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1、英译汉之词义理解一一科学技术(预习材料)Using carrots to create concrete, turning wood into plastic, or even compressing it into a superwood” that is as light and strong as titanium might sound like a series of almost Frankensteinishexperiments. Yet all three are among the latest examples of employing natural fibers fr
2、om plants aseco-friendly additives or alternatives to man-made materials.Materials-science researchers are finding that plant fibers can add durability and strength tosubstances already used in the construction of buildings and in goods that range from toys andfurniture to cars and aircraft. A big b
3、onus is that, because plants lock up carbon in their structure,using their fibres to make things should mean less carbon dioxide is emitted. The production ofconcrete alone represents some 5% of man-made global CO2 emissions, and making 1 kg of plasticfrom oil produces 6 kg of the greenhouse gas.Sta
4、rt with the carrots. These are being investigated by Mohamed Saafi at Lancaster University,in England. Dr. Saafi and his colleagues do not use whole carrots, but rather what they call“nanoplatelets” that have been extracted from carrots discarded by supermarkets or as waste fromfood-processing facto
5、ries. Sugar-beet peelings are also a useful source of nanoplatelets. Theresearchers are working with Forth, a British firm that produces such platelets for industrialapplications, including as an additive that helps toughen the surface of paint as it dries.Each platelet is only a few millionths of a
6、 metre across. It consists of a sheet of stiff cellulosefibres. Although the fibres are minute, they are strong. By combining platelets with other materials,a powerful composite can be produced. Dr Saafi is mixing the platelets into cement, which is madeby burning limestone and clay together at high
7、 temperature. (The chemical reaction between themreleases carbon dioxide from the limestone.) To turn cement into concrete, it is mixed withaggregates such as sand, stones and crushed rocks, which act as reinforcement, and with water,which reacts with the chemicals in the cement to form a substance
8、called calcium silicate hydrate.This starts off as a thick gel, but then hardens into a solid matrix that binds the aggregates together.By adding vegetable platelets to the mix, Saafi and his colleagues can make concrete stronger.This is useful in itself, but it also permits a reduction in the ratio of cement to aggregates that isrequired to achieve a given level of strength. Reducing the amount of cement in this wayconsequently reduces CO2 emissions.
英译汉之词义理解-科学技术（预习材料）
