VOA标准英语2010年-A Focus on Human Needs at New York Des

There’s a tiny car that turns in a perfect circle, and "stands up" on two wheels for parking. Solar roofing tiles to collect energy for home needs. A grain thresher that’s made of bicycle parts. These are some of the creations at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum's triennial show of the best designs from around the world, now on display in New York until early 2011.

The show is organized around human needs, including energy, mobility¹, communications and health. Curator Ellen Lupton notes that good design is not a luxury, but a way to improve almost every aspect of life. She says the aim of this year’s show is to demonstrate how design can answer some of the biggest questions humanity faces. And so for the first time, it includes designers from outside the United States. "We live in a very globalized world, and the problems that are facing humanity are global problems," Lupton said at the show’s opening, "And so we're looking at design produced and created and disseminated² all over the world."

Many of the designs, which come from 42 different countries, address needs in the developing world. A major problem in poorer countries is a lack of artificial light for making use of the hours after dark. Lamps powered by the sun's energy, like the solar SunShade by Dutch designer Lianne van Genugten, are one answer. "During the day it opens up and collects solar power, and also provides shade underneath³ the umbrella, and at night it closes down and light comes out," said Lupton. The show also features the Soil Lamp, by another Dutch designer, Marieke Staps, that operates on the electrolytic energy contained in damp soil enclosed in copper⁴ and zinc⁵ cells. Only a splash of water now and then is needed to "recharge" the soil.

Durable⁶, inexpensive building materials that can be made locally are another need throughout the world. A curving roof on display was built according to an ancient masonry⁷ technique that uses thin but very strong tiles to span large spaces, with no permanent frame. "The structure that you see here was created with bricks manufactured in North Carolina from recycled materials, including processed sewage," Lupton said. She said the tiles are as durable and weather-resistant as any permanent building material. South Africa's Mapungubwe National Park Interpretive Center, featured in the show, was built with this technique, creating structures that Lupton says are as thin as eggshells, relative to their span.

In many places, women spend hours every day walking to collect pure water, or burn scarce wood for boiling water to make it safe. The Solvatten solar water purifier, invented by Swedish designer Petra Wadstr?m, saves time and money, and reduces deforestation. Users pour unpurified water in on one side of the box-like container, and let it sit in the sun for a few hours. The clean water is then poured out through another opening. "A product like that really has the opportunity to change the way somebody lives, because now they have time to spend doing other things: making money, becoming educated, taking care of their families," Lupton noted⁸.

Pearl millet⁹, a grain, is a staple¹⁰ food for people in many African countries. A thresher on display at the show, made with bicycle parts, could save women in those countries the hours they now spend every day pounding pearl millet by hand to remove the husks. Now being field-tested in Mali, the Mahangu Thresher was designed by a U.S. team from Hampshire College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

There’s also a neonatal incubator on display, created by another U.S.-based nonprofit group, Design That Matters. Its NeoNurture incubator is made entirely¹¹ from motorcycle and car parts, so that it can be easily repaired by local mechanics in rural areas far from modern hospitals.

The show’s signature design will also be especially useful in some of the world's poorest countries: inexpensive eyeglasses with lenses that users themselves can adjust to the degree of correction needed. British physicist¹² Joshua Silver created the self-adjustable eyeglasses called AdSpecs to help the estimated half a billion people in developing countries who lack access or money for prescription¹³ glasses. They correct for both near-sightedness and far-sightedness, though not for astigmatism¹⁴.

Not all the designs in the show are intended primarily for undeveloped areas. Renewable sources of energy are needed everywhere. High-altitude kites with tiny turbines on their edges collect wind energy and send it down the line to be stored and used on earth. The M10 Kite-power system was invented by Damon Vander Lind, an American, and Becker Van Niekerk, a South African. Another design, aimed at people in richer countries, is the Power Aware Cord, created by Anton Gustafsson and Magnus Gyllensw?rd at the Interactive¹⁵ Institute in Sweden. It shows the amount of energy that an appliance is drawing through light that glows and pulsates¹⁶.

There’s even a biodegradable casket aimed at the developed world. Most coffins¹⁷ now are made using large amounts of scarce and non-biodegradable materials, including metal and plastics. When burned in cremation¹⁸, those caskets also release toxins¹⁹ into the air. The Return to Sender Artisan Eco-Casket, by Greg Holdsworth of New Zealand, resembles an overturned canoe. Manufactured out of simple plywood, it will allow the final act of a life to be one of good design, with little impact on the environment.

 

1 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

2 disseminated   

散布，传播( disseminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。
• Berkovitz had contracted polio after ingesting a vaccine disseminated under federal supervision. 伯考维茨在接种了在联邦监督下分发的牛痘疫苗后传染上脊髓灰质炎。

3 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

4 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

5 zinc   

n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

6 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

7 masonry   

n.砖土建筑；砖石

参考例句：

• Masonry is a careful skill.砖石工艺是一种精心的技艺。
• The masonry of the old building began to crumble.旧楼房的砖石结构开始崩落。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 millet   

n.小米，谷子

参考例句：

• Millet is cultivated in the middle or lower reaches of the Yellow River.在黄河中下游地区，人们种植谷子。
• The high quality millet flour was obtained through wet milling.采用湿磨法获得了高品质的小米粉。

10 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

13 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

14 astigmatism   

n.散光，乱视眼

参考例句：

• Maybe you fall asleep in class because of uncorrected astigmatism.也许你在课堂上睡觉是因为你的眼睛散光。
• Astigmatism can occur in addition to nearsightedness and farsightedness.散光可同时发生在近视和远视。

15 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

16 pulsates   

v.有节奏地舒张及收缩( pulsate的第三人称单数 )；跳动；脉动；受（激情）震动

参考例句：

• My life pulsates with every movment of my country. 我的一生是随着祖国的脉搏而跳动的。 来自辞典例句
• The sick cow frequently attempts urination and pulsates the urethra over the ischium arch. 病牛频频企图排尿，搏动坐骨弓上的尿道。 来自辞典例句

17 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

18 cremation   

n.火葬，火化

参考例句：

• Cremation is more common than burial in some countries. 在一些国家，火葬比土葬普遍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Garbage cremation can greatly reduce the occupancy of land. 垃圾焚烧可以大大减少占用土地。 来自互联网

19 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》