2011职称英语新增文章(B).doc

2011年理工类职称英语教材新增文章下载 Batteries Built by Viruses 　　What do chicken pox, the common cold，the flu，and AIDS have in common? Theyre all disease caused by viruses，tiny microorganisms that can pass from person to person. It’s no wonder1 that when most people think about viruses, finding ways to steer clear of2 viruses is whats on peoples minds. 　　Not everyone runs from the tiny disease carriers, though3.In Cambridge，Massachusetts4, scientists have discovered that some viruses can be helpful in an unusual way. They are putting viruses to work，teaching them to build some of the world’s smallest rechargeable batteries. 　　Viruses and batteries may seem like an unusual pair, but theyre not so strange for engineer Angela Belcher, who first came up with5 the idea. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge，she and her collaborators bring together different areas of science in new ways. In the case of the virus-built batteries，the scientists combine what they know about biology，technology and production techniques. 　　Belcher’s team includes Paula Hammond，who helps put together the tiny batteries，and Yet-Ming Chiang, an expert on how to store energy in the form of a battery. Were working on things we traditionally don’t associate with nature, says Hammond. 　　Many batteries are already pretty small. You can hold A，C and D batteries6 in your hand. The coin-like batteries that power watches are often smaller than a penny. However，every year，new electronic devices like personal music players or cell phones get smaller than the year before. As these devices shrink，ordinary bakeries won’t be small enough to fit inside. 　　The ideal battery will store a lot of energy in a small package. Right now，Belcher’s model battery，a metallic disk completely built by viruses，looks like a regular watch battery. But inside，its components are very small-so tiny you can only see them with a powerful microscope. 　　How small are these battery parts? To get some idea of the size，pluck on