陈芳

总部位于伦敦的“可爱电路”公司自2004年以来一直在生产时尚的智能服装。该公司最新的创新是“聲音衬衫”，通过将音乐转换成实时的触觉，它可以让失聪的人“感受”现场音乐。

Now more companies are experimenting with the concept of connected garments（衣服）. Among the pioneers is London based CuteCircuit， which has been creating fashionable smart clothing since 2004. The company s latest innovation is the “Sound Shirt”， which allows deaf people to “feel” live music by transforming the tunes into touch sensations in real time.

The fashionable jacket uses software that converts the music into data and wirelessly sends it to the 16 micro actuators（驱动器） fixed inside the clothing s fabric. The devices vibrate（振动） with the intensity of the music being played， allowing the wearer to feel each instrument individually. For example， violins can be felt on the arms， while the deeper， heavier bass notes can be felt close to the stomach. The series of touch like sensations across the wearer s body enable him or her to feel the entire composition， resulting in a musical experience.

To ensure the shirt is comfortable， the designers chose to leave out wires and instead wove conductive textiles into the garment s fabric. Francesca Rosella， chief creative officer of CuteCircuit， explains， “There re no wires inside， so we re only using smart fabrics—we have a combination of micro electronics and very thin and flexible， and conductive fabrics. All these little electronic motors are connected with these conductive fabrics so that the garment is soft and stretchable.”

CuteCircuit， which has been testing the Sound Shirt for three years， expects to make it available to the general public shortly. Priced at $3，673， the smart jacket won t be cheap. However， twin sisters Hermon and Heroda Berhane， who lost their hearing at a young age， believe the hi tech garment is a worthwhile investment， especially for deaf people with a passion for dancing. “It s almost like feeling the depth of the music，” says Hermon. “It just feels as though we can move along with it.”

Over the years， the company has unveiled hundreds of amazing connected outfits. Among them is an interactive concert dress for American musical artist Nicole Scherzinger that displayed tweets from her fans. Also fun is the HugShirt which enables people to send hugs to loved ones who aren t physically in the same area.

1. What can we learn about smart clothing from the first paragraph？

A. It has become a trend in the research field.

B. It s intended mainly for the disabled people.

C. It s meant to enable the users to sense music.

D. It has gain wide popularity around the world.

2. CuteCircuit made the Sound Shirt comfort able .

A. by reducing its hardness

B. by using stretchable wire

C. by using proper materials

D. by softening its electronics

3. What can we know about the Sound Shirt？

A. It is affordable to ordinary people.

B. It is widely used globally.

C. It is under test at present.

D. It is believed to be the best.

4. Why are the twin sisters mentioned in the text？

A. To show users  love for the shirt.

B. To stress the benefits of the shirt.

C. To encourage the use of the shirt.

D. To predict the future of the shirt.

難句分析

However， twin sisters Hermon and Heroda Berhane， who lost their hearing at a young age， believe the hi tech garment is a worthwhile investment， especially for deaf people with a passion for dancing. 然而，在很小的时候就失去了听力的双胞胎姐妹Hermon和Heroda 认为这种高科技服装是值得投资的，尤其是对那些热爱舞蹈的听力障碍者来说。

该句为主从复合句，句中who引导定语从句修饰twin sisters Hermon and Heroda Berhane，believe后的宾语从句省略了引导词that。

背景知识

英国伦敦的“可爱电路”公司

“可爱电路”公司（CuteCircuit）是英国伦敦的一家服装公司。它所有服装都是在伦敦设计，在美国或意大利制造。2009年，“可爱电路”公司设计师弗兰切丝卡·罗塞利亚和瑞安·根茨受美国芝加哥科学和工业博物馆委托，设计一件代表时尚创新的服装，于是催生了一件嵌有2.4万个发光二极管的晚礼服，它有一个贴切的名称——银河晚礼服。银河晚礼服充电一次可发光30分钟。即使没有光辉，晚礼服依然闪亮动人。设计师表示，发光二极管应用的新技术不会使裙子温度过高，想穿银河晚礼服的超级时尚迷们不会感觉炙热。发光二极管耗能低，装在衬裙里的小充电电池足够点亮它们。