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2017考研英语拓展阅读：用空气能洗手？
A group of senior students from Zhejiang University have successfully developed an "air hand-washing device." The device utilizes an infrared ray induction system, which detects the presence of hands. A tap then sprays a light water mist along with a strong gust of air, which the students have proven to be nearly as effective as traditional hand-washing. However, the device uses only 10 percent of the water that regular hand-washing does.
来自浙江大学的一群大学生成功研制出“空气洗手装置”。装置利用了红外线感应系统，可以探测到双手的存在。水龙头就会喷出雾状水滴和高速气流，学生们已经证实了此方法和传统的洗手方法一样有效。但是，这种装置对比常规的洗手方法只用10%的水量。
Li Qizhang, a member of the team that developed the device, told a reporter from thepaper.cn that a model of their device has already been installed in a classroom building at the university, and that the results have been satisfactory. The students have set up a company to further promote their product.
李启章，研发该装置的成员之一，告诉记者这个装置的模型在大学的教学楼里安装了一台，效果令人满意。学生们成立了一家公司来进一步推广他们的产品。
In 2014, a student named Chen Puyang first came up with the idea while washing his hands in the school cafeteria. Washing one’s hands uses a lot of water, Chen thought. Would it be possible to replace the water with air?
2014年，陈濮阳在学校饭堂洗手时突发奇想，用水洗手多浪费啊，可以用空气来代替水洗手吗?
Others may not have given the question a second thought. However, for Chen and Li, who were studying fluid mechanics, this constituted a brilliant idea.
一般人可能不会再去多想这个问题。但是，对于学习流体力学的陈濮阳和李启章来说，这个问题构思出一个好主意。
Soon, Chen, Li and several classmates embarked on the project. The design of the device required knowledge from a variety of different majors, so the R&D team eventually came to be composed of seven students from various majors.
不久，陈、李和几个同学开始着手这个计划。装置的设计需要各种专业知识，所以研究和开发团队最终由7名来自不同专业的学生组成。
"We put different kinds of dirt on our hands and washed them with water. It turned out that 95 percent of water is used to flush away the dirt; only 5 percent is used to dissolve it. If we washed with only air, then the dirt on our hands would not dissolve. So we decided to use a fine water spray to complement the air. That way, the dirt is carried away by air and dissolved by water," explained Li.
“我们用水来冲洗手上的各种污渍，发现95%的水都用于冲走污渍，只有5%的水用于溶解污渍。如果我们用空气来冲洗手的话，手上的污渍则无法溶解。所以我们决定用水喷雾来弥补空气的缺陷。用这个方法，污渍能被水溶解然后被空气带走，”李启章解释道。
After a year of research and experimentation, the team came up with a gravity-driven hand-washing device whose reliance on water was minimal. The user stands on a platform in front of the device, which sinks because of the weight of the user. The gravity exerted by the user pulls the piston through a pulley block, and a gust of air is generated through air extrusion. The tap then releases a water mist coupled with the gust.
经过一年的研究实验，他们提出来重力驱动洗手装置，此装置耗水量极少。当使用者站在洗手装置前的踏板上，踏板由于人体重力而下沉，通过滑轮组牵引活塞挤压空气获得高速气流，令水龙头喷出水雾来。
The team tested the device by conducting chromogenic reaction and residual bacteria experiments, which proved that the results of hand-washing with air can be similar to those of washing with water.
团队还通过显色反应和细菌残留实验来测试装置。实验证明空气洗手的效果和那些用水洗手的效果并无差异。
In September 2015, the team took its invention to the Global Grand Challenges Summit. They took home the top award, beating teams from 14 universities including MIT and Cambridge.
2015年9月，在全球重大挑战峰会上，他们凭借这款发明，击败了包括麻省理工学院和剑桥大学在内的14所大学，拿到了最高奖项。
Now they have launched a second generation of their product, which is powered by electricity and equipped with an infrared ray induction system.
现在，他们要推广电力驱动配置红外线感应系统的新一代产品。