Althoughmanyofusmayfeelair-conditionersbringrelieffromhot,humidorpollutedoutsideair,theyposemanypotentialhealthhazards.Muchresearchhaslookedathowthemovementofairinsideaclosedenvironment---suchasanofficebuilding---canspreaddiseaseorexposepeopleinthebuildingtoharmfulchemicals.OneofthemorewidelypublicizeddangersisthatofLegionnaire’sdisease,whichwasfirstrecognizedinthe1970s.Thiswasfoundtohaveaffectedpeopleinbuildingswithair-conditioningsystemsinwhichwarmairpumpedoutofthesystem’coolingtowerswassomehowsuckedbackintotheairintake(通风口),inmostcasesduetopoordesign.Thewarmair,filledwithbacteria,wascombinedwithcooled,conditionedairandwasthencirculatedaroundvariouspartsofthebuilding.Studiesshowedthatevenpeopleoutsidesuchbuildingswereatriskiftheywalkedpastairexhaustpipes.Largeair-conditioningsystemsaddwatertotheairtheycirculatebymeansofhumidifiers(湿度调节器).Inoldersystems,thewaterusedforthisprocessiskeptinspecialreservoirs,thebottomsofwhichprovidebreedinggroundsforbacteriawhichcanfindtheirwayintotheventilation(通风)system.Therisktohumanhealthfromthissituationhasbeenhighlightedbythefactthattheimmunesystems(免疫系统)ofapproximatelyhalfofworkersinair-conditionedofficebuildingshavedevelopedtheabilitytofightofftheorganismsfoundatthebottomofsystemreservoirs.Butchemicalscalled“biocides”areaddedtoreservoirstomakethemgerm-free,andtheyaredangerousintheirownrightinsufficientquantities,astheyoftencontaincompoundsstronglylinkedtocancers.Finally,itshouldbepointedoutthattheartificialclimaticenvironmentcreatedbyair-conditionerscanalsoaffectus.Inanaturalenvironment,whetherindoororoutdoor,therearesmallvariationsintemperatureandhumidity.Indeed,thehumanbodyhaslongbeenaccustomedtothesenormalchanges.Inanair-conditionedlivingorworkingenvironment,however,bodytemperaturesremainwellunder37℃,ournormaltemperature.Thisleadstoaweakenedimmunesystemandthusgreaterexposuretodiseasessuchascoldsandflu.2.Intheoldair-conditionedsystems,bacteriafirstdevelop______.
PassageThreeQuestions11to15arebasedonthefollowingpassage.Imagineyouenteracarwithnosteeringwheel,nobrakeoracceleratorpedals(踏板).Underavoice-activatedcommand,yousayanaddress“Thefastestroutewilltakeus15.3minutes.ShouldItakeit?”Yousay“yes”andyouareonyourway.Thecarrespondsandstartsmovingallbyitself.Allyouhavetodoissitbackandrelax.Howweirdwoulditbeif,onedayinthefuture,everyonehadsuchacar?Nocrazydiving,noinsults,nocuttingin;trafficlawswouldberespectedanddrivingmuchsafer.Ontheotherhand,imaginethecostsavingsforlocalpoliceenforcementandtownbudgetswithoutallthosespeedingandparkingtickets.Anewtechnologyhasthepotentialtochangemodernsocietyinradicalways.There’snoquestionthatself-drivingvehiclescouldbeanenormousbenefit.Thepotentialforsafercarsmeansaccidentstatisticswoulddrop:some94%ofroadaccidentsintheU.S.involvehumanerror.Olderdriversandvisually-orphysically-impairedpeoplewouldgainanewleveloffreedom.Maintainingsafespeedsandbeingelectric,self-drivingcarswoulddrasticallyreducepollutionlevelsanddependencyonnon-renewablefuels.Roadswouldbequieter,peoplesafer.Butwemustalsoconsidertheimpactofthenewtechnologyonthosewhonowdependondrivingfortheirlivelihoods.AccordingtotheU.S.DepartmentofLabor,inMay2015therewere505,560registeredschoolbusdrivers.TheAmericanTruckingAssociationlistsapproximately3.5millionprofessionaltruckdriversintheU.S.Thecompaniesdevelopingself-drivingvehiclesshouldbepartneringwithstateandfederalauthoritiestoofferretrainingforthismassiveworkforce,manyofwhomwillbedisplacedbythenewtechnology.Thisissimilartowhat’shappeninginthecoalandoilindustries,asituationthatfuelsmuchofthecurrentpoliticaldiscontentinthiscountry.Newtechnologieswill,andshould,bedeveloped.Thisishowsocietymovesforward.However,progresscan’tbeone-sided.Itisnecessaryforthecompaniesandstateagenciesinvolvedtoconsidertheethicalconsequencesofthesepotentialchangestobuildabetterfutureforall.11.Whatwouldbetheimpactoftheextensiveuseofdriverlesscars?