C也不是正確的選擇。D才是第六段所要表達(dá)的主要內(nèi)容，因此是答案。

5.A 短文最后一段的第四句(“you could probably fit about lo of these virus-built battery parts，side to side，across one hair”)提供了本題的答案。

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