Pushbike Peril

    Low speed bicycle crashes can badly injure 一 or even kill 一 children if they fall onto the ends of the handlebars. So a team of engineers is redesigning the humble handlebar in a bid to make it safer¹.

    Kristy Arbogast, a bioengineer at the Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, began the project with her colleagues after a study of serious abdominal injuries in children in the past 30 years showed² that more than a third were caused by bicycle accidents. "The task was to identify how the injuries occurred and come up with some countermeasures,"³ she says.

    By interviewing the children and their parents，Arbogast and her team were able to⁴ reconstruct many of the accidents and identified a common mechanism responsible for serious injuries. They discovered that most occur when children hit an obstacle at a slow speed，causing them to topple over⁵. To maintain their balance they turn the handlebars through 90 degrees 一 but their momentum forces them into the end of the handlebars. The bike then falls over and the other end of the handlebars hits the ground, ramming it into their abdomen⁶.

    The solution the group came up with is a handgrip fitted with a spring and damping system.

    The spring absorbs up to 50 per cent of the forces transmitted through the handlebars in an impact. The group hopes to commercialize the device，which should add only a few dollars to the cost of a bike. “But our task has been one of education because up until now, bicycle manufacturers were unaware of the problem," says Arbogast.

    The team has also approached the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to try to persuade manufacturers to adopt the new design. A decision is expected later this year.

 

词汇：

handlebar /"hænd(ə)lbɑː/ n.(常用复数)(自行车等的）车把

abdominal /æb"dɒmɪn(ə)l/ adj.腹部的

redesign /riːdɪ"zaɪn/ v.重新设计

bioengineer /"baɪəʊ,endʒɪ"nɪə/ n.生物工程师

reconstruct /riːkən"strʌkt/ vt.重建;重构

countermeasure/"kaʊntəmeʒə/ n.对策

abdomen /"æbdəmən; æb"dəʊmən/ n.腹,腹部

momentum /mə"mentəm/ n.冲力

handgrip /"hæn(d)grɪp/ n.握柄

damping /dæmpɪŋ/ adj.制动的,减速的,缓冲的

commercialize /kə"mɝʃlaɪz/ vt.使商品化

 

注释：

1. So a team of engineers is redesigning the humble handlebar in a bid to make it safer.因此，一些 工程师正在重新设计这种欠合理的车把，以使其更安全。humble意为“在级别上、质量上、 位置上低的” ；bid在这里应作“努力，企图,争取”解。

2. after a study of serious abdominal injuries in children in the past 30 years showed:是一个时间状 语从句，主语是“a study"，谓语是“showed”。

3. The task was to identify how the injuries occurred and come up with some countermeasures.要 做的工作就是找出受伤的原因及其对策。be to +不定式可以表示按计划、安排将要发生的 事情。come up with意为“找到（解决办法）”。

4.were able to:在此句中表示“过去曾经做成某事”，相当于“succeeded in doing sth. ”。

5.topple over：翻倒

6. ramming it into their abdomen:把它压入他们的腹部。ram sth. into sth.意为“将某物压入、打入或填入某物”。

According to the passage, some engineers are trying to improve the handlebars because____

A:they are not noble enough B:they may kill children C:they are likely to crash D:they make the bike move at a low speed

‘Sesame Street’ has been called ‘the longest street in the world’. That is because the television program by that name can now be seen in so many parts of the world. That program became one of American’s exports soon after it went on the air in New York 1969. In the United States more than six million children watch the program regularly. The viewers include more than half of the nation’s pre-school children. Although some educators object to certain elements in the program, parents praise it highly. Many teachers also consider it a great help, though some teachers find that problems arise when first graders who have learned from ‘Sesame Street’ are in the same class with children who have not watched the program. The program uses songs, stories, jokes and pictures to give children a basic understanding of numbers, letters and human relationships. Tests have shown that children have benefited from watching ‘Sesame Street’. Why has ‘Sesame Street’ been so much more successful than other children’s show？Many reasons have been suggested. People mention the educational theories of its creators, the support by the government and private businesses, and the skillful use of a variety of TV tricks. Perhaps an equally important reason is that mothers watch ‘Sesame Street’. But the best reason for the success of the program may be that it makes every child watching it feel able to learn. The child finds himself, and he wants to learn more. Mothers often watch the program along with their children because

A:they enjoy the program as much as their children. B:they find their children have benefited from watching the program. C:they are attracted by some famous adult stars on the show. D:they can learn some educational theories from the program.

More surprising, perhaps, than the current difficulties of traditional marriage is the fact that marriage itself is alive and thriving. As Skolnick notes, Americans are a marrying people: relative to Europeans, more of us marry and we marry at a younger age. Moreover, after a decline in the early 1970s, the rate of marriage in the United States is now increasing. Even the divorce rate need to be taken in this pro marriage context: some 80 percent of divorced individuals remarry. Thus marriage remains, by far, the preferred way of life for the vast majority of people in our society.
What has changed more than marriage is the nuclear family. Twenty-five years ago, the typical American family consisted of a husband, a wife, and two or three children. Now, there are many marriages in which couples have decided not to have any children. And there are many marriages where at least some of the children are from the wife’s previous marriages, of the husband’s, or both. Sometimes these children spend all of their time with one parent from the former marriage; sometimes they are shared between the two former spouses(配偶).
Thus, one can find every type of family arrangement. There are marriages without children; marriages with children from only the present marriage; marriages with "full-time" children from both the present and former marriages; marriages with "full-time" children from the present marriage and "part-time" children from former marriages. There are stepfathers, stepmothers, half-brothers, and half-sisters. It is not all that unusual for a child to have four parents and grandparents! These are enormous changes from the traditional nuclear family. But even so, even in the midst of all this, there remains one constant: most Americans spend most of their adult life married.

"Part-time" children （　）

A:spend some of their time with their half brothers and some of their time with their half sisters B:spend all of their time with one parent from previous marriage C:are shared between the two former spouses D:cannot stay with "full-time" children

More surprising, perhaps, than the current difficulties of traditional marriage is the fact that marriage itself is alive and thriving. As Skolnick notes, Americans are a marrying people: relative to Europeans, more of us marry and we marry at a younger age. Moreover, after a decline in the early 1970s, the rate of marriage in the United States is now increasing. Even the divorce rate need to be taken in this pro marriage context: some 80 percent of divorced individuals remarry. Thus marriage remains, by far, the preferred way of life for the vast majority of people in our society.
What has changed more than marriage is the nuclear family. Twenty-five years ago, the typical American family consisted of a husband, a wife, and two or three children. Now, there are many marriages in which couples have decided not to have any children. And there are many marriages where at least some of the children are from the wife’s previous marriages, of the husband’s, or both. Sometimes these children spend all of their time with one parent from the former marriage; sometimes they are shared between the two former spouses(配偶).
Thus, one can find every type of family arrangement. There are marriages without children; marriages with children from only the present marriage; marriages with "full-time" children from both the present and former marriages; marriages with "full-time" children from the present marriage and "part-time" children from former marriages. There are stepfathers, stepmothers, half-brothers, and half-sisters. It is not all that unusual for a child to have four parents and grandparents! These are enormous changes from the traditional nuclear family. But even so, even in the midst of all this, there remains one constant: most Americans spend most of their adult life married.
"Part-time" children ______.

A:spend some of their time with their half brothers and some of their time with their half sisters B:spend all of their time with one parent from previous marriage C:are shared between the two former spouses D:cannot stay with "full-time" children

Doing homework not only can help children master the knowledge they have learned, but aslo can train their abilities of doing the work alone, planning the time and doing the duties. But some children don’ t like to complete the work. Why There are some reasons.
Some children feel it is very difficult to do their homework, because they can’ t understand their teacher clearly, and can not follow their teacher’ s teaching process (过程). Maybe there is something wrong with their intelligence.
But some children’ s intelligence is normal. They are even cleverer, but they don’ t listen to the teacher carefully. It is hard for them to sit well and pay attention to anything. It needs to carry on the attention centralized(集中精力) training to help the children.
Some children love their teacher and then they like the subject. Their interest depends on the teacher who teaches them. So every teacher should be helpful and kind. It can make children love you and the subject you teach. So they can do their homework happily.
What is the best title of the passage

A:Some children don’ t like their teacher. B:Children’s homework is very difficult. C:Why don’t some children like to do homework D:Why can’t some children study the subjects well

Doing homework not only can help children master the knowledge they have learned, but aslo can train their abilities of doing the work alone, planning the time and doing the duties. But some children don’ t like to complete the work. Why There are some reasons.
Some children feel it is very difficult to do their homework, because they can’ t understand their teacher clearly, and can not follow their teacher’ s teaching process (过程). Maybe there is something wrong with their intelligence.
But some children’ s intelligence is normal. They are even cleverer, but they don’ t listen to the teacher carefully. It is hard for them to sit well and pay attention to anything. It needs to carry on the attention centralized(集中精力) training to help the children.
Some children love their teacher and then they like the subject. Their interest depends on the teacher who teaches them. So every teacher should be helpful and kind. It can make children love you and the subject you teach. So they can do their homework happily.
What is the best title of the passage

A:Some children don’ t like their teacher. B:Children’s homework is very difficult. C:Why don’t some children like to do homework D:Why can’t some children study the subjects well

Doing homework not only can help children master the knowledge they have learned, but aslo can train their abilities of doing the work alone, planning the time and doing the duties. But some children don’ t like to complete the work. Why There are some reasons.
Some children feel it is very difficult to do their homework, because they can’ t understand their teacher clearly, and can not follow their teacher’ s teaching process (过程). Maybe there is something wrong with their intelligence.
But some children’ s intelligence is normal. They are even cleverer, but they don’ t listen to the teacher carefully. It is hard for them to sit well and pay attention to anything. It needs to carry on the attention centralized(集中精力) training to help the children.
Some children love their teacher and then they like the subject. Their interest depends on the teacher who teaches them. So every teacher should be helpful and kind. It can make children love you and the subject you teach. So they can do their homework happily.
What is the best title of the passage

A:Some children don’ t like their teacher. B:Children’s homework is very difficult. C:Why don’t some children like to do homework D:Why can’t some children study the subjects well