坐上轮椅去看海

蒋建平

主题语境：科技创新 篇幅：347词 建议用时：7分钟

Hundreds of beaches in Greece now offera new way for people in wheelchairs to get intothe water by themselves. Its called Seatrac.

Most beaches dont have special walkwaysto allow disabled visitors to move around easily，or to get in and out of the sea safely. Seatrac is asystem that was designed to solve this problem. Seatrac is basically a chair on a movingramp（活动坡道） that can smoothly carry a disabled person into the sea. Once in the sea，the person can either remain in the chair， enjoying the water， or go for a swim. The Seatracsystem can help anyone who has a hard time walking， including older people and pregnantwomen.

The chair is operated by remote control. When the person is ready to get out of thewater， the Seatrac system brings the chair back to the top of the ramp. Its even possible totake a shower in the Seatrac chair after going for a swim.

Seatrac was invented and developed in Greece. The idea for it came when one of theinventors， Ignatios Fotiou， was talking with a friend who used a wheelchair. The friend saidhe enjoyed the sea， but didnt like having to be carried into the ocean as if he were“ a sackof potatoes”. Mr Fotiou realized that there must be a way to make it easier for wheelchairusers to get into the water. Mr Fotiou worked with his partner and a professor at a Greekuniversity to design the system. In time， they formed a company called TOBEA to build andsell the system.

The company worked hard to make the system simple to put in place and easy to run.A wooden walkway allows wheelchair users to reach the Seatrac chair. The system is solarpowered. It doesnt require outside power， and can continue to run even if the electricitygoes out. The Seatrac system can easily be packed up and stored when swimming seasonends. This summer， the Seatrac system was used at over 220 beaches in Greece， Cyprus，Italy， and Latvia.

ReadingCheck

1. Why was Seatrac invented？

A. To provide a comfortable seating option for beach goers.

B. To increase the number of wheelchair users on the beach.

C. To solve the problem of disabled peoples accessing the water.

D. To create a solar?powered remote control for a chair.

2. How does the Seatrac system work？

A. It uses electricity from the beach to operate the chair.

B. It allows wheelchair users to take a shower at the beach.

C. It provides a wooden walkway for wheelchair users to reach the

water.

D. It smoothly carries the disabled into the sea and brings them

back to shore.

3. What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about？

A. The tourism in Greece. B. The history of Greece.

C. How Seatrac is used. D. Why Seatrac was invented.

4. Where has Seatrac been used？

A. In most coastal countries.

B. In Greece and its neighboring countries.

C. In all European countries.

D. In countries with a high number of wheelchair users.

LanguageStudy

Ⅰ. 日积月累

design v. 设计

solve v. 解决

basically adv. 基本上

smoothly adv. 平稳地；顺畅地

operate v. 操作

either...or... 要么……，要么……

remote control 遙控器

be ready to 准备

as if 仿佛；好像

pack up 打包

Ⅱ. 语法填空

Seatrac is a system from Greece that allows wheelchair users 1. （access） thebeach and enjoy the sea 2. （independent）. 3. （develop） by IgnatiosFotiou and his team， Seatrac 4. （be） a chair on a moving ramp， operated byremote control. This helps deal with the challenge faced by 5. （disable） visitorswho struggle with beach accessibility.

The users simply sit in the Seatrac chair， 6. smoothly carries them into thewater. 7. enjoying the sea， the system safely brings them back to shore. Afterswim， users can also shower in the Seatrac chair. Designed with 8. （simple），Seatrac has a wooden walkway for wheelchair access and operates on solar power.

Seatrac has been successfully carried out on over 220 beaches 9. Greece，Cyprus， Italy， and Latvia. This system not only enhances accessibility for wheelchair usersbut also 10. （benefit） older individuals and pregnant women who face mobilityissues.