理工类B级辅导资料：阅读理解Batteries Built
What do chicken pox，the common cold， the flu，and AIDS have in common? They’re 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 what’s on people’s 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 they’re 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.“We’re 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 batteries 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 one hair from your head.Place your hair on a piece of white paper and try to see how wide your hair is—pretty thin，right? Although the width of each person’s hair is a bit different，you could probably fit about l0 of these virus—built battery parts，side to side，across one hair.These microbatteries may change the way we look at viruses7.
词汇：
chicken pox水痘
microorganism n.微生物
metallic adj.金属的
collaborator n.合作者，协作者
pluck v.拔，摘，采
注释：
1.no wonder：不足为奇的，难怪
2.steer clear of：避开，绕开
3.though：意思为“然而，可是”。在句中使用时通常放在句末。
4.Cambridge，Massachusetts：马萨诸塞州的剑桥市。本文第三段提到的the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge即指坐落于剑桥市的麻省理工学院。麻省理工学院于1861年由著名自然科学家威廉·巴罗吉杰斯创立。这是美国的一所私立研究型大学，培养高级科技人才和管理人才，是以理工科为主的、世界一流的综合性大学。
5.came up with：提出
6.A，C and D batteries：A、C、D均为电池型号。
7.These microbatteries may change the way we look at viruses：这些微型电池可能会改变我们看待病毒的方式。作者想表达的意思是：人们一直认为病毒有害无益，现在病毒可用来制作电池，人们对病毒的看法可能会因此而发生变化。