Roguetheoryofsmellgetsaboost

1.Acontroversialtheoryofhowwesmell,whichclaimsthatourfinesenseofodourdependsonquantummechanics,hasbeengiventhethumbsupbyateamofphysicists.

2.CalculationsbyresearchersatUniversityCollegeLondon(UCL)showthattheideathatwesmellodourmoleculesbysensingtheirmolecularvibrationsmakessenseintermsofthephysicsinvolved.

3.That'sstillsomewayfromprovingthatthetheory,proposedinthemid-1990sbybiophysicistLucaTurin,iscorrect.Butitshouldmakeotherscientiststaketheideamoreseriously.

4."Thisisabigstepforward,"saysTurin,whohasnowsetuphisownperfumecompanyFlexitralinVirginia.Hesaysthatsincehepublishedhistheory,"ithasbeenignoredratherthancriticized."

5.Mostscientistshaveassumedthatoursenseofsmelldependsonreceptorsinthenosedetectingtheshapeofincomingmolecules,whichtriggersasignaltothebrain.Thismolecular'lockandkey'processisthoughttoliebehindawiderangeofthebody'sdetectionsystems:itishowsomepartsoftheimmunesystemrecogniseinvaders,forexample,andhowthetonguerecognizessometastes.

6.ButTurinarguedthatsmelldoesn'tseemtofitthispictureverywell.Moleculesthatlookalmostidenticalcansmellverydifferent—suchasalcohols,whichsmelllikespirits,andthiols,whichsmelllikerotteneggs.Andmoleculeswithverydifferentstructurescansmellsimilar.Moststrikingly,somemoleculescansmelldifferent—toanimals,ifnotnecessarilytohumans—simplybecausetheycontaindifferentisotopes(atomsthatarechemicallyidenticalbuthaveadifferentmass).

7.Turin'sexplanationforthesesmellyfactsinvokestheideathatthesmellsignalinolfactoryreceptorproteinsistriggerednotbyanodourmolecule'sshape,butbyitsvibrations,whichcanenourageanelectrontojumpbetweentwopartsofthereceptorinaquantum-mechanicalprocesscalledtunnelling.Thiselectronmovementcouldinitiatethesmellsignalbeingsenttothebrain.

8.Thiswouldexplainwhyisotopescansmelldifferent:theirvibrationfrequenciesarechangediftheatomsareheavier.Turin'smechanism,saysMarshallStonehamoftheUCLteam,ismorelikeswipe-cardidentificationthanakeyfittingalock.

9.Vibration-assistedelectrontunnellingcanundoubtedlyoccur—itisusedinanexperimentaltechniqueformeasuringmolecularvibrations."Thequestioniswhetherthisispossibleinthenose,"saysStoneham'scolleague,AndrewHorsfield.

10.StonehamsaysthatwhenhefirstheardaboutTurin'sidea,whileTurinwashimselfbasedatUCL,"Ididn'tbelieveit".But,headds,"becauseitwasaninterestingidea,IthoughtIshouldproveitcouldn'twork.Ididsomesimplecalculations,andonlythenbegantofeelLucacouldberight."NowStonehamandhisco-workershavedonethejobmorethoroughly,inapapersoontobepublishedinPhysicalReviewLetters.

11.TheUCLteamcalculatedtheratesofelectronhoppinginanosereceptorthathasanodorantmoleculeboundtoit.Thisratedependsonvariouspropertiesofthebiomolecularsystemthatarenotknown,buttheresearcherscouldestimatetheseparametersbasedontypicalvaluesformoleculesofthissort.

12.Thekeyissueiswhetherthehoppingratewiththeodorantinplaceissignificantlygreaterthanthatwithoutit.Thecalculationsshowthatitis—whichmeansthatodouridentificationinthiswayseemstheoreticallypossible.

13.ButHorsfieldstressesthatthat'sdifferentfromaproofofTurin'sidea."Sofarthingslookplausible,butweneedproperexperimentalverification.We'rebeginningtothinkaboutwhatexperimentscouldbeperformed."

14.Meanwhile,Turinispressingaheadwithhishypothesis."AtFlexitralwehavebeendesigningodorantsexclusivelyonthebasisoftheircomputedvibrations,"hesays."Oursuccessrateatodorantdiscoveryistwoordersofmagnitudebetterthanthecompetition."Attheveryleast,heisputtinghismoneywherehisnoseis.

Questions5-9

Completethesentencesbelowwithwordsfromthepassage.UseNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSforeachanswer.

5.Thehypothesisthatwesmellbysensingthemolecularvibrationwasmadeby______.

6.Turin'scompanyisbasedin______.

7.Mostscientistsbelievedthatournoseworksinthesamewayasour______.

8.Differentisotopescansmelldifferentwhen______weighdifferently.

9.AccordingtoAudrewHorsfield,itisstilltobeprovedthat______couldreallyoccurinhumannose.

查看答案
正确答案:

5.Luca Turin

6.Virginia

7.tongue

8.the atoms

9.vibration-assisted electron tunneling

答案解析:

暂无解析

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ThursdayDecember28,2006

TheGuardian

1.ConsumersaretobepresentedwithtworivalnewyearadvertisingcampaignsastheFoodStandardsAgencygoespublicinitsbattlewiththeindustryoverthelabellingofunhealthyfoods.

2.TheGuardianhaslearnedthattheFSAwilllaunchaseriesof10-secondtelevisionadvertsinJanuarytellingshoppershowtofollowared,amberandgreentrafficlightlabellingsystemonthefrontoffoodpacks,whichisdesignedtotackleBritain’sobesityepidemic.

3.Thecampaignisadirectresponsetoaconcertedattemptbyleadingfoodmanufacturersandretailers,includingKellogg’sandTesco,toderailthesystem.Theindustryfearsthattrafficlightswoulddemoniseentirecategoriesoffoodsandcouldseriouslydamagethemarketforthosethatarefatty,saltyorhighinsugar.

4.TheUKmarketforbreakfastcerealsisworth£1.27bnayearandthemanufacturersfearitwillbeseverelydentedifredlightlabelsareputonpackagingdrawingattentiontothefactthatthemajorityarehighinsaltand/orsugar.

5.Theindustryisplanningamajormarketingcampaignforacompetinglabellingsystemwhichavoidscolour-codinginfavourofinformationaboutthepercentageof"guidelinedailyamounts"(GDAs)offat,saltandsugarcontainedintheirproducts.

6.Thebattleforthenation’sdietcomesasnewrulesontelevisionadvertisingcomeintoforceinJanuarywhichwillbaradvertsforunhealthyfoodsfromcommercialbreaksduringprogrammesaimedatchildren.SourcesattheTVregulatorsarebracedforalegalchallengefromtheindustryandhavedescribedthelobbyingeffortstoblockanynewadbanorcolour-codedlabellingas"themostferociouswe’veeverexperienced".

7.Ofcom’schiefexecutive,EdRichards,said:"Wearepreparedtofaceuptoanylegalactionfromtheindustry,butweverymuchhopeitwillnotbenecessary."TheFSAsaiditwasexpectinganonslaughtfromtheindustryinJanuary.SeniorFSAofficialssaidthemanufacturers’effortstoundermineitsproposalsonlabellingcouldthreatentheagency’scredibility.

8.TerrenceCollis,FSAdirectorofcommunications,dismissedclaimsthattheproposalswerenotbasedonscience."WehavesomeofthemostrespectedscientistsinEurope,bothwithintheFSAandinourindependentadvisorycommittees.ItisunjustifiedandnonsensicaltoattacktheFSA’sscientificreputationandtotrytoundermineitscredibility."

9.TheFSAisunderstoodtohavebriefeditsadagency,United,beforeChristmas,andwillaimtoairadsthatare"non-confrontational,humorousandfactual"asacounterweighttoindustry’seffortsaboutthesametime.Theagency,however,willhaveatinyfractionofthebudgetavailabletotheindustry.

10.GavinNeath,chairmanofUnileverUKandpresidentoftheFoodandDrinkFederation,hassaidthattheindustryhasmadeenormousprogressbutcouldnotacceptred"stop"signsonitsfood.

11.AlastairSykes,chiefexecutiveofNestléUK,saidthatundertheFSAproposalsallhiscompany’sconfectioneryandmostofitscerealswouldscoreared."Arewesayingpeopleshouldn’teatconfectionery?We’redrivenbyconsumersandwhattheywant,andmuchofwhatwedohasbeentomakeourproductshealthier,"hesaid.

12.ChrisWermann,directorofcommunicationsatKellogg’s,said:"Inprinciplewecouldneveraccepttrafficlightlabelling."

13.TherivallabellingschemeintroducedbyKellogg’s,Danone,Unilever,Nestlé,KraftandTescoandnowfavouredby21manufacturers,usesanindustry-devisedsystembasedonidentifyingGDAsofkeynutrients.TescosaysithastestedbothtrafficlightsandGDAlabelsinitsstoresandthatthelatterincreasedsalesofhealthierfoods.

14.ButtheFSAsaiditcouldnotlivewiththisGDAsystemalonebecauseitwas"notscientific"oreasyforshopperstounderstandataglance.

Questions1-6

AnswerthequestionsbelowusingNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSfromthepassageforeachanswer.

1.Whenwillinstructionsbegivenonreadingthecolor-codedlabels?

2.Wherecancustomersfindtheredlightlabels?

3.WhatproblemistheFSAtryingtohandlewiththelabelingsystem?

4.Whichproductsellswellbutmaynotbehealthy?

5.Whatinformation,accordingtothemanufacturers,canbelabeledonproducts?

6.Whatcannotbeadvertisedduringchildren’sprogrammes?

Questions7-13

Usetheinformationinthetexttomatchthepeople(listedA-E)withtheopinions(listed7-13)below.Writetheappropriateletter(A-E)forquestions1-7.

NBYoumayuseanylettermorethanonce.

AEdRichard

BTerrenceCollis

CGavinNeath

DAlastairSykes

EChrisWermann

7.Generallywewillnotagreetousetheredlightlabels.

8.ItisunreasonabletodoubtifFSAistrustworthy.

9.Wearetryingtomeetourconsumers’needs.

10.Thefoodindustryhasbeenimprovinggreatly.

11.Thecolor-codedlabelingsystemisscientific.

12.OurproductswillbelabeledunhealthybytheFSA.

13.Wearereadytoconfrontthemanufacturers.

Tobeginwith,"muzak"(音乐广播网)wasintendedsimplytocreateasoothing(安慰)atmosphere.Recently,however,it'secomebigbusiness—thanksinparttorecentresearch.Dr.RonaldMilliman,anAmericanmarketingexpert,hasshownthatmusiccanboostsalesorincreasefactoryroductionbyasmuchasathird.But,ithastobelightmusic.Afastonehasnoeffectatallonsales.Slowmusiccanincreasereceiptsby38%.Thisisprobablybecauseshoppersslowdownandhavemoreopportunitytospotitemstheyliketobuy.Yet,slowmusicisn'talwaysanswer.Dr.Millimanfound,forexample,thatinrestaurantsslowmusicmeantcustomerstooklongertoeattheirmeals,whichreducedoverallsales.Sorestaurantsownersmightbewelladvisedtoplayup-tempomusictokeepthecustomersmoving—unlessofcourse,theresultingindigestionleadstocomplaints!

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1.Thereasonwhybackgroundmusicissopopularisthat______.

A.itcanhaveapowerfuleffectonthosewhohearit

B.itcanhelptocreateasoothingatmosphere

C.itcanboostsalesorincreasefactoryproductionerywhere

D.itcanmakecustomerseattheirmealsquickly

2.Backgroundmusicmeans________.

A.lightmusicthatcustomersenjoymostB.fastmusicthatmakespeoplemovefast

C.slowmusicthatcanmakecustomersenjoytheirmeals

D.themusicyouarelisteningtowhileyouaredoingomething

3.Restaurantownerscomplainaboutbackgroundmusicbecause______.

A.itresultsinindigestion

B.itincreasestheirsales

C.itkeepscustomersmoving

D.itdecreasestheirsales

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