C

Not long ago a 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas named Cody Wilson made international headlines when he used a 3-D printer to “print out” a handgun.

It was a demonstration that not only caused a lively debate on gun control in the U.S. and abroad, but also threw a spotlight on a fast-developing manufacturing technology that could change the shape of the future.

Invented in the mid-1980s, it is a printer that uses plastic, wax, paper, gold, titanium (钛)—a whole host of materials—instead of ink to create a solid, three-dimensional object. In much the same way that your desktop printer is directed to print the words in a document, the 3-D printer’s jets (喷嘴，喷射口), guided by computer-assisted design (CAD) software, create an object by spraying (喷出) or squeezing one thin layer of material at a time onto the platform. As these extremely thin layers build up, the desired three-dimensional object slowly takes shape.

While 3-D printing is not a fast manufacturing process, it can be highly efficient because there is virtually no wastage. Unlike traditional manufacturing, where material is cut away by machinery to create an object, the process of 3-D printing uses only what is necessary to make the object. Precision (精确) results in a finished product that is both more finely made and up to 60 percent lighter in weight—something of particular interest to the aviation (航空) industry.

“This technology has plenty of wonderful applications. It can be used for everything from dental work to architectural models, jewelry, precision engine parts ... The list is endless,” says Jonathan Rowley, design director at Digits2Widgets, a London-based firm that specializes in 3-D printing. On a much larger scale Boeing and Airbus are already making numerous small parts using 3-D printing technology, and some have visions of aircraft-hangar-size (飞机库大小的) printers creating huge sections of wing and fuselage (机身). By 2050 entire planes may be made from 3-D “printed” parts.

39. Why is the first paragraph written?

A. To put forward a serious question.

B. To describe an interesting scene.

C. To give a summary of the passage.

D. To introduce the topic of the passage.

40. Why is a 3-D printer regarded as highly efficient?

A. It wastes nothing in the printing process.

B. It prints something layer by layer.

C. It prints things very quickly.

D. It prints things light in weight.

41. Which of the following is true about a 3-D printer?

A. It will become smaller in the future.

B. It will only be used in the aviation industry.

C. It may print a whole plane in the future.

D. It cannot be used by common people.

42. What do we learn from what Jonathan Rowley says?

A. The 3-D printing technology is developing very fast.

B. The 3-D printing technology will replace traditional manufacturing.

C. The 3-D printer will be mass-produced in the future.

D. The 3-D printer will have great potential uses in the future.

D

Every April I am bothered about the same concern that spring might not occur this year. The landscape looks desolate (荒凉的), with hills, sky and forest forming a single gray meld. My spirits ebb (衰退), as they did during an April snowfall when I first came to Maine 15 years ago. “Just wait,” a neighbor suggested. “You’ll wake up one morning and spring will just be here.”

On May 3 that year I awoke to a green so startling as to be almost electric, as if spring were simply a matter of flipping a switch. Hills, sky and forest revealed their blues and greens. Then there was an old apple tree. It sat on an undeveloped lot in my neighborhood. It belonged to no one and therefore to everyone. The tree’s dark twisted branches were unpruned (未修剪的). It blossomed so profusely that the air was filled with the aroma (芳香) of apples. When I drove by with my windows rolled down, it gave me the feeling of moving in another element, like a kid on a water slide. xKb  1.Com

Until last year, I thought I was the only one aware of this tree. And then one day, in a fit of spring madness, I set out with pruner and lopper (修枝剪) to remove a few branches. No sooner had I arrived under the tree than neighbors opened their windows and stepped onto their porches. These were people I barely knew and seldom spoke to, but it was as if I had come unbidden (擅自) into their personal gardens.

My mobile-home neighbor was the first to speak. “You’re not cutting it down, are you?” Another neighbor showed pain as I cut off a branch. “Don’t kill it, now,” he cautioned. Soon half the neighborhood had joined me under the apple tree. It struck me that I had lived there for five years and only now was learning these people’s names, what they did for a living and how they passed the winter. It was as if the old apple tree gathering us under it for the dual (双重的) purpose of acquaintanceship and shared wonder.

Just the other day I saw one of my neighbors at the local store. He remarked how this recent winter had been especially long and complained about not having seen or spoken at length to anyone in our neighborhood. And then, he looked at me and said, “We need to prune that apple tree again.”

43. Which of the following can best describe the author’s feeling about the April snowfall 15 years ago in Maine?

A. Guilty.      B. Depressed.     C. Thrilled.     D. Pleased.

44. The author thought the apple tree _______.

A. belonged to someone else

B. caused the inconvenience of driving

C. needed to be taken better care of

D. gave off an unpleasant smell in the spring

45. From the passage we know that _______.

A. the author was the only one aware of the apple tree

B. the author’s neighbors were not easy to get along with

C. the neighbors were worried that the author would cut down the tree

D. the neighbors suggested that the author should cut down the tree

46. We can infer from the passage that pruning the apple tree _______.

A. provided a beautiful view for the neighborhood

B. worked as a bridge for people to get known to each other

C. offered people a chance to take exercise in the spring

D. made people know the wonder of spring

E

About 20 women signed up for a half-day course offered by Rebecca Li of the etiquette (礼仪) school Institute Sarita. For three hours, Ms. Li reviewed elements of dressing and dining, western-style.

The ministry requested the seminar, says Institute Sarita founder Sara Jane Ho, who offered the class free of charge. Ms. Li, who ran the seminar, says that the women also had questions about how to keep fit and what kind of face cream to wear under makeup.

Institute Sarita is not the first to bring western-style etiquette to China. Before Beijing’s 2008 Olympics, the government launched a campaign to “civilize” its citizens, handing out leaflets to warn against spitting in public, jumping to the front of lines, and asking foreigners how much money they make. Knigge Akademie, a German company, opened in Beijing in March 2011, offering business etiquette courses on western dress and dining, as well as body language and rules of electronic communication. And vocational (职业的) schools advertise courses in business etiquette.

But other companies have attempted to succeed in teaching etiquette, such as Beijing’s Etiquette Society, which opened its door in 2008 and closed again in 2011. “I don’t think we thought through the concept,” says Etiquette Society founder Freddie Cull. He adds that at the time, there didn’t seem to be enough of a market for the school.

Ms. Ho, raised in Hong Kong but educated in the US, spent some time working in banking on Wall Street. Every time the 27-year-old Harvard Business School graduate heard about Chinese nationals misbehaving abroad, “it would affect me on a very personal level,” she said. She knows that when she travels, she’s really representing China, and she thinks everyone has a responsibility to represent their country.

Ms. Ho’s high-end school charges 100,000 yuan for a 12-day course in being a hostess and 80,000 yuan for a 10-day “debutante” (入门礼仪) course.

Much of the training takes place in her offices in the Park Hyatt Residences. Surrounded by French-made furniture and Raynaud porcelain tea sets, Ms. Ho serves Earl Grey tea and lemon tarts (小圆饼) prepared by her chef, who had formerly worked at the French embassy. Women taking her course face a series of challenges: how to handle the dripping cheese, what kinds of topics working for small talk around the table, where to stand on the escalator, how to pronounce Louis Vuitton. She offers a lesson on the history of cutlery (餐具) and another on gifts and flowers. Each day, they have to set a table based on the items served in a three to five courses’ lunch prepared by the chef.

The goal, says Ms. Ho, is that her students will go on to influence the people around them. “It’s the ripple effect. It’s not just China that needs etiquette,” she says. “It’s the whole world.”

47. Paragraph 3 is mainly intended to tell us that _______.

A. western-style etiquette began to be given a lot of attention in China

B. the Chinese government tried to improve the citizens’ civilization

C. Chinese schools weren’t aware of the importance of business etiquette

D. Knigge Akademie is the first to teach western business etiquette in China

48. According to Freddie Cull, Beijing’s Etiquette Society didn’t succeed because _______.

A. it lacked good teachers specializing in etiquette

B. Chinese people didn’t realize the importance of etiquette

C. it was not supported by the government

D. it charged too many tuition fees

49. Which of the following can people NOT learn at Institute Sarita?

A. Table manners.          B. Preparing a French meal.

C. Conversation-making skills.  D. Knowledge on gifts and flowers.

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

A. Etiquette becomes popular in China

B. Institute Sarita — a pioneer etiquette school

C. Ms. Ho—the founder of Institute Sarita

D. Courses offered by Institute Sarita