Question

【题目】 Wood has many great characteristics that make it the perfect building material. It is cheap, durable(耐用的), easily available, and most importantly, environmentally sustainable. The one thing it is not, is transparent(透明的).Now thanks to a team of scientists at Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the material may even be able to add that feature to its already impressive list.

Lead researcher Dr. Lars Berglund said he was inspired to create the transparent wood after learning how Japanese researchers had developed a see-through paper for use in flexible display screens for electronic devices.

The team began by pulling out the wood’s lignin (木质素). The lignin-free wood was then dipped into a polymer (聚合物) and baked at a temperature of 158F for four hours. The result was a hybrid product that was not only stronger and lighter than the original wood but also, almost transparent. The researchers were able to adjust the level of transparency by varying the amount of the polymer injected and also by changing the thickness of the wood.

While scientists have previously created a see-through wood for small-scale applications like computer chips, the transparent wood is the first one being considered for large scale applications. The researchers, who revealed their findings in Biomacromolecules on April 11, picture using the transparent wood in buildings to allow for more natural light, or to create windows that let in the desired amount of light without sacrificing privacy.

Wood that allows light to pass through could lead to a brighter future for homes and buildings. Berglund also thinks the wood could play a significant role in the design of solar panels. The semi-transparent material would be able to keep light longer and give it more time to interact with the conductor, thus resulting in better solar efficiency.

Additionally, substituting the currently used glass with this new product would help solar energy manufacturers improve their carbon footprint and lower the cost. They are now experimenting with ways to scale up the manufacturing process so that the transparent material is cost-effective to make and easy to use.

【1】What does the underlined part "that feature" in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A.Cheapness.B.Durability.

C.Sustainability.D.Transparency.

【2】Which of the following is not the process in which the transparent wood is made?

A.Dip the wood into a polymer.B.Reduce the amount of the polymer.

C.Make the wood lignin-free.D.Bake the wood for some time.

【3】What’s the purpose of using the transparent wood in buildings?

A.To protect privacy.B.To scale out applications.

C.To get more natural light.D.To observe more clearly.

【4】What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A.The bright future of the transparent wood.

B.The wood’s role in the design of solar panels.

C.The disadvantages of the currently used glass.

D.Solar energy manufacturers’ carbon footprint.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】C

【4】A

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍瑞典科学家研究了一种新型的木质材料，透明的木质材料，该材料有着广阔的前景，但是成本仍需降低。

【1】词句猜测题。根据上文Wood has many great characteristics that make it the perfect building material. It is cheap, durable(耐用的), easily available, and most importantly, environmentally sustainable.可知木头有很多优点，再结合The one thing it is not, is transparent! 木材不透明是其一个特征，而现在有研究人员将这一特性加入，显然这一特性指的是透明性，故选D项。

【2】细节理解题。根据第三段的The team began by pulling out the wood's lignin(木质素). The lignin-free wood was then dipped into a polymer（聚合物）and baked at a temperature of 158°F for four hours.可知首先抽出木材的木质素。 然后将无木质素的木材浸入聚合物中，然后在高温下烘烤4小时。 再根据 The researchers were able to adjust the level of transparency by varying the amount of the polymer injected and also by changing the thickness of the wood.可知，研究人员能够通过改变注入的聚合物的数量和改变木材的厚度来调整透明度水平。因此可知 不包含B项“减少聚合物的数量。”。故选B项。

【3】推理判断题。根据第四段的The researchers, who revealed their findings in Biomacromolecules on April 11, picture using the transparent wood in buildings to allow for more natural light, or to create windows that let in the desired amount of light without sacrificing privacy.(研究人员于4月11日公布了他们在生物大分子中的发现，他们利用建筑物中的透明木材来创造更多的自然光，或者在不牺牲隐私的情况下创造出所需光线的窗户)可推断，建筑物使用透明木材的目的是得到更多的自然光。故选C。

【4】主旨大意题。根据最后一段第一句Wood that allows light to pass through could lead to a brighter future for homes and buildings.可知，本段主要讲述新的透明木质材料有着很好的前途，主要体现在增加太阳能能源版的使用寿命，降低传统企业的碳足迹，故选A项。

词义猜测题是阅读题中常见的出题形式。做这类题时，要根据词、词组或句子所在的语境，即上下文来判断其意义。因此熟练掌握一些猜词技巧是做好这类题的关键。比如：根据语境，根据同义关系，对比关系，因果关系等，尤其需注意熟词生义。例如本题第1小题，可以通过语境来猜测。根据上文Wood has many great characteristics that make it the perfect building material. It is cheap, durable(耐用的), easily available, and most importantly, environmentally sustainable.可知木头有很多优点，再结合The one thing it is not, is transparent! 木材不透明是其一个特征，而现在有研究人员将这一特性加入，显然这一特性指的是透明性，故选D项。