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Ford"s Assembly LineWhen it comes to singling out those who have made a difference in all our lives, you cannot overlook Henry Ford. A historian a century from now might well conclude that it was Ford who most influenced all manufacturing, everywhere, even to this day, by introducing a new way to make cars—one, strange to say, that originated in slaughterhouses (屠宰场).Back in the early 1900s, slaughterhouses used what could have been called a "disassembly line". Ford reversed this process to see if it would speed up production of a part of an automobile engine called a magneto. Rather than have each worker completely assemble a magneto, one of its elements was placed on a conveyor, and each worker, as it passed, added another component to it, the same one each time. Professor David Hounshell of the University of Delaware, an expert on industrial development, tells what happened."The previous day, workers carrying out the entire process had averaged one assembly every 20 minutes. But on that day, on the line, the assembly team averaged one every 13 minutes and 10 seconds per person."Within a year, the time had been reduced to five minutes. In 1913, Ford went all the way. Hooked together by ropes, partially assembled vehicles were towed (拖、拉) past workers who completed them one piece at a time. It hasn"t been long before Ford wasturning outseveral hundred and thousand cars a year, a remarkable achievement then. And so efficient and economical was this new system that he cut the price of his cars in half, to $260, putting them within reach of all those who, up until that time, could not afford them. Soon, auto makers and the world all copied him.In fact, he encouraged them to do so by writing a book about all of his innovations, entitledToday and Tomorrow. The Age of the Automobile has arrived. Today, aided by robots and other forms of automation (自动化), everything from toasters to perfumes is made on assembly lines. The invention of the assembly line enabled Henry Ford ______.
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Difficult to Have Hard DiscoveriesIf there is one thing scientists have to hear, it is that the game is over. Raised on the belief of an endless voyage of discovery, they recoil (畏缩) from the suggestion that most of the best things have already been located. If they have, today"s scientists can hope to contribute no more than a few grace notes to the symphony of science.A book to be published in Britain this week,The End of Science, argues persuasively that this is the case. Its author, John Horgan, is a senior writer forScientific American magazine, who has interviewed many of today"s leading scientists and science philosophers. The shock of realizing that science might be over came to him, he says, when he was talking to Oxford mathematician and physicist Sir Roger Penrose.The End of Scienceprovoked a wave of denunciation (谴责) in the United States last year. "The reaction has been one of complete shock and disbelief," Mr. Horgan says.The real question is whether any remaining unsolved problems, of which there are plenty, lend themselves to universal solutions. If they do not, then the focus of scientific discovery is already narrowing. Since the triumphs of the 1960s—the genetic code, plate tectonics (板块构造学说), and the microwave background radiation that went a long way towards provingthe Big Bang—genuine scientific revolutions have been scarce. More scientists are now alive, spending more money on research, than ever. Yet most of the great discoveries of the 19th and 20th centuries were made before the appearance of state sponsorship, when the scientific enterprise was a fraction of its present size.Were the scientists who made these discoveries brighter than today"s That seems unlikely. A far more reasonable explanation is that fundamental science has already entered a period of diminished returns. "Look, don"t get me wrong," says Mr. Horgan. "There are lots of important things still to study, and applied science and engineering can go on forever. I hope we get a cure for cancer, and for mental disease, though there are few real signs of progress." The term "the Big Bang" in the fourth paragraph probably refers to ______.
Difficult to Have Hard DiscoveriesIf there is one thing scientists have to hear, it is that the game is over. Raised on the belief of an endless voyage of discovery, they recoil (畏缩) from the suggestion that most of the best things have already been located. If they have, today"s scientists can hope to contribute no more than a few grace notes to the symphony of science.A book to be published in Britain this week,The End of Science, argues persuasively that this is the case. Its author, John Horgan, is a senior writer forScientific American magazine, who has interviewed many of today"s leading scientists and science philosophers. The shock of realizing that science might be over came to him, he says, when he was talking to Oxford mathematician and physicist Sir Roger Penrose.The End of Scienceprovoked a wave of denunciation (谴责) in the United States last year. "The reaction has been one of complete shock and disbelief," Mr. Horgan says.The real question is whether any remaining unsolved problems, of which there are plenty, lend themselves to universal solutions. If they do not, then the focus of scientific discovery is already narrowing. Since the triumphs of the 1960s—the genetic code, plate tectonics (板块构造学说), and the microwave background radiation that went a long way towards provingthe Big Bang—genuine scientific revolutions have been scarce. More scientists are now alive, spending more money on research, than ever. Yet most of the great discoveries of the 19th and 20th centuries were made before the appearance of state sponsorship, when the scientific enterprise was a fraction of its present size.Were the scientists who made these discoveries brighter than today"s That seems unlikely. A far more reasonable explanation is that fundamental science has already entered a period of diminished returns. "Look, don"t get me wrong," says Mr. Horgan. "There are lots of important things still to study, and applied science and engineering can go on forever. I hope we get a cure for cancer, and for mental disease, though there are few real signs of progress." There have not been many genuine scientific revolutions in the past few decades because ______.
New U.S. Plan for Disease PreventionUrging Americans to 1 responsibility for their health, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson 2 Tuesday launched a $15 million program to try to 3 communities to do more to prevent chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes.The initiative highlights the cost of chronic diseases—the leading causes of death in the United States— and outlines ways that people can 4 them, including better diet and increased exercise."In the United States today, 7 of 10 deaths and the vast majority of 5 illness, disability and health care costs are 6 by chronic diseases," the Health and Human Services Department said in a statement.The causes are often 7 —smoking, poor eating habits and a lack of exercise."I am 8 that preventing disease by promoting better health is a smart policy choice for our future," Thompson told at a conference held to launch the initiative."Our current health care system is not structured to 9 with the escalating costs of treating diseases that are largely preventable through changes in our lifestyle choices."Thompson said heart disease and strokes will cost the country more than $351 billion in 2003."These leading causes of death for men and women are largely 10 , yet we as a nation are not taking the steps necessary for us to lead healthier, longer lives," he said.The $15 million is 11 to go to communities to promote prevention, pushing for changes as simple as building sidewalks to encourage people to walk more. 12 exercise such as walking can prevent and even 13 heart disease and diabetes, and prevent cancer and strokes.The money will also go to community organizations, clinics and nutritionists who are being encouraged to work together to educate people at 14 of diabetes about what they can do to prevent it and encourage more cancer screening.The American Cancer Society 15 that half of all cancers can be caught by screening, including Pap tests for cervical (子宫颈的) cancer, mammograms (乳房X射线照片) for breast cancer, colonoscopies (结肠镜检查), and prostate (前列腺的) checks.If such cancers were all caught by early screening, the group estimates that the survival rate for cancer would rise to 95 percent.
Keeping Cut Flowers1 While everybody enjoys fresh cut flowers around their house, few people know how to keep them for as long as possible. This may be done by keeping in mind a few simple facts.2 An important thing to remember about cut flowers is that they are sensitive to temperature. For example, studies have shown that cut carnations (康乃馨) retain their freshness eight times longer when kept at 12℃ than when kept at 26℃. Keeping freshly harvested flowers at the right temperatures is probably the most important aspect of flower care.3 Flowers are not intended by nature to live very long. Their biological purpose is simply to attract birds or insects, such as bees, for pollination (授粉). After that, they quickly dry up and die. The process by which flowers consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide (二氧化碳), called respiration (呼吸), generates the energy the flower needs to give the flower its shape and color. The making of seeds also depends on this energy. While all living things respire, flowers have a high level of respiration. A result of all this respiration is heat, and for flowers the level of heat relative to the mass of the flower is very high. Respiration also brings about the eventual death of the flower. Thus the greater the level of respiration, the sooner the flower dies.4 How, then, to control the rate at which flowers die By controlling respiration. How is respiration con- trolled By controlling temperature. We know that respiration produces heat, but the reverse is also true. Thus by maintaining low temperatures, respiration is reduced and the cut flowers will age more slowly.5 Another vital factor in keeping cut flowers is the quality of the water in which they are placed. Flowers find it difficult to "drink" water that is dirty or otherwise polluted. Even when water looks and smells clean, it almost certainly contains harmful substances that can endanger the flowers. To rid the water of these unwanted substances, household chlorine bleach (含漂白剂) can be used in small quantities. It is recommended that 15 drops of chlorine bleach (at 4% solution) be added to each liter of water. The water and solution should also be replaced each day. Respiration plays a key role ______.
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