2014届高三英语二轮专题步步提升：阅读理解95.docVIP

2014高考英语二轮复习专题步步提升：阅读理解 A 　　Ashok Gadgil has spent the past three decades helping people in need—and he has no plans to stop. On May 2, Gadgil became the recipient of the $100, 000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Global Innovation. Each year, the honor is given to an inventor who has improved the lives of people in developing countries. Gadgil’s inventions have helped more than 100 million people around the world. Gadgil is a professor and physicist at the University of California. When he’s not teaching, he works to find solutions to global problems such as energy efficiency and water safety. “I chose to focus on problems where my knowledge of science could help, ”he said. Gadgil’s global quest to help people began in the 1980s. It all started when he came up with a program to make energy-efficient light bulbs more affordable for people in developing countries. Then in the 1990s, Gadgil designed his first life-saving invention, UV Waterworks. The device uses ultraviolet light to kill deadly disease-carrying germs from drinking water. Gadgil was inspired to find an inexpensive solution to the clean water crisis after more than 10, 000 people in his home country of India died from an outbreak of Bengal cholera, in 1993. The infection is spread through contaminated food and drinking water. So far, the invention has provided safe drinking water to more than five million people in poor areas. Many refugees are given food aid. But they still have to cook the meals. In order to do so, refugee women leave the safety of the camps three to five times a week to gather firewood. Cooking over an open flame can be hazardous to one’s health and to the environment, too, because of the amount of smoke it causes. Gadgil worked with the refugee women on designing a clean, fuel-efficient stove. The invention also helps to save homes more than $300 a year. As a professor, Gadgil encourages his students to stay positive about finding solutions to hard problems. “Be optimistic when you try