【走向高考】2017年高考英语一轮复习 第一部分 基础知识聚焦 Unit 3 Life in the future习题 新人教版必修5.docVIP

Unit 3 Life in the future Ⅰ.阅读理解 (2016·广东四校第一次联考) See a cellphone cover that you like on Taobao? Forget about placing an order, paying the bill online and waiting for days for it to be delivered to you. In the near future, youll be able to get it in minutes just by hitting “print” on your computer. You might find it hard to believe that you could actually “print” an object like you would a picture. But it is not that hard to understand how it would work. Just as a traditional printer sprays (喷) ink onto paper line by line, modern 3D printers spread material onto a surface layer by layer, from the bottom to the top, gradually building up a shape. Instead of ink, the materials the 3D printer uses are mainly plastic, resin(树脂) and certain metals. The thinner each layer is—from a millimetre to less than the width of a hair—the smoother and finer the object will be. This may sound like a completely new technology, but the truth is that 3D printing has been around since the late 1980s. Back then, it was barely affordable for most people, so few knew about it. Last year, though, saw a big change in the 3D printing industry—printers became much cheaper. For example, 10 years ago a desktop 3D printer might have cost ￡20, 000, while now they cost only about ￡1, 000, according to the BBC. Taken out of the factory and introduced to more diverse and common uses, 3D printing can create just about anything you can think of—flutes (笛子), bikinis, jewelry, aircraft parts and even human organs. In fact, scientists from Cornell University in New York have just made an artificial ear using a 3D printer, according to Science Daily. The fake ear looks and acts exactly like a natural one. However, as 3D printing becomes more common, it may bring about certain problems—such as piracy. “Once you can download a coffee maker, or print out a new set of kitchen utensils (餐具) on your personal 3D printer, who will visit a retail (零售的) store again? ”an expert in 3D printing told Forbes News. Even m