A Patient on the brink Of death has received the world’s first self-contained artificial heart—a battery．powered device about the size of a softball that runs without the need for wires．tubes or hoses sticking out of the chest．
Two surgeons from the University of Louisville implanted the titanium and plastic pump during a seven-hour operation at Jewish Hospital Monday．The hospital said the patient was“awake and responsive”Tuesday and resting comfortably．It refused to release personal details．
The patient had been expected to die within a month without the operation．and doctors said they expected the artificial heart to extend the person’s 1ife by only a month．But the device is considered a major step toward improving the patient\'s quality of life．
The new pump, called AbioCor, is also a technological leap from the mechanical hearts used in the 1 980s。which were attached by wires and tubes to bull(Y machinery outside the body．The most famous Of those。the Jarvic-7．used air as a pumping device and was attached to an apparatus about the size of a washing machine． “I think it’S potentially a major step forward in the artificial heart development．”said Dr．David Faxon, president of the American Heart Association．However, he said the dream Of an implantable, permanent artificial heart is not yet a reality：“This is obviously an experimental device whose 10ng．term Success has to be demonstrated．”Only about half of the 4．200 Americans on a waiting list for donor hearts received them last year，and most of the rest died．
Some doctors，including Robert Higgins，chairman of cardiology at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond．said artificial hearts are unlikely to replace donor hearts．
“A donor heart in a good transplant can last 1 5 to 30 years．”he said．“It’S going to be hard to replace that with a machine．”
The AbioCor has a 2-pound pumping unit，and electronic controls that adjust the pumping speed based on the body’S needs．It is powered by a small battery pack worn outside the body that transmits current through the skin．
词汇：
self-contained／adj．整套装在一起(并带有动力设备)的
battery-powered／adj．以电池作为动力的
hose／n．(=hosepipe)(胶皮、帆布等)软管
softball／n．垒球
implant／vt．植入；n．植入物
titanium／n．钛
responsive／adi．反应灵敏的
bulky／adj．庞大的，笨大的
implantable／adj．可植入的
练习：
1．The pump of the first implanted self-contained heart was made of titanium and plastic．
ARightBWrongCNot mentioned
2．The patient’s life was expected to last several years longer by implanting the artificial heart．
A RightB WrongCNot mentioned
3．There is no difference in structure between the self-contained heart and the mechanical heart．
ARightBWrongCNot mentioned
4．The American Heart Association recommended widely using the self-contained heart．
ARightBWrongCNot mentioned
5．Dr．David Faxon believed that the implantable，permanent artificial heart will certainly be developed in the future．
ARightBWrongCNot mentioned
6．Approximately two thousand one hundred patients received heart implantation in America last year．
ARightBWrongCNot mentioned
7．Some doctors doubt the possibility of donor hearts being replaced by artificial ones
lNew York—the Statue of Liberty，the skyscrapers，the beautiful shops on Fifth Avenue and the many theaters on Broadway．This is America’S cultural capital．It is also her biggest city, with a population of nearly 8 million．In the summer it is hot，hot，hot and in the winter it Can be very cold．Still there are hundreds of things to do and see all the year round．
2Manhattan is the real center of the city．When people say“New York City,”they usually mean Manhattan．Most of the interesting shops, buildings and museums are here．In addition, Manhattan is the scene of New York’s busy night life．In 1605 the first Europeans came to Manhattan from Holland．They bought the island from the Native Americans for a few glass necklaces worth about$26 today．
3Wall Street in Manhattan is the financial heart of the USA．It is also the most important
banking center in the world．It is a street of“skyscrapers．”These are those incredible，high buildings，which Americans invented，and built faster and higher than anyone else．Perhaps the two most spectacular skyscrapers in New York are the two towers of the New York World Trade Center．When the sun sets, their 110 floors shine like pure gold．
4Like every big city, New York has its own traffic system．Traffic jams can be terrible．It’s usually quickest to go by subway．The New York subway is easy to use and quite cheap．The subway goes to almost every comer of Manhattan．But it is not safe to take the subway late at night because in some places you could get robbed．New York buses are also easy to use．You see more if you go by bus．There are more than 30，000 taxis in New York．They are easy to see．because they are bright yellow and carry large TAXI signs．Taxis do not go outside the city．However, they will go to the airports．In addition to the taxi fare．people
give the taxi driver a tip of 15 percent of the fare’s value．
5Central Park is a beautiful green oasis in the middle of New York’s concrete desert．It issurprisinglybig．with lakes and woods，as well as organized recreation areas．New Yorkers love Central Park，and they use it all the time．In the winter, they go ice—skating，and in the summer roller—skating．They play ball，ride horses and have picnics．They go bicycling and boating．There is even a children’s Zoo．with wild birds and animals．
6Along the east side of Central Park runs Fifth Avenue．once called“Millionaire’s Row．”In the 19th century, the richest men in America built their magnificent homes here．It is still the most fashionable street in the city, with famous department stores．
7Broadway is the street where you will find New York’s best．known theaters．But away from the bright lights and elegant clothes of Broadway are many smaller theaters．Their plays are called“off-Broad—way”and are often more unusual than the Broadway shows．As well as many theaters，New York has a famous opera house．This is the Metropolitan，where international stars sing from September until April．Carnegie Hall is the city’s more popular concert hall．But night life in New York offers more than classical music and theater．There are hundreds of nightclubs where people go to eat and dance．
词汇：
heartbeat／n．心搏
necklace/n．项链
worth／adj．有……价值的
incredible／a．难以置信的
fare n．车费
oasis／n．绿洲
roller-skating／n．滑旱冰
练习：
1．Paragraph3__________
2．Paragraph4__________
3．Paragraph5__________
4．Paragraph6__________
A The Financial Center of USA
B The Night Life in New York
C The Traffic Facilities of New York
D Shopping Center for the Rich
E New York— An InternationalCity
F Central Park—A Place of Recreation for the New Yorkers
5.The island of Manhattan was bought by the Hollanders from the native Americans
6.Central Park is a good place where the New Yorkers can go and
7.Fifth Avenue is the place
8.For those play-lovers who are interested in what is unusual，the small theaters might be more attractive
Swimmers Call drown in busy swimming pools when lifeguards fail to notice that they are in trouble．The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents says that on average 1 5 people drown in British pools each year，but many more suffer major injury after getting into difficulties．Now a French company has developed an artificial intelligence system called Poseidon that sounds the alarm when it sees someone in danger of drowning．
When a swimmer sinks towards the bottom of the pool，the new system sends an alarm signal to a poolside monitoring station and a lifeguard’s pager In trials at a pool in Ancenis，near Nantes，it saved a 1ife with in just a few months，says Alistair McQuade，a spokesman for its
maker, Poseidon Technologies．
Poseidon keeps watch through a network of underwater and overhead video cameras．AI software analyses the images to work Out swimmers’ trajectories．T0 do this reliably．it has to tell the difference between a swimmer and the shadow of someone being cast onto the bottom or side of the p001．“The underwater environment is a very dynamic one，with many shadows and reflections dancing around。”says McQuade．
The software does this by “projecting” a shape in its field of view onto an image of the far wall of the p001. It does the same with an image from another camera viewing the shape from a different angle．If the two projections are in the same position，the shape is identified as a shadow and is ignored．But if they are different，the shape is a swimmer and So the system follows its trajectory．
To pick out potential drowning victims，anyone in the water who starts to descend slowly is added to the software’s“pre．alert”‘list．says McQuade．Swimmers who then stay immobile 011 the pool bottom for 5 seconds or more are considered in danger of drowning．Poseidon double·checks that tell image really is of a swimmer ,not a shadow．by seeing whether it obscures the pool’s floor texture when viewed from overhead．If SO，it alerts the lifeguard。showing the swimmer’s location on a poolside screen．The first full．scale Poseidon system will be officially opened next week at a pool in High Wycombe ，Buckinghamshire．One man who is impressed with the idea is Traver Baylis，inventor of the clockwork radio．Baylis runs a company that installs swimming pools—and he was once an underwater escapologist with a circus．”I say full marks to them if this works and can save lives，
