（七）
A
It’s a pity that deaf people, or those who have hearing problems, can’t enjoy music. But now a vibrating (振动的) suit brings them hope – it can allow them to “feel” music through their skin, rather than hear it.
Designed by the US technology company Not Impossible Labs, the suit consists of a body harness (全身式安全带), ankle and wrist straps (腕带).
Music is sent to the suit wirelessly. Then the suit is able to translate it into a range of vibrati
ng pulses (节拍), which can be felt at a total of 24 contact points all over the body. The users can adjust the intensity (强度) of the vibrations.
Chase Burton, 33, a deaf filmmaker from Texas, US, has been testing out the suit for four years.
He understands that a deaf person’s experience with music is very different. “When I was a kid, I’d lie on the floor above our garage so I could feel the vibrations from my brother’s band rocking out below my body,” Burton told CNN.
Now when he wears the vibrating suit, he says the sound hits different parts of his body. “Maybe it will strike me down in my ankles first. And then I’ll start to feel the vibrations in my back. And then I’ll feel some pulsations in my wrist,” Burton said.
The designers have been working on extending the tactile (触觉的) musical experience to a larger deaf community. In 2016, a dozen prototype (样品) suits were tested at a Lady Gaga concert in the US.
The suit was also tested at a different concert in Las Vegas in 2018. It was given to 150 audience members at the concert where half the audience members were deaf and half could hear.
At the same time, the company has been improving the technology, saying it’s ready to go to market soon. The suit may be used in live sports broadcasts, video games or theme parks. The ultimate (最终的) goal is to make the technology available (可获得的) to all.
“We truly think that anything that has an audio element (元素) can also have a vibrational experience associated with it as well,” the company’s talent and business development director, Jordan Richardson, told CNN.
1.lady.gagaHow does the vibrating suit help people with hearing problems?
A.It sends sounds to their ears through a wire.
B.It improves their contact points all over the body.
C.It turns music into vibrating pulses that can be felt.
D.It changes the intensity of sounds based on the users.
2.Why is Burton’s experience mentioned?
A.To show how difficult it is for a deaf person to enjoy music.
B.To tell readers different ways that people enjoy music.
C.To express regret for not having the technology earlier.
D.To ask designers to make user-friendly products for deaf people.
3.What do we know about the suit?
A.It is widely used at concerts.
B.It is well received by the market.
C.It is being improved to further its use.
D.It works better with people who can hear.
4.What does Richardson think of the technology?
A.It has a bright future.
B.It costs too much.
C.It is the most advanced.
D.It is of little practical use.
B
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案
A few years ago, a friend sent me a restaurant gift card for Christmas, and I picked a pretty, sunny Sunday afternoon to use it. It felt good taking my two grown sons and daughter to a nice sit-down restaurant instead of the fast food places we usually ate at. The meal was delicious, and we all had a good time just being together. The gift card covered almost all of the check (餐馆帐单). I reached into my wallet to get enough cash to cover the rest. I saw two bills (钞票) in the front of it. The first would cover the rest of the check. The second would cover the check and give the waitress a nice tip. I reached down to pick out the first one.
At that moment, my mind flashed back to 30 years ago. I was working as a busboy (餐厅勤杂工) in a restaurant much like the one we were in. It was long hours of hard work for low pay. I went home just barely (勉强) making enough to feed my young family. I also remembered how more than once I saw the waitresses counting their small tips while wor
rying about how they were going to pay the rent and buy their kids the things they needed. I remembered the pain in their eyes and saw the sadness in their faces at the end of the day.
I blinked (眨眼睛) and was back in the present again, with my fingers touching the smaller bill in my wallet. I smiled, pushed it back down and picked out the larger bill. I folded it around the gift card and covered both of them with the check. As we all got up from the table, I handed them to the hardworking waitress. “You keep the change,” I said with a smile and a happy heart.
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