When David Edwards founded the oPhone, he hoped scent (嗅觉的) messages would become the next big thing in the digitization of our online lives.
The device looked like a high-tech cruet set (调味瓶)， and allowed a friend with an iPhone app to send you scent messages alongside photos. Send a picture of your dinner, tag it with four different tones, and whoever is on the receiving end can sniff it from the vase-like tubes of the oPhone.
The oPhone didn’t take off, and the company has now shifted focus to a “scent speaker” called the Cyrano, which similarly uses a range of scent capsules to emit “play lists” of smells.
Compared to our real world interactions, our online lives are lacking in scent. Our digital culture, so soaked in visual and aural stimuli, is odorless (没有气味的). So why didn’t his marriage of smell and picture messaging excite more interest?
From a technical point of view, smell is simply harder to mass communicate than sounds and pictures. “There are two main technological obstacles to making smell transmissible by digital means,” explains biophysicist and author of Perfumes: The A -Z guide, Dr Luca Turin.
“First, there are no odor ‘primaries’like RGB or CMYK. Second, it has proved impossible to stimulate the olfactory epithelium (上皮组织) directly by any means tried so far. This means that it is currently impossible to induce a sensation of smell without there being an actual chemical in the inhaled air (吸入的空气).”
“The more we’re plugged into the virtual world, the more we deeply appreciate thecontrast-moments in our human, experience，” says designer and olfactory artist Mindy Yang.
“Intuitively, we realize that we are starved of certain sensations. With the rise of digital culture, society has become more interested in the missing sense-c-what we smell.”
This interest in scent isn’t only happening within the worlds of perfume and fashion. Over the past few years a number of cultural projects have set out to focus on the power of sensory experiences, from the use of a smell map, to the Tate Sensorium, which in 2015 let users experience visual art alongside smells, tastes and sounds.
Whether it’s devices like the oPhone that仕y to introduce scent into digital messaging, organizations are growingly aware of our culture’s desire for sensory experiences. In a time of virtual reality and scentless social networks, it’s perhaps no wonder that we as a culture have such a desire for something that instinctively feels real and authentic-even if it was made in a lab.
1.What can we learn about the oPhone?
A. The oPhone has defended our interest in what we smell.
B. The oPhone hasn’t caught on yet since it was founded.
C. The oPhone has swapped visual and aural stimuli for scent.
D. The oPhone is a vase tube to sniff specific messages from.
2.What makes it challenging to introduce scent into digital messaging?
A. The relevant tissue is impossible to stimulate directly.
B. Scent capsules should be applied to send out smells.
C. There exists no actual chemical in the inhaled air.
D. Sounds and pictures are easier to mass communicate.
3.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A. To promote the oPhone which can send scent messages.
B. To reveal the problems of the invention of the oPhone.
C. To predict the trend of the digitization of our online lives.
D. To introduce the oPhone based on smell-digital-technology.
Guide to Stockholm University Library
Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.
Zones
The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.
Computers
You can use your own computer to connect to the Wi-Fi specially prepared for notebook computers; you can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.
Group-study Places
If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps. There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.
Storage of Study Material
The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits (学分)， you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.
Rules to be Followed
Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.
Please note that food and fuit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.
1.The library ’s upper floor is mainly for students to .
A. have group discussions B. take comfortable seats
C. read in a quiet place D. get their computers fixed
2.What condition should be met to book a group-study room?
A. A group must consist of 8 people.
B. One should first register at the university.
C. Three-hour use per day is the minimum.
D. Applicants must mark the room on the map.
Bill Gates doesn’t pretend he lives in an equal household. When it _________parenting his three children, the billionaire admits his wife Melinda has done more than her________of the work raising the kids.
Gates spent two years taking math and computer science courses, but never ________his degree.“My eldest daughter graduates from Stanford in June, so I’m________she won't fall into my footsteps.”Gates joked.
Gates said he and his wife have been quite cautious about the________they've used to' raise their three children. He says the couple ________ a 1970s “Love and Logic” parenting model. The core idea of the philosophy is centered on the idea that taking emotional control, essentially reducing emotional________ like shouting or blaming kids, is________for parents.
“One of the greatest benefits of________“Love and Logic” is that it helps us learn how to keep a tighter control on our emotions and on our________.”Gates said.
Gates admits he and his wife haven’ at ________the approach. “Can you get rid of the emotion? You can’t________ do it.”he said.
Besides, the “Love and Logic” model also________the importance of not relying on rewards for kids, but instead showing unconditional love and praising kids for who they are, not what they do (or don’t)________，like a poor test score or a(n)________grade.
“Many highly successful people________Lwith grades as children.” Gates said，“What’s most important is that our________develop good character, curiosity and problem-solving skills.”
The model is a bit like the Socratic method，________it pushes parents to focus on asking questions of their kids and getting them to think about how to ________their own problems,________ feeding them answers.
1.A. leads to B. devotes to C. refers to D. comes to
2.A. power B. share C. sight D. reach
3.A. purchased B. finished C. missed D. lost
4.A. optimistic B. sorry C. pessimistic D. normal
5.A. idea B. theory C. model D. practice
6.A. adapted B. evaluated C. disliked D. followed
7.A. reactions B. displays C. apartments D. mistakes
8.A. familiar B. expensive C. useful D. meaningless
9.A. repairing B. facing C. lacking D. applying
10.A. tongues B. minds C. hands D. gesture
11.A. holding out B. carrying out C. tying out D. letting out
12.A. gradually B. roughly C. commonly D. totally
13.A. covers B. hides C. stresses D. costs
14.A. show B. earn C. achieve D. love
15.A. harmful B. bad C. various D. impressive
16.A. struggled B. grew C. smiled D. cried
17.A. children B. staff C. teachers D. parents
18.A. what B. when C. why D. where
19.A. guide B. solve C. raise D. overcome
20.A. thanks to B. but for C. instead of D. or rather
The villagers are extremely grateful to the workers, without whose help the road to the village______.
A. can’t be built B. mustn’t be built
C. couldn’t have been built D. mustn’t have been built
Now that the banks are back on their feet, we expect the extraordinary______ from them to help rebuild the economy.
A. category B. commitment C. component D. competence
一一Guess what? I happened to meet Mary in the street yesterday.
-If my memory serves me correctly, you two ______each other for almost ten years.
A. haven’t seen B. hadn't seen C. didn’t see D. don’t see
