How do people traditionally manufacture things? They usually start with a sheet of metal, wood or other material and cut, drill and shave it to create a desired shape. Sometimes, they use a mold made of metal or sand, pour liquid plastic or metal into it and let it cool to create a solid part. Now, a completely different method is gaining popularity. On Oct. 9, 2013, London Science Museum kicked off its new exhibition, 3-D: Printing the Future, with over 600 3-D printed objects on display, including space probes , toy dolls and even human organs - basically any product you can think of, reported Live Science. You might find it hard to believe that an object can actually be "printed out" like a picture. But it is not that hard to understand how it works. Just as a traditional printer sprays ink onto paper line by line, modern 3-D 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 3-D printer uses are mainly plastic, resin and certain metals. The thinner each layer is - from a millimeter to less than the width of a hair - the smoother and finer the object will be. And objects always come out in one piece, sparing you the trouble of putting different parts together afterward. For example, 10 years ago a desktop 3-D printer might have cost PS20,000 (200,000 yuan), while now it costs only about PS1,000, according to the BBC. In fact, 3-D printers have been around for some time, but until recently they hadn't been very popular since few people could afford them. Last year, though, saw a big decrease in the price of 3-D printers. However, as 3-D printing technology becomes more commonplace, it may trigger certain problems. One of them is piracy . "Once you can download a coffee maker, or print out a new set of kitchen utensils on your personal 3-D printer, who will visit a retail store again?" an expert on 3-D printing told Forbes News. Even more frightening, the world's first 3-D printed gun was... What is the author's attitude toward 3-D printing technology? A) Amused. B) Objective. C) Supportive. D) Negative.
B
(Question)
Almost anywhere in the world, you can probably see graffiti . Although it's usually more common in big cities, it can be found in almost any community, big or small. The problem with graffiti art is the question of whether it's really art. This isn't always an easy question to answer, simply because there are so many different types of graffiti. While some simply consists of collections of letters, known as tags, with little artistic value, such examples are easy to find, especially on larger spaces such as walls. If it weren't for the fact that most graffiti is placed on private property without permission, it might be more commonly recognized as a legal form of art. Most graffiti, however, annoys the property owner, who is more likely to paint over it or remove it than accept it as art. Many ways of removing graffiti have been developed, such as paints that dissolve graffiti paint, or make it easy to remove. Community groups and government departments often organize graffiti-removal teams. It hardly makes sense to encourage artists to deface private or public property; but perhaps there are ways to work with them rather than just oppose them. Graffiti artists can, for example, create murals for property owners, and get paid for them. Maybe we need to start at a very basic level, and find a way to encourage the creation of graffiti art on paper or canvas rather than on walls. After all, who would remember Monet or Picasso if they'd created their masterpieces on walls, only to have them painted over the next day? Finding a solution to such a complex problem is never going to be easy, but with more and more graffiti art being recognized in galleries around the world, we do need to try. What would be the best title for this passage? A) How to Be a Good Graffiti Artist. B) Stop Removing Graffiti! C) Do You Like Graffiti? D) Is Graffiti Art?
(Answer)
D
Question: I was interested to read a newspaper article about a new concept in old people's homes in France. The idea is simple, but revolutionary----combining a residential home for the elderly with a nursery school in the same building. The children and the residents eat lunch together and share activities. In the afternoons, the residents enjoy reading or telling stories to the children, and if a child is feeling sad or tired, there is always a kind lap to sit on and a cuddle . There are trips out and birthday parties too. The advantages are enormous for everyone concerned. The children are happy because they get a lot more individual attention, and respond well because someone has time for them. They see illness and death and learn to accept them. The residents are happy because they feel useful and needed. They are more active and more interested in life when the children are around and they take more interest in their appearance too. Nowadays there is less and less contact between the old and the young. There are many reasons for this, including the breakdown of the extended family, working parents with no time to care for aging relations, families that have moved away, and smaller flats with no room for grandparents. But the result is the same----increasing numbers of children without grandparents and old people who have no contact with children. And more old people who are lonely and feel useless, along with more and more families with young children who desperately need more support. It's a major problem in many societies. That's why intergenerational programmes, designed to bring the old and the young together, are growing in popularity all over the world. There are examples of successful attempts all over the world. Using young people to teach IT skills to older people is one obvious example. Using old people as volunteer assistants in schools is another, perhaps reading with children who need extra attention. What is the best title for the passage? A) Old people's Homes in France B) Building Bridges of Life C) A Solution to the Elderly Problem D) Children's New Happy Life
Answer:
B