The Stone Age, the Iron Age. Entire epochs have been named for materials. So

游客2023-08-21  15

问题     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. Material science—once the least sexy technology—is【C1】______with new, practical discoveries led by superconducting ceramics(超导陶瓷)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【C2】______substances at the molecular level. Ceramics, for example, have long been limited by their brittleness. But by minimizing the microscopic【C3】______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【C4】______
    A similar【C5】______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(空手道外衣)that automatically record each punch and chop. Even plastic litter, which once threatened to【C6】______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【C7】______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【C8】______: 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 cable that carry telephone calls cross-country are made of glass so【C9】______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【C10】______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.
A)lengthy I)transparent
B)transformation J)deliberately
C)absorption K)bestow
D)bursting L)imperfections
E)combat M)recyclable
F)permanently N)neutralization
G)appreciable O)corrode
H)manipulate [br] 【C2】

选项

答案 H

解析 空格所在的部分为修饰ability的不定式短语,表示“做……的能力”,备选动词中的manipulate“使用,操控”可以与空格后的substances搭配,意为“使用材料”,本句句意为:新材料发展的关键在于研究者们在分子级别上使用材料的日益增长的能力,故H)为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/2943358.html
最新回复(0)