Inspired by a 9-year-old cyclist who uses only part of one hand, a group of University of Guelph students has won an international award for their invention--a bike brake lever . It pulls both the front brake and the back brake at the same time. Lauren Turner was able to ride her bike, but not as confidently and quickly as her friends. "She couldn't use the front brake. She was only using the back brake, but the front brake makes you stop twice as fast," says Micha Wallace, who with Katie Bell, Anina Sakaguchi and Andrew Morris won second prize in the James Dyson Awards for their single-handed bike braking lever. "She used it all last summer and she had no problems. She said it helped her go faster because she felt more confident in her braking abilities. She felt safer." says Wallace. The invention was the fourth-year design project for the four students. They designed, tested and created a prototype within a four-month period. When Wallace heard about the James Dyson Awards on the news, she and her co-inventors entered their project in the UK-based contest. The contest mainly rewards student designers who create products that improve the way we live. The Guelph students collected the second prize -PS2,000 for them, plus PS500 for their school. As well, they had a chance to meet James Dyson, a UK inventor. While praising the students for their creativity, Dyson said the single-handed lever could improve safety for all cyclists. "By using both brakes at once," he explains, "you could prevent the possibility of flying over the handlebars and ending up with an injury." The students are hoping to sell the patent to a major company. It may be used in other devices that require two hands for operation. What can we know about the inventors of the brake lever? A) They created the invention in four years. B) They won their schoolPS500 for their invention. C) They won the James Dyson Awards for four times. D) They sold their patent to a major company.
B
(Question)
The library is one of the most popular places at a western university.Students turn to it for research,conversations about class,and many other services. Compared with Chinese libraries,college libraries in the US and UK tend to offer more resources.A postgraduate at Yale University can borrow as many as 225 books at a time. In addition to borrowing books,there are online and electronic resources.These include a database search of popular and academic material,such as LexisNexis Academic,which offers items from newspapers and magazines. Although books and articles are the items that students ask for most frequently,some libraries provide audio and video recordings,maps and sheet music .At some schools,teachers and tutors put electronic copies of their teaching PPTs on the library web to give easier access for students. Another useful service in western college libraries is the Interlibrary Loan.This allows a student at one school to borrow books from another school.The loan request is made through the student's college library,which gets the book,gives it to the user,and arranges for its return. Technology has brought more services to students and has made libraries attractive.Some universities have services for students to send messages through the computer or mobile texts to ask the library staff for information. Earlier this year,Harvard University introduced a new Scan and Deliver service,allowing students to make requests for parts of books and articles.Requests made through the system are handled by library staff.The student receives an email with an Internet link to the scanned pages.The service is free and all material comes within four days. It used to be that libraries didn't allow food or drinks.But that rule is changing and many of them now contain a cafe so students can spend as much time as they want in the library. Actually,some US university libraries are now allnight affairs,or have at least one study room open all night. Which of the following are mostly needed by students in western libraries? A) Books and articles. B) Audio and video recordings. C) Maps and sheet music. D) Tutors' teaching PPTs.
(Answer)
A
Ques: Cloud seeding is a method of artificially causing clouds to produce precipitation in the form of rain or snow.Cloud seeding has also been used in attempts to modify the severity of hail storms and hurricanes.The effectiveness of cloud seeding remains controversial .but it continues to be used in some regions to try to increase rainfall for agriculture and to build snow packs for water supplies and power production. Cloud seeding was developed by American scientists Irving Langmuir and Vincent Joseph Schaefer during and after World War II.Their work began as an effort to learn more about the buildup of ice on airplane wings, and eventually led them to attempt to create rainfall by releasing several pounds of crushed frozen carbon dioxide into a cloud from an airplane.In this form, the carbon dioxide is called dry ice.On November 13, 1946, the technique appeared to produce snow directly under the cloud; the snow then turned to rain as it fell to the ground. For their experiment, Langmuir and Schaefer selected a supercooled cloud, one in which the water droplets remain liquid in subfreezing temperatures.Their theory was that small grains of dry ice falling through the cloud would cause tiny droplets of water vapor in the cloud to freeze into crystals that attracted more water vapor.Their theory proved to be correct and eventually the crystals became heavy enough to fall from the cloud as snow.As the snow reached the warmer temperatures closer to the ground, it melted and became rain. Another scientist, Bernard Vonnegut, produced a method of cloud seeding using silver iodide .He used particles of silver iodide because its crystal structure resembled that of ice in clouds.Silver iodide also had practical advantages over frozen carbon dioxide It could be stored at room temperature and did not require an airplane as a delivery mechanism.Instead, silver iodide crystals could be fired by cannons high into the air, where wind carried them into the clouds. The best title for the passage may be " _ ". A) Cloud Seeding B) Artificial Raining C) Weather Changing D) Cloud Gathering
Ans:
A