The abuse of the new technology is not a strange topic. In the two article I have read recently the abuse of the brain mapping is mentioned. If I was the researcher of the technology brain mapping, I will try my best to predict the potential abuse of it and then to minimize the unethical abuses.
First, the most possible abuse of the brain mapping is that the employer will want to keep watch over the thoughts of the employee, which definitely trespasses the private right of the employees. To avoid such tortious acts, the laws focus on the brain mapping is a must. The laws can stipulate that the employers can only view their employee's thoughts under the limited situations, and before that the employer must get the permit of related department of the government. In such case, I think the technology could work very well. Second, the brain mapping technology is reliable but not perfectly accurate, so too much reliance on the brain mapping technology is also a kind of abuse. Because brain is a very complex organism, though the computer is able to "read" it more or less, nobody can guarantee the accuracy of the brain mapping. As to this kind of abuse, the solution is that the testing results of the brain mapping can only be treated as references. Maybe with the development of the technology, we can depend more and more on the technology.
Third, the most controversial one, the parents will try to match their children's brain scans to the famous celebrities. It will easily lead to a brain testing juggernaut tomorrow. This is quite bad for the whole society, and many children with undiscovered potential may probably lose the opportunity to develop those ability. More rules should be established on the brain mapping on children.
That is my prediction and solution of the possible abuse.
2008年10月29日星期三
Portfolio 4
The module MLE 1101is a quite tough module to me. The name of this module is "Material Science and Engineering: An introduction". This module comes in the scopes of many fields about material, such as the basic property of material, the structure of polymer and composite and so on. I have two main difficulties in learning this module.
The first difficulty I encounter in this module is that there are quite a lot terms about organic substance which are quite long and hard to memorize. What is worse, most of the organic substances have more than one name! For instance, the substance ethene whose chemical formula is C2H4, is also called ethylene! This really puzzles me at the beginning of the module. It is only a very sample substance and the name of the more complex matter will be even harder to recognize and memorize. While now I find that there are disciplines in naming the matter, though it is not as systematical as the way named in Chinese, I find a bit better in dealing with it.
The second difficulty is the accent of the lecturer. Above all, all the lecturers are very profound, but at the beginning I cannot adjust to their accents of English. For example, the first professor would like to pronounce the word "atom" like "ATAUM", which makes me quite bemused and confused at first. The longer terms of this module are even more difficult to understand. However, with time going by, I adapt to their accent more or less.
Those are the two difficulties that I come across in learning the module MLE 1101.
2008年10月6日星期一
Portfolio 3
Summary of “Terrorism protection is engineering challenge, Branscomb says”
Branscomb whose talk on Sept.20 ranks 2nd in the Brunel Lectures Series on Complex Systems sponsored by MIT’s Engineering System Division says that science and technology can make the US safer but nit invulnerable to attack. It is the science and technology that created America’s vulnerability.
Reducing vulnerability is a highly complex systems problem and the NRC report also warns that there is danger of a severe domino effect, bringing down many other systems with it. Branscomb also thinks that the Department of Homeland Security is ill equipped to deal with the problem. He noted that many systems which include health care and food systems, energy systems, communication and information systems, transportation systems and people are potential targets. He highlights the people are the targets and the main danger is loss of public confidence in public offices, which would lead to the consequence that the democracy will become fragile. Because of some engineering problems, which are some of the biggest hurdles in fencing off attack, more effort in creating a foreign policy so that there is less incentive to become a terrorist should be taken.
Branscomb whose talk on Sept.20 ranks 2nd in the Brunel Lectures Series on Complex Systems sponsored by MIT’s Engineering System Division says that science and technology can make the US safer but nit invulnerable to attack. It is the science and technology that created America’s vulnerability.
Reducing vulnerability is a highly complex systems problem and the NRC report also warns that there is danger of a severe domino effect, bringing down many other systems with it. Branscomb also thinks that the Department of Homeland Security is ill equipped to deal with the problem. He noted that many systems which include health care and food systems, energy systems, communication and information systems, transportation systems and people are potential targets. He highlights the people are the targets and the main danger is loss of public confidence in public offices, which would lead to the consequence that the democracy will become fragile. Because of some engineering problems, which are some of the biggest hurdles in fencing off attack, more effort in creating a foreign policy so that there is less incentive to become a terrorist should be taken.
2008年9月11日星期四
Portfolio 2
Passive voice of verb
One of the grammar mistakes that I often make is the passive voice of verbs.
Let us kook at the corre0ct usages.
First, there is a simple example:
Many people speak English. English is spoken by many people.
The basic structure of passive voice is the verb "be" followed by past participle.. For example, My bike is broken.
Second, let us learn how to change the active voice sentences into passive voice sentences.
The first step is thaht we shpuld change the subject and object.
The second step is replace the original verb with be followed by its past participle.
Third, If there is modal verbin the sentence, we should place it before be.
The third step is that we should put a proper preposition after the prepsition, which depends on the object and the verb.
Is it seems easy? Acutally , when it is used in complex sentence with diffeent verb tenses, it will become very hard.
Besides, there are also some special usages.
Here are some examples:
The flower smells sweet.
The music sounds reansonable.
The food tastes decilious.
Form these examples, we can draw the conclusion that there is no need to change the form of the words "taste, sound, smell" to convey the passive meaning.
Similarly,we usually use the active voice of the verb following the word "worth" to diliver passive meaning.
Following is some exercise.
Section: Getting A Grip
The following is a selection from a news article. Some of the active and passive verbs in it have been removed. Insert the correct form of the verb or verb phrase in parentheses, using either the active or passive voice and correct tense/aspect as appropriate.
1)
Getting a Grip on Lost Luggage
By Paul Simao
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (Reuters) - Ever wondered what happened to the golf clubs that went missing on that flight to Florida or the leather jacket you______ (leave) behind on the plane last Thanksgiving? It''s more than likely that both______ (end up) for sale in the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama. ?
The allure of potential bargains______ (draw) approximately 800,000 people each year into the store, making it one of Alabama''s biggest tourist attractions.
Each year, the store ______ (buy) sight unseen more than one million items, ranging from precious gemstones to half-empty cans of shaving cream, through exclusive contracts with major airlines, air freight carriers and ground package deliverers. ?/p>
The majority of the goods come from bags that, for one reason or another, ______ (never claim) by passengers. Airlines, which usually ______ (compensate) passengers for lost checked luggage, wait about 100 days before selling the bags.
Although Unclaimed Baggage______ (contractually bar) from disclosing how much it pays for bags or who it buys from, Bryan Owens, the Chief Executive of parent company Owens Company South Inc., says the business ______ (face) scant competition. ?/p>
About one out of every 200 passengers on domestic flights on the 10 largest U.S. airlines______ (file) a lost baggage report, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Two percent of those travelers never see their luggage again.
Bags______ (usually lose) because personal identification tags fall off and the contents inside fail to identify the owner.
2)
LIKE A TREASURE HUNT
Unclaimed Baggage uses its own fleet of trucks to haul its prospective merchandise to a sorting facility in Scottsboro. Prescription drugs, perishable food and other items deemed unfit for sale ______ (dicard) or______ (give) to charity. What remains ______ (clean), ______ (price) and ______ (place) in the store´s 33,000-square foot showroom.
Clothes, which ______ (launder) and ______ (press) before resale, make up the majority of the inventory, all of which (sell) at between 50 and 80 percent below the manufacturer´s suggested retail price. Fine jewelry______ (discount) by about 50 percent.
The company´s appraisers and trained employees set prices to______ (move) inventory quickly -- because it keeps coming in.
Since many travelers ______ (pack) their nicest clothes for vacations and business trips, it is not uncommon for shoppers to ______ (find) a Versace evening gown or an Armani suit hanging on the showroom racks. Earlier this month, a hand-stitched Japanese kimono was selling for $2,500. Less fancy wedding dresses, if you were so inclined, ______ (could have) for about $100. An emerald to go with the outfit would run you $14,750. Occasionally, priceless items make their way to the warehouse. Rare finds over the years have included ancient Egyptian artifacts, which______ (donate) to a museum, and a violin dating back to 1770.
"It´s like a treasure hunt here," says Shirley Johnson, a regular customer from Scottsboro. "You never know what you´re going to find, but when you do find something it costs a fraction what it would in other places." A second, smaller store ______ (locate) in nearby Boaz, Ala. ?/p>
Although he refuses to disclose specific financial results, Owens says the business has made a profit every year since it ______ (found) by his parents, Doyle and Sue Owens, in 1970. ?/p>
The Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, however, temporarily______ (cut) the number of store visitors and ______ (lead) to a drop in the flow of bags received from airlines in step with a sharp fall in air travelers and the implementation of more stringent baggage screening procedures.
But Owens shrugs away concerns that the business could shrink as airlines and airports attempt to improve their monitoring and tracking of bags in the new era of heightened aviation security.
"There are so many moving parts to baggage handling. Some bags are just going to get lost," he says. "We have only hit the tip of the iceberg of what we can do."
Answer 1:
leftwill end up;ended updrawsbuyswere never claimed;are never claimedcompensateis contractually barredfaces;is facing;has facedwill file;filesare usually lost
Answer 2:
are discardedgivenwill be cleaned;is cleanedpricedplacedwill be laundered;are launderedpressedis sold;will sell;will be soldis discountedmovepackfindcould be hadwere donatedis locatedwas foundedhave cut;cuthave led;led
(ITSELF：http://courses.nus.edu.sg/courseware/ITSELF/)
1. If city noises ____ from increasing，people ____ shout
to be heard even at dinner．
A． are not kept；will have to B． are not kept；have C． do not keep；will have to D． do not keep；have to
2. The fifth generation computers, ____and
perfected now.
A. developed B. have developed C. are being developed D. will have been developed
3. --- ____ the sports meet might be put off． --- Yes，it all depends on the weather． A． I've been told B． I've told C． I'm told D． I told
4. I need one more stamp before my collection ___.
A. has completed B. completes C. has been completed D. is completed
5. Rainforests ___ and burned at such a speed that they will disappear from the earth in the near future.
A. cut B. are cut C. are being cut D. had been cut
6. The new bridge ___ by the end of last month.
A. has been designed B. had been designed C. was designed D. would be designed
7. When part of a pencil is in a glass of water, it looks as if it ____.
A. breaks B. has broken C. was broken D. had been broken
8. Great changes ___ in the city, and a lot of factories ___.
A. have been taken place; have been set up
B. have taken place; have been set up
C. have taken place; have set up
D. were taken place; were set up
9. That suit __ over 60 dollars.
A. had costed B. costed C. is costed D. cost
10. --- Look! Everything here is under construction. --- What’s the pretty small house that __ for?
A. is being built B. has been built C. is built D. is building
11.--- Do you like the cloth? --- Yes, it ___ very soft.
A. is feeling B. felt C. feels D. is felt
12. It is difficult for a foreigner ____ Chinese．
A． write B． to write C． to be written D． written
13. I have no more letters ____ ，thank you．
A． to type B． typing C． to be typed D． typed
14. Take care! Don’t drop the ink on your shirt,
for it __ easily.
A. won’t wash out B. won’t be washed out C. isn’t washed out D. isn’t washing out
15. Nobody noticed the thief slip into the house because
the lights happened to ___.
A. be put up B. give in C. be turned on D. go out
16. The computers on the table ___ Professor Smith.
A. belongs B. are belonged to C. belongs to D. belong to
17. --- What do you think of the book? ---Oh, excellent. It’s worth ___ a second time.
A. to read B. to be read C. reading D. being read
18. The squirrel was lucky that it just missed ___.
A. catching B. to be caught C. being caught D. to catch
19. This page needed ___ again.
A. being checked B. checked C. to check D. to be checked
20. ___ many times, the boy still didn’t know how to do it.
A. Having taught B. Having been taught C. taught D. Teaching
KEY:ACADC BCBDA CBCAD DCCDB
One of the grammar mistakes that I often make is the passive voice of verbs.
Let us kook at the corre0ct usages.
First, there is a simple example:
Many people speak English. English is spoken by many people.
The basic structure of passive voice is the verb "be" followed by past participle.. For example, My bike is broken.
Second, let us learn how to change the active voice sentences into passive voice sentences.
The first step is thaht we shpuld change the subject and object.
The second step is replace the original verb with be followed by its past participle.
Third, If there is modal verbin the sentence, we should place it before be.
The third step is that we should put a proper preposition after the prepsition, which depends on the object and the verb.
Is it seems easy? Acutally , when it is used in complex sentence with diffeent verb tenses, it will become very hard.
Besides, there are also some special usages.
Here are some examples:
The flower smells sweet.
The music sounds reansonable.
The food tastes decilious.
Form these examples, we can draw the conclusion that there is no need to change the form of the words "taste, sound, smell" to convey the passive meaning.
Similarly,we usually use the active voice of the verb following the word "worth" to diliver passive meaning.
Following is some exercise.
Section: Getting A Grip
The following is a selection from a news article. Some of the active and passive verbs in it have been removed. Insert the correct form of the verb or verb phrase in parentheses, using either the active or passive voice and correct tense/aspect as appropriate.
1)
Getting a Grip on Lost Luggage
By Paul Simao
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (Reuters) - Ever wondered what happened to the golf clubs that went missing on that flight to Florida or the leather jacket you______ (leave) behind on the plane last Thanksgiving? It''s more than likely that both______ (end up) for sale in the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama. ?
The allure of potential bargains______ (draw) approximately 800,000 people each year into the store, making it one of Alabama''s biggest tourist attractions.
Each year, the store ______ (buy) sight unseen more than one million items, ranging from precious gemstones to half-empty cans of shaving cream, through exclusive contracts with major airlines, air freight carriers and ground package deliverers. ?/p>
The majority of the goods come from bags that, for one reason or another, ______ (never claim) by passengers. Airlines, which usually ______ (compensate) passengers for lost checked luggage, wait about 100 days before selling the bags.
Although Unclaimed Baggage______ (contractually bar) from disclosing how much it pays for bags or who it buys from, Bryan Owens, the Chief Executive of parent company Owens Company South Inc., says the business ______ (face) scant competition. ?/p>
About one out of every 200 passengers on domestic flights on the 10 largest U.S. airlines______ (file) a lost baggage report, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Two percent of those travelers never see their luggage again.
Bags______ (usually lose) because personal identification tags fall off and the contents inside fail to identify the owner.
2)
LIKE A TREASURE HUNT
Unclaimed Baggage uses its own fleet of trucks to haul its prospective merchandise to a sorting facility in Scottsboro. Prescription drugs, perishable food and other items deemed unfit for sale ______ (dicard) or______ (give) to charity. What remains ______ (clean), ______ (price) and ______ (place) in the store´s 33,000-square foot showroom.
Clothes, which ______ (launder) and ______ (press) before resale, make up the majority of the inventory, all of which (sell) at between 50 and 80 percent below the manufacturer´s suggested retail price. Fine jewelry______ (discount) by about 50 percent.
The company´s appraisers and trained employees set prices to______ (move) inventory quickly -- because it keeps coming in.
Since many travelers ______ (pack) their nicest clothes for vacations and business trips, it is not uncommon for shoppers to ______ (find) a Versace evening gown or an Armani suit hanging on the showroom racks. Earlier this month, a hand-stitched Japanese kimono was selling for $2,500. Less fancy wedding dresses, if you were so inclined, ______ (could have) for about $100. An emerald to go with the outfit would run you $14,750. Occasionally, priceless items make their way to the warehouse. Rare finds over the years have included ancient Egyptian artifacts, which______ (donate) to a museum, and a violin dating back to 1770.
"It´s like a treasure hunt here," says Shirley Johnson, a regular customer from Scottsboro. "You never know what you´re going to find, but when you do find something it costs a fraction what it would in other places." A second, smaller store ______ (locate) in nearby Boaz, Ala. ?/p>
Although he refuses to disclose specific financial results, Owens says the business has made a profit every year since it ______ (found) by his parents, Doyle and Sue Owens, in 1970. ?/p>
The Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, however, temporarily______ (cut) the number of store visitors and ______ (lead) to a drop in the flow of bags received from airlines in step with a sharp fall in air travelers and the implementation of more stringent baggage screening procedures.
But Owens shrugs away concerns that the business could shrink as airlines and airports attempt to improve their monitoring and tracking of bags in the new era of heightened aviation security.
"There are so many moving parts to baggage handling. Some bags are just going to get lost," he says. "We have only hit the tip of the iceberg of what we can do."
Answer 1:
leftwill end up;ended updrawsbuyswere never claimed;are never claimedcompensateis contractually barredfaces;is facing;has facedwill file;filesare usually lost
Answer 2:
are discardedgivenwill be cleaned;is cleanedpricedplacedwill be laundered;are launderedpressedis sold;will sell;will be soldis discountedmovepackfindcould be hadwere donatedis locatedwas foundedhave cut;cuthave led;led
(ITSELF：http://courses.nus.edu.sg/courseware/ITSELF/)
1. If city noises ____ from increasing，people ____ shout
to be heard even at dinner．
A． are not kept；will have to B． are not kept；have C． do not keep；will have to D． do not keep；have to
2. The fifth generation computers, ____and
perfected now.
A. developed B. have developed C. are being developed D. will have been developed
3. --- ____ the sports meet might be put off． --- Yes，it all depends on the weather． A． I've been told B． I've told C． I'm told D． I told
4. I need one more stamp before my collection ___.
A. has completed B. completes C. has been completed D. is completed
5. Rainforests ___ and burned at such a speed that they will disappear from the earth in the near future.
A. cut B. are cut C. are being cut D. had been cut
6. The new bridge ___ by the end of last month.
A. has been designed B. had been designed C. was designed D. would be designed
7. When part of a pencil is in a glass of water, it looks as if it ____.
A. breaks B. has broken C. was broken D. had been broken
8. Great changes ___ in the city, and a lot of factories ___.
A. have been taken place; have been set up
B. have taken place; have been set up
C. have taken place; have set up
D. were taken place; were set up
9. That suit __ over 60 dollars.
A. had costed B. costed C. is costed D. cost
10. --- Look! Everything here is under construction. --- What’s the pretty small house that __ for?
A. is being built B. has been built C. is built D. is building
11.--- Do you like the cloth? --- Yes, it ___ very soft.
A. is feeling B. felt C. feels D. is felt
12. It is difficult for a foreigner ____ Chinese．
A． write B． to write C． to be written D． written
13. I have no more letters ____ ，thank you．
A． to type B． typing C． to be typed D． typed
14. Take care! Don’t drop the ink on your shirt,
for it __ easily.
A. won’t wash out B. won’t be washed out C. isn’t washed out D. isn’t washing out
15. Nobody noticed the thief slip into the house because
the lights happened to ___.
A. be put up B. give in C. be turned on D. go out
16. The computers on the table ___ Professor Smith.
A. belongs B. are belonged to C. belongs to D. belong to
17. --- What do you think of the book? ---Oh, excellent. It’s worth ___ a second time.
A. to read B. to be read C. reading D. being read
18. The squirrel was lucky that it just missed ___.
A. catching B. to be caught C. being caught D. to catch
19. This page needed ___ again.
A. being checked B. checked C. to check D. to be checked
20. ___ many times, the boy still didn’t know how to do it.
A. Having taught B. Having been taught C. taught D. Teaching
KEY:ACADC BCBDA CBCAD DCCDB
2008年8月28日星期四
Portfolio 1
In my opinion, the most important thing to the profession of engineers is that engineers must frame their work with ultimate goal of universal accessibility in mind. It is obvious the world divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and hunger cannot remain a stable place for civilization to thrive. At the beginning, I want to mention the sustainable development. As we all know, the finite resources of the earth is being used up. If we human want to reach our goal of sustainable development, we must use the resources efficiently and effectively and find new resources. That is task for all human beings. Everyone can image if there are some areas are not developed enough to use the resources in the right way, sooner or later the resources of the earth will be used up or even wasted up. To prevent this, the global development of engineering is very important. Bioengineering comes the second. There are big differences between people from different parts of the world. The differences have great value in many biological researches, like cataloging of the human genetic endowment. These researches will help us understand how ourselves' body work and function, which will benefit we human beings greatly and many deadly diseases may be cured in this way. Furthermore, people working together can achieve more than those working separately, so the global development will naturally speed up the development and innovation of technology. In the end, sustainable supplies of food, water and energy; protection human from violence, nature disasters and disease; full access to joys of learning , exploration, entertainment... these are jobs for engineers, but at the same time, these are the goals of all of the world's people. To sever the world's people, engineering is on the way to be globalized.
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