Smart Window
Windows not only let light in to cut down an electricity use for lighting, but the light coming through the window also provides heat. However, windows are not something people typically associate with being a cutting edge technology. Researchers are now working on new technologies that enable a window to quickly change from clear to dark and anywhere in between with a flip of a switch.
"It took us a long time to figure out what a window really is," says Claes Granqvist. He's a professor of solid-state physics at Uppsala University in Sweden. "It's contact with the outside world. You have to have visual contact with the surrounding world to feel well. " So, windows and natural light are important for improving the way people feel when they're stuck indoors.
Yet, windows are the weak link in a building when it comes to energy and temperature control. In the winter, cold air leaks in. When it's hot and sunny, sunlight streams in. All of this sunlight carries lots of heat and energy. And all of this extra heat forces people to turn on their air conditioners. Producing blasts of cold air, which can feel so refreshing, actually suck up enormous amounts of electricity in buildings around the world.
Windows have been a major focus of energy research for a long time. Over the years, scientists have come up with a variety of strategies for coating, glazing, and layering windows to make them more energy efficient. Smart windows go a step further. They use chromogenic technologies which involve changes of color.
Electrochromic windows use electricity to change color. For example, a sheet of glass coated with thin layers of chemical compound such as tungsten oxide works a bit like a battery. Tungsten oxide is clear when an electric charge is applied and dark when the charge is removed, that is, when the amount of voltage is decreased, the window darkens until it's completely dark after all electricity is taken away. So applying a voltage determines whether the window looks clear or dark.
One important feature that makes a smart window so smart is that it has a sort of "memory. " All it takes is a small jolt of voltage to turn the window from one state to the other. Then, it stays that way. Transitions take anywhere from 10 seconds to a few minutes, depending on the size of the window. The development of smart windows could mean that massive air conditioning systems may no longer need. "In the future," Granqvist says, "our buildings may look different. "
Which of the following statements does not indicate the importance of windows as described in the first two paragraphs?
A．Windows can change from clear to dark to save energy.
B．Windows help to save energy by letting light in.
C．Windows help to save energy by providing heat.
D．Windows enable people to have contact with the outside world.
第1题：
C
How Room Designs Affect Our Work and Feelings
Architects have long had the feeling that the places we live in can affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. But now scientists are giving this feeling an empirical(经验的，实证的) basis. They are discovering how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep people focused and lead to relaxation.
Researches show that aspects of the physical environment can influence creativity. In 2007, Joan Meyers-Levy at the University of Minnesota, reported that the height of a room's ceiling affects how people think. Her research indicates that higher ceilings encourage people to think more freely, which may lead them to make more abstract connections. Low ceilings, on the other hand, may inspire a more detailed outlook.
In additions to ceiling height, the view afforded by a building may influence an occupant's ability to concentrate. Nancy Wells and her colleagues at Cornell University found in their study that kids who experienced the greatest increase in greenness as a result of a family move made the most gains on a standard test of attention.
Using nature to improve focus of attention ought to pay off academically, and it seems to, according to a study led by C. Kenneth Tanner, head of the School Design & Planning Laboratory at the University of Georgia. Tanner and his team found that students in classrooms with unblocked views of at least 50 feet outside the window had higher scores on tests of vocabulary, language arts and maths than did students whose classrooms primarily overlooked roads and parking lots.
Recent study on room lighting design suggests than dim(暗淡的) light helps people to loosen up. If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner or at parties could increase relaxation. Researchers of Harvard Medical School also discovered that furniture with rounded edges could help visitors relax.
So far scientists have focused mainly on public buildings. "We have a very limited number of studies, so we're almost looking at the problem through a straw(吸管)," architect David Allison says. "How do you take answers to very specific questions and make broad, generalized use of them? That's what we're all struggling with."
64. What does Joan Meyers-Levy focus on in her research?
A.Light.B.Ceilings.C.Windows.D.Furniture.
第2题：
A single vessel being towed alongside shall exhibit ______.
A.one all-round white light
B.sidelights and a stern light
C.only the outboard sidelight and a stern light
D.a masthead light，sidelights，and a stern light
第3题：
C
In most situations, light helps us see. But nowadays humans are using too much of it so that it is in fact a kind of pollution.
When it comes to looking at the night sky, too much light makes it difficult for us to watch some of life’s most wonderful sights: stars, planets and even galaxies(星系).
According to scientific research, about 2, 500 stars can be seen by the human eye without using any special equipment(设备). But because of light pollution, you can only see 200 to 300 stars from today’s countryside, and no more than ten stars from a city. In most big cities, people cannot see the sky filled with stars like they did in their childhood.
Light pollution affects more than just our view of sky. Research shows that lots of nighttime light can harm wildlife, too.
When birds fly to another place over cities, they sometimes get lost by the brightness and fly in circles(圈) until they drop from tiredness. Sea turtles(海龟) need dark beaches for laying eggs, but they can’t find their ideal places because of those bright lights.
Too much light at night may even affect human health, but scientists are not sure of that. They are still learning more.
In order to prevent things from going worse, governments and some organizations are working to reduce light pollution. Many cities and towns have taken action to reduce the use of lights at night. Lights are used only when and where they are truly needed. They also shine lights down at the ground instead of up into the sky and use lower brightness levels.
Hopefully, in the near future, humans can enjoy the clear and beautiful sky again and all the wildlife will live a peaceful and undisturbed life, too.
27. Why does the writer think that too much light is a kind of pollution?
A. Because there are fewer and fewer stars.
B. Because human health has been affected.
C. Because too much light is a waste of energy.
D. Because some of the wildlife can be harmed.
第4题：
第5题：
第6题：
An occulting light is one in which ______.
A.the period of darkness exceeds the period of light
B.there is only a partial eclipse of the light
C.the periods of light and darkness are equal
D.the period of light exceeds the period of darkness
第7题：
A vessel is overtaking when she can see which light(s) of a vessel ahead?
A.Only the stern light of the vessel
B.One sidelight and a masthead light of the vessel
C.Only a sidelight of the vessel
D.The masthead lights of the vessel
第8题：
A. Satellite
B. Microwave
C. Light wave
D. Radio Frequency
第9题：
第10题：