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.

How many new materials are mentioned in this passage?

A Two      B Three    C Four    D Five

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.

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.

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.

How the iron of tomorrow
(the first Self Clean Iron)
can change your lifestyle today?
General Electric introduces the iron of tomorrow. The iron can clean itself. Inside where irons get dirty. Because it cleans itself each and every time you empty it.
How?  With a push of a magic blue button.
The magic blue button
The first thing you’ll notice that’s different about this iron is the blue button on the side. It’s marked “Self Clean”. Push this blue button, and you can wash out loose mineral deposits that remain and block up inside. Push this button, and you’ve made life a lot easier.
Less chance of brown spots
Sure, Self Cleaning Iron is going to cut down on brown spots. (Those ugly spots that happen on nice, cleanly pressed clothes.) Because a Self Cleaning Iron becomes clean each time you press that magic blue button.
Steams much longer
Common sense tells you that if you’ve an iron that blocks less often it has to stay younger for a long period of time. In other words, it steams much longer. That’s another joy of owning General Electric’s Self Cleaning Iron.
What does it mean to you
Today you are doing so much more than just running a house and running after the kids.
You’re working. You’re going to school. It’s all part of your lifestyle. The iron can change that lifestyle. By giving you less trouble before you iron. If we can make it easier for you to be a better wife, a better mother, a better house maker, we want to. The new Self Cleaning Iron is another one of Home-Makers from General Electric.
Lifestyle.
We’re with yours.
GENERAL ELECTRIC
【小题1】This passage is ______.

Popeye the Sailor first became a popular cartoon in the 1930s.The sailor in that cartoon ate lots of spinach(菠菜) to make him strong. People watched him, and they began to buy and eat a lot more spinach. Popeye helped sell 33 percent more spinach than before! Spinach became a necessary part of many people’s diets. Even some children who hated the taste began to eat the vegetable.
Many people thought that the iron in spinach made Popeye strong, but this is not true. Spinach does not have any more iron than any other green vegetable.
People only thought spinach had a lot of iron because the people who studied the food made a mistake. In the 1890s, a group of people studied what was inside vegetables. This group said that spinach had ten times more iron than it did. The group wrote the number wrong, and everyone accepted it.
Today, we know that the little iron there is in spinach cannot make a difference in how strong a person is. However, spinach does have something else which the body needs—folic acid(叶酸).
It is interesting to point out that folic acid can help make a person strong. Maybe it was really the folic acid that made Popeye strong all along.   
【小题1】A good title for this reading passage is______.

When we talk about a wolf, we tend to describe it as a kind fierce creature．But is it really true that the wolf stands for devil and ugliness?
Have you read the book "The Wolf Totem'' 《狼图腾》by a famous writer Jiang Rong, which tells the story of the relationship between wolves and human beings? Have you ever   36   the wolves' world? If you had, you would __37  the wolves．In the book, wolves are heroes on the large grassland．They know more about __ 38  than humans．They can attack lambs without disturbing their mothers．They also know how to __ 39  full use of the shape of land to __ 40  sheep．I believe that if wolves were humans, they would be __ 41  at fighting． 
The wolf is a kind of special creature that can deeply understand __ 42 ．Each wolf serves its group with its heart and soul．A __ 43  wolf has little power, but a pack of wolves __ 44  nothing．All the wolves obey the rules．__ 45  they are defeated, they run away together. It is their teamwork __ 46  makes wolves powerful．  
The wolves also have great self-preservation and won't __ 47  to anyone．The writer, who wrote the book "The Wolf Totem" , __ 48  stole a one - month - old baby wolf and raised it very carefully．To his __ 49 , he found the little wolf still wanted to go back with __ 50  wolves. The little wolf bit through the iron chain that limited it．The wolf was __51  and never gave up fighting __52  its death．It seemed that the little wolf died as a glorious fighter.
I was shocked by this kind of __53  wolves which are one of the most respected creature on the  earth．I want everyone to look at wolves in a __54  way．They are our teachers．They show us how to survive and __55  this not simple but dangerous world．Please honor the wolves, please honor all these heroes of nature!

Popeye the Sailor first became a popular cartoon in the 1930s.The sailor in that cartoon ate lots of spinach to make him strong. People watched him, and they began to buy and eat a lot more spinach. Popeye helped sell 33 percent more spinach than before! Spinach became a necessary part of many people’s diets. Even some children who hated the taste began to eat the vegetable.

Many people thought that the iron in spinach made Popeye strong, but this is not true. Spinach does not have any more iron than any other green vegetable.

People only thought spinach had a lot of iron because the people who studied the food made a mistake. In the 1890s, a group of people studied what was inside vegetables. This group said that spinach had ten times more iron than it did. The group wrote the number wrong, and everyone accepted it.

Today, we know that the little iron that is in spinach cannot make a difference in how strong a person is. However, spinach does have something else which the body needs—folic acid.

It is interesting to point out that folic acid can help make a person strong. Maybe it was really the folic acid that made Popeye strong all along.   

1. A good title for this reading passage is______.

A. Popeye the Sailor                                      B. The Truth About Spinach

C.A Mistake with Numbers                                     D. Folic Acid Makes You Strong

2. Why did many people eat spinach after they saw Popeye the Sailor?

A. They thought spinach made them strong.

B. They thought Popeye was funny.

C. Spinach had a lot of iron.

D. People liked folic acid.

3.A research group told people that spinach______.

A. made Popeye strong

B. was a green vegetable

C. had less iron than other green vegetables

D. had more iron than other green vegetables

4.The reading passage says that perhaps Popeye got his strength from______.

A. iron                         B. folic acid                 C. spinach          D. exercise

5.Folic acid is ______.

A. something in food                   B. a vegetable  C. dangerous  D. a certain kind of spinach