Question

Harvard researchers have created a tough, low-cost, biodegradable(可生物降解的) material inspired by insects’ hard outer shells. The material’s inventors say it has a number of possible uses and someday could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative(替代物) to plastic. The material, made from shrimp(蝦)shells and proteins produced from silk, is called “shrilk”. It is thin, clear, flexible and strong.

A major benefit of the material is its biodegradability. Plastic’s toughness and flexibility represented a revolution in materials science during the 1950s and 1960s. Decades later, however, plastic’s very durability(耐用性) is raising questions about how appropriate it is for one-time products such as plastic bags, or short-lived consumer goods, used in the home for a few years and then cast into a landfill（垃圾池） where they will degrade for centuries. What is the point of making something that lasts 1,000 years?

Shrilk has great potential, the inventors said. Materials from which it is made are plentiful in nature, fond in everything ranging from shrimp shells, insect bodies to living plants that makes shrilk low cost, and its mass production possible should it be used for products demanding a lot of material.

Work on shrilk is continuing in the lab. The inventors said the material becomes flexible when wet, so they’re exploring ways to use it in wet environments. They’re also developing simpler production processes, which could be used for non-medical products, like for computer cases and other products inside the home. They’re even exploring combining it with other materials like carbon fibers, to give it new properties.

1. Paragraph 1 of the passage is mainly about shrilk’s ______________.

A. remarkable design

B. interesting name

C. major features

D. basic elements

2.What has become a concern about plastic?

A. Using it properly

B. Producing it cheaply

C. Developing its properties quickly

D. Evaluating its contributions fairly

3.According to the inventors, shrilk has great potential partly because _________ .

A. it can help plastic degrade

B. it can be found in living things

C. its mass production has been realized

D. its raw materials are plentiful in nature

4. What are the inventors doing in the lab?

A. Replacing carbon fibers with shrilk

B. Testing shrilk’s use in wet conditions

C. Making shrilk out of used household goods.

D. Improving shrilk’s flexibility for medical purposes

5. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. Recent Progress in Environment Protection

B. Benefits of Insects in Scientific Research

C. The Harm of One-time Products

D. A possible Alternative Plastic

Answer 1

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.B

5.D

【解析】

試題解析：哈佛大學(xué)的研究者們研究出了一種可以用來(lái)代替塑料的新型材料。并且它是可以生物降解的。比起塑料袋等塑料制品上千年不能降解的缺點(diǎn)，這種材料可以作為很好的一次性用品原料。但是它在潮濕狀態(tài)下會(huì)變的柔軟。因此，研究者們還在繼續(xù)研發(fā)它的新性能，并簡(jiǎn)化其生產(chǎn)方式以便于應(yīng)用于更多領(lǐng)域。

1. 考查主旨大意題。第一段主要介紹了這種新材料“shrilk”的特性，堅(jiān)硬，低成本的，可生物降解，材料的靈感來(lái)自昆蟲(chóng)堅(jiān)硬的外層殼。很薄，很干凈，柔韌性強(qiáng)。可以作為塑料的替代品。并沒(méi)有強(qiáng)調(diào)這是一個(gè)卓越的設(shè)計(jì)和它的命名，所以不選A和B。雖然有提及它的原料，但相比其特點(diǎn)只是一句帶過(guò)，故選C。

2. 考查推理判斷題。第二段概述了塑料的快速發(fā)展及其不能降解的缺點(diǎn)所帶來(lái)的問(wèn)題，與新材料“shrilk”形成比較。因此突出的是塑料不能降解的問(wèn)題，而塑料的簡(jiǎn)單生產(chǎn)，優(yōu)良特性和貢獻(xiàn)都不是需要關(guān)心的問(wèn)題。故選A。

3. 考查細(xì)節(jié)理解題。第三段發(fā)明家們提到“shrilk”的原料是它的極大潛力。根據(jù)第三段第二句“Materials from which it is made are plentiful in nature”制造它的材料在大自然中很豐富，從蝦殼，昆蟲(chóng)尸體，到活體植物。故選D。

4. 考查細(xì)節(jié)理解題。第四段談到了“shrilk”還未完善�！癟he inventors said the material becomes flexible when wet, so they’re exploring ways to use it in wet environments.”說(shuō)明發(fā)明家還在實(shí)驗(yàn)室研究其在潮濕環(huán)境的使用。故選B。

5. 考查主旨大意題。文章主要介紹“shrilk”這種材料可以作為很好的一次性用品原料。很明顯不是在談環(huán)保，和一次性產(chǎn)品的危害。故不選A和C。而選項(xiàng)B則過(guò)分突出了來(lái)自昆蟲(chóng)的研究靈感的作用，并不符合文章對(duì)于新材料的性能和影響進(jìn)行論述的主旨，故選D。

考點(diǎn)：考察議論文閱讀。