Some days, don't you think, "Wouldn't it be nice if the laundry would just do itself?” Self-cleaning clothes may sound crazy. But Australian researchers have found a way to make something like this possible!

    A team at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, found a way to put special nanostructures (纳米结构) into clothing, which can then clean the clothes. When sunlight hits the nanostructures, they break down the dirt and stains (污渍) that don't belong on your clothes.

    The nanostructures don't break down the actual clothing because cotton and the other clothing materials are too strong to be broken down. According to CNN, the researchers cover the clothing in a solution made of silver and copper (铜) nanostructures. All it takes is 40 minutes of sunlight and your clothes will look as good as new.

    So if you spill on yourself during lunch, you can step outside for a walk, and it will be clean by the time you go inside. It not only makes your life easier, but it can also be good for the environment.

    According to the US Department of Energy, the average load of laundry uses about 25 gallons (about 94 liters) of water. Water is a very important resource, so using less of it to wash clothes is better for the environment. But one of the scientists at RMIT University knows more needs to be done.

    “There's more work to do before we can start throwing out our washing machines,” said Dr Rajesh Ramanathan, “but this is a strong foundation (基础).”

    So what's the next step? Ramanathan wants to either start selling the solution by itself or convincing (说服) clothing makers to treat the clothing with the solution while clothes are being made.

骆驼祥子（选段）

    ①整整的三年，他凑足了一百块钱！

    ②他不能再等了。原来的计划是买辆最完全最新式最可心的车,现在只好按着一百块钱说了。不能再等：万一出点什么事再丢失几块呢！恰巧有辆刚打好的车（定作而没钱取货的）跟他所期望的车差不甚多：本来值一百多，可是因为定钱放弃了，车铺愿意少要一点。祥子的脸通红，手哆嗦着，拍出九十六块钱来：“我要这辆车！”铺主打算挤到个整数，说了不知多少话，把他的车拉出去又拉进来，支开棚子，又放下，按按喇叭，每一个动作都伴着一大串最好的形容词；最后还在钢轮条上踢了两脚，“听听声儿吧，铃铛似的！拉去吧，你就是把车拉碎了，要是钢条软了一根，你拿回来，把它摔在我脸上！一百块，少一分咱们吹！”祥子把钱又数了一遍：“我要这辆车，九十六！”铺主知道是遇见了一个死心眼的人，看看钱，看看祥子，叹了口气：“交个朋友，车算你的了。保六个月，除非你把大箱碰碎，我都白给修理。保单，拿着！”

    ③祥子的手哆嗦得更厉害了，揣起保单，拉起车，几乎要哭出来。拉到个僻静的地方，细细端详自己的车，在漆板上试着照照自己的脸！越看越可爱，就是那不尽合自己的理想的地方也都可以原谅了，因为已经是自己的车了。把车看得似乎暂时可以休息会儿了，他坐在了水簸箕的新脚垫儿上，看着车把上的发亮的黄铜喇叭。他忽然想起来，今年是二十二岁。因为父母死得早，他忘了生日是在哪一天。自从到城里来，他没过一次生日。好吧，今天买上了新车，就算是生日吧，人的也是车的，好记，而且车既是自己的心血，简直没什么不可以把人与车算在一块的地方。

    ④怎样过这个“双寿”呢？祥子有主意：头一个买卖必须拉个穿得体面的人，绝对不能是个女的。最好是拉到前门，其次是东安市场。拉到了，他应当在最好的饭摊上吃顿饭，如热烧饼夹爆羊肉之类的东西。吃完，有好买卖呢，就再拉一两个；没有呢，就收车：这是生日！

    ⑤自从有了这辆车，他的生活过得越来越起劲了。拉包月也好，拉散座也好，他天天用不着为“车份儿”着急，拉多少钱全是自己的。心里舒服，对人就更和气，买卖也就更顺心。拉了半年，他的希望更大了：照这样下去，干上二年，至多二年，他就又可以买辆车，一辆，两辆……他也可以开车厂子了！

可是，希望多半落空，祥子的也非例外。