2018年可锐考研英语阅读专练模拟题

第一篇：2018年可锐考研英语阅读专练模拟题

可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

2018年可锐考研英语阅读专练模拟题

（四）A mysteriousblack cloudapproaches the earth-our planet s weather is severely affected.Throughout the rest of June and July temperatures rose steadily all over the Earth.In the British isles the temperature climbed through the eighties, into the nineties, and moved towards the hundred mark.People complained, but there was no serious disaster.The death number in the U.S.Remained quite small, thanks largely to the air-conditioning units that had been fitted during previous years and months.Temperatures rose to the limit of human endurance throughout the whole country and people were obliged to remain indoors for weeks on end.Occasionally air-conditioning units failed and it was then that fatalities occurred.Conditions were utterly desperate throughout the tropicsas may be judged from the fact that 7943 species of plants and animals became totally extinct.The survival of Man himself was only possible because of the caves and cellarshe was able to dig.Nothing could be done to reduce the hot air temperature.More than seven hundred million persons are known to have lost their lives.Eventually the temperature of the surface waters of the sea rose, not so fast as the air temperature it is true, but fast enough to produce a dangerous increase of humidity.It was indeed this increase that produced the disastrous conditions just remarked.Millions of people between the latitudes of Cairo and the Cape of Good Hope were subjected to a choking atmosphere that grew damper and hotter from day to day.All human movement ceased.There was nothing to be done but to lie breathing quickly as a dog does in hot weather.By the fourth week of July conditions in the tropics lay balanced between life and total death.Then quite suddenly rain clouds appeared over the whole globe.The temperature declined a little, due no doubt to the clouds reflecting more of the Sun s radiation back into space, But conditions could not be said to have improved.Warm rain fell everywhere, even as far north as Iceland.The insect population increased enormously, since the burning hot atmosphere was as favorable to them as it was unfavorable to Man many other animals.81.In the British Isles the temperature.A)stayed at eighty

B)ranged from eighty to ninety

C)approached one hundred

D)exceeded the hundred mark 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

82.Few people in the United States lost their lives because.A)the temperature was tolerable

B)people remained indoors for weeks

C)the government had taken effective measures to reduce the hot temperature

D)people were provided with the most comfortable air-conditioners

83.Millions of people in Cairoand the Cape of Good Hopewere subjected to a choking atmosphere because.A)the temperature grew extremely hot

B)the temperature became damper and hotter as the humidity of the surface waters of the sea increased

C)their conditions were too dangerous

D)nothing could be done with the hot temperature

84.By the fourth week of July conditions in the tropics were such that.A)human survival would be impossible

B)more and more people would lose their lives

C)fewer people could be saved

D)survival or death was still undecided

85.The insect population increased due to.A)the hot air

B)the tropical climate

C)the rain clouds

D)the damp atmosphere

答案：1.C 2.D 3.B 4.D 5.A 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

Tea drinking was common in China for nearly one thousand years before anyone in Europe had ever heard about tea.People in Britain were much slower in finding out what tea was like, mainly because tea was very expensive.It could not be bought in shops and even those people who could afford to have it sent from Holland did so only because it was a fashionable curiosity.Some of them were not sure how to use it.They thought it was a vegetable and tried cooking the leaves.Then they served them mixed with butter and salt.They soon discovered their mistake but many people used to spread the used tea leaves on bread and give them to their children as sandwiches.Tea remained scarce and very expensive in England until the ships of the East India Company began to bring it direct from China early in the seventeenth century.During the next few years so much tea came into the country that the price fell and many people could afford to buy it.At the same time people on the Continent were becoming more and more fond of tea.Until then tea had been drunk without milk in it, but one day a famous French lady named Madame de Sevigne decided to see what tea tasted like when milk was added.She found it so pleasant that she would never again drink it without milk.Because she was such a great lady her friends thought they must copy everything she did, so they also drank their tea with milk in it.Slowly this habit spread until it reached England and today only very few Britons drink tea without milk.At first, tea was usually drunk after dinner in the evening No one ever thought of drinking tea in the afternoon until a duchess found that a cup of tea and a piece of cake at three or four o clock stopped her gettinga sinking feelingas she called it.She invited her friends to have this new meal with her and so, tea-time was born.76.Which of the following is true of the introduction of tea into Britain?

A)The Britons got expensive tea from India.B)Tea reached Britain from Holland.C)The Britons were the first people in Europe who drank tea.D)It was not until the 17th century that the Britons had tea.77.This passage mainly discusses.A)the history of tea drinking in Britain

B)how tea became a popular drink in Britain

C)how the Britons got the habit of drinking tea

D)how tea-time was born 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

78.Tea became a popular drink in Britain.A)in eighteenth century

B)in sixteenth century

C)in seventeenth century

D)in the late seventeenth century

79.People in Europe began to drink tea with milk because.A)it tasted like milk

B)it tasted more pleasant

C)it became a popular drink

D)Madame de Sevinge was such a lady with great social influence that people tried to copy the way she drank tea

80.We may infer from the passage that the habit of drinking tea in Britain was mostly due to the influence of.A)a famous French lady

B)the ancient Chinese

C)the upper social class

D)people in Holland

答案：1.B 2.A 3.C 4.D 5.C

第二篇：2018年可锐考研英语完形填空模拟题

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2018年可锐考研英语完形填空模拟题

（一）Text1．

Fill each of the numbered blanks in the following passage with one suitable word.From the beginning, water has furnished man with a source of food and a highway to travel upon.The first civilisations arose____________(1)water was a dominant element in the environment, a challenge__________(2)man’s ingenuity.The Egyptians invented the 365___________(3)calendar in response___________(4)the Nile’s annual flooding.The Babylonians, who were among ___________(5)most famous law-makers___________(6)antiquity, devised edicts regulating water usage.Water inspired the Chinese___________(7)build a 1,000 mile canal, a complex system___________(8), after nearly 2,500 years, ___________(9)still partly in use and still commands the awe of engineers.But the ancients never found complete solutions ____________(10)their water problems.The Hwang Ho, or Yellow River, is also known___________(11)“China’s Sorrow”;it is so erratic and dangerous___________(12)in a single flood it has caused a million deaths.Floods harassed the great civilisation of the Indus River valley, and inadequate drainage ruined much__________(13)its land.Today____________(14)dominates man as it always has___________(15).Its presence continues to govern the location of his homes and cities;its tempestuous variability can kill ___________(16)or his herds or his crops;its routes link him to____________(17)fellows;its immense value may add___________(18)already dangerous political conflicts.There are many examples__________(19)this in our___________(20)time.参考答案：

1.where 2.to 3.day 4.to 5.the 6.of/in 7.to 8.which/that 9.is/remains 10.to 11.as 12.that 13.of 14.it/water 15.done 16.him/man 17.his 18.to 19.of 20.own

Text2．

SectionⅠ Use of English

Directions:

Read the following text.Choose the best word(s)for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1.(10 points)

Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.1 agreed upon among linguists, this 2 covers four important aspects: system, arbitrary, symbol and vocal.It is a system, 3 linguistic elements are arranged systematically, 4 chaotically.Its being a system ensures a common 5 on which the users can 6 it and understand it.Arbitrary, in the 7 that there is usually without 8 connection between a word(dog, for instance)and the thing referred to by the word “dog”.A 9 from Shakespeare would make a good example: “a rose by any other name 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

would smell as sweet。” That is why there are 10 languages in the world, with so many different sounds and writings, all of which 11 more or less the same meanings.It is symbolic, because words(writings/pictogram)are associated 12 objects, concepts, actions, by nothing more than 13.In other words, language users 14 the sounds or vocal forms to symbolize 15 they wish to convey.It is vocal, because sound or speech is the primary 16 for all human languages.17 systems developed much later than the spoken forms.This recognition can be proved by the fact 18 every normal human can 19 in a certain language but not 20 is able to write。

1.[A] Presumably [B] Broadly [C] Incidentally [D] Cheerfully

2.[A] interference [B] access [C] impact [D] definition

3.[A] since [B] if [C] unless [D] while

4.[A] other than [B] now that [C] rather than [D] except that

5.[A] freedom [B] origin [C] ground [D] reform

6.[A] grasp [B] urge [C] oblige [D] assess

7.[A] cost [B] sense [C] sight [D] risk

8.[A] paradoxical [B] continuous [C] incompatible [D] intrinsic

9.[A] maintenance [B] quotation [C] existence [D] survival

10.[A] complex [B] racial [C] numerous [D] prominent

11.[A] bind [B] carry [C] restrain [D] sustain

12.[A] to [B] from [C] by [D] with

13.[A] convention [B] conviction [C]conservation [D] consensus

14.[A] substitute [B] wreck [C] employ [D] propel

15.[A] when [B] that [C] which [D] what

16.[A] version [B] weapon [C] contest [D] medium

17.[A] Recording [B] Decoding [C] Writing [D] Quoting

18.[A] that [B] whereas [C] which [D] once 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

19.[A] speak [B] talk [C] say [D] put

20.[A] necessarily [B] generally [C] hardly [D] confusedly

参考答案

SectionⅠ Use of English(10 points)

1.B 2.D 3.A 4.C 5.C 6.A 7.B 8.D 9.B 10.C 11.B 12.D 13.A 14.C 15.D 16.D 17.C 18.A 19.B 20.A

全文翻译

语言是人类用来交际的任意性的语音符号的体系。这是语言学家们普遍认同的定义。它包含四个重要概念：系统性，任意性，符号性以及语音性。语言是一个体系，因为语言成分是有条理地而不是凌乱地拼凑在一起。因为语言有体系，使用者就有共同处，便于掌握和理解。说语言是任意性的，意思是，某个词(如“狗”)与它所指的物体之间通常没有本质的内在的固有的联系。援引莎氏的一句名言很能说明，“一朵玫瑰不管它叫什么名字，闻起来都是一样香。”所以，世界上有如此众多不同的语音和书面文图，其含义都略同或相同。说语言是符号，因为词语跟客观世界的物体，行动，想法等的联系是约定俗成的。换言之，人们用一定的音和语言形式去象征地表达和交流事物。语言是有声的，是因为语音或口头对于全人类的语言都是第一性的，文字是第二性的。这种观点可从下列事实得到证明：所有正常人都能讲一种语言，但并不一定能写它。

Text3．

In Cambodia, the choice of a spouse is a complex one for the young male.It may involve not only his parents and his friends, __1__those of the young woman, but also a matchmaker.A young man can __2__ a likely spouse on his own and then ask his parents to __3__the marriage negotiations, or the young man’s parents may take the choice of a spouse, giving the child little to say in the selection.__4__, a girl may veto the spouse her parents have chosen.__5__ a spouse has been selected, each family investigates the other to make sure its child is marrying __6__ a good family.The traditional wedding is a long and colorful affair.Formerly it lasted three days, __7__1980s it more commonly lasted a day and a half.Buddhist priests offer a short sermon and __8__ prayers 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

of blessing.Par--ts of the ceremony involve ritual hair cutting,__9__cotton threads soaked in holy water around the bride's and groom's wrists, and __10__a candle around a circle of happily married and respected couples to bless the __11__.Newlyweds traditionally move in with the wife's parents and may__12__ with them up to a year, __13__they can build a new house nearby.Divorce is legal and easy to __14__, but not common.Divorced persons are __15__ with some disapproval.Each spouse retains ___16___ property he or she __17__ into the marriage, and jointly-acquired property is __18__ equally.Divorced persons may remarry, but a gender prejudice __19__up.The divorced male doesn't have a waiting period before he can remarry __20__the woman must wait ten months.1.A.by way of

B.with regard to

C.on behalf of

D.as well as 2.A.decide on

B.provide for

C.compete with

D.adapt to 3.A.close

B.arrange

C.renew

D.Postpone 4.A.In theory

B.Above all

C.In time

D.For example 5.A.Unless

B.Less

C.After

D.Although 6.A.into

B.within

C.from

D.through 7.A.or

B.since

C.but

D.so

8.A.test

B.copy

C.recite

D.create 9.A.folding

B.piling

C.wrapping

D.tying 10.A.passing

B.lighting

C.hiding

D.serving

11.A.association B.meeting

C.collection

D.union 12.A.deal

B.part

C.grow

D.live 13.A.whereas

B.until

C.for

D.if

14.A.avoid

B.follow

C.challenge

D.obtain

15.A.isolated

B.persuaded

C.viewed

D.exposed 16.A.wherever

B.whatever

C.whenever

D.However 17.A.changed

B.brought

C.shaped

D.pushed 18.A.invested

B.divided

C.donated

D.withdrawn 19.A.warms

B.clears

C.shows

D.breaks 20.A.while

B.so that

C.once

D.in that

1.[标准答案] [D]as well as

[考点分析] 本题考察逻辑关系

[选项分析] 因为考察逻辑关系，所以需要我们先对填空前后的原文信息做定位分析：文章身处大环境not only„..but also之中，这是一个明显的并列关系，表示“不仅„„而且„„”该空与前一句“his parents and his friends”也是并列关系，表示“与他本人以及伴侣的父母朋友相关” 所以答案只能是D.as well as.A.by way of通过 B.with regard to 关于 C.on behalf of 代表

2.[标准答案] [A] decide on

[考点分析] 上下文语义

[选项分析] 根据该句的主语a young man与宾语a likely spouse的关系，答案只能是A.decide on 决定。表示自己决定自己的对象。B.provide for 为„„提供准备 C.compete with与„„竞争 D.adapt to适用

3.[标准答案] [B]arrange

[考点分析] 上下文语义及动词辨析

[选项分析] 该句意思为，他可以自己选择自己中意的伴侣并让父母_____相关事务。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

四个选项中，A.close 关闭 C renew 更新；恢复 D postpone“推迟”，语义不正确，只有B arrange安排是符合语境。

4.[标准答案] [A]In theory

[考点分析] 上下文语义

[选项分析]逻辑判断题。主要是看前后两句的含义，前面是说“

他可以自己选择自己中意的伴侣并让父母安排相关事务，或者几乎不参与，完全让父母选择自己的对象。” 空格后面说“女方可以拒绝她父母所选择的对象。”这两句之间没有举例说明的关系，且有一个may，更证明A.In theory的正确性。而其他选项 B.Above all 最重要的是，C.In time 准时 D.For example举例，均不符合题意。

5.[标准答案] [C]After

[考点分析] 上下文语义

[选项分析]根据下文“______a spouse has been selected, each family investigates the other„„”知道，只有对象选择好后，父母才会去调查研究对方的背景。所以只有after才对。其他选项A.Unless 除非，否则 B.Lest 以免，唯恐 D.Although 尽管 都不符合题意。

6．[标准答案] [A]into

[考点分析] 上下文语义及介词词义辨析

[选项分析] 这里主要是看marry与相关介词的固定搭配。这里marry into就是指嫁到，而其他选项均没有这层含义。

7.[标准答案] [C]but [考点分析] 逻辑关系题 [选项分析]根据上文，说传统的婚礼时间跨度很长，但是到了1980s, 婚礼只持续一天半。所以与前文发生转变。因此要选择but转折关系。8． [标准答案] [C]recite [考点分析] 上下文语义及动词词义辨析 [选项分析]空格处需要填一个动词，和后面的prayers of blessing所搭配，C选项recite 为背诵的意思，与所给短语搭配最为合理，译为“为祈祷者做祈福”。9． [标准答案] [D]tying [考点分析] 上下文语义及动词词义辨析

[选项分析] 本题需要根据上下文语义分析，空格处需要搭配后文“棉花线头”，纵观四个选项[A]折叠

[B]堆积 [C]包裹 [D]系上，根据选项含义，只有D和后文的“棉花线头”搭配最为合理。10．[标准答案] [A]passing [考点分析] 上下文语义及动词词义辨析 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

[选项分析] 本题根据选项[A]传递[B]点亮 [C]隐藏 [D]服务，原文空格需要填写一个动词与后文“around a circle”来搭配，译为“将蜡烛传一圈”，故[A]传递为正确选项。

11．[标准答案] [D]union [考点分析] 名词词义辨析 [选项分析] 本题根据选项[A]协会，社团[B]会议，会面 [C]集合 [D]结合。本句语义为“这些受尊敬的夫妻祈祷„”根据语境，结婚是一种夫妻二人的结合，因此，选项[D]结合更符合语境。12.[标准答案] [D]live [考点分析] 上下文语义及动词词义辨析

[选项分析] 本题比较简单。根据语义“根据传统，新婚夫妇要搬到妻子父母家，与父母____一年”根据语境，应为[D]居住为最佳答案。13．[标准答案] [B]until [考点分析] 时间逻辑关系

[选项分析] 根据原文，“_____他们在附近建造一栋新房子” [A]然而[B]直到 [C]为 [D]如果 结合语境，[B]直到最符合原文语境，搭配最为合理。14．[标准答案] [D]obtain [考点分析] 上下文语义及动词词义辨析 [选项分析] Divorce is legal and relatively easy to __14__, but not common.该句句意为离婚是合法的，且相对容易____.A.avoid 避免B.follow 跟随C.chanllenge挑战，质疑D.obtain获得。这里出现and,所以对于离婚这件事不可能是避免或是挑战，但是跟随和离婚之间语义不符，但是获得离婚（的批准）是可以的。选D.15.[标准答案] [D] viewed [考点分析] 上下文语义及动词词义辨析 [选项分析] Divorced persons are __15__ with some disapproval.离婚的人„一些不赞同。在段首，已经注明离婚是合法的且相对容易得到批准，但是不常见。这说明离婚在现实中肯定是不太受到人们的欢迎的。而接下来这句就说离婚的人„一些不赞同。再看选项：A.isolated孤立 B.persuaded劝说C.viewed看做 D.exposed接触，受到„的影响 C选项固定搭配被认为，放进。

16.[标准答案] [B]whatever [考点分析] 语法

[选项分析Each spouse retains ___16___ property he or she __17__ into the marriage, 17个空对应的都是动词，所以该句意思为：夫妇双方保有„财产，这个财产是他或她„(动词)进婚姻的。结合选项A whenever“无论何地；任何（地方）=any place where(定从)”。B whatever“无论什么；任何（东西）=anything that/any+N that”。C whenever无论何时；任何（时间=any time when）D however 无论如何；无论多么。根据语义，这里应该不是让步的关系,而可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

且填的这个词还要能修饰property。因此，选择B =retains any property that he or she „.17.[标准答案] [B]brought [考点分析] 上下文语义及动词义辨析

[选项分析] Each spouse retains ___16___ property he or she __17__ into the marriage,结合选项A changed“改变”。B brought “带来”。C shaped“形成” D pushed“推，逼迫”。结合语境只有B符合，把财产带入婚姻。18.[标准答案] [B]divided [考点分析] 上下文语义及动词义辨析

[选项分析] „and jointly-acquired property is __18__ equally.结合选项A invested投资.[B]divided平分 [C] donated 捐赠[D]withdrawn撤出，提取。根据语义应该是共同财产被（夫妻双方）平分。

19.[标准答案] [C]shows [考点分析] 动词固定搭配 [选项分析] Divorced persons may remarry, but a gender prejudice __19__up.该句语义为离过婚的人或许会再婚，但是性别偏见„。结合选项A.warm（up）加热 B.clear(up)变晴C.show(up)显现D.break（up）分裂，分开；，显然C是正确选项。

20.[标准答案] [A]while [选项分析] 上下文语义 [考点分析] 很明显的两类人的对比比较关系。只能选择while.

第三篇：2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选

可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选

（九）The view from the top, and bottom

老板与员工的意见分歧

Bosses think their firms are caring.Their minions disagree.老板们认为公司对员工关怀备至，但其下属却不以为然。

AS WALMART grew into the world s largest retailer, its staff were subjected to a long list ofdos and don ts covering every aspect of their work.随着沃尔玛发展成为全球最大零售商，其员工在工作的各方各面都受到了一大堆规则的限制。

Now the firm has decided that its rules-based culture is too inflexible to cope with thechallenges of globalisation and technological change，如今，沃尔玛已经认识到其以规则为基础的公司文化过于死板，无法应对全球化和科技变革所带来的挑战。

and is trying to instil a values-based culture, in which employees can be trusted to do theright thing because they know what the firm stands for.所以，沃尔玛正尝试逐渐培养一种以价值观为基础的公司文化，在这种文化中，员工了解公司的主张，所以能够得到公司的信任，去做他们认为正确的事情。

Values is the latest hot topic in management thinking.价值观念 是管理学思维最新的热门话题。

PepsiCo has started preaching a creed of performance with purpose.百事可乐公司已开始宣扬一个信条： 目的性绩效。

Chevron, an oil firm, brands itself as a purveyor of human energy , though presumably itdoes not really want you to travel by rickshaw.石油公司雪佛龙在自己的商标上印上 ‘人类体能 的供应商 的字样，尽管它大概并非真的希望你用人力车代步。

Nearly every big firm claims to be building a more caring and ethical culture.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

几乎每一家大型企业都宣称自身正在发展更为关怀体贴、合乎道德的企业文化。

A new study suggests there is less to this than it says on the label.一项新的研究显示，实际情况与商家们所标榜的有差距。

Commissioned by Dov Seidman, boss of LRN, a firm that advises on corporate culture, andauthor of How ，LRN的老板、同时也是《怎么做到的?》

a book arguing that the way firms do business matters as much as what they do, andconducted by the Boston Research Group, the National Governance, Culture and LeadershipAssessment is based on a survey of thousands of American employees, from every rung ofthe corporate ladder.的作者多弗?塞德曼委托波士顿研究集团进行这项 国家治理、文化和领导能力评估 的研究，该研究是以对来自公司各个级别的数千位美国雇员的调查为基础的。

It found that 43% of those surveyed described their company s culture as based oncommand-and-control, top-down management or leadership by coercion—what MrSeidman calls blind obedience.研究发现，有43%的调查对象对其公司的文化有以下描述：以命令和指挥为基础、自上而下的管理模式或强制式的领导——塞德曼先生称之为 盲目服从型。

The largest category, 54%, saw their employer s culture as top-down, but with skilledleadership, lots of rules and a mix of carrots and sticks, which Mr Seidman calls informedacquiescence.所占百分比最多的调查对象，即有54%的人认为其公司文化自上而下型的，但公司的领导也有技巧可言，只是规则繁多并存在软硬兼施的手段，塞德曼先生称这种为 知情服从型。

Only 3% fell into the category of self-governance , in which everyone is guided by a set ofcore principles and values that inspire everyone to align around a company s mission.只有3%的调查对象属于 自我管理型，即每个员工都被一套 核心原则和价值 所引导，这套原则和价值激励每个员工以公司的宗旨为中心进行工作。

The study found evidence that such differences matter.研究也发现一些证据，证明这些公司文化之间的差异事关重大。

Nearly half of those in blind-obedience companies said they had observed 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

unethicalbehaviour in the previous year, compared with around a quarter in the other sorts of firm.在盲目服从型企业中，几乎有过半数员工都称在前一年目睹过有违职业道德的行为，而在其他类型的企业中只有四分之一的员工有此经历。

Yet only a quarter of those in the blind-obedience firms said they were likely to blow thewhistle, compared with over 90% in self-governing firms.但是，在盲目服从型企业中只有约四分之一的员工说他们可能会揭发这种行为，而在自我管理型企业中却有90%的员工会进行揭发。

Lack of trust may inhibit innovation, too.同样，上下级之间缺乏信任会抑制员工创新。

More than 90% of employees in self-governing firms, and two-thirds in the informed-acquiescence category, agreed that good ideas are readily adopted by my company.自我管理型公司中超过90%的员工承认 绝妙的想法很容易会被公司采纳，选择性顺从型公司中也有三分之二的员工这样认为。

At blind-obedience firms, fewer than one in five did.而在盲目服从型公司中，持这种想法的人少于五分之一。

Tragicomically, the study found that bosses often believe their own guff, even if theirunderlings do not.令人哭笑不得的是，研究还发现老板们时常对自己瞎掰的那一套信以为真，即便员工们不以为然。

Bosses are eight times more likely than the average to believe that their organisation is self-governing.老板们相信其公司是自我管理型公司的程度比普通员工高八倍。

Some 27% of bosses believe their employees are inspired by their firm.大约27%的老板认为自己公司的员工能够被公司所激励。

Alas, only 4% of employees agree.奈何，只有4%的员工同意此说。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

Likewise, 41% of bosses say their firm rewards performance based on values rather thanmerely on financial results.同样，41%的老板称其公司对绩效的奖励是建基于价值观之上的，而不仅是业绩。

Only 14% of employees swallow this.然而只有14%的员工接受此说。

二．

A big, bad business

点肥成金不现实

Medical firms struggle to profit from weight-loss treatments

制药公司试图从减肥治疗中获利

OBESITY is an epidemic to some and an opportunity to others.肥胖症对某些人来说是传染病，对别的一些人来说则是机遇。

More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight.超过三分之二的美国人已经超重。

Find a way to battle the bulge and a huge profit might be made.找个办法和肥胖对抗，说必定就此大赚一笔。

On February 22nd one pharmaceutical firm, Vivus, took a small step towards this goal.找个办法和肥胖对抗，说必定就此大赚一笔。

A committee advising America s Food and Drug Administration recommended that itapprove Vivus s diet drug, Qnexa.2月22日，Vivus制药公司朝着这个目标前进了一步。给美国食品药物管理局做咨询的一家委员会推荐，Vivus公司的减肥药Qnexa。

However, the pill s long-awaited final approval may not come until April, if at all.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

但是，如果获得批准，该药品的漫长的最终肯定直到四月份才会到来。

The announcement mostly served as a reminder of what a struggle it is to turn fat intogold.公告主要是提醒人们，这是一场点肥成金的抗争。

Pharmaceutical and medical-device companies are quite good at treating the conditions thatcome with obesity.制药和医疗器械公司非常善于解决肥胖带来的问题。

However, they are dismal at helping consumers lose weight.但是他们无法帮助消费者战胜肥胖本身，减少体重。

This is not for lack of trying.这不是因为缺乏尝试。

Take the curious case of the gastric band.以古怪的胃部束带为例。

Bariatric surgery can lead to weight loss in the long term.Hospitals can make money fromall bariatric procedures, including gastric bypasses , but the gastric band is a rareexample of an opportunity for device-makers to profit from weight loss.肥胖治疗手术可以帮助患者在较长的时间内减少体重。医院就是从这些减肥疗程中赚钱，包括胃绕道手术，但是胃部束带却是一个罕见的例子，被当成一个器械制造商用来从减肥中赚钱的法子。

Allergan, best known for selling Botox, has tried to use its Lap-Band to tap the obesitymarket.Allergan公司以销售肉毒杆菌而出名，尝试用产品Lap-Band打入减肥市场。

It is an inflatable loop which the surgeon fits near the top of the stomach, which helps thepatient feel sated earlier.Lap-Band是一圈松紧带，外科医生可以用它绕住患者胃的上部，这样患者会提前有腹饱感。

Allergan has captured about 70% of the worldwide market for gastric bands and balloons, 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

butsales are now shrinking.Allergan公司在全球胃部束带和充气袋市场占有率达70%，但是如今销量却有所下降。

The recession has sapped consumers desire for expensive surgery.经济不景气让消费者忍住做昂贵的手术的欲望。

Some patients have had bands removed because they slipped or proved ineffective.有些病人甚至连束带也不用了，因为束带打滑或者没有效果。

Last year the FDA approved the Lap-Band s use in patients who are only slightly overweight,but insurers have refused to pay.去年，美国食品药物管理局同意，微超重病人使用 Lap-Band，但是保险公司却拒绝付款。

In January David Pyott, Allergan s chief executive, said he would scrap an effort to marketthe band for teenagers.一月份，Allergan公司首席执行官David Pyott说，他将放弃在年轻人束带市场的努力。

He is now trying to convince insurers of Lap-Band s merits, arguing that the $20,000surgery is recouped in saved medical costs within four years.他目前试图让保险公司也看到Lap-Band的优点，他认为两万美元手术费可以在四年之内通过减少医疗支出收回。

There is some scepticism about his chances of success: The fact that banding is not as goodas bypass has been known by everybody except the PR firms for the band, says LeeKaplan, director of the Weight Centre at Massachusetts General Hospital.至今仍有人怀疑他是否能成功：“事实上使用束带不必胃绕道手术好，所有人都知道，除了束带的公关公司，”马萨诸塞州中心医院体重中心主任Lee Kaplan如是说。

Drug companies have had even more trouble than device-makers.制药公司的麻烦甚至比医疗器械公司的还要多。

It has been 13 years since the FDA approved a prescription diet pill.从美国食品药物管理局批准减肥药为处方药到如今已经过了十三年。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

That drug, Roche s Xenical, has notorious gastrointestinal side-effects.瑞士罗氏制药公司的Xenical臭名昭著，该药会引发胃肠功能的副作用。

The FDA rejected Vivus s Qnexa in 2010 over concerns for the safety of pregnant women andthe quickening of patients heart rates.美国食品药物管理局于2010年拒绝批准Vivus公司的Qnexa，因为担心该药对孕妇的安全造成伤害，担心该药会加快患者的心率。

Vivus s new data apparently satisfied the FDA s advisory committee.Vivus公司新的数据显然让管理局的咨询委员会满意。

However, the agency may yet reject the drug.但是该局还是可能拒绝批准该药。

Even if Qnexa is approved, it is unclear that patients will buy it.就算Qnexa获得批准，患者会不会买账仍不明了。

Qnexa combines two treatments that are already on the market.Qnexa结合了两种市面上上有的疗效。

Both medicines are generic, which means that doctors may prescribe the existing drugsrather than Qnexa s more expensive version.这两种药物都是非专利药，这说明医生可能会给患者开已有的药而不选择Qnexa，后者更贵。

For now, it is more profitable to treat fat patients than to try to make them slim.到目前为止，治疗肥胖患者还是要比让他们减肥更有利可图。

第四篇：2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选

可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选

（三）Facebook and privacy Sorry, friends

脸谱和用户隐私 对不起，朋友

The giant social network is castigated for serious privacy failings

社交网巨头因严重隐私缺陷而遭受公众谴责

FACEBOOK has been playing with fire and has got its fingers burned, again.脸谱一直在玩火，这次它又烧伤了自己的指头。

On November 29th America s Federal Trade Commission announced that it hadreached a draft settlement with the giant social network over allegations that it hadmisled people about its use of their personal data.11月29日美国联邦贸易委员会声明已和该社交网巨头关于公众对它欺骗用户、滥用用户个人信息的控诉初步达成解决方案。

The details of the settlement make clear that Facebook, which boasts over 800m users,betrayed its users trust.这份解决方案的细目明确说明，脸谱网背叛了它所声称的八亿用户的信任。

It is also notable because it appears to be part of a broader attempt by the FTC to craft anew privacy framework to deal with the swift rise of social networks in America.FTC有个更大的计划，那就是创建一个新的隐私框架以应对美国快速攀升的社交网用户。而这份方案似乎是这个计划中的一部分，这也是它受到广泛关注的另一个原因。

The regulator s findings come at a sensitive time for Facebook, which is said to be preparingfor an initial public offering next year that could value it at around $100 billion.调解员的调查对这个时候的脸谱网来说很敏感。据说它正在准备明年的首次招股，这将使它的价值达到一千亿。

To clear the way for its blockbuster flotation, the firm first needs to resolve its privacytussles with regulators in America and Europe.为了给这次非同一般的上市计划扫清障碍，脸谱网必须首先解决与美国和欧洲协调员关于用户隐私的争端，因此这周它公开了商谈意向。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

Hence its willingness to negotiate the settlement unveiled this week, which should befinalised at the end of December after a period for public comment.经过征询公共意见后，商谈结果将在十二月底最终敲定。

Announcing the agreement, the FTC said it had found a number of cases where Facebook hadmade claims that were unfair and deceptive, and violated federal law.宣布协议时，FTC说发现有好几回脸谱的声明都是 不公平，虚假并触犯联邦法 的，For instance, it passed on personally identifiable information to advertisers, even though itsaid it would not do so.比如，它把用户身份信息透露给广告商，但是嘴上却声称不会做此类事情。

And it failed to keep a promise to make photos and videos on deactivated and deletedaccounts inaccessible.还有，账户不再活动或取消后，上面的相片和视频却仍然可以被搜索到，这完全与它的承诺不相符。

The settlement does not constitute an admission by Facebook that it has broken the law.脸谱没有在这份协议中承认自己触犯法律。

But the regulator s findings are deeply embarrassing for the company nonetheless.但是，协调员的调查结果已经让这个公司陷入极为尴尬的境地。

In a blog post published the same day, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook s boss, tried to play downthe impact of the deal.同一天，脸谱老板Mark Zuckerberg在一篇博文上极力淡化这份协议的影响。

First he claimed that a small number of high-profile mistakes were overshadowing thesocial network s good history on privacy.在这篇博文中他首先声明 一小部分被高调炒作的错误 正在掩盖脸谱网关于用户隐私的 良好记录。

Then he confessed that it could still do better and said he had hired two new chief privacyofficers.接着，他承认确实有一些地方需要改进，并说明他已经雇用了两名新的 首席隐私官。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

The FTC is not relying on Facebook to police itself.FTC不指望脸谱自我监督。

Among other things, the company will now have to seek consumers approval before itchanges the way it shares their data.And it has agreed to an independent privacy auditevery two years for the next 20 years.此外，在改变用户信息共享方式前，它还必须征询用户的同意，并且它也同意在未来二十年里每两年进行一次独立的隐私审核。

Jeff Chester of the Centre for Digital Democracy reckons this will make it somewhat easier forprivacy activists to hold the social network to account.数字民主中心的Jeff Chester认为，这从某种程度上让隐私主义者更容易相信脸谱会为自己的行为负责。

There is a clear pattern here.这里有个很清晰的模式。

In separate cases over the past couple of years the FTC has insisted that Twitter and Googleaccept regular external audits, too, after each firm was accused of violating its customers privacy.从过去几年里Twitter和Google各自的案例来看，在这两家公司分别被指控触犯用户隐私后，FTC也坚持要求两家公司接受定期的外部审核，The intent seems to be to create a regulatory regime that is tighter than the status quo,but one that still gives social networks plenty of room to innovate.目的似乎就是为了给此类社交网络创造一个比现状严格却又有足够空间革新的管理制度。

The audits can be used to tweak the framework in the light of new developments.从发展的角度讲，这些审核有助于打破原本框架。

Some observers reckon web firms have agreed to all this in the hope that it will deflect apush for more onerous privacy legislation in America.一些观测者认为，这些网络公司全盘接受这些审核，希望借此摆脱美国更为繁琐的隐私保护法。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

But outrage over Facebook s behaviour could spur Congress into action anyway.And it willcertainly not be lost on regulators in Europe who are scrutinising the social network sprivacy record too.但是公众对脸谱行为的不满终将刺激国会做出反应，而正在审阅该社交网隐私记录的欧洲协调员们也必然会给予这些不满的呼声以相应的重视。

Mr Zuckerberg s latest mea culpa is unlikely to be his last.看来Zuckerberg先生最近的这次检讨不会是最后一次。

二．

Drugmakers Cliffhanger

制药企业 悬念

Big Pharma struggles to protect its blockbusters as they lose patent protection

大型制药企业艰难保护着专利失效的 重磅炸弹 药物

FOR some years the big drugmakers have been dreading an approaching patent cliff —aslump in sales as the patents on their most popular pills expire or are struck down by legalchallenges, with few new potential blockbusters to take their place.多年来，大型制药企业一直担心 专利悬崖 出现——最畅销药品的专利到期或专利因诉讼而中止，而市场上鲜有新的 重磅炸弹 药物，这时企业的销售额将会锐减。

This week the patent on the best-selling drug in history expired—Lipitor, an anti-cholesterolpill which earned Pfizer nearly $11 billion in revenues last year.本周，史上最畅销的药物 立普妥 专利到期，这种降胆固醇药去年就为辉瑞公司赚了近110亿美元。

In all, blockbusters with a combined $170 billion in annual sales will go off-patent by 2015.到了2015年，多种 重磅炸弹 药物的专利都将失效。

What is supposed to happen now is that lots of copycat firms rush in with generic versions of Lipitor at perhaps one-fifth of its price.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

很多仿制药公司现在大概正忙着推出与立普妥的非专利药，价格仅为立普妥的1/5。

Patients and health-care payers should reap the benefit.病人和医疗费用支付方会收益，而辉瑞的收入会缩水。

Pfizer s revenues should suffer.The same story will be repeated many times, as otherbest-selling drugs march over the patent cliff.同样的事件将反复上演，因为其他畅销药也要临近专利悬崖。

But generics makers may face delays getting their cheaper versions to market.然而，非专利制药企业却发现仿制药上市一拖再拖。

Ranbaxy, a Japanese-owned drugmaker, struggled to get regulators approval for itsgeneric version of Lipitor, and only won it on the day the patent expired.兰伯西这家日本制药企业历尽艰辛，获得了立普妥非专利药的生产许可，但该许可要到专利失效那天才生效。

More important, research-based drug firms are using a variety of tactics to make the patentcliff slope more gently.更重要的是，以研发为基础的制药公司正使用各种方法缓冲 专利悬崖 效应。

Jon Leibowitz, chairman of America s Federal Trade Commission , is concerned bydrugmakers filing frivolous additional patents on their products to put off the day whentheir protection expires.美国联邦贸易委员会主席Jon Leibowitz注意到，制药商们千方百计地为产品增加后续专利，以延缓保护的失效，但其实那些专利没什么价值。

Another tactic is pay-for-delay , in which a drugmaker facing a legal challenge to itspatent pays its would-be competitor to put off introducing its cheaper copy.另一种战术是 有偿延迟 协议，也就是说在专利诉讼时，制药企业会付给未来竞争对手一笔钱，以延迟价钱更低的仿制药进入市场。

In the year to October the FTC identified what it believes to be 28 such settlements.截止到10月，FTC就发现了28起类似事件。

American and European regulators are looking into these deals.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

美国和欧洲的监管部门也开始调查这些协议。

However, legal challenges against them have faltered, and a bill to ban them is stuck inCongress.然而，反对这些协议的诉讼一再搁浅，而美国国会也未能通过禁止此类事件的一项法案。

To encourage generics makers to challenge patents on drugs, and introduce cheapercopies，为了鼓励非专利制药企业挑战药品专利、生产价钱更低的仿制药，an American law passed in 1984 says that the first one to do so will get a 180-day exclusivityperiod，美国于1984年通过一项法案，其中提到 第一个挑战成功的仿制药企能获得180天市场独占期，in which no other generics maker can sell versions of the drug in question, as Ranbaxysupposedly won with Lipitor.在此期间其他仿制药企不能贩售同一专利药的其他仿制药，就像兰伯西获得立普妥仿制药的生产权一样。

However, Pfizer is exploiting a loophole in the 1984 law, which lets it appoint a second,authorised copycat—in this case, Watson, another American firm.然而，辉瑞钻了这个法案的空子，它让第二家授权仿制药企业——华生制药公司来仿制。

According to BernsteinResearch, under the deal between the two drugmakers Pfizer willreceive about 70% of Watson s revenues from its approved copy of Lipitor.根据BernsteinResearch的分析，在此交易期间，华生公司获得立普妥的仿制权，辉瑞将获得华生公司年收入的70%。

More unusual, Pfizer has cut the price of its original version, and will keep marketing itvigorously.更为不同的是，辉瑞将降低立普妥专利药的价格，并对其采取积极的营销策略。

So Ranbaxy faces not one, but two competitors.所以说，兰伯西的对手是两个，而非一个。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

This strategy has precedent, says David Risinger of Morgan Stanley, but the scale andstructure of Pfizer s scheme is unmatched.摩根士丹利的David Risinger认为，这项策略虽有先例，但就规模和结构而言绝对不能与辉瑞的计划相比。

Patients with a special discount card from Pfizer will make co-payments of just $4 for a month s worth of the originalLipitor, compared with about $10 for many generic medicines.辉瑞的患者，若使用一种特殊打折卡，通过共同支付方式，只花4美元就可以获得一个月用量的立普妥专利药，而其他仿制品需要花费约10美元。

Pfizer is also offering Lipitor for a generic price to big firms such as Medco, which managehealth schemes prescription costs.辉瑞还以仿制药价格向美可保健等大型公司提供立普妥。

All this may raise Pfizer s sales by nearly $500m in the first half of 2012 compared with whatthey would otherwise have been, says Tim Anderson of BernsteinResearch, with revenuesthen falling after the 180 days are over.BernsteinResearch的Tim Anderson认为，所有这些举措将使得辉瑞2012年上半年的销售额比不采取措施时增加近5亿美元，总收入在180天市场独占期后会下降。

Medco argues that Pfizer s scheme will save money for all parties, and ensure a steadysupply of the drug.美可保健公司辩解说，辉瑞的项目是为各方省钱，并保证稳定供货。

Others fear that Pfizer s tactics may drive up costs for the employers who sponsor healthplans, thanks to the complexities of co-payment schemes, and confuse patients lectured foryears about the merits of generics.也有人担心，由于共同支付计划很复杂，辉瑞的战术会增加雇主门支付健康计划的成本，也让患者们在数年内都不明白仿制药的重要意义。

Express Scripts is advising the health plans it works for to reject Pfizer s deals for Lipitor.快捷药方公司正建议其所属的健康计划反对辉瑞的立普妥交易。

The biggest worry is that Pfizer s strategy, if copied, will make the 180-day exclusivityperiod worth far less, and thus discourage generics firms from challenging patents in thefirst place.他们最担心，如若辉瑞的做法被仿制，那么180天专有期的价值会缩水，而仿制药公司可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

挑战专利的动力也会在初期被抑制。

第五篇：2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选

可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选

（五）Gene therapy

基因疗法

Genetic mutations predict which cancers willrespond to treatment

基因突变将预测某种治疗会对哪些癌症起作用

THE International Cancer Genome Consortium, analliance of laboratories that is trying to produce adefinitive list of the genetic mutations that causecancer, is accumulating data at an astonishing rate.About 3,000 individual breast tumours,for example, have now had their genotypes published.But these data will not, bythemselves, help patients.For that, they have to be collected in the context of a drug trial.And this is just what Matthew Ellis and his colleagues at Washington University in St Louishave done for women suffering from breast cancer.Their methods, if they prove to work forother cancers too, may revolutionise treatment.国际癌症基因组协作组是试图建立一份会引起癌症的基因突变完整清单的实验室联盟，它积累数据的速度让人吃惊。例如，它已经发表了大约3000种不同的乳房肿瘤的基因型。但光凭这些数据本身无法帮助患者。要医治病人，人们必须结合药物试验采集数据。而这正是在圣路易斯市的华盛顿大学工作的马修?埃利斯及其同事们为罹患乳腺癌的妇女们所作的工作。如果事实证明他们的方法对其他癌症也有用的话，这可能会是癌症治疗的一次革命。

Dr Ellis and his team sequenced the whole genomes of both cancerous and normal tissuefrom 46 women with tumours of a type called oestrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer.They also sequenced just the gene-containing regions of the genome-about 1% of totalDNA-from an additional 31 women, and parts of the sequences of 240 more.They thencompared the healthy and tumorous genomes of each patient, in order to discover whichgenes had mutated in the cancer.埃利斯博士及其团队对46名身患雌激素受体阳性乳腺癌的妇女的癌组织和正常组织进行了全基因组测序。他们也对另外31名病人的基因组中含有基因的那些区域进行了测序，并对其他240 名病人的这些部分做了部分测序。此后，为找出癌细胞中哪些基因发生了突变，他们比较了每个病人的健康和癌变基因组。

In this, they were following the normal protocol of the cancer genome consortium.Thenovelty of their approach was that the women in question had each been involved in one oftwo clinical trials of a drug called letrozole.These trials established letrozole as a standardtreatment for people with this type of breast cancer, but not all patients benefit equally fromthe drug.Dr Ellis hoped to find out why.他们在这一工作中是按癌症基因组协作组的标准程序操作的，但其方法的新颖之处是，他们还同时进行一种名为来曲唑的药物的临床试验。该试验有两种，每个病人都接受其中的可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

一种。这些试验证实来曲唑是这类乳腺癌的标准治疗方法，但它对每个病人的疗效并不一样。埃利斯博士希望找出其原因。

As they report in Nature, he and his team discovered 18 genes that were often mutated.Some were the usual suspects of cancer genetics.These included p53, a gene that, whenworking properly, suppresses cancer by regulating DNA repair, cell division and cellularsuicide, and MAP3K1 and MAP2K4, which both promote cell growth.Others, though, were asurprise.At the top of that list were five which had previously been linked to leukaemia, butwere not thought to affect solid tumours.正如他们在《自然》杂志中所报告的那样，埃利斯和他的团队发现了18种经常发生突变的基因，其中有些是癌症遗传学通常怀疑的对象。这中间包括p53，这种基因在正常工作时通过调节DNA对的修复、细胞分裂和细胞自杀来抑制癌症;还有MAP3K1和MAP2K4，它们都能促进细胞生长。但也有些令人吃惊的其他结果。高踞名单前列的5种基因是人们过去认为与白血病有关的，没想到它们也会影响实体瘤。

By combining their newly acquired genetic data with clinical data from the participants, DrEllis and his colleagues showed that those whose tumours carried mutations in p53 were less likely to have responded to letrozole than women whose tumours hadnormal p53.Conversely, those whose tumours had changes in either MAP3K1 or MAP2K4 had better than average responses to the drug.将他们新得到的基因数据与参与试验者的临床数据结合，埃利斯博士等人证明了，来曲唑对肿瘤中有p53基因突变的病人的疗效不如对肿瘤中p53基因正常的病人那样显著。与此相反，这一药物对肿瘤中MAP3K1或MAP2K4有变化的病人的疗效高于平均水平。

This sort of information has obvious implications for treatment.And the cheapness ofmodern gene-sequencing methods, particularly those that are looking for specific mutationssuspected in advance, means that a tumour s mutational complement can be worked outeasily in an appropriately equipped pathology laboratory.In the case of oestrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer, the genetic analysis has not yet gone so far as to be able to say withcertainty which drug will produce the best result for a given individual, but Dr Ellis s resultlays a foundation on which such an edifice might be built for breast cancer and perhaps forother types of tumour, too.这种信息对治疗的含义是明显的。而且，现代基因测序法价格低廉，寻找预先已有怀疑的某些特别的基因突变尤为便宜;这意味着，在拥有合适装备的病理实验室里，人们可以很容易地找出肿瘤基因突变的补体。就雌激素受体阳性乳腺癌来说，基因分析还无法肯定地告诉我们，哪种药物对某个病人疗效最佳;但埃利斯博士的结果打下了一个基础，或许可以在此之上为乳腺癌——甚至其他种类的癌症——的治疗建立有效的预测方法。

可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

Medical implants

医用植入设备

A sweet idea.一个甜美的想法。

Researchers are trying to harness glucose-the body s own fuel-to power implantablegadgets such as pacemakers.研究人员正试图利用葡萄糖-人体自身的燃料-作为像起搏器这样的可植入设备的能源

LIKE any other electrical device, a pacemaker needs a power source.Since the firstpermanent pacemaker was installed in 1958, manufacturers of implantable medical devices have tinkered with many different ways of supplying electricity to their products.Avariety of chemical batteries have been tried, as well as inductive recharging schemes andeven plutonium power cells that convert the heat from radioactive decay into electricity.Plutonium-powered pacemakers still turn up from time to time in mortuaries and hospitals,and a failure to dispose of them properly keeps America s Nuclear Regulatory Commissionbusy handing out citations to unsuspecting hospitals.和其他所有的电子设备一样，一个起搏器同样需要能源。自从1958年第一个永久起搏器被植入后，可植入医疗设备的制造商就在不断尝试为其产品提供电能的各种方法。尝试了各种化学电池以及感应充电计划，甚至是将放射衰变的热能转换为电能的钚电源单元格。现在，钚电源起搏器还是时不时的出现在停尸房和医院中，并且使得美国核管理委员忙于忙于处罚那些疏于妥善处理钚电源起搏器的医院。

Today, non-rechargeable lithium-based batteries are common.Used in many cardiologicaland neurological implants, they provide between seven and ten years of life.That is morethan enough: the speed of medical progress is such that by the time the battery has run downit is generally time to replace the whole device with a newer model in any case.如今，不可充电的锂电池较为普遍。应用在心脏病和神经源性疾病的移植设备中，一般能够提供7年到10年的使用时间。这么长的使用时间显得绰绰有余：医学发展的速度意味着等到设备的电量用光就到了用一个更先进的型号来替换整个设备的时候。

But that has not dissuaded researchers from continuing to seek perfection, in the form of acompact, perpetual energy source which does not require external recharging.Now,several researchers are closing in on just such a solution using glucose, a type of sugar thatis the main energy source for all cells in the body.然而这并没有阻止研究人员继续寻找完美的，紧凑型的永久能源，从而使得这些移植设备不再需要外部充电。现在，几个研究人员正在接近一个能够提供这样能源的方法，使用葡可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

萄糖，即为人体所有细胞提供主要能源的一种糖。

Many other ideas have been tried down the years.The kinetic energy of the human body, forexample, has long been harnessed to power watches, and should also be enough to keep apacemaker ticking.Temperature differences between the body and the ambient air meanthat thermoelectric couples can generate useful quantities of juice.A properly tuned devicecould capture background radio-frequency energy and rectify it into small amounts ofusable power.这些年还有许多其他想法也被尝试。比如，很久以前人体动能就用来为手表提供能量，这种动能也足够维持起搏器的运转。人体与外部环境的温差意味着热电偶能够产生一定数量能量。一个适当调谐装置能够捕获北京射频能量并且将其转换成少量可用能源。

Although all these ideas have been shown to work in theoretical tests on lab benches, theyall suffer from the same handicap: intermittent operation.Unconscious patients, forinstance, generate little kinetic energy.Sitting in a warm room reduces the poweravailable from thermocouples.And radio waves are common but not ubiquitous.These areserious drawbacks for an IMD that may be responsible for keeping someone alive.尽管这些想法在实验的理论测试中运转正常，但是他们都有一个同样的缺陷：间歇运行。例如，处于昏迷的患者产生的人体动能很少。处于温暖的房间中会减少热电偶产生的可用能量。另外射频很常见，但是也不是处处可见。这些问题对于维持生命的可移植医疗设备来说都是十分严重的缺陷。

Power in the blood

血液中的能量。

A glucose-powered implant would solve such problems.Glucose is continuously deliveredthroughout the body by its circulatory systems.A sugar-powered device would thereforehave access to a constant supply of fuel, and could be implanted almost anywhere.而一个葡萄糖供能的移植设备可以解决这些问题。葡萄糖由人体的循环系统被源源不断的输送到人体各处。一个糖分供能的设备因此能够取得持续供给的能量并且几乎可以在任何位置进行移植。

One approach, which has been employed by Sameer Singhal, a researcher at the CFDResearch Corporation in Alabama, involves the same enzymes that break down glucosewithin a living cell.Using carbon nanotubes, he and his colleagues immobilised two differentenzymes on the electrodes of a fuel cell, where they generated electricity by freeingelectrons from glucose.At present, only two of the 24 available electrons in a single glucosemolecule can be harnessed, but refinements to the technology should boost that number.就职于Alabama的CFD Research Corporation的研究人员Sameer Singhal所使用的方法涉及利用酶将活细胞中的葡萄糖分解。利用碳纳米管，他和他的同事在燃料电池的电子上找到可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

了2种不同的酶，在燃料电池中他们通过释放葡萄糖的电子来产生电能。现在，在一个葡萄糖分子中的24个可用电子中只有2个可以利用，但是对这项技术的后续完善应该会使得可以利用的电子数量有所增加。

Dr Singhal has implanted prototype devices into live beetles.Fitted with a fuel cell about thesize of a penny, the bionic bugs were able to generate over 20 microwatts during a two-week trial.Singhal博士将设备原型移植进了甲虫活体。放入了一个一便士大小的能量池，这些甲虫在2周实验期内产生了20微瓦。

That is only around a fifth of the power that a pacemaker requires, but Dr Singhal reckonsthat a human-sized version of his cell would be able to deliver enough juice.There is a catch,though: a process called biofouling, in which foreign objects implanted in the body becomeencrusted with proteins and tissue.That could render Dr Singhal s device inoperable afteronly a few months.Equally worrying are the enzymes, which tend to break down over time.Losing enzymes means losing power.这只是一个起搏器所需能量的15分之一，但是Singhal博士认为人类体积大小的细胞量能够产生足够的能量。这里有个欠缺点：被称做生物污垢的过程，即被移植进人体的外来物会嵌入蛋白质和组织中。这会使得Singhal博士的设备在移植后的几个月内便无法使用。同样使人担忧的是酶，这种物质随着时间的推移会被分解。而丢失酶就意味着丢失能量。

Rahul Sarpeshkar, an electrical engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has asolution to both these problems.In a paper published on June 12th in Public Library ofScience, Dr Sarpeshkar and his colleagues describe building a glucose fuel cell which uses aplatinum catalyst that does not degrade over time.一位MIT的电子工程师Rahul Sarpeshkar有个方法可以解决这两个问题。6月12号发表于Public Libraryof Science的一篇论文中，Sarpeshkar博士和他的同事证实用铂催化剂打造的葡萄糖能量池，其效果不会随着时间被削弱。

The downside is that platinum is a less efficient catalyst than the enzymes used by DrSinghal, and so Dr Sarpeshkar s cell works less well.But it might be able to generateenough electricity to run the next generation of ultra-low-power IMDs.该方法的缺点是铂催化剂与Singhal博士所用的酶相比效率不高，因此，Sarpeshkar博士的能量池运转效果不好。但是它也许能够生产足够的电能来运转下一代超低功耗的可移植医疗设备。

Dr Sarpeshkar also has a novel solution to the biofouling problem: implant the fuel cell inthe cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain.Although the CSF has only half theglucose concentration of the bloodstream, it is virtually free of the proteins and cells whichwould foul a device implanted in other areas of the body, and thus its life would be greatlyextended.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com

另外，Sarpeshkar博士还有一个针对于生物燃料问题的新型解决方法：在大脑周围的脑脊液中植入能量池。尽管脑脊液仅含有体液中葡萄糖浓度的一半，但是这样做几乎可以使其免于植入人体其他部位而被蛋白质和细胞包围的命运，因此使其使用寿命大大延长。

Other approaches could yield more energy.Some soil-dwelling bacteria have evolved todeposit the electrons from glucose oxidation onto iron molecules, which allows researchersto trick them into living on the anode of a fuel cell.A colony of microbes like these, properlyisolated from the host s immune system, might be coerced into trading electrons fornutrients from the bloodstream.The bacteria can renew their own enzymes, so such asystem should last indefinitely.But the idea of implanting a bacterial colony into a patientmight be a tricky one to get past medical regulators-not to mention public opinion.其他一些方法则需要更多的能量。用一些土壤细菌将葡萄糖氧化过程所产生的电子安置在铁分子上，这样研究人员就可以诱使这些细菌存活在能量池的阳极上。像这样的克隆微生物，与寄主的免疫系统相分离，可能被迫的用电子与体液交换营养成分。细菌可以重新激活他们自身的酶，因此这样的系统能够永久的持续下去。然而将细菌克隆体移植进病人的身体这种想法可能无法通过医疗监管人员的监管，就更不要说公众舆论了。

A better idea might be to retrain some of the body s own cells to do the work.Just as anoutdated procedure called a cardiomyoplasty involved severing a seldom-used upper-backmuscle and wrapping it around the heart to assist in pumping blood, muscle fibres might beretrained to crank an electromechanical generator.Such a setup would be capable ofproducing enough electricity to drive even the most power-hungry of devices, like artificialhearts.一个更好的想法可能是将一些人体自身的细胞进行再培训来完成这个工作。正如一个已过时的手术，叫做心肌成形术，将较少用到的上背部肌肉切断并将它包络再心脏周围来协助心脏输送血液，肌肉纤维也许可以经过在训练后来驱动机电发电机。这样的方法能够产生足够的电能来驱动哪怕是最耗费能源的设备，比如人造心脏。

The energy density of lithium batteries has come a long way in the past few decades, but thechemical reaction on which they rely will never be able to match the energy available fromthe metabolisation of glucose.The chemical energy in a gram of glucose is nearly half theamount available from petrol, a famously energy-dense fuel.With a bit of refinement,sugar could prove a very sweet solution for powering the next generation of IMDs.在过去的几十年间，锂电池的能量密集度取得了长足的发展，但是锂电池所依赖的化学反应永远也无法产生与葡萄糖代谢所产生的能量相匹敌的数量。一克葡萄糖所含有的化学能量相当于半克汽油能产生的能量，原油是众所周知的能源密集型燃料。再经过一点优化，糖就有可能为下一代可移植医疗设备的能源问题提供一个十分完美的解决办法。