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Unit 6 Science and Technology Part I Warming up A1.
Tapescript.
1. Thai silk is known for its beauty and elegance. But a research team has found a new use for it. A bulletproof vest made of silk was put to the test at a shooting range in Thailand. After several rounds of gunfire, the vest was examined. The bullets were stuck in the first layer of fifteen pieces of silk. A member of the research team says while silk threads may be soft, they can be used to produce a stronger yarn than copper threads, the material used in regular bulletproof vests.
2. American and Japanese researchers say they are a step closer to predicting severe weather in and around the Indian Ocean. Researchers have analyzed weather data from the region over the past 40 years and they've discovered a strong connection between extreme weather and conditions in the ocean. A BBC science correspondent says the findings could make it easier to predict droughts or, indeed, periods of heavy rainfall.
3. The world chess champion Garry Kasparov began a match against the rest of the world on the Internet. Kasparov made his first move with a meter-high pawn before an audience of chess fans at a park in New York. The move was immediately posted on a special website set up by the Microsoft corporation. Visitors to the site have 24 hours to vote on their counter move helped by a team of young chess experts who will suggest strategies.
4. Few scientific advances of this or any millennium can rival in significance the discovery of the structure of DNA, the basic molecule of life. Knowledge of the structure of DNA helps explains many things, including genetic mutation and , through it, evolution. Understanding its code has helped to unlock the mechanics of inherited disease, as well as beneficial biological traits such as intelligence and body strength. The discovery of the DNA molecule also paved the way for many of today’s cutting-edge sciences, including genetic engineering, a controversial branch of knowledge that raises new ethical and moral questions that are certain to be with us far into the next millennium.
5. Some say it's hard to find good help these days, but a Japanese electronics firm thinks it's found the answer. It's a robot that talks and understands orders. The robot from NEC can record and send video mail through the Internet and switch on TVs and VCRs. And if it's becoming a bit warm for you, one simple command and the robot will switch on the air conditioner. B.
Tapescript:
1 .... Yes, you see, it's the force of attraction between any two objects. The strength of the force depends on the mass of the objects and the distance between them. Er... the most obvious effect is the way objects on the surface of the earth are attracted towards the center of the earth...
2 .... as it comes down it goes relatively slowly 100 to 1,000 miles per hour and you can't see it, but the return stroke goes up from the earth to the cloud and it goes at over 87,000 miles per hour and that's the one you can see, you see, the one that goes back up. It's really just a very large, powerful spark. The distance in miles you are away from it is the time in seconds between it and the sound you hear...
3 .... Well, they were first discovered in 1895 and they can penetrate matter that is opaque to light. Some matter is more transparent to them than others, which means you can see inside somebody. They are actually quite dangerous and people who work with them wear special protective clothing...
4 .... ordinary light consists of electromagnetic waves of different frequencies and phase(s). This is a
bundle of waves of the same frequency and phase. You can create the beams from a ruby rod or a tube of carbon dioxide that's stimulated with flashes of ordinary light. The word is an acronym for light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation. Now, does anybody ...
5 .... they're all types of fungus. There are many different kinds of them but the best known are the ones used in cooking and brewing. When they're mixed with sugar they cause the sugar to ferment and two things happen: first carbon dioxide is given off and second alcohol is formed, but when the proportion reaches 12%, it's all killed off naturally...
6 .... in contact with each other, there's a resistance to movement between them. The main reason why we use ball bearings and lubricating oil is to counteract this; the main reason why rubber is used in tires and shoes is to increase the effect of it ...
7 .... No, it's the process whereby materials are used again. Normally, it is cheaper to do this because it's more energy-efficient. On the other hand, one material that's hard to deal with in this way is plastic -- there are so many types that it's very difficult to separate ... Part II A:
听力原文：
The goal of the human genome project initiated in the early 1990s is to identify, catalog, map and analyze every one of the estimated 100,000 genes in the human body. If the multi-billion-dollar project is successful, its effects may be as fundamental to the human future as the discovery of fire and seed agriculture once were.
To understand the significance of the human genome project, it is necessary to know that each gene is a piece of DNA, the basic molecule of life. Genes are located on chromosomes that in turn reside in every cell in arrangements similar to the alternately colored rungs on a ladder. The sequence of genetic rungs produces the chemical instructions the cells need in order to build and run the human body. By identifying the location and makeup of each gene, the genome project should help scientists cure or prevent many inherited diseases and possibly amplify desirable genetic traits in future generations. Some scientists hope that the genetic map also will solve many mysteries of the brain, consciousness and the mind, and possibly lead to a scientifical discription of human nature itself. Others worried about the potential abuse of this power for profit or warfare for example, with massive international government and private support of human genome project is worked maybe complete within the next five years. B
The genetic blueprint of human beings (and) deciphering the genetic code is the lifeblood of top researcher Ira Herskowitz. To help ordinary folks understand what's going on, Herskowitz turns to music.
Well, it just so happens that inside of everyone, there's tiny plans to tell how the job's to be done. They're worth more to you than the family jewels, they're stored in the form of molecules.
He says people should welcome, not fear, genetic research. When they hear about DNA they may think of some monster movie they saw, but they should think that knowing about DNA is going to enrich their life and improve their health.
DNA molecules contain about three billion pieces to a puzzle, pieced together, they form genes that provide instructions on how to build all the unique cells that make up a human being.
It is a series of letters a, c, g and t and 3 billion of those in the proper order is what we use, ever since we were a one celled embryo until now to carry out the biological functions we humans have to do. Like some four letter coded alien script, newly sequenced DNA scrolls over the Internet. I wouldn't want to write a novel with four letters, so I think I'll write a human being instead...
Thanks mostly to new technology, twenty percent of the three billion letter human genome has already been sorted out. The national institutes of health says ninety percent will be completed within a year.
And the challenge then will be to understand how the roughly eighty thousand genes that reside in the script do what they do, and how they are involved in health and disease.
Researchers are finding genes faster than they can figure out how they function, genes for breast cancer, cystic fibrosis, and Parkinson's disease are already under intense study. But just mapping the human genome doesn't end the journey. Figuring out how to use the map to deliver the cure is the next big job. If you've got any questions about something you missed, please see me, all class dismissed. Part III Latest breakthroughs in technology Tapescript:
\technology is really about how we live and how we communicate.\
Suzanne Cantra is the \New?\editor at Popular Science magazine, a magazine that has been following advances in technology for more than a hundred years.
The most fanciful dream of mankind is today a startling reality.\Remember when television was considered a fad of the future? \will be witnessed in thousands of homes.\
This recorder shows how far television has come. T-Bo's personal TV, an NBC investment, is one of the products that caught Cantra's eye.
\of the benefits of having a computer recording video is that the computer can read the video broadcast as it comes in so if the phone rings, you can hit pause on a live broadcast.\
And not only that, this sort of smart VCR learns which TV shows and characters you like to watch and records them for you. This device is only one of a hundred items, Cantra says, best represents the future. And while we couldn't show you all of them, here are a few that reflect some of the new trends.
Like Ericsson's R380. You can make calls, browse the web, check your calendar and send and receive email, all in this one device.
\
And I bet you can't guess what this is? Although it looks like a watch, in fact, it's a camera. That's right. A camera.
\into things that you wouldn't think of.\
And while the pictures are pretty good, only you can decide whether they're worth two grand. And how about this? It's a prototype computer that puts your mobile laptop to shame.
\be carrying (be carried easily ） these kinds of computing devices and you will need to only access the information somehow. Whether that's through an earpiece or whether it's just integrated into your clothing.\
The PC weighs less than a pound and clips onto your belt. The monitor, about the size of a pen cap rests an inch from your eye.
But if you don't necessarily wanna work during your down time, something like the Panasonic portable DVD player might be the gadget for you.
\ability to have a very small compact device where you can watch movies or listen to CDs is something that any business traveler will tell you is a great benefit.\
If you're more the adventurous type, then Casio's GPS watch is a must (to) have.