振动手套为盲人导航

Vibrating(振动的) gloves will soon replace the walking sticks to help blind people “see” their surroundings. This is the prediction of a British team who has developed a new smart glove, called SenSei, which helps the wearer keep away from the objects ahead.  

The glove features a battery-operated ultrasonic senor(超声传感器) on the back of the glove. Ultrasound waves are sent out, hit the obstacle, and when they return to the glove, they vibrate the fingers, telling the wearer the distance from the objects.

The glove was designed by two students at Nottingham University who wanted to develop a device that could be used without much training. “At present, the attachment(附件) is quite large, but we are working on a new system containing a microprocessor that is smaller and not as heavy,’ said Raivat Luthura, one of the designers. The design recently won £1,000 ($1,540) and first prize in the Entrepreneurship and Business Competition run by Nottingham University Business School. “We’re going to use the money from the competition for further development of the device,” Mr Luthura added.

It follows the launch of a similar device last year which helps people who are blind and visually impaired to learn Braille(盲文). Vibrating motors at the knuckle of each finger in the gloves make a sound to tell a wearer to press a corresponding key, and the system tells them which letter they are typing. And the gloves even teach the wearer when they are not paying attention.

There has also been an increase in so-called “smart walking sticks” that use sonar to let blind people know, through vibrations, if there are objects ahead. Ultrasound waves are sent out and, when they return to the walking sticks, they vibrate on the relevant side to warn of an obstacle ahead.

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1.How does SenSei work?

A Through batteries.

B Through ultrasound waves.

C Through obstacles.

D Through a microprocessor.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第二段可知，超声波传 感器发出超声波，超声波遇到障碍物之后返回传 感器，通过振动警告使用者前方有障碍物。故选 B。

2.What can we know from Paragraph Three?

A The device needs to be improved in weight.

B The device is too heavy to be carried by blind people.

C The system needs to be redesigned and reconstructed.

D The design enjoys great popularity as it is very useful.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据文章第三段 “…quite large…that is smaller and not as heavy.”可以判断，目前超声波导航器比较大、比较重，需要改进得更小更轻。故选 A。

3.What does the underlined word “impaired” most probably mean?

A Weakened.

B Increased.

C Adjusted.

D Examined.

解析：选A。A 词义猜测题。根据语境中的 blind 可以推断，此处的 impaired 指的是“减退，减弱”的意思。故选 A。

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A The blind.

B Walking sticks.

C Smart gloves.

D The company SenSei.

解析：选C。C 主旨大意题。根据全文可知，文章围绕一副为 盲人设计的振动手套展开，故选 C。