Question

Have you ever had dreams about building a robot? Or putting together a spaceship? Or even seeing your face made out of chocolate? Done. All you need is a 3-D printer!

The possibilities of 3-D printing seem endless. All the user has to do is to design an object on the computer and choose a material to print in. The printers print in hundreds of different materials including glass, sugar and even skin! When the user presses “print”, the 3-D printer spreads the material layer by layer and like magic the object is produced.

The first 3-D printer was invented in 1986 by an American, Charles Hull. But 3-D printing has only become cheap enough recently for most people to use. Designers now use 3-D printing to create unusual things. The Dutch artist Dirk Vander Kooj prints furniture made from old fridges. And doctors have used 3-D printing to print human body parts! The Telegraph reported in February that scientists from Cornell Medical College even printed a man-made ear.

But like a lot of new technologies, if 3-D printing gets into the wrong hands, it can be dangerous. In 2011 a group of four men in the US used 3-D printing to produce ATM skimmers. These were placed on an ATM and stole over $400,000 from users of the ATM. It is terrible to think that criminals* like them might one day use a 3-D printer to print a gun.

But for better or for worse, 3-D printing has been put into use. In a few years, you’ll probably be wondering how you could ever live without your 3-D printer!

1. invented the first 3-D printer.

A. Charles Hull B. Dirk Vander Kooj C. A doctor called Cornell D. Four men in the US

2.What is the correct order for people to use a 3-D printer?

a.Choose a material. b.Press the print button.

c.The 3-D printer spreads the material. d.Use a computer to design an object.

A. a?b?c?d B. d?a?b?c C. a?c?d?b D. d?c?b?a

3.The underlined word “ gets into the wrong hands ” in the fourth paragraph might mean in English.

A. the hands caught by the printer B. to get into trouble

C. the hands used in a wrong place D. to do something illegally

4.What does the writer think of the 3-D printer?

A. It is necessary only for our work. B. It is too expensive for most people.

C. It is helpful but dangerous. D. It is useless in our daily life.

Answer 1