See a cell phone 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, you'll 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 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 (树脂)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.
This may sound like a completely new technology, but
the truth is that 3-D printing has been around since the late 1980s. Back then,
it was hardly affordable for most people, so few knew about it.
Last year, though, saw a big change in the 3-D
printing industry--- printers became much cheaper. For example, 10 years ago a
desktop 3-D printer might have cost £20,000 (200,000 yuan), 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, 3-D 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 3-D printer, according to Science Daily.
The fake ear looks and acts exactly like a natural one.
However, as 3-D printing becomes more common, it may
bring about certain problems --- such as piracy(盗版).
"Once you can download a coffee maker, or print out a new set of kitchen
utensils (餐具) on your personal 3-D printer, who will
visit a retail (零售的) store again?" an expert in 3-D
printing told Forbes News. Even more frightening, what if anyone in the world
could use a 3-D printer to print out a fully functioning gun?
1.According to the article, in the future, the 3-D
printing technology will ___.
A.enable people
to make better purchases online
B.be applied as
widely in our daily lives as computers
C.change the
way we make many products
D.shorten the
time it takes for people to get what they buy online
2.What was the big event happening in the 3-D printing
industry last year?
A.The 3-D
printing technology was taken out ofthe factory.
B.The 3-D
printer became more affordable forconsumers.
C.The 3-D
printer was used for medical treatmentfor the first time.
D.3-D printing
technology began to be used invarious fields.
3.How is the last paragraph developed?
A.By analyzing
a cause and an effect. B.By making
comparisons.
C.By giving
examples. D.By presenting
research findings.
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A.Printing out
everything B.Technology in
the future
C.Online
shopping disappearing D.Great demand
for 3-D printers