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．

词汇：

chicken pox水痘

microorganism n．微生物

metallic adj．金属的

collaborator n．合作者，协作者

pluck v．拔，摘，采

注释：

1．no wonder：不足为奇的，难怪

2．steer clear of：避开，绕开

3．though：意思为“然而，可是”。在句中使用时通常放在句末。

4．Cambridge，Massachusetts：马萨诸塞州的剑桥市。本文第三段提到的the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge即指坐落于剑桥市的麻省理工学院。麻省理工学院于1861年由著名自然科学家威廉·巴罗吉杰斯创立。这是美国的一所私立研究型大学，培养高级科技人才和管理人才，是以理工科为主的、世界一流的综合性大学。

5．came up with：提出

6．A，C and D batteries：A、C、D均为电池型号。

7．These microbatteries may change the way we look at viruses：这些微型电池可能会改变我们看待病毒的方式。作者想表达的意思是：人们一直认为病毒有害无益，现在病毒可用来制作电池，人们对病毒的看法可能会因此而发生变化。

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．

宋体的特点是（）；

A:久读不易疲劳 B:方头方尾 C:视觉冲击力强 D:汉字传统书法的正体

当前被编辑的文档中的字体全是宋体字，小明选择了一段文字后，先设定了楷体，又改为仿宋体，则（）

A:被选择的内容变为楷体，其余的文字变为仿宋体 B:被选择的内容仍为宋体，其余的文字变成仿宋体 C:被选择的内容变为仿宋体，其余的文字仍为宋体 D:被选择的内容变为楷体，其余的文字仍为宋体

在WORD编辑状态下，当前编辑文档中的字体是宋体，选择了一段文字使之反显，先设定了楷体，又设定了黑体，则（）

A:文档全文都是楷体 B:被选择的内容仍是宋体 C:被选择的内容便成了黑体 D:文档全部文字字体不变

宋体字兴起在（）。

A:南宋 B:唐朝 C:北宋 D:明清

长仿宋体是（）的变形字体。

A:宋体 B:仿宋体 C:书宋体 D:报宋体

在Word中，当前文档中的字体全是宋体，选择了一段文字，先设定了楷体，又设定了仿宋体，则______。

A:文档全文都是楷体 B:被选择的内容仍为宋体 C:被选择的内容变为仿宋体 D:文档的全部文字的字体不变

在Word文档的编辑状态下，当前编辑文档中的字体全是宋体字，选择了一段文字使之成反显状，先设定了楷体，又设定了仿宋体，则( )。

A:文档全文都是楷体 B:被选择的内容仍为宋体 C:被选择的内容变为仿宋体 D:文档的全部文字的字体不变

在Word 97的编辑状态，当前编辑文档中的字体全是宋体，选择了一段文字使之成反显状，先设定了楷体，又设定了仿宋体，则( )。

A:文档全文都是楷体 B:被选择的内容仍为宋体 C:被选择的内容变为仿宋体 D:文档的全部文字的字体不变

在Word的编辑状态，当前编辑文档中的字体全是宋体字，选择了一段文字使之成反显状，先设定了楷体，又设定了仿宋体，则______。

A:文档全文都是楷体 B:被选择的内容仍为宋体 C:被选择的内容变为仿宋体 D:文档的全部文字的字体不变