托福阅读材料：心跳也能发电

电力是让我们生活得舒适所必须的能源，科学家一直都希望能找到一种更方便、环保和实惠的方式发电。下面的新托福考试阅读练习资料中科学家们就研究出了一种让人类自己发电的方式。

　　The human heartbeat could be used to power an ipod after scientists developed a tiny chip which uses the body's own movement to generate power.

　　如果科学家们能改进一种用人体自身活动发电的微型芯片，那么将来ipod就可以靠心跳来充电了。

　　Scientists hope that as the nanotechnology used in the chip evolves, it could lead to electronics which don't require batteries or mains power.

　　科学家们希望，随着在芯片内所运用的纳米技术不断进步，以后可以生产出不需要电池或系统供电的电子产品。

　　Hailed as a milestone, it can use tiny movements such as the pinch of a finger to generate power.

　　这被认为是里程碑式的进步，它将使诸如手指轻轻一捏这样的细小动作也能产生电能。

　　The team, presenting their findings at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, have used it to power LCD displays and diodes, as well as to transmit a radio signal once its generated power has been stored.

　　研究这一项目的科学团队在美国化学会年会上展示了自己的研究成果，他们用芯片为液晶屏幕和两极真空管充电，并用充完电的机器传播广播信号。

　　The latest device is thousands of times more powerful than its predecessors, allowing scientists to take the technology out of the lab for the first time.

　　科学家们研究出的装置比以前的那些强大了数千倍，这使他们次可以将这项技术带出实验室。

　　The technology works by using zinc oxide nanowires, which generate electricity when strained or flexed.

　　它运用了氧化锌纳米线，氧化锌纳米线在被拉紧或收缩时都会发电。

　　This mean virtually any body movement - from walking to a heartbeat - can generate power.

　　这就意味着从步行到心跳，几乎任何一个身体动作都能产生能量。

　　Five nanogenerators working together produced about 1 micro ampere output current at 3 volts about the same voltage generated by two regular AA batteries.

　　5个纳米发电机同时工作可以产生1微安培3伏特的输出电流，与2节普通的5号电池所产生的电压差不多。

　　Dr Zhong Lin Wang, of Georgia Institute of Technology said: "While a few volts may not seem like much, it has grown by leaps and bounds over previous versions of the nanogenerator.

　　佐治亚理工学院的王中林教授说：“也许这么点电压看上去很不起眼，但是比起过去的纳米发电机已经有了飞跃。”

　　"Additional nanowires and more nanogenerators, stacked together, could produce enough energy for powering larger electronics, such as an ipod or charging a cell phone."

　　“如果把更多的纳米线和纳米发电机放在一起，就足以为更大的电子产品提供电能，比如为一台ipod或一部手机充电。”

　　"Our nanogenerators are poised to change lives in the future. Their potential is only limited by one's imagination."

　　“纳米发电机将改变人类未来的生活，它们的潜力只有想不到，没有做不到。”