英语沙龙短文Bacteria Could Help Detect Mines细菌能帮助探测地雷.docVIP

Bacteria1) Could Help Detect Mines2) An aircraft flies over a no mans land sown with land mines，scanning it with an energy beam that pinpoints each mine and records its location．That done，the aircraft flies over again，this time detonating3) each mine with a hit from a directed energy beam． That is the future of land－mine location and destruction as envisioned by two scientists，Hudgins and Krock，who work at the Arm strong Laboratories at Brooks Air Force Base near San Antonio． They contend that land mines could be “sniffed out” by artificial means，in the same way bombs can be sniffed out by dogs．When a land mine is buried，Krock said，its chemical contents alter the soil very soon around it，resulting in a buildup of bacteria．He is to develop a sensor to substitute for the olfactory4) abilities of dogs． A directed energy beam would scan the area from above．Inside the aircraft，a spectroscope5) would “read” the data and record where the bacteria around land mines is located．Then，combining laser technology and directed energy beam，the mines would be detonated from the sky，and no people or animals would be needed to perform the high risk jobs of finding and destroying them． Using soil samples collected from around land mines found in Bosnia，Krock detected bacteria that he thinks would be a reliable identifier of land mines．Hudgins said the E－８Joint STARS aircraft was a good aircraft for detecting the land mines．The Joint STA RS is a flying radar station designed to locate and target enemy ground forces．An official of the aircraft company said he thought outfitting the aircraft to detect land mines was doable6)．But the company could do nothing without direction，and a contract from the Air Force． Forming a partnership with a company，the two scientists are developing the technology，which，however，has not been ratified7) by the military authorities and other agencies8)． 细菌能帮助探测地雷 一架飞机在一块布满地雷的无人居住的陆地上空飞过，用能源束对每颗地雷进行扫描、定位并作下记录。上述工作完成后，飞机再次飞过来，这一次是用定向能源束的冲击力引爆每颗地雷。 这是美国圣安东尼奥市附近