Superconducting Materials The stone age, The Iron Age. Entire epochs have been n

Superconducting Materials The stone age, The Iron Age. Entire epochs have been n

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Superconducting Materials
The stone age, The Iron Age. Entire epochs have been named for materials. So what to call the decades ahead? The choice will be tough. Welcome to the age of superstuff(超级材料). Material science -- once the least sexy technology – is bursting with new, practical discoveries led by superconducting ceramics that may revolutionize electronics. But superconductors are just part of the picture: from house and cars to cook pots and artificial teeth, the world will someday be made of different stuff. Exotic plastics, glass and ceramics will shape the future just as surely as have genetic engineering and computer science.
The key to the new materials is researchers’ increasing ability to manipulate substances at the molecular level. Ceramics, for example, have long been limited by their brittleness. But by minimizing the microscopic imperfections that cause it, scientists are making far stronger ceramics that still retain such qualities as hardness and heat resistance. Ford Motor Co. now uses ceramic tools to cut steel. A firm called Kyocera has created a line of ceramic scissors and knives that stay sharp for years and never rust or corrode.
A similar transformation has overtaken plastics. High-strength polymers now form bridges, ice-skating rinks and helicopter rotors. And one new plastic that generates electricity when vibrated or pushed is used in electric guitars, touch sensors for robot hands and karate jackets that automatically record each punch and chop. Even plastic litter, which once threatened to permanently blot the landscape, has proved amenable to molecular tinkering. Several manufacturers now make biodegradable forms; some plastic six-pack rings for example, gradually decompose when exposed to sunlight. Researchers are developing ways to make plastics as recyclable as metal or glass. Besides, composites – plastic reinforced with fibers of graphite or other compounds – made the round-the-world flight of the voyager possible and have even been proved in combat: a helmet saved an infantryman’s life by deflecting two bullets in the Grenada invasion.
Some advanced materials are old standard with a new twist. The newest fiberoptic(光学纤维的) cable that carry telephone calls cross-country are made of glass so transparent that a piece of 100 miles thick is clearer than a standard window pane.
But new materials have no impact until they are made into products. And that transition could prove difficult, for switching requires lengthy research and investment. It can be said a firmer handle on how to move to commercialization will determine the success or failure of a country in the near future.
小题1:How many new materials are mentioned in this passage?
A Two      B Three    C Four    D Five
小题2:Why does the author mention genetic engineering and computer science?
A To compare them with the new materials.
B To show the significance of the new materials on the future world.
C To compare the new materials to them.
D To explain his view point.
小题3:Why is transition difficult?
A Because transition requires money and time.
B Because many manufacturers are unwilling to change their equipment.
C Because research on new materials is very difficult.
D Because it takes 10 years.
小题4:Where lies success of a country in the New Age of superstuff?
A It lies in research.      B It lies in investment.
C It lies in innovation.    D It lies in application.
答案

小题1:B
小题2:B
小题3:A
小题4:D
解析

这是一篇介绍“超导材料”的论说文,采用一般到具体的分类写作手法。先指出未来时代的材料属于超导,然后再提出三种超导材料,再逐一说明。
答案详解
小题1:三种超导材料。答案再第一段最后一句“神奇的塑料、玻璃和陶瓷”。下面各段具体讲这三种材料。第二段讲陶瓷:“新材料之关键在于研究工作者不断提高在分子水平上处理物质的能力。举陶瓷为例,由于它的脆性,长期来应用范围有限。但是通过改善导致脆性的微小缺陷,科学家制造出一种保持原有硬度和抗热性,但坚实得多的陶瓷”。第三段讲塑料。“类似的转折发生在塑料上,高强度的塑料建成了桥梁、溜冰场、直升机的叶轮。一种震动或推动就能发电的新型塑料用于电子吉他上,触及传感塑料用于机械手和空手道外衣上,它能自动记录每次击打。”后面谈及塑料垃圾可以处理,或者制造可分解还原的塑料制品。塑料内加入其他化合物加强性能。第四段讲有些高级材料由新的改变,最新的光纤电缆由玻璃制成,透明度极高,100英里厚的一块其清晰度比一块普通窗玻璃还高。
小题2:说明这种新材料对未来世界的意义。答案在第一段:“神奇的塑料、玻璃和陶瓷一定会象生物工程和计算机一样将改变世界。”
A. 把它们和新材料相比较,这里不仅仅是比较,而是说明三者都具同样的作用--改变世界。 C. 把新材料比作它们。也不仅仅是比喻比拟。与A一样没有说到核心电。D. 说明他的观点。太笼统。
小题3:转折需要钱和时间。见最后一段“可是新材料只有制成产品才有影响,而这个转折可能很困难,因为转折需要长期的研究和投资。可以这么说,在不久的将来,更牢牢地掌握如何把材料转变成商品将决定一个国家之成败。”
B. 因为许多制造商不愿改变他们的设备。C. 因为新材料的研究非常困难。 D. 转折要华上十年时间。这三项文内没有涉及。
小题4:在超级材料时代已过之成功在于应用。
A. 在于研究。B. 在于投资。C. 在于革新。这三项都是应用的部分前提。其中A和B文内提到,C项文内未涉及。
举一反三
 To many web-building spiders, most of whom are nearly blind, the web is their essential window on the world: their means of communicating, capturing prey(猎物), meeting mates and protecting themselves. A web-building spider without its web is like a men cast away on an island of solid rock,totally out of touch and destined to

starve to death.
So important is the web to an orb-web spider"s survival that the animal will continue to construct new webs daily even if it is being starved. For 16 days the starving spider builds completely normal webs. Then, as the animal gets scrawnier(憔悴的), it constructs a wider-meshed web using fewer strands(线). Such webs would only trap larger prey, which is more economical from the perspective of a starving spider.
The spider stores energy by recycling web protein. It simply eats its own web each evening and reuses it to produce new silk. In studies with radioactively,labeled materials, it was found that 95 percent of web protein reappears in the next day" web. Most of the energy needed for web-building is used in walking over the strands as they are laid down.
Scientists are impressed by the adaptability of the spider"s highly preprogrammed brain, which is larger for its size than the brain of any other invertebrate(无脊推动物).If web-building is interrupted, or if some of the existing strands are destroyed,the spider simply goes back to see where the web is left off and then finishes building a normal web. One spider will finish building the incomplete web of another. 
小题1: Which of the following best expresses the main ideas of the passage?
A.Secrets of Spiders" AdaptabilityB.Importance of Webs to Spiders
C.Secrets of the Spiders" Life D.Spiders" Highly Preprogrammed Brain
小题2:According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.Most spiders will stop conducting webs when hungry.
B.One Web-building spider usually conducts one web.
C.Web-building spiders will probably die without their webs.
D.Web-building spiders have good eyesight.
小题3:A spider conducts a wider-meshed web when____________.
A.it is 16 days oldB.it is getting weaker
C.it has fewer wendsD.it hunts for food
小题4:A spider"s ability to finish an incomplete web proves that___________.
A.it has a highly preprogrammed brainB.it reuses its web protein to reproduce new silk
C.the web is everything for a spiderD.it is able to rebuild a destroyed web

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It"s time to be water efficient!
As populations increase across Australia and the rest of the world, demand for water will also increase. If we don’t reduce each individual’s demand for water (both directly and through embodied water) the water situation will become dire.
It is obvious that we cannot increase demands for water much more without detrimental(有害的) effects to the environment, society and the economy.
It’s all too easy to blame someone else for the water situation –“if 70% of water is used for agriculture then that’s what we should target” – but it’s not that easy. We all depend on the food and resources that agriculture provides, and while there are definitely opportunities to increase water efficiency on the farm, the solution will take more than that.
We each share responsibility for the sustainable management of our water resources, which means using less water at home, in the workplace, at school, on holidays, on the farm, … everyone, everywhere, every time.
It"s time to become water efficient! This involves reassessing our relationship with water, and learning to use it more sparingly. On the most basic level, it requires a behavioural(行动的) change, and assigning a value to water that truly reflects its worth.
We can also unlock economic benefits of being water efficient. There are many real world examples given in the case studies on this site.
Everybody has a responsibility to save water, if future generations are to enjoy a similar standard of living to the one we enjoy now. In fact, many of the impacts associated with water use are likely to have an effect on our own lives!
www.savewater.com.au has been designed to help you respond to the challenge to become water efficient. It acts as a central repository for relevant information and further advice, so that you can actually achieve significant savings. It also showcases those companies with products that will assist you in your goal.
小题1:Can you infer where this passage is from?
A.newspaperB.TV programmeC.Radio broadcastD.Internet
小题2:What can we do to save water?
A.find more water resources
B.use less water everywhere, every time
C.realize the importance of saving water
D.unlock economic benefits of being water efficient
小题3:What is not the reason to save water?
A.There are more and more people in the world.
B.The water resources are limited.
C.Agriculture needs more water.
D.The water is very important for us.
小题4:What is the main idea of this passage?
A.Water is very important for the human.
B.Everybody has a responsibility to save water.
C.It"s time to be water efficient.
D.Let’s save water for our future generations.

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Dogs may help save the day in the Philippines, as they use their noses to smell out survivors buried by Friday’s mudslide(泥石流). The team of dogs arrived in the Philippines from Spain, and this Tuesday they were just beginning their work. Search officials told CNN they hope the recent rain will wash away the smell of rescue teams so the dogs can do their job more accurately.
The dogs were brought in after sound equipment found sounds coming from deep inside the ruins, at a place where a school stood before the mudslide covered it. The sounds could mean people are still alive under all the mud or it could just be the earth resettling.
On Monday, rescue workers worked at the school site until three in the morning, trying to locate survivors, and they will begin digging again as soon as the dogs think they find someone.
Human teams from the US, Malaysia, and Australia are all trying to help, too. But so far they have yet to locate any survivors. Rescue workers told CNN that an earlier report that 50 survivors had been found was false.
How did all that mud bury the village in the first place? On Friday, 2,400-foot Mt Kanabag turned into a mudslide after two weeks of constant rain weakened it. The mountain crumbled and the mud fell onto the village Guinsaugon, burying the 1,800 people who lived there . Out of the 300 houses in the village, only 3 were not covered by the mud . The village is on a southern Philippine Island called Levte. Rescue efforts have been difficult because the village takes six hours to reach from the nearest airport. Hopefully, the dogs can help their human friends find survivors.
小题1:According to the search officials’ words in the first paragraph, we can learn that_________
A.the smell of rescue teams can disturb the dogs
B.the dogs can follow the smell of rescue teams
C.the gods can’t smell the rescue teams
D.the dogs can tell the differences between people and rescue teams
小题2: The main purpose of this passage is probably_______.
A.to show the way to rescue the victims in the ruins
B.to introduce the instruments to save victims in a disaster
C.to tell readers that dogs can smell out victims buried in the ruins
D.to show how to train dogs to save victims in a mudslide
小题3:How many survivors were found by the dogs?
A.50.B.Only a few.C.1,800.D.None.
小题4:The reason why the rescue work wasn’t going smoothly was probably that_______.
A.the rain was heavy
B.so many people were buried
C.it was difficult to reach the village
D.these is little chance to save the survivors
小题5:The underlined word “crumbled” in the last paragraph can be replaced by______.
A.brokeB.shookC.fellD.moved

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
Why did humans evolve to walk upright? Perhaps because it’s just plain easier. Make that “energetically less costly”, scientifically speaking.
Bipedalism—walking on two feet, is one of the defining characteristics of being humans, and scientists have debated for years how it came about. In the latest attempt to find an explanation, researchers trained five chimps(黑猩猩)to walk on a treadmill(跑步机)while wearing masks that allowed measurement of their oxygen consumption. The chimps were measured both while walking upright and while moving on their legs and knuckles(膝关节).That measurement of the energy needed to move around was compared with similar tests on humans and the results are published in this week’s online edition of “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”.
It turns out that humans walking on two legs use only one-quarter of the energy that chimps use while knucklewalking on four limbs(肢).And the chimps, on average, use as much energy using two legs as they did when they used all four limbs.
However, there were differences among chimps in how much energy they used, and this difference corresponded to their different manner of walking and anatomy(解剖构造).One of the chimps used less energy on two legs, one used about the same and the others used more, said David Raichlen, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona.
“What we were surprised at was the variation(变异) ”, he said in a telephone interview. Interview. “That was pretty exciting, because when you talk about how evolution works, variation is the bottom line, without variation there is no evolution.”
Walking on two legs freed our arms, opening the door to drive the world, said Raichlen. “We think about the evolution of bipedalism as one of first events that led hominids(原始人)down the path to being humans.”
The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the L.S.B.Leakey Foundation.
小题1: The underlined word “Bipedalism” in Paragraph 2 probably means____.
A.moving sidewaysB.walking upright
C.walking on four legsD.running fast
小题2:We can infer from the passage that____.
A.scientists have no idea on how humans’ walking on two legs came about
B.scientists have had different views on why chimps walk on four legs
C.scientists have had different views on how humans’ walking on two legs vame about
D.scientists have had similar views on how humans’ walking on two legs came about
小题3:What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
A.How chimps saved energy.
B.Why chimps didn"t walk on two legs.
C.David Raichlen studied chimps.
D.Different chimps consumed different energy.
小题4: According to the passage, humans walk upright in order to____.
A.conserve energyB.differ from other animals
C.free their brainsD.strengthen their legs

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Jurassic Park could become a reality with dinosaurs making a comeback after a discovery last week. Scientists found remains of a dinosaur’s blood vessels(血管)and cells .In theory, DNA from these cells could be used to clone the longdead dinosaur.
A team from North Carolina State University found the remains in a fossil(化石)of the leg bone of a Tyrannosaurus rex(暴龙)in Montana, US.
The last dinosaurs on Earth died some 65 million years ago, but they left bits of themselves behind wherever they lived. Around the world ,dug-up bones and fossils have given scientists many ideas about what the animals were like.
Preserved by minerals, the newly discovered leg bone was hard. So the scientists used a liquid to dissolve(溶解)the minerals. A week later, the remaining material was soft and stretchy(有弹性的),which surprised the researchers.
Some of the materials appeared to be a network of blood vessels. Out of these, the researchers were able to squeeze(挤出)tiny , round, dark-red and deep-brown structures that seemed to be ancient blood cells.
Scientists are overjoyed by this discovery because most fossils come from hard body parts, like bones and shells, which last a long time. Soft tissues, like skin, muscle, and organs are very hard to find because they tend to break down more quickly.
Scientists think that the new discovery will help them to better understand how fossils form. Future finds should also help flesh out how the dinosaurs lived.
They were also very excited by the possibility of having some dinosaur DNA.From that scientists could create a real life “Jurassic Park”.
In the Hollywood movie, scientists reproduced dinosaurs from the DNA they found in a mosquito fossil and disaster soon followed.
小题1:Scientists are excited _________________________ .
A.because they have got dinosaur DNA
B.about making a movie called “Jurassic Park”
C.because they found the liquid to dissolve fossils
D.because it,s very hard to find soft tissues in fossils
小题2: The latest discovery can tell us       .
A.what the animals were likeB.how fossils form
C.how the dinosaur livedD.how to get dinosaur DNA
小题3:What does the underlined phrase“flesh out”mean in the article?
A.add more details or information toB.take more photos of
C.make the public know more aboutD.find the answer to
小题4:Why is the latest discovery very important?
A.It could make it possible to make dinosaurs return to the former position.
B.It could throw light on how dinosaurs lived many years ago.
C.It could prove what dinosaurs were like.
D.It could explain why dinosaurs died some 65 million years ago.

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