未来的3D打印房屋

江苏 李 彤

主题语境：人与社会 篇幅：339词 建议用时：7分钟

1A US company, Mighty Buildings, can 3D-print a house and stick it in your backyard for just £75,000. Mighty Buildings uses a 20ft-high printer stored in a California warehouse to make you a small cottage（小屋）and ships it to your property on a truck.

2“All you need to do is sit back and relax as we deliver and install your unit for you,”Mighty Buildings says on its website.

3Compared to new houses of a similar size in California,Mighty Buildings says its 3Dprinted sheds cost 45 per cent less to build.The firm apparently takes just 24 hours to construct a 350-square-foot house,using 95 per cent less labour than traditional methods.The technique is also said to be more eco-friendly,producing 90 per cent less waste than a typical build.

4It's not the first company to offer 3D-printed buildings: An entire street of the hightech houses is being built in Mexico.However,Mighty Buildings'technology is different as it prints more elements of the house—the dwellings in Mexico, for instance, only feature 3D-printed walls and floors.

5As much as 80 per cent of Mighty Buildings'construction process is now automated（自动化的）, according to the company. The rest, including the windows, plumbing and electrics,is done separately on site.

6According to the firm's website, prices start around $100,000 (£75,000) for an environmentally friendly, studio-sized apartment. Mighty Buildings has already delivered two fully-functioning units in San Ramon and San Diego and is currently fulfilling multiple（多个的）other orders.

73D printing is a process of layering up a material to build complicated structures. It works just like regular house printers—but instead of ink, a 3D printer will use materials like plastic or metal. Using giant 3D printers, it's been proven possible to quickly and cheaply build houses. Sadly the tech is far from mainstream for now. A recent report suggested 3D-printed houses built in less than 24 hours will form a key part of the UK's housing market by 2025.

Reading Check

1.What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A.The construction process. B.The cost,labour and waste.

C.The house elements. D.The high-tech knowledge.

2.What advantage do 3D printers have according to the text?

A.They might produce less waste.

B.They must be more eco-friendly.

C.They may transmit a Mighty Unit to a warehouse.

D.They can take the place of traditional methods now.

3.What does the underlined word“dwellings”in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A.Structures. B.Methods. C.Elements. D.Houses.

4.What's the purpose of the text?

A.To introduce 3D-printed houses.

B.To show us Mighty Buildings.

C.To present a US company.

D.To suggest the Mexico high-tech houses.

语篇研读

本文是一篇科技成果介绍类说明文，其主题语境为“人与社会”范畴中的“技术创新”。文章介绍了一家美国公司Mighty Buildings 以3D打印技术建造房屋的情况。文章特别指出：尽管使用巨型3D打印机可以快速、廉价地建造房屋，但目前该技术还远未成为主流。不过，到2025年，在24小时内建造的3D打印房屋将成为英国住房市场的重要组成部分。全文结构如下：

-语言学习

Ⅰ.语料荟萃

语篇单词重要短语property n. 不动产；房地产 relax v. 放松 install v. 安装 similar adj. 相似的 apparently adv. 显然 construct v. 建造 traditional adj. 传统的 eco-friendly adj. 环保的 typical adj.典型的 offer v.提供 technology n.技术 process n.过程 separately adj.单独地 environmentally adv. 与环境有关地；在环境方面地 fulfill v. 实现 material n. 材料 complicated adj.复杂的 suggest v.建议compare...to 把……比作；比喻为……；与……相比较 of a similar size 大小差不多的take time to do sth 花时间做某事 less...than 比……少 be said to do sth 据说做某事 for instance 例如 as much as (置于数量前)多达 according to 根据 far from 远非；远远不less than 少于；决不；不到；小于

Ⅱ.语句分析

All you need to do is sit back and relax as we deliver and install your unit for you. 您需要做的就是在我们为您交付和安装您的房屋时，坐下来休息。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句。All is sit back and relax 是主句，其中and 连接的sit back 和relax 是两个并列的省略了to 的不定式（短语），在句中作表语；you need to do 是省略了关系代词that的限制性定语从句，修饰先行词all；as we deliver and install your unit for you 是as引导的时间状语从句。

-语言运用

Ⅰ.例句仿写

根据上面短文中出现过的短语和表达方式，完成下面的句子。

1.与40年前相比，现在的卫生保健水平得到了极大提升。

____________________,the level of health care has improved enormously nowadays.

2.据说已经有人把这个消息告诉了史密斯先生。

_________________________________________________have been told the news.

3.我想尽可能多了解这个行业，让自己有备无患。

________________________________about the industry so that I'm better prepared.

Ⅱ.写作实践

你校英语俱乐部将举办以“科技创造美好未来”为主题的征文比赛，请你用英语写一篇短文参赛。

________________未来的事物___________________房屋汽车___________________电视___________________……特点___________________可3D打印________________可飞行__________________可声控且能自动换台____________……___________________

注意：

1.词数80左右；

2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

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