International teams have spent nearly half a year looking for evidence of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane, a search that includes the hunt for the aircraft’s so-called black box, which holds flight data that would likely explain what caused MH370 to move away from its course. But many aviation experts wonder why, in our increasingly networked world, divers are searching the Indian Ocean for a metal box when technology already exists that would enable planes to stream black box data to the ground in the event of an emergency.
Black boxes have been on planes since the late 1950s, and now every commercial aircraft has two: a flight data recorder and a voice recorder. (Although they are referred to as black boxes, they are typically orange in color, making them easier to spot in waters.) Black box recorders are mainly used to investigate the cause of in-flight accidents.
While black boxes are built to survive a crash and long-term submersion(浸没）in water, it can be a real challenge to find the device if a plane has gone down in the ocean. While each box contains a beacon(无线电信标台), the unit only has enough battery power to transmit a signal for 30 days. After the crash of Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean in June 2009, it took divers two years to find the black box.
Pierre Jeanniot, a Canadian engineer who helped perfect black box technology about 40 years ago, feels that the device, in its current form, is “obsolete”. He started to question its effectiveness more than a decade ago, after seeing the broken pieces of the black boxes in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade towers in New York. Jeanniot is now on the advisory board of a Toronto-based firm that has built a live-streamed black box system. When a plane experiences an irregular event, the system can send streaming data off the aircraft to one of the satellites and then down to ground-based servers, where the message is interpreted and sent to the airline. It seems necessary that the loss of MH370 and other similar cases wake more people up to the fact that the tools being used at this stage are inadequate for dealing with emergency situations, Jeanniot says. He also estimates that if this technology had been on board the missing Malaysian Airlines flight and live-streaming for the estimated seven hours after the flight first experienced a problem, it would have cost about $3,000.
While there is widespread approval of a live-streamed black box system, most airlines see its cost prohibitive. The airline industry is an industry with small profits, and is reluctant to add costs that will further cut the bottom line.
However, given how much time, money and effort has been spent on the luckless search for MH370, s black box, the cost of operating a live-streaming version seems like a trifle(区区小数)
1.In this passage, the underlined word “obsolete” probably means .
A. out of date B. out of use
C. on the move D. on the increase
2.Which fact is mentioned to support aviation experts’ doubt about the effectiveness of the black box?
A. MH370’s black box holds flight data that might explain what happened to the aircraft.
B. The recorders are actually orange in color though referred to as black boxes.
C. The beacon in the black box has limited battery power to send out a signal for 30 days.
D. It’s necessary for people to wake up to the weaknesses of the black box
3.What’s airlines’ attitude towards the live-streamed black box system?
A. They approve of the system since it may save time, money and effort.
B. They consider using the system as the bottom line of costs.
C. They are reluctant to start the system because it still needs improving.
D. They are unwilling to equip planes with the system as it cuts their profits.
4.From the passage, we can learn that__________.
A. it takes divers one or two years to find the black box after a crash
B. the new system does not live stream black box data for the whole flight
C. Jeanniot changed his view on black box technology when working for a Canadian firm
D. operating a live-streamed black box system costs only three thousand dollars
At Japan’s Studio Ghibli, which has produced extraordinary animated films(动画片）since 1985, the best-known figure has always been one of the company’s founders, Hayao Miyazaki.
But an equally key figure is co-founder Isao Takahata, who has recently made a new feature, The Tale of Princess Kagnya. It is an unforgettable feature with an unusual hand-drawn aesthetic(美感).
The title character is a tiny baby girl who appears in a bamboo plant. She is found by a woodcutter, who takes her home and brings her up. He believes the little girl is a princess, and sets about preparing what he regards as a suitable world for her.
This original story is the oldest work of fiction in Japan; every child knows it in its simplified folktale form.
“It is a fascinating story with elements of wonder, humour, and sorrow,’’ Takahata says, “but these three elements are scattered(分散）about.” The chief challenge for anyone trying to adapt it is that “we are completely unable to comprehend what was in the heart of Princess Kaguya. Because of this, despite its being well known, few people consider it interesting. There have been several attempts at making a film out of the story, but they ended up being abandoned.”
He was connected with one of these attempts, but no one paid any attention to his concept.
“Fifty-five years later, I thought my concept was still appealing, and used it as a basis for turning the story into a feature film.”
His concept involves the princess’s origins, her expectations and her access to “the full range of human emotions”.
To realize his vision, Takahata says, “I needed to take the extremely individualistic brushwork and key designs of Osamu Tanabe and Kazuo Oga, two brilliantly talented artists, and have them permeate(扩散）throughout the film. The two of them drew many pictures, but they weren’t nearly enough. The most challenging part was to have all the other animation staff copy their styles in a free and easy way.”
The Tale of Princess Kaguya has been released, and people are saying that the two founders, now in their seventies, have directed their final films. But is it as clear-cut as that? When I ask Takahata about a scene of escape and urgency with a particularly distinctive (独特的) visual style, he says he had intended to use “this type of rough-drawn, forceful animation, in a project before this film.
“That project hasn’t been realized yet, but if it comes to pass, this style is essential.”
A hint, perhaps, there's still more to come.
1.Which of the following choices has got the right match?
①Hayao Miyazaki | a. one of the founders of Studio Ghibli |
② Isao Takahata | b. fictional character |
③ Kazuo Oga | c. famous artist |
④ Princess Kaguya | d. animation staff member of The Tale of Princess Kaguya |
A.① d B. ② a C.③ b D.④ c
2.Why is it challenging to adapt the original story to a feature film according to the passage?
A. Because people are in the dark about the feelings of Princess Kaguya.
B. Because the story itself offers a combination of wonder, humour and sorrow.
C. Because the story is too old to appeal to the audience nowadays.
D. Because every Japanese has been familiar with the story ever since childhood
3.From the Takahata version of The Tale of Princess Kaguya, we can expect the following except ________.
A. more details about the Princess’s origins and expectations
B. a forceful animation type featuring fine images and gentle brushwork
C. the distinctive brushwork and key designs from two gifted artists
D. a hand-drawn visual effect that brings out a unique sense of beauty
1.This advertisement is mainly about_______.
A. some unmissable films this winter
B. a way of booking film tickets
C. the company of Cineworld
D. a certain Clubcard
2.Which of the following is true?
A. This advertisement is probably taken from a magazine.
B. For every adult ticket you will have to pay £ 4.50 in cash.
C. You will receive two emails after you place your order using the basket.
D. Cineworld encourages viewers to be involved in its management for experience.
At just 18 years old, Canberra student Lochie Ferrier has already conducted research in a frontier field — aerospace engineering. Aerospace engineering is the primary of engineering concerned with the science and technology of aircraft and spacecraft.
In 2014, he was one of 80 high school students worldwide who a six-week science and engineering program at MIT. During the program, he was by the institute’s scientists, and developed a method to identify inactive satellites. This method, called OASIS, is designed a way to help manage space debris(碎片), which operating satellites.
“One solution to this problem is a robot that can gather pieces of space debris and store them in orbit，” he says. “These pieces could be to new satellites later, thus the costs and launch weights of new satellites.” However, satellite identification technology would be needed for this solution, and that’s what Lochie is working on. “I hope this method would be put into practice in the near future, in the next 10 years,” he says.
Lochie has made the of the Young Innovators category of the Australian Innovation Challenge Awards with his OASIS. This category is open to students aged 21 years or and carries a $ 5,000 prize. If he won, he would use the money to help fund research into OASIS. “My plan for using the money would be to try to use materials which could stand up to the environment of space,” he says.
He is also considering how to the technology to organizations such as NASA and satellite manufacturers.
Lochie’s in aerospace engineering was aroused by the big dish antenna(碟形天线）at NASA’s tracking station near Canberra，which he visited in his early teens. He said his software design and development teacher at Canberra Grammar School him, too. “He taught me valuable project management and skills which I applied to OASIS.”
Lochie has been attending Canberra Grammar School and will soon exams for admission to universities. He his time between schoolwork, his personal projects such as OASIS and the development of apps, rock climbing, and playing classical violin. The teenager is well on his way to realizing his sky-high ambition.
1.A. principle B. presentation C. branch D. criterion
2.A. brought in B. participated in C. set up D. backed up
3.A. guided B. criticized C. surprised D. changed
4.A. in B. for C. with D. as
5.A. follows B. threatens C. splits D. maintains
6.A. recycling B. repairing C. creating D. launching
7.A. switched B. transformed C. attached D. returned
8.A. increasing B. reducing C. balancing D. covering
9.A. optional B. temporary C. reliable D. theoretical
10.A. imagine B. say C. suppose D. consider
11.A. plans B. finals C. competitions D. goals
12.A. under B. beyond C. more D. above
13.A. basic B. further C. academic D. independent
14.A. extreme B. pure C. dark D. friendly
15.A. adapt B. forward C. market D. apply
16.A. influence B. investment C. information D. interest
17.A. inspired B. served C. sponsored D. promised
18.A. join B. sit C. hold D. prepare
19.A. devotes B. spends C. separates D. divides
20.A. instructive B. competitive C. technical D. typica
in running for head of the department, which most colleagues had not expected, made her parents very upset.
A. Lucy was defeated
B. Lucy being defeated
C. Lucy’s been defeated
D. Lucy's being defeated
Since it is common to copy others’designs, the Council of Fashion Designers has recently urged the government to pass laws to protect designers’ rights.
A. practice B. standard C. sense D. activity
