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" a& }1 s0 X2 P; v! lSinging 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. ! \- ]7 n0 H! H$ L3 | c& U7 A$ v
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.
6 X( K. W9 S% P6 b0 i( Z" d: q 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 U7 c2 ], d4 @+ j" l/ W1 U |
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. 0 A$ {& a$ g* q6 Z- ~
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.
+ w9 k6 }4 M1 {) A j. M* V: m 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. 6 P. I" }' ^8 \( h1 t, ?. c
1. A) without B)with C)having D)selling
- U+ J/ p* e9 b# M1 m8 Z2. A) run by B)changed by C) decorated by D)criticized by
7 g3 Y. `# K) G/ l) W. L+ T. c3. A) slow B)deaf C)blind D)lame : ^# `- A+ G6 d2 n
4. A) Alarms B) Alarm C) The alarm D) The alarms ; W0 s4 P: y: R* K% o
5. A) noise B) sound C) music D) bell % {& H- ~: G1 @
6. A) watched B) produced C) learnt D) heard " u, W9 ?/ L/ b+ {% h
7. A) where B) what C) that D) how 4 \) |3 n5 i, S( x3 Y/ \, D
8. A) smoked B) smoke-filled C) filled with smoke D) smoke-filling
% y* t* H8 x9 A. V( K2 J& c9. A) has taken B) takes C) took D) will take
9 Z7 A+ @" w3 I% H4 @: ?10. A) on B) near C) without D) from
0 Q. K/ J6 p* L' ]9 r9 n11. A) processes B) produces C) possesses D) proceeds
+ t1 F5 b; K' y* ~" L! [ X1 Z12. A) feature B) quality C)diagram D) source 8 b8 A, T+ y m
13. A) basis on B) base on C) basing on D) based on * q+ {5 [! q2 A G) ?, k% z
14. A) or B) and C) but D) otherwise
8 A4 u+ N/ A/ n% s" T15. A) developed B) determined C) discovered D) delivered 8 V) f' Q, g3 g, c: C
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The Greatest Mystery of Whales : m" M6 X& E' n+ Q* S
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0 ~" P/ x: R& h$ }7 E) ^0 J 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.
4 d% H$ w3 ?0 l; g 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. ) n% A! C" C3 g$ a; m- J
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. # b8 ?6 w. m2 E' X
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. |