用纸做的一次性电池？加点水就能激活

A newly developed disposable paper battery promises to make a big impact on single-use electronics. The battery that has been demonstrated by researchers is biodegradable(可生物降解的), made from sustainable materials, and cheap to put together. What’s more, it can be produced in a variety of shapes and sizes as needed.

To give an idea of the power, a two-cell battery made using the technology was enough to power an LCD alarm clock. While it won’t be charging up your computer anytime soon, there’s lots of potential for low-powered sensors. “We present a printed paper battery developed to power single-use disposable electronics and to reduce their environmental impact to the lowest level,” write the researchers in their published paper.

“The battery is based on a metal-air electrochemical cell that uses Zn as a biodegradable metal in the anode(正极), graphite(石墨) in the cathode(阴极).” The battery, made from sodium chloride salt-diffused(氯化钠盐扩散的) paper, can measure as little as one square centimeter, and is based on printed inks. All that’s needed, then, is a small amount of water, as little as two drops. This dissolves the salts within the paper, and then activates the battery as they travel. The battery starts producing power around 20 seconds after water is added, according to the experiments carried out by the team.

Although the performance decreases over time as the paper dries out, it can be topped up(补足) to some extent with more water. The researchers say they want to improve the efficiency of the battery in the future, and get it working for longer.

“With a rising awareness of the e-waste problem and the emergence of single-use electronics for applications like environmental sensing and food monitoring, there is a growing need for low environmental impact batteries,” write the researchers.

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1.What can we know about the paper battery from the first two paragraphs?

A It is round and is very big.

B It is beneficial to the environment.

C It can charge up a smartphone quickly.

D It can’t be used to power an alarm clock.

解析：选B。B细节理解题。根据第二段的“to reduce their environmental impact to the lowest level”可知，这种电池可以把电池对环境的影响降至最低，因此它对环境有好处。故选B。

2.What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A Why researchers designed the paper battery.

B Where we can find the paper battery.

C Who invented the paper battery.

D How the paper battery works.

解析：选D。D段落大意题。该段主要讲了这种纸质电池的工作原理：含有石墨薄片的油墨印制在纸带一面，作为电池组正极；含有锌粉的油墨印制在纸带的另一面，作为电池组负极。加上一点水，纸带上的盐会溶解，释放出带电离子。故选D。

3.What will researchers do in the future?

A Raise more money for the program.

B Make the battery look more beautiful.

C Make the battery work more efficiently.

D Prepare more water for the paper battery.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第四段的“they want to improve the efficiency of the battery in the future, and get it working for longer”可知，研究人员表示，他们希望在未来提高电池的效率，使其能工作更长地时间。故选C。

4.In which part of a newspaper can we read the passage?

A Technology.

B Sports.

C Health.

D Fashion.

解析：选A。A推理判断题。本文主要讲了研究人员开发出只需加水即可激活的一次性纸质电池，属于科技领域，因此我们可以在“科技”版块读到本文。故选A。