VOA标准英语2016--新材料可减低冲击保护运动员

New Material May Reduce Concussion¹ Effects 新材料可减低冲击保护运动员

As the 2016 National Football League season reaches its summit at the Super Bowl this coming Sunday (2/7), scientists are trying to learn how to more effectively protect football players from dangerous and damaging concussions².

Researchers at Cardiff and Cambridge Universities say their origami-based material may solve the problem.  

Powerful impacts and falls are an inevitable³ part of American football, the most popular sport in the United States.

In 2010, the National Football League acknowledged that despite protective helmets players often suffer dangerous concussions, leading to a life-long brain injury called "chronic⁴ traumatic encephalopathy."

Scientists at Cardiff and Cambridge universities say with the help of a supercomputer, they produced a multi-layered material that dissipates the energy of impact much better than currently used polymer foams⁵.

“It is a series of folds based on origami.  So if you were to stack a series of playing cards at home, perhaps then you would come up with a configuration⁶ that might not look too dissimilar to this," said Peter Theobald of Cardiff University.

Testing geometrically complex shapes, researchers found that by changing the orientation⁷ of cell walls they could activate⁸ the ability of the material, they named C3, to absorb impacts from various angles.

Samples printed in a 3-D printer were tested for impacts and the results were again compared with computer models.  Scientists say by combining 3-D printing with the standard manufacturing process of injection molding, the new material can be produced in specific shapes.

“I think with this kind of material we can more than improve the performance of the helmet ... we can design a specific helmet, for example, for each head in the world," said Rafael Santiago of University of Sao Paulo.

Researchers say if the same design could also be printed in 3-D metal printers, it could be help protect military vehicles from various explosive devices.   

1 concussion   

n.脑震荡；震动

参考例句：

• He was carried off the field with slight concussion.他因轻微脑震荡给抬离了现场。
• She suffers from brain concussion.她得了脑震荡。

2 concussions   

n.震荡( concussion的名词复数 )；脑震荡；冲击；震动

参考例句：

• People who have concussions often trouble thinking or remembering. 患脑震荡的人通常存在思考和记忆障碍。 来自互联网
• Concussions also make a person feel very tired or angry. 脑震荡也会使人感觉疲倦或愤怒。 来自互联网

3 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

4 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

5 foams   

n.泡沫，泡沫材料( foam的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sea water foams under the bow. 海水在船首下面泛起浪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The meter handles gases, liquids, foams, and slurries. 这流量计可以处理气体，液体，泡沫状物和稀浆等。 来自辞典例句

6 configuration   

n.结构，布局，形态，(计算机)配置

参考例句：

• Geographers study the configuration of the mountains.地理学家研究山脉的地形轮廓。
• Prices range from $119 to $199,depending on the particular configuration.价格因具体配置而异，从119美元至199美元不等。

7 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

8 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。