冲刺：学苑中心同等学力阅读例文－社会类

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:09:18 12:03:27
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

1、Flat Battery: It Works On Paper
If saving bits of energy and environment here and there add up, then Finland’s
Enfucell has a battery that will help people make a difference by cutting down on all
the metal, lithium and alkaline that leaks from conventional cells. "Our battery doesn’t
have to go to the battery-recycle bin. It’s disposable as household waste," says Jaako
Happonen, 50, Enfucell’s chief executive.
Enfucell, based outside Helsinki, builds batteries out of paper. Its Soft Battery works
much the same way as ordinary "button" batteries (like the one in your watch) and
"finger" batteries (think AA). Ions travel from an anode, pass through a solution
called an electrolyte to a cathode and emerge as an electrical charge. Instead of
running ions through metal casings full of toxic and corrosive substances like lithium
and alkaline, Enfucell uses a thin paper sheet as a conduit. It pastes one side with zinc
and the other side with manganese dioxide. Ions flow through an electrolyte solution
of water and zinc chloride within the paper.
The batteries are not only environmentally friendly but they’re also cheap.
Happonen is also targeting musical greeting cards and LED-adorned marketing
brochures. Another market: makers of cosmetic and medical patches. Happonen notes
that battery-powered antiwrinkle and stop-smoking patches are more effective than
those without a power boost. With a nicotine patch, "in the morning when you need a
bigger dose of nicotine, you push a button," he says.

2、Help for Children With Learning Disabilities
Overcoming the Frustration of Dyslexia
THE World Health Organization estimates that up to 3 percent of earth’s population
have some form of mental retardation. Impaired mental ability can result from genetic
problems, birth injuries, early brain infections, and dietary deficiencies, as well as
drug, alcohol, or chemical exposure. In the majority of cases, the cause is unknown.
What is it like to be parents of children having special needs? How can such parents
be encouraged?
When the Bad News Breaks
The challenge begins when parents find out that their child has a mental disability.
“When my husband and I learned that our daughter had Down syndrome, it felt as
though our house had collapsed on us and buried us,” recalls Sirkka. Markus’ mother,
Anne, says: “When I was told that he would be mentally disabled, I wondered how
others would view him. But I soon passed that stage and concentrated on his needs
and on what I could do for him.” Irmgard reacted similarly. “When the doctors
informed us about our daughter Eunike’s limiting condition,” she says, “I could think
only of how I could help my little girl.” Following such a diagnosis, what course is
open to parents like Sirkka, Anne, and Irmgard?
“One of the first things that you can do,” advises the U.S. National Dissemination
Center for Children With Disabilities, “is to collect information—information about
your child’s disability, about the services that are available, and about the specific
things you can do to help your child develop to the fullest extent possible.” Applying
this information can add a sense of purpose and direction to your caregiving. It is
much like charting the progress of a journey on a map, noting the distance traveled
and the landmarks reached.
Bryan’s father and mother see this achievement as another small victory over his
disabilities. “We view our son as a hardwood tree in a forest,” says his mother, Laurie.
“Though a hardwood does not grow as fast as other trees, it produces timber of great
worth. Similarly, children with disabilities also develop slowly. But to their parents
they become like little oaks and teaks of lasting value.”