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Researchers Discover Why Humans Began Walking Upright（阅读）1 . Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the first two paragraphs? Many people question the simple human activities of walking and carrying items. 2. Dr. Richmond conducted the experiment with the purpose of finding what made our ancestors walk upright. 3. Kyoto, Universitys study discovered that chimpanzees. liked coula nuts better than oil palm nuts. 4. Why did the chimpanzees walk on two limbs during Kyoto Universitys experiment?Because they wanted to carry more nuts with two free limbs.5. What can we infer from the reading passage? Human walking on two legs developed as a means of survival.研究人员发现人类开始直立行走的原因 我们大多数人每天都走路而且手里搬着东西。这样的活动看似太简单，大多数人没有疑问。但是一个国际研究者（包括乔治华盛顿大学哥伦比亚艺术与科学学院的Richmond博士）团队已经发现了人类直立行走可能源于数百万年以前适应搬运稀有的、高质量的资源。这些来自美国、英国、日本和葡萄牙的研究者研究了当代黑猩猩争抢食物时的行为特征，试图对什么样的生态环境竟然导致大猿（一种我们与现存的黑猩猩一样的600万年前的祖先）直立行走作出解释。 “这些黑猩猩居住的生态环境和我们最早的祖先开始直立行走时是相同的，” Richmond博士说。 研究结果显示，当黑猩猩需要独占一种资源时，它们就从四肢行走转换为直立行走。由于直立行走可以解放它们的双手，这使得它们能搬更多的东西。久而久之，双足活动的强烈爆发可能导致了解剖学上的变化，因此这种变化也就成为自然选择的主题，在那种情况下，对食物或其他 资源的争夺是十分激烈的。 有两项研究是在几内亚完成的。第一项研究是在京都大学博苏森林的一块天然空地“室外实验室”进行的。研究者们允许森林里的黑猩猩能得到两种不同的坚果，一种叫油棕榈坚果，自然界随处可见，一种叫可乐果，自然环境中不常见。人们监控黑猩猩在下列三种情形下的行为：(a)只有油棕榈坚果；（b)只有少量的可乐果，大多数是油棕榈坚果;(c)大多数是可乐果，少数是油棕榈坚果。 当稀有的可乐果数量很少时，黑猩猩一次就会拿得多。同样，当大部分是可乐果时，黑猩猩对油棕榈坚果根本视而不见。黑猩猩认为可乐果才是珍贵的资源，并为得到可乐果激烈竞争。 处于这种激烈竞争的环境中，黑猩猩直立行走的频率增加了四倍。很显然，双足行走可以使它们拿走更多的稀有资源，而且，为了尽可能地一口气多拿，它们积极利用可用到的任何方法，甚至嘴巴。 第二项研究是在牛津布鲁克斯大学的Kimberley Hockings进行的。该研究历时14个月，主题是博苏的黑猩猩抢劫粮食，场景是它们不得不为稀有和不可预知的资源竞争。在这项研究中，黑猩猩35%的活动是直立行走。而这一次研究再一次证实了黑猩猩的直立行走与它们试图一次搬走尽可能多的东西有关。Ants Have Big Impact on Environment as Ecosystem Engineers（阅读）1.Why are ants compared to ecosystem engineers? Because their activity affects the environment. 2. As predators, ants prey on small as well as large animals. 3. Dir Sanders study centered on how ants produce such a big impact on the environment.4. What does paragraph 6 tell us? Ants bring about a positive influence to an area when their population is small. 5.What still remains unclear about ants, according to the last paragraph? How do human activities affect ants influence on a given ecosystem? 蚂蚁作为“生态系统工程师”对环境影响巨大 埃克斯特大学所做的研究表明，蚂蚁作为“生态系统工程师”和食肉动物的行为对当地的环境影响巨大。该研究发表在动物生态杂志上，它表明蚂蚁对当地的环境有两大显著的影响。 第一，通过筑巢而挪动土壤或采集食物，蚂蚁影响土壤的营养水平。这可间接影响当地从腐生物到食物链高层的许多动物种群的数量。 第二，它们捕食的动物种类很多，包括那些被大量工蚁攻击的大猎物。 是该大学生态和保护中心所做的此项研究的作者，他说：“蚂蚁是高效的食肉动物，而且能大量繁殖。它们具有很强的领地意识，并且会竭尽全力对抗其他的食肉动物来保卫自己的领地。所有这些都意味着蚂蚁对周围环境影响巨大。” 在该研究中，我们第一次对蚂蚁带来的影响程度及微妙程度进行研究。所得的发现是：尽管是食肉动物，蚂蚁的出现能促使其他动物族群在数量和品种上的增长。并对当地的环境起到切实重要的作用，对大草原的食物链影响巨大。”Sanders说。 该研究在德国进行，它对花园黑蚂蚁和一般的红蚂蚁在不同混合程度和不同密度下的影响力进行研究。黑蚂蚁和红蚂蚁在整个欧洲包括英国都能找到。研究发现，一个地区的蚂蚁密度小，而其他动物尤其是食草动物和腐生物的数量和种类会增多。如果蚂蚁的密度大，就不可能产生同样的影响，或者产生相反的影响，这表明，蚂蚁的掠食活动会抵消蚂蚁给环境带来的积极影响。 是本研究的另一作者，他说：“我们的发现是：如果蚂蚁的数量少，其对土壤的营养水平的影响会对动物族群产生积极的效果。但是如果蚂蚁的数量增加，其捕食的影响会达到最大化，因此会抵消蚂蚁通过生态工程给环境带来的积极影响”。 蚂蚁是生态系统的重要组成部分，不仅因为它占有很大部分的生物量，而且因为其作为生态系统工程师的角色。蚂蚁具有难以想象的多样性，但极易受人类的影响，这就使它的多样性有显著的减少。然而，科学家还不清楚人类对蚂蚁这种干扰如何破坏蚂蚁对生态系统的维护作用。蚂蚁通过变动物理的和化学的环境，通过对植物、微生物和其他土壤生物的影响而对生态环境起至关重要的作用。Cell Phones Increase Traffic, Pedestrian Fatalities（阅读）1.The two new studies, lead-authored by Professor Peter D. Loebboth A and C.2. According to the second paragraph, when did cell phones actually help to reduce pedestrian and traffic fatalities?Before the number of cell phone users reached a critical mass3.What is said about cell phone use in paragraph 4?The number of traffic deaths was reduced in the late 1980s and part of the 1990s due to cell phone use.4. What is said about cell phone use in the mid-1980s in paragraph 5?It had a life-taking effect because there werent enough cell phones in use then.5. Which of the following statements DOES NOT answer the question What caused the life-saving effect to occur in the early 1990s?The number of cell phone users reached about 100 million. 手机增加交通行人死亡 手机在路上有多种多样的危险。两个新的研究表明，不管开车还是步行时打手机，都会增加 行人、司机和乘客死亡的危险，所以该研究建议严厉限制行人和司机使用手机。 这是一项第一作者为罗格斯大学纽瓦克分校的经济学教授Peter D. Loeb的新研究成果，它把 手机的意外Ic命的影响和大量手机使用数量联系起表明目前由于手机所引起的死亡数目有所 增加，而在此之间的一段时间里，手机事实上能够帮助降低行人和交通致命率。但研究发现，当 手机使用人数达到1亿这个临界数量时，手机降低交通致命率的作用就消失了。 这些研究涉及到从1975年到2002年间的手机使用和机动车辆事故之间的关系，也涉及包括 车速、酒精消耗、安全带的使用和行驶的里数等其他方面。这些研究表明甚至当考虑比如速度、 酒精消耗和安全带的使用这些因素时，二者之间的关联也是真实存在的。 在目前，Loeb和他的合者决定手机的使用“在行人安全上有严重的反作用”并且“手机的 使用数量已经超过了临界数量也增加了机动车辆的致命性。”在20世纪80年代末和90年代的一 段时间，在手机使用数量达到大爆炸之前，手机的使用确实在交通事故中起到过“保护生命的作 用”。“当发生交通意外时，手机使用者能够快速地打电话寻求医疗帮助，这种快速的医学求救反 应确实能在一定时间内减少一定数量的事故死亡”，Loeb假设。 但是，在20世纪80年代当手机开始被使用时并不是这样，在那时手机在行人、司机和乘客 间造成了 “致命的效果。”在早些日子里，那时有不到一百万部手机，致命率增加了，Loeb说， 因为司机和行人或许在那时还在适应怎样使用它们，还没有足够的手机能够在事故中呼叫帮助， 他解释说。 这“保护生命的效果”是在20世纪90年代当大数量的手机被使用的时候出现的，越来越多 的手机在事故之后拨打“911” .求助，这就降低了致命率，Loeb解释说。但是一旦手机的使用量 超过大约一亿的“临界数量”时，这种保护生命的效果就被抵消了，而且这种“致命的效 果”增加了事故和死亡超过了能快速呼叫“911”服务的好处，根据Loeb所说。 Loeb和他的合著者们使用计量经济模式来分析从许多政府和私人研究中得来的数据。他和他 的合著者们都推荐政府采取强制性措施来减少司机和行人的手机使用数量，来减少死亡事件的发生。 Renewable Energy Sources（阅读）1. What are the energy resources that are not renewable according to the article? Petroleum and coal. + Natural gas.2. Chinas Three Gorges Dam is the largest of all the hydroelectric dams in the world.3. Which is the country with the first commercial power station that makes use of ocean currents produced by tides潮汐? Norway. 4. Which of the following陈述statements is true of wind power? There is plenty of wind to provide the worlds entire energy needs. + It is the most rapidly growing type of electricity production. +It may not be reliable. All of the above.5. According to the article, resources such as wind are renewable so sustainable. 现今，汽油满足了世界上约百分之四十的能源需要，大多用来为汽车提供燃料。煤仍被使用，主要是在发电站，以解决我们四分之一的能源需求。但煤却是昀无效率、昀不健康、昀不环保的矿物燃料。天然气的储量可填补部分石油短缺。但这些储量也不能维持到 22 世纪。许多专家预计，我们很容易在 50年内耗尽可采掘的燃料储备。我们将很快遇到能源危机。我们需要立即发展可持续的方案来为未来提供能源。污染少的可再生能源为我们提供了一个更现实的长期解决方案。这些能源也会对世界上的穷人有益。“可再生”是指这些能源被使用的速度低于其被更新的速度。 2000多年前，中国人和罗马人使用风车。但第一个水电大坝是 1870年建于英国。现在的水力发电已是昀常见的可再生能源，占世界电力总量的 20%。中国刚建成的三峡大坝是最大的一个发电站。它是美国胡佛发电站的 5倍大。它的 26台涡轮机可产生相当于 18个烧煤的发电站所发的电量。它将满足中国电力总需求的 3%。令人吃惊的是，有人说，水电站排放大量温室气体。 2003年，第一个利用大海上的潮汐能发电的商业电站在挪威建成。它的设计好像一个风车，但其他方面则采用了涡轮的形式。 由于费用降低，风力发电已成为了发展昀迅速的一种发电方式 1999年到 2005年翻了两番。现代风力农场由发电的涡轮机组成。尽管成本更高，却会有源源不断的风力来满足全世界的所有能量需求。风力农场分向岸和向海两种形式。它们常常会出现在美丽的环境中，往往不受居民的欢迎。涡轮机也并非百无一害的。它们可干扰雷达信号，并在生态环境中留下痕迹，改变气候，杀死海鸟。迁徙的鸟类可以更幸运地避开它们。苏格兰正在建造欧洲昀大的风力农场，可为 20万户家庭提供电力。英国的目标是截至 2020年达到五分之一的电力来自可再生能源，主要指风能，但这样做也有问题，因为风是不可靠的。 U.S. Scientists Confirm Water on Mars（阅读）1. What was discovered by NASAs Phoenix Mars Lander on Mars?Water in a soil sample.2. Why did the first two attempts to deliver samples fail?The samples got stuck inside the scoop.3.Which one of the following statements is NOT meant by the writer?Scientists have been trying to break the ice-rich layers of soil on Mars.4.Where are the scientists involved in the research from?They are from both America and Canada.5. Which of the following do you think is the best description of Phoenixs Surface Stereo Imager Camera, according to your understanding of the passage?It imitates human vision and is able to capture three-dimensional images. 美国科学家确认火星上有水 美国国家航空航天局的科学家们称火星曾被巨大的湖泊、流动的河流以及其他潮湿的自然环境所覆盖，而这些都使其有了维持生命的可能。 在美国国家航空航天局的“凤凰”号火星登陆器的实验室所做的试验中，已经在一份土壤样本中鉴别出了水。登录器的机器臂在星期三的时候把样本传送给了一个仪器，此仪器可以鉴别出通过样本加热而产生的水蒸气。 “我们找到了水”，热力与先进气体分析仪(也称TEGA)的主要科学家、亚利桑那大学的威廉博尔顿说道，“这是我们第一次接触和品尝到火星上的水。” 登录器的机器手臂是“凤凰”火星计划重要的组成部分。它需要破开火星北极的冰冻地表，深入到土壤伸出铲取样本，并将样本传送给仪器，使其可以分析火星的构成，火星上的水的形态和火星是否适合或曾经适合人类居住。 土壤标本来自于一个大概2寸深的沟渠。当机器臂第一次达到这个沟的时候，它触到了一层硬的冻土。当新鲜的冻土暴露在空气中的时候，机器臂曾经两次尝试对冻土样本进行传送，但样本同铲斗粘在了一起，使这两次尝试都以失败告终。星期三所采集的大部分样本已经暴露在空气两天，这使样本中的一些水分得以蒸发，从而使土壤更易处理。 “火星正在给我们一些惊喜，”“凤凰”计划的主要调查员、亚利桑那大学的彼得史密斯说道，“我们很激动是因为发现源于惊喜。其中一个惊喜就是土壤的表现。当富冰层被悬挂于甲板上方的太阳底下的时候，它会和铲斗粘在一起，这是我们从未预期到的，也不同于我们迄今为止所做过的任何火星模拟实验。” 自5月25日登陆以来，凤凰号就利用一个化学实验室、热力与先进气体分析仪、一个显微镜，一根传导性探针和相机来研究火星土壤。这只科学团队尝试确定火星上的水冰是否曾经大量融化，从而能支持生物存在。同时，它还将寻找火星土中是否有以碳为基础的有机化合物，这些化合物是形成生命的“原材料”。 这次任务同时对天空和地表进行研究，加拿大所制造的仪器所发射的激光可以帮助研究头上方的尘埃和云层。 “这是一个30瓦的灯泡，它在火星上给了我们一场激光秀。”加拿大航天局的维多利亚西普金说道。 航天器还成功采集了“凤凰”号着陆的周围地区的彩色全景图。 “我们获得的地表图案显示，火星基本上是一片以冰为主的地区。”“凤凰”号负责地表立体成像首席科学家、德州A&M大学的马克莱蒙说，“立体成像技术可以帮助我们在机器臂所及范围之内的进行测量，同时帮助我们在更广的规模上解释这些测量结果。”Better Solar Energy Systems: More Heat, More Light（完型） Solar photovoltaic thermal energy systems, or PVTs, generate both heat and electricity, but 1until now they havent been very good at the heat-generating part compared to a stand-alone solar thermal collector. Thats because they operate at low temperatures to cool crystalline silicon solar cells, which lets the silicon generate more 2electricity but isnt a very efficient way to gather heat. Thats a problem of 3economics. Good solar hot-water systems can harvest much more energy than a solar-electric system at a substantially lower 4cost . And it，s also a space problem：photovoltaic cells can take up all the space on the roof, leaving little room for thermal applications. In a pair of studies, Joshua Pearce, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, has devised a 5solution in the form of a better PVT made with a different kind of silicon. His research collaborators are Kunal Girotra from ThinSilicon in California and Michael Pathak and Stephen Harrison from Queens University, Canada. Most solar panels are made with crystalline silicon，but you can also make solar cells out of amorphous silicon, 6commonly known as thin-film silicon. They dont create as much electricity, but they are lighter, flexible, and cheaper. And, because they 7require much less silicon, they have a greener footprint. Unfortunately，thin-film silicon solar cells are 8vulnerable to some bad-news physics in the form of the Staebler-Wronski effect. “That means that their efficiency 9drops when you expose them to light pretty much the worst possible effect for a solar cell,” Pearce explains，which is one of the 10reasons thin- film solar panels make up only a small fraction of the market. However, Pearce and his team found a way to engineer around the Staebler-Wronski effect by incorporating thin-film silicon in a new 11type of PVT. You dont have to cool down thin-film silicon to make it work. In fact，Pearces group discovered that by heating it to solar-thermal operating temperatures，near the boiling 12point of water, they could make thicker cells that largely 13overcame the Staebler-Wronski effect. When they applied the thin-film silicon directly to a solar thermal energy 14 collector , they also found that by baking the cell once a day，they 15boosted the solar cells electrical efficiency by over 10 percent.“Liquefaction” Key to Much of Japanese Earthquake Damage（完型） The massive subduction zone1 earthquake in Japan caused a significant level of soilliquefaction2 that has surprised researchers with its 1 widespread severity, a new analysis shows.Weve seen localized3 examples of soil liquefaction as extreme as this before, but the distance and 2 extent of damage in Japan were unusually severe, said Scott Ashford, a professor of geotechnical engineering4 at Oregon State University5. Entire structures were tilted and sinking into the sediments, Ashford said. The shifts in soil destroyed water, drain and gas pipelines6, crippling the utilities and infrastructure these communities need to 3 function. We saw some places that sank as much as four feet.Some degree of soil liquefaction7 is common in almost any major earthquake. Its a phenomenon in which soils soaked with water, particularly recent sediments or sand, can lose much of their 4 strength and flow during an earthquake. This can allow structures to shift or sink or 5 collapse . But most earthquakes are much 6shorter than the recent event in Japan, Ashford said. The length of the Japanese earthquake, as much as five minutes, may force researchers to reconsider the extent of liquefaction damage possibly occurring in situations such as this8.With such a long-lasting earthquake, we saw 7how structures that might have been okay after 30 seconds just continued to sink and tilt as the shaking continued for several more minutes, he said. And it was clear that younger sediments, and especially areas built on 8recently filled ground, are much more vulnerable.The data provided by analyzing the Japanese earthquake, researchers said, should make it possible to improve the understanding of this soil 9 phenomenon and better prepare for it in the future. Ashford said it was critical for the team to collect the information quickly, 10before damage was removed in the recovery efforts9.Theres no doubt that well learn things from what happened in Japan10 that11 will help us to reduce risks in other similar 11events , Ashford said. Future construction in some places may make more use of techniques known to reduce liquefaction, such as better compaction to make soils dense, or use of reinforcing stone columns.Ashford pointed out that northern California have younger soils vulnerable to liquefaction -on the coast, near river deposits or in areas with filled ground. The young sediments, in geologic terms, may be those 12 deposited within the past 10,000 years or more. In Oregon, for instance, that describes much of downtown Portland, the Portland International Airport and other cities.Anything 13 near a river and old flood plains is a suspect12, and the Oregon Department of Transportation has already concluded that 1,100 bridges in the state are at risk from an earthquake. Fewer than 15 percent of them have been reinforced to 14 prevent collapse. Japan has suffered tremendous losses in the March 11 earthquake, but Japanese construction 15standards helped prevent many buildings from collapse -even as they tilted and sank into the ground.Sharks Perform a Service for Earths Waters（完型）It is hard to get people to think of sharks as anything but enemy. They are thought to 1attack people frequently. But these fish perform a 2valuable service for earths waters and for human beings. Yet business and sport fishing are threatening their 3existence. Some sharks are at risk of disappearing from 4Earth.Warm weather may influence both fish and shark activity. Many fish swim near coastal areas 5because of their warm waters. Experts say sharks may follow the fish into the same areas, 6where people also swim. In fact, most sharks do not purposely charge at or bite humans. They are thought to mistake a person 7for a sea animal, such as a seal or sea lion. That is why people should not swim in the ocean when the sun goes down or comes up. Those are the 8times when sharks are looking for food. Experts also say that bright colors and shiny jewelry may cause sharks to attack.A shark has an extremely good sense of smell. It can find small amounts of substances in water, such as blood, body liquids and 9chemicals produced by animals. These powerful 10senses help sharks find their food. Sharks eat fish, any 11other sharks, and plants that live in the ocean.Medical researchers want to learn more about the sharks body defense and immune 12systems against disease. Researchers know that sharks 13recover quickly from injuries. They study the shark in hopes of finding a way to fight human disease.Sharks are important for the worlds 14oceans. They eat injured and diseased fish. Their hunting activities mean that the numbers of other fish in ocean waters do not become too 15great . This protects the plants and other forms of life that exist in the oceans.同义/近义词Aa branch of/a division of a quarter of/a fourth ofabandon/give up/desert/cease/stop/quitabide by/ stick to/ adhere toabnormal/ unusualabrupt/ sudden/unexpectedabundant/plentiful/adequate/sufficient/enoughaccelerate/ step up/quicken/speed upacclaim/hailacceptable/satisfactorilyaccount for/ explainaccount/consideration/take into accout/explainaccumulate/ collect/gather/buildupaccuse of/ charge withachieve/ attain/get/gain/abtainadhere/to follow/stick fastadverse/unfavorableadvisable/wiseaim /goalaircraft/plane/aeroplanealike/simileralleviate/ lessen/relieveallocate /assign/distribute/gavenallow/permit alternative/ choicealmost/nearly/vcitually/practicallyalthough/while/thoughan improved/a better annoying/irritating/unpleasant annuallay/every yearanyhow/anywayappalling/dreadfulappear/be seen/come into view/ be in sightapply to/put into / use / action / operation /functionappraisal/evaluation argue/contend arise/get up arouse/excite/wakeassemble/gatherassert/state firmlyassume/postulate astonish/surpriseat any price/for love or money at once/immediately at stake/in danger attend/go to attend to/wait on attraction/lure/temptation authentically/genuinely authority/government Bban/forbid,prohibit bare/barren barren/barebe bordering on/be close tobe entitled to(do sth.)/have right to(do sth) be hailed as/be acclaimed asbe realized/be fulfilled/come true bearing/influence impact effectbecause of/on account of/due to owing to/thanks to before/previously/formerly/prior tobehaviour/conductblend/mixbranch/divisionbrave/courageousbreak/beat broaden/widenCcall/phonecall up/telephonecall off/cancelcapability/abilitycare/remedycareful/conscientious/cautious cater for/meet/satisfy census/countcertain/sure/inevitable change/alter/modify/vary/shift change into/turn intocharacteristic/typicalcheerful/pleasant/happychildish/immatureclever/intelligertclose/near/intimatecollaborate/cooperate collide with/run intocome across/catch sight of/see sb/sth suddenly compactly/densely compel/force/obligecomplain/feel unhappycomplete/finishcompel/force/obligecomprehend/understand/see/follow/ read catch ones meaning concise/short and clearconfidential/secretconscientious/careful/cautious consideration/account consolidate/strengthenconsume/usecontaminate/pollutecontend/arguecontinuously/steadily conventional/orthodox traditional， conversation/talkconvert/change/exchange conviction/beliefcopy/duplicate count/censuscourteous/respectful/politecoverage/reportagecredible/convincing/believable criticize/find fault with cultivate/foster cut in/interrupt Ddamaging/harmfuldanger/hazard deadly/fatal/lethal debate/discussdecent/honestdecide/make up ones mind (to do sth)/be determined to(do sth) deduce/derivedefer/postponedelete/write offdeliberately/intentionally/on purpose demand/insist on/request/requiredemolish/pull downdensely/compactlydepend on/upon/rely on/upon/trustdepict/describedesirable/satisfactorydeter/inhibit/preventdeteriorate/worsendiligent/hardworkingdimly/faintly weakly disappear/vanish/be out of sight discuss/talk overdismiss/fireddisorder/confusiondistinguish/tell the differencedistress/danger/difficultydiverse/varied/different do away with/get rid ofdoctor/physician draft/formulatedraw/attractduplicate/copydurable/long-lastingdying out/extinction Eeffect/resultelevate/promote elicit/provoke/induce/triggereligible/entitled,qualified embody/includeencourage/spur endeavor/try/attempt enormous/largeenternal/everlasting especially/particularly eternal/everlastingeventually/finallyexhaustive/extremely thoroughexhibit/show/displayendeavor/try/attempt enormous/largeenternal/everlasting especially/particularly eternal/everlastingeventually/finallyexhaustive/extremely thoroughexhibit/show/displayFfail/omit fail to(do sth)/be unable to (do sth) fairly/without bias/justlyfascinate/intriguefaster/cultivatefatten up/polishfaulty/wrong/mistaken/incorrect field/speciality/range/scopefinal/lastfind fault with/Criticize/blamefinish/copmletefire/dismiss firm/companyfor love or money/at any p
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