2014年职称英语(卫生类)教材阅读理解文章及练习(6)

　　Pushbike Peril
　　Low speed bicycle crashes can badly injure 一 or even kill 一 children if they fall onto the ends of the handlebars. So a team of engineers is redesigning the humble handlebar in a bid to make it safer.
　　Kristy Arbogast, a bioengineer at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, began the project with her colleagues after a study of serious abdominal injuries in children in the past 30 years showed2 that more than a third were caused by bicycle accidents. "The task was to identify how the injuries occurred and come up with some countermeasures,"3 she says.
　　By interviewing the children and their parents，Arbogast and her team were able to4 reconstruct many of the accidents and identified a common mechanism responsible for serious injuries. They discovered that most occur when children hit an obstacle at a slow speed，causing them to topple over5. To maintain their balance they turn the handlebars through 90 degrees 一 but their momentum forces them into the end of the handlebars. The bike then falls over and the other end of the handlebars hits the ground, ramming it into their abdomen6.
　　The solution the group came up with is a handgrip fitted with a spring and damping system.
　　The spring absorbs up to 50 per cent of the forces transmitted through the handlebars in an impact. The group hopes to commercialize the device，which should add only a few dollars to the cost of a bike. “But our task has been one of education because up until now, bicycle manufacturers were unaware of the problem," says Arbogast.
　　The team has also approached the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to try to persuade manufacturers to adopt the new design. A decision is expected later this year.
　　注释：
　　1. So a team of engineers is redesigning the humble handlebar in a bid to make it safer.因此，一些 工程师正在重新设计这种欠合理的车把，以使其更安全。humble意为“在级别上、质量上、 位置上低的” ;bid在这里应作“努力，企图,争取”解。
　　2. after a study of serious abdominal injuries in children in the past 30 years showed:是一个时间状 语从句，主语是“a study"，谓语是“showed”。
　　3. The task was to identify how the injuries occurred and come up with some countermeasures.要 做的工作就是找出受伤的原因及其对策。be to +不定式可以表示按计划、安排将要发生的 事情。come up with意为“找到(解决办法)”。
　　4.were able to:在此句中表示“过去曾经做成某事”，相当于“succeeded in doing sth. ”。
　　5.topple over：翻倒
　　6. ramming it into their abdomen:把它压入他们的腹部。ram sth. into sth.意为“将某物压入、打入或填入某物”。
　　练习：
　　1.According to the passage, some engineers are trying to improve the handlebars because
　　A they are not noble enough.
　　B they may kill children.
　　C they are likely to crash.
　　D they make the bike move at a low speed.
　　2.In paragraph 2，the author mentions a study of serious abdominal injuries A to discuss how abdominal injuries in children occur.
　　B to show that more than a third injuries were caused by bicycle accidents.
　　C to point out what the countermeasures can be.
　　D to tell us why Kristy Arbogast began the project.
　　3.Paragraph 3 mainly discusses
　　A why the children and their parents were interviewed.
　　B when the children turn the handlebars through 90 degrees.
　　C what causes the children to topple over.
　　D how serious injuries occur.
　　4.The passage implies that
　　A it is not easy to persuade manufacturers to adopt the new design.
　　B the team of engineers has not found any countermeasures.
　　C children like to ride bicycles at a very low speed.
　　D a lot of children were killed in bicycle accidents in the past 30 years.
　　5. In which of the following ways the handgrip work?
　　A It can be commercialized.
　　B It reduces the dangerous forces in bicycle accidents.
　　C It adds a few dollars to the cost of a bike.
　　D It changes the direction of the handlebars in an impact.