Fed up with constantly having to recharge or replace batteries in your ever-expanding electronic devices? The solution may be just a few steps away.
“Energy harvesting” promises to power countless consumer devices,often with nothing more than your body’s movement or heat.Dozens of companies around the world already offer such products,but many experts believe the market for the technology could explode due to electronic devices being developed for the Internet of Things.
“It’s huge,” said Graham Martin,CEO of the EnOcean Alliance,a San Ramon-based group of businesses that promotes wireless energy-harvesting technologies.With the Internet of Things expected to combine billions of devices,“if they are all battery-powered,we’ll have a problem because there’s not enough lithium(锂) in the world,” he added.“So a lot of them will have to use energy harvesting.”
Among the most basic forms of the technology is body power. When certain materials are squeezed or stretched,the movement of their atoms creates an electrical charge.Automatic watches have employed the concept for decades,for example,by winding themselves when their user moves their arm.Now,the concept is being considered for a number of other devices.
In a contest seeking visionary ideas for wearable technologies,Intel awarded $5,000 for a concept to change the temperature difference between a person’s body and a special piece of clothing they’d wear into electricity for mobile devices.
Using sound to power devices is another energy-harvesting variation.Stanford University engineers are testing smart microchips that create electricity from ultrasound to power implantable devices that can analyze a person’s nervous system or treat their diseases.
A textile research association in Spain is proposing to obtain electricity from radio waves that flow around everyone to power sensors sewn into clothes,which can monitor a person’s heartbeat or other vital signs.
Research firm IDTechEx has estimated that annual global sales of energy-harvesting products could hit $2.6 billion by 2024,while WinterGreen Research predicts sales of $4.2 billion by 2019.
Obtaining stable energy from devices can be complex,however.For one thing,the motion that generates the electricity has to be constant to be useful. Moreover,the amount of power the devices produce depends on the person using them,according to a Columbia University study. It determined that taller people on average provide about 20 percent more power than shorter ones when walking,running or cycling.
It’s also unclear how eagerly consumers might welcome energy-harvesting products.While such devices are expected to cost less than battery-powered alternatives when compared over many years,experts say,people may continue buying ones with batteries merely because those would be cheaper in the short term.
1.Which “explode” in the following sentences has the most similar meaning to the word “explode” in Paragraph 2?
A.They were clearing up when the second bomb exploded.
B.The continued tension could explode into more violence.
C.The population exploded to 5,000 during the last tourist season.
D.The boss exploded when he heard of the resignation of the secretary.
2.What makes “energy harvesting” necessary according to the passage?
A.The waste of lithium in the world.
B.The increasing number of electronic devices.
C.The development of technology.
D.The pollution caused by batteries.
3.It can be learned from the passage that .
A.energy-harvesting products will be popular in the long run
B.taller people can surely produce a larger amount of power
C.automatic watches harvest energy from the users’ body heat
D.two ways of harvesting energy are mentioned in the passage
语篇解读:本文是一篇说明文,介绍了几种能够代替锂电池为电子设备提供电源的能量收集产品,该类产品不仅功能强大,还很环保。
答案及剖析:
1.C 词义猜测题。根据第二段第二句话可知“explode”在句中表示“发展,增加”;C项中“explode”与文中词义一致,表示“游客激增到5 000”;故选C。
2.B 推理判断题。根据第二段第一句话可知能量收集为无数的消费者设备提供能量,由此可推知,正因电子设备数量的激增,才使能量收集成为必要。故选B。
3.A 推理判断题。根据倒数第三段可知,从长远来看,能量收集产品会很受欢迎,故选A。
