.

WashYourClotheswithaCupofWater?

AwashingmachinethatusesonlyacupofwatertocarryafullwashleavingclothescompletelydryhasbeendevelopedbyBritishinventors.Researcherssaythetechnologywhichuseslessthan2percentofthewaterandenergyofatraditionalmachinecouldsavebillionsoflitersofwatereachyear.

Themachineworksbyusingthousandsofplasticchips—eachabouthalfacentimeterinsize—toabsorbandremovedirt.Around20kilosofthechipsareaddedtoeachloadalongwithacupofwateranddetergent（洗涤剂）.Duringthewashingcyclethewaterisheatedtohelpdissolvethedirtwhichisthenabsorbedbytheplasticchips.Theinventorssaythechipsshouldberemovedattheendofeachwashbutcanbeusedupto100times.

ThetechnologycalledXerosisalreadybeingcomparedtotheDysonbaglessvacuumcleanerwhichrevolutionizedthehomecleaningindustrywhenitwasfirstintroducedtothepublicinthemid-1990s.

IfadoptedbymanyhomesacrosstheUKthemachinecouldsavebillionsoflitersofwatereachyear.Accordingtotheresearchwashingmachineusehasrisenby23percentinthepast15yearsupfromthreetimesaweekin1990toanaveragefourtimesnow.TheaverageUKhouseholdusesmost21litersofwaterdailyonclotheswashing.Nationallythisequalstoapproximately455millionlitersofwateraday—enoughtofill145Olympic-sizedswimmingpools.

AlthoughtheXerosisnowinthedesignandtestingstagetheinventorssaytheyareintalkswithacommercialpartner.Themachinecouldbeinthemarketasearlyasnextyear.Testshaveproducedquiteastonishingresults.“We’veshownthatitcanremoveallsortsofeverydaystainsincludingcoffeeandlipstickwhileusingatinyfractionofthewaterusedbytraditionalwashingmachines”saidoneoftheinventors.

Anexpertsaid“ThisisoneofthemostsurprisingandremarkabletechnologiesI’vehadinrecentyears.Xeroshastheabilitytosavebillionsoflitersofwaterperyearandwebelievethepotentialtorevolutionizethegloballaundrymarket.

64.ComparedwiththetraditionalwashingmachinethemostoutstandingfeatureoftheXerosisthat_________.

A.itdoesn’tneedanydetergent

B.itsavesalargeamountofwater

C.