2020考研英語閱讀理解精讀100篇：Unit 52

Unit 52

Bryant Linares has one heck of a secret family recipe: how to make world-class diamonds. Seven years ago his father, Robert, produced a diamond in a high-pressure chamber of carbon gas and dropped it into an acid solution to clean it off. When he returned the next morning, he expected to find the usual yellow stone—a crude artificial diamond of some use to industry, perhaps, but not the stuff of dreams. At first there didn’t seem to be any stone at all. Then he saw, at the bottom of the beaker, so clear it was almost invisible, a perfect quarter-carat crystal of pure carbon. “It was the eureka moment,” says Bryant. ① His father had managed what many scientists had given up on long ago: to manufacture a stone that wouldn’t look out of place on an engagement ring.

Man-made diamonds are nothing new—industry started making them in the 1950s, and each year about 80 tons of low-quality synthetic diamonds are used in tools like drill bits and sanders. ② High-quality crystals, though, open up huge possibilities, jewelry being the least of them. Scientists are most excited about the prospect of making diamond microchips. As chips have shrunk over the years, engineers have struggled with ways of dissipating the heat they create. Because silicon, the main component of semiconductors, breaks down at about 200 degrees Fahrenheit, some experts believe a new material will be needed in a decade or so. Diamonds might fit the bill. They can withstand 1,000 degrees, and electrons move through them so easily that they would tend not to heat up in the first place. Engineers could cram a lot more circuits onto a diamond-based micro-chip—if they could perfect a way of making pure crystals cheaply.

The race is on. After working in secrecy for years refining their technique, the Linareses’ company, Apollo Diamond, now spits out 20 carats a week, both for jewelry and for diamond wafers that could be fashioned into microchips. Rivals have also been busy. Gemesis, a Sarasota, Fla., firm, has developed a “diamond growth chamber”—a press that squeezes out high-quality diamonds in much the same way that the early presses made rough ones. Gemesis is making blue diamonds—rare and sought-after gemstones.

Chipmakers are also getting into the act. The Japanese firm Nippon Telegraph and Telephone has already made prototype diamond semiconductors, and the Japanese government is actively promoting the technology. Most U.S. research is going on in universities and military labs, but Intel has recently taken an interest. Before the technology is ready for prime time, chipmakers will have to come up with a way to keep out impurities during manufacturing. And the attribute that makes diamonds so attractive—their hardness—also makes them difficult to manipulate.

The new diamonds are likely to show up first as tiny light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, in flat-screen displays and high-definition televisions. And then, of course, there’s jewelry. Although synthetics still carry a stigma, even experts can’t tell the difference. Natural-diamond merchants claim they aren’t worried, but De Beers has made a device that can distinguish between the natural stones and the synthetics and is distributing it to jewelers. Will consumers care? We might find out next year when Gemesis is ready to market its blue diamonds in the United States.

注（1）：本文選自Newsweek；

注（2）：本文習(xí)題命題模仿對象為2002年真題Text 4。

1. From the first paragraph, we learn that ______.

A) all the diamonds are almost invisible

B) many scientists had tried hard to make perfect diamonds long time ago

C) Bryant’s father expected to find a diamond used in industry

D) diamonds are produced with carbon gas

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?

A) Diamond can withstand higher degree than silicon.

B) The main component of semiconductors will be replaced in a few years.

C) High-quality crystals have least usages, esp. in jewelry.

D) Engineers could not find perfect ways of making pure crystal cheaply.

3. According to the passage, why can the companies increase and perfect their production of diamond?

A) They all work in secrecy.

B) They have improved their techniques.

C) They have developed their own diamond chambers.

D) They have turned the rough diamonds to high-quality ones.

4. Which of the following best defines the word “attribute”（Line 5, Paragraph 4）?

A) Quality.

B) Contribution.

C) Appearance.

D) Value.

5. The new diamond is NOT first used in ______.

A) LEDs

B) flat-screen displays

C) high-definition televisions

D) prototype diamond semiconductors

篇章剖析

本篇文章主要介紹了人造鉆石的制造、用途和應(yīng)用前景。第一段敘述了布賴恩特·李艾爾斯的父親偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)了制造精美人工鉆石的技術(shù)；第二段介紹工業(yè)上生產(chǎn)鉆石的情況和人造鉆石的用途；第三段說明鉆石制造公司的制造技術(shù)不斷進(jìn)步；第四段敘述芯片制造商設(shè)法生產(chǎn)出鉆石半導(dǎo)體來生產(chǎn)微芯片；最后一段介紹了人造鉆石的應(yīng)用前景。

詞匯注釋

recipe /?res?pi/ n. 處方，秘訣

artificial /?ɑ?t??f???l/ adj. 人造的，假的，非原產(chǎn)地的

eureka /????ri?k?/ int. 我發(fā)現(xiàn)了?。ū磉_(dá)有重大新發(fā)現(xiàn)時的歡樂）

synthetic /s?n?θet?k/ adj. 合成的，人造的，綜合的

dissipate /?d?s?pe?t/ v. 驅(qū)散，（使云、霧、疑慮等）消散；浪費(fèi)（金錢或時間）

silicon /?s?l?k?n/ n. 【化】硅，硅元素

wafer /?we?f?/ n. 晶片，圓片；薄餅；干膠片

gemstone /?d?em?st??n/ n. 經(jīng)雕琢的寶石

prototype /?pr??t??ta?p/ n. 原型；模型；典型

impurity /?m?pj??r?ti/ n. 雜質(zhì)，混雜物；不潔，不純

attribute /??tr?bju(?)t/ n. 屬性，品質(zhì)，特征

manipulate /m??n?pj?le?t/ vt. （熟練地）操作，操縱（人或市價、市場）；利用；應(yīng)付；假造

stigma /?st?gm?/ n. 污名，恥辱

distribute /d?s?tr?bju(?)t/ vt. 分發(fā)；分配；散布，分布

難句突破

① His father had managed what many scientists had given up on long ago: to manufacture a stone that wouldn’t look out of place on an engagement ring.

主體句式：His father had managed...

結(jié)構(gòu)分析：這是一個復(fù)雜句，what引導(dǎo)的是賓語從句，to manufacture a stone實(shí)際上是what many scientists had given up的同謂語，that引導(dǎo)的是定語從句。

句子譯文：他的父親完成了許多科學(xué)家很久以前放棄的研究，即制造出一塊用在訂婚戒指上也顯得再合適不過的鉆石。

② High-quality crystals, though, open up huge possibilities, jewelry being the least of them.

主體句式：Crystals open up possibilities...

結(jié)構(gòu)分析：Jewelry being the least of them是一個分詞獨(dú)立主格結(jié)構(gòu)，在句中作伴隨狀語。

句子譯文：高質(zhì)量的水晶展現(xiàn)了巨大的應(yīng)用潛力，用來制作珠寶只是其中最小的一部分。

題目分析

1. B 推理題。文中第一段講到，布賴恩特的父親完成了許多科學(xué)家很久以前放棄的研究，說明以前許多科學(xué)家曾努力去研究制造精美鉆石。

2. C 細(xì)節(jié)題。選項A、B、D在文中第二段都可以找到相應(yīng)的意思，C選項卻和文中意思相悖。文中的意思是：高質(zhì)量的水晶展現(xiàn)了巨大的應(yīng)用潛力，用來制作珠寶只是其中最小的一部分。

3. B 細(xì)節(jié)題。文中第三段第二句談到，阿波羅鉆石公司秘密研究多年之后改良了技術(shù)，從而提高了產(chǎn)量，而蓋邁希公司也通過成立“鉆石成長室”，用和以往相同的方式制造出品質(zhì)更高的鉆石，可見他們也改進(jìn)了技術(shù)。

4. A 語義題。attribute本身就是特點(diǎn)和性質(zhì)的意思。從后面的their hardness（鉆石的硬度），也可以推斷出。

5. D 細(xì)節(jié)題。文中第五段第一行講到新鉆石可能首先被用在什么地方。

參考譯文

布賴恩特·李艾爾斯有一副家傳秘方：如何制造世界級的鉆石。七年前，他的父親羅伯特在一間高壓碳?xì)馐抑兄圃炝艘活w鉆石，把它放入酸性溶液中清洗干凈。第二天早晨當(dāng)他回來時，他本指望看到通常的黃色鉆石——在工業(yè)上具有某種用途的未加工的人工鉆石，但可能并非夢寐以求的那種。開始他根本沒有看到什么石頭。接著他看到在燒杯底有一塊完美的四分之一克拉的純碳鉆石，如此透明，幾乎讓人看不到它。“這是一個令人狂喜的時刻”，布賴恩特說。他的父親完成了許多科學(xué)家很久以前放棄的研究，即制造出一塊用在訂婚戒指上也顯得再合適不過的鉆石。

人造鉆石并不是什么新生事物，20世紀(jì)50年代工業(yè)上就開始制造了，每年大約生產(chǎn)800噸低質(zhì)量的人造鉆石，用來制造工具，如鉆頭和打磨機(jī)。高質(zhì)量的水晶展現(xiàn)了巨大的應(yīng)用潛力，用來制作珠寶只是其中最小的一部分。科學(xué)家對于制造鉆石芯片的前景最樂觀。因為芯片會在多年以后收縮，工程師們努力想辦法驅(qū)散它們產(chǎn)生的熱量。因為半導(dǎo)體的主要成分硅在大約華氏200度就會破裂，一些專家認(rèn)為大約十年后將需要一種新的材料。鉆石可能是合適之選。首先它們可以承受1,000度的高溫，電子很容易通過鉆石，它們不容易升溫。如果工程師們能找到一種完美的低成本制造純水晶的方法，他們可以在一個鉆石芯片上安裝更多的線路。

競賽正在進(jìn)行。理納萊西（the Linareses）下屬公司——阿波羅鉆石公司秘密改進(jìn)技術(shù)多年，如今坦言每周能生產(chǎn)20克拉鉆石，用來制造珠寶和可以用來制造微芯片的鉆石晶片。其競爭對手也很忙。佛羅里達(dá)州薩拉索塔的蓋邁希（Gemesis）公司建造了一個“鉆石成長室”，通過壓力制造出高品質(zhì)鉆石，和以前制造低質(zhì)量鉆石的方法大體相同。蓋邁希公司還可以生產(chǎn)藍(lán)鉆石，這是一種世人爭相追求的珍貴寶石。

芯片制造商也在行動。日本電報電話公司也已經(jīng)制造出鉆石半導(dǎo)體樣品，日本政府正積極推動這項技術(shù)。美國的多數(shù)研究在大學(xué)和軍隊的實(shí)驗室進(jìn)行，但英特爾公司最近也已產(chǎn)生興趣。在這項技術(shù)進(jìn)入全盛期前，芯片制造商必須提出一種生產(chǎn)過程中去除雜質(zhì)的方法。鉆石之所以如此吸引人，是因為它的硬度，而這一特性也增加了鉆石制造難度。

新的鉆石可能首先以微小的發(fā)光二極管，或者平板顯示器和高清晰電視中的發(fā)光二極管的形態(tài)出現(xiàn)。當(dāng)然還有珠寶。雖然人造的會帶有瑕疵，但甚至專家們也不能分辨真?zhèn)?。盡管天然鉆石商人聲稱他們并不擔(dān)心，但是德·比爾斯制造了一種可以區(qū)分天然鉆石和人造鉆石的設(shè)備，已經(jīng)分發(fā)給珠寶商。消費(fèi)者會在意嗎？下一年蓋邁希公司準(zhǔn)備在美國銷售它的藍(lán)鉆石，到那時，我們或許會明白的。