评论
打印
C
3D printers are a new generation of machines that can make everyday things. They’re remarkable because they can produce different kinds of objects, in different materials, all from the same machine. A 3D printer can make pretty much anything from clay cups to plastic toys, metal machine parts, fancy chocolate cakes or even (one day soon) human body parts. If you look at a page from your home printer with a microscope, you’ll see the letters are actually sitting slightly on top of the surface of the page. In theory, if you printed over that same page a few thousand times, the ink would build up enough layers (层) to create a solid 3D model of each letter. That idea of building a physical form out of tiny layers is how a 3D printer works.
You start by designing a 3D object on an ordinary home PC, connect it to a 3D printer, press “print” and then sit back and watch. The process is a bit like making a loaf of sliced bread, but in the opposite order. Imagine baking each individual slice of bread and then gluing them together into a whole loaf. That’s basically what a 3D printer does.
The 3D printing process turns a whole object into thousands of tiny little slices, and then forms a single solid object slice by slice. You can print a whole bike — handlebars, saddle, frame, wheels, brakes, pedals and chain — ready assembled, without using any tools. It’s just a question of leaving spaces in the right places.
Have you ever broken something, only to find it’s no longer sold and you can’t replace it? 3D printing means you can simply print a new one. That world, where you can make almost anything at home, is very different from the one we live in today. It’s a world that doesn’t need trucks to deliver goods or warehouses to store them in, where nothing is ever out of stock and where there is less waste, packaging and pollution.
It’s also a world where everyday items, such as shoes and furniture, can be easily made to your requirements. You can get some of those things now if you’re wealthy, but 3D printing brings affordable, designer manufacturing to the masses. If that sounds like pure fantasy, try googling “personalized 3D printed products” and see for yourself.
36. You need all of the following to do some 3D printing EXCEPT ________.
A. a computer B. some glue C. some materials D. a 3D printer
37. The second and third paragraphs mainly explain ________.
A. how a 3D printer actually functions
B. the process of making a loaf of bread
C. why the first 3D printer was invented
D. what 3D printers can actually produce
38. Which of the following is an advantage of 3D printing according to the passage?
A. You can produce almost everything in the warehouse.
B. You can print things in large numbers and sell them.
C. Things you print won’t need places to store.
D. It will cause less waste and pollution.
39. You can now use the 3D printer to solve your problem when you ________.
A. have lost one of your shirt buttons
B. want a big house to live in
C. run out of drinking water
D. need to replace an organ
40. From the last paragraph we can learn that 3D printing productions are ________.
A. easy to order through Google
B. as popular as online shopping
C. still unbelievable to many people
D. cheap to produce in mass production
D
What exactly is language for? To many people, the answer seems obvious. It’s for the transfer of useful facts, such as “Dinner will be served at eight o’clock”, “Peter’s uncle has twisted his ankle”, and “Kangaroos live in Australia”.
However, even when information is apparently conveyed, its reliability is not guaranteed. The speaker might have been lying, or even misunderstood, “We are now at take-off”, the pilot of a Boeing 747 announced. He meant, “We are now in the process of taking off”. The air-traffic controller assumed he meant, “We are waiting at the take-off point”. As a consequence, 583 people died as two planes crashed at an airport in Paris.
Generally, language is moderately good at communicating simple pieces of factual information such as “John is Sally’s cousin”, providing the speaker is telling the truth. Such “information talking” is usually assumed to be at the core of language. Yet its effectiveness in the role depends on the type of information being conveyed.
Language is bad at handling spatial information, whether for tying knots, following directions or learning about the circulation of the blood. Consider the instructions for tying a simple knot:
1. Pass the end of the rope over the standing part.
2. Take the end under the standing part from the loop.
3. Bring the end of the rope back over itself towards the loop.
4. … etc.
Without a diagram this description is almost impossible to understand, even though it is accurate. Language is also particularly poor at communicating information about our senses and feeling.
But language is particularly good at promoting communication between people. It “oils social wheels”, even when nothing important is said, as pointed out by the language expert Bill West, who argued against “the false idea of language as a means of conveying ideas from the head to the speaker to that of the listener”. He stressed the social importance of “talking for the sake of talking”, which he labeled “phatic communication”.
It is easy to think up examples. Customary words and gestures are exchanged when people meet, “Good morning”, “Hi there!”. And there are standard topics of conversation. In Britain this is traditionally the weather. In other countries, it may be the health of relatives, as in the custom in southern India.
Conversational interaction between friends often supplies a minimum of information, but a maximum of supportive chat. Meaningless words, or even misunderstood words can keep a conversation going. So “solidarity talking”, talking to maintain social relations, is widespread and important.
41. The author includes “Kangaroos live in Australia” in Paragraph 1 to ________.
A. explain the idea that language has changed
B. argue that language can be used for reasoning
C. tell a well-known fact which cannot be disproven
D. give an example of language used for giving information
42. The author uses the example of the plane accident in Paragraph 2 to show that ________.
A. the pilot was actually lying
B. language may be misunderstood
C. language may be difficult to master
D. the pilot had a poor command of the language
43. Which of the following is NOT an example of spatial information?
A. Tying a knot.
B. Giving instructions.
C. Following directions.
D. Learning about the circulation of blood.
44. Which of the following would the writer agree with?
A. Language is used to convey emotions and sensations well.
B. Language is particularly good at conveying information.
C. Language is effective at keeping social communication.
D. Language is able to convey spatial information well.
45. According to the passage, telling a stranger standing next to you at a bus stop that “it’s a lovely day today” would be an example of ________.
A. phatic communication
B. weather reporting
C. information talk
D. solidarity talk
