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Singing Alarms Could Save the Blind
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If you cannot see, you may not be able to find your way out of a burning building-and that could be fatal. A company in Leeds could change all that__1__ directional sound alarms capable of guiding you to the exit.
+ ~( q" K3 r! q* m2 k Sound Alert, a company__2__ the University of Leeds, is installing the alarms in a residential home for__3__ people in Sommerset and a resource centre for the blind in Cumbria.__4__produce a wide range of frequencies that enable the brain to determine the __5__ is coming from.
! i% M' B% R. Q5 }5 t Deborah Withington of Sound Alert says that the alarms use most of the frequencies that can be __6__ by humans. "It is a burst of white noise__7__ people say sounds like static on the radio," he says. "Its life-saving potential is great" 2 _% b' ^2 @1 {6 {8 L+ [3 f
She conducted an experiment in which people were filmed by thermal-imaging cameras trying to find their way out of a large__8__ room. It__9__ them nearly our minutes to find the door__10__ a sound alarm, but only 15 seconds with one. G& i: j. w2 ^, p- s
Withington studies how the brain__11__ sounds at the university. She says that the __12__ of a wide band of frequencies can be pinpointed more easily than the source of a narrow band. Alarms__13__ on the same concept have already been installed on emergency vehicles.
4 h% l! _2 j# J& y& b. l" L The alarms will also include rising or falling frequencies to indicate whether people should go up__14__ down stairs. They were__15__ with the aid of a large grant from British Nuclear Fuels.
( U& B1 M( Q8 L& J( ~& H1. A) without B)with C)having D)selling
; X! V! ~9 t# g$ C( V2. A) run by B)changed by C) decorated by D)criticized by . O8 N4 I6 H' e: n c% V) h
3. A) slow B)deaf C)blind D)lame 6 C( i9 X y; L+ j# d6 ^
4. A) Alarms B) Alarm C) The alarm D) The alarms 4 J: ^/ D8 G* u( N3 h' I3 d A+ t
5. A) noise B) sound C) music D) bell ) _% h' b; G# f. T
6. A) watched B) produced C) learnt D) heard
- Z( u5 K' t% W+ W7. A) where B) what C) that D) how 7 U3 j$ s1 Y2 G5 N% G9 Z
8. A) smoked B) smoke-filled C) filled with smoke D) smoke-filling , b3 r! C& e9 M M: f+ z
9. A) has taken B) takes C) took D) will take $ B9 I! F/ o3 y* D+ i
10. A) on B) near C) without D) from
. D6 z3 Y7 ]* F11. A) processes B) produces C) possesses D) proceeds % z2 s3 K3 N" m
12. A) feature B) quality C)diagram D) source & o" v' p$ l& p& W, g
13. A) basis on B) base on C) basing on D) based on
. q2 p5 F+ n( U# i0 G! }( u14. A) or B) and C) but D) otherwise
, F# @; E. Z* }, @; i- Q15. A) developed B) determined C) discovered D) delivered 0 o1 w' ~ V" _, P& T
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1 L/ X7 b0 ?" i' \& _( V& APASSAGE 21 ! @9 O9 n- r# ~% H0 [
The Greatest Mystery of Whales
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& ?& O( ?9 Y# F$ T4 `- D$ \- s! M5 _ The whale is a mammal - warm-blooded, air-breathing, giving birth to its young alive, sucking them-and, like all mammals, originated on land. There are many signs of this. __1__ front flippers, used for steering and stability, are traces of feet.
3 M3 ^$ U c ~3 R Immense strength is built into the great body of the big whales, and in fact most of a whale’s body is one gigantic muscle. The blue whale’s pulling __2__ has been estimated at 400 horsepower. One specimen was reported to have __3__ a whaling vessel for seven hours at the __4__ of eight knots.
/ G7 Z+ a. b4 A+ c0 c An enraged whale will attack a ship. A famous __5__ of this was the fate of whaler Essex, which was sunk __6__ South America early in the last century. More recently, steel ships have had their plates buckled in the same way. Sperm whales were known to __7__ the old-time whaleboats in their jaws and crush them. ! C$ ?; M2 t/ j2 E
The greatest mystery of whales is their diving ability. The sperm whale __8__ the bottom for his favourite food, the octopus. __9__ he is known to go as far down as 3,200 feet, where the pressure is 1,400 pounds, to the square inch. Doing __10__ he will remain submerged as long as one hour. Two feats are involved in this : storing up enough __11__(all whales are air-breathed) and withstanding the great change in pressure. Just __12__ he dose it scientists have not determined. It is believed that some of the oxygen is stored in a special system of blood vessels, rather than just held in the lungs. And __13__ that a special kind of oil in his head is some sort of compensating mechanism that automatically adjusts the internal pressure of his body. But __14__ you can’t bring a live whale into the laboratory for study, no one __15__ just how these things work. |