Section A: Banked Cloze
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
A Novel Type of Steel Resists Cold Brittleness
Steel is valued for its reliability, but not when it gets cold. Most forms of steel (26) ______ become brittle (脆的) at temperatures below about −25℃ unless they are mixed with other metals. Now, though, a novel type of steel has been developed that resists (27) ______ at much lower temperatures, while retaining its strength and toughness—without the need for expensive (28) ______.
Steel’s fragility at low temperatures first became a major concern during the Second World War. After German U-boats torpedoed numerous British ships, a 2700-strong fleet of cheap-and-cheerful “Liberty ships” was introduced to replace the lost vessels, providing a lifeline for the (29) ______ British. But the steel shells of hundreds of the ships (30) ______ in the icy north Atlantic, and 12 broke in half and sank.
Brittleness remains a problem when building steel structures in cold conditions, such as oil rigs in the Arctic. So scientists have (31) ______ to find a solution by mixing it with expensive metals such as nickel.
Yuuji Kimura and colleagues in Japan tried a more physical (32) ______. Rather than adding other metals, they developed a complex mechanical process involving repeated heating and very severe mechanical deformation, known as tempforming.
The resulting steel appears to achieve a combination of strength and toughness that is (33) ______ to that of modern steels that are very rich in alloy content and, therefore, very expensive.
Kimura’s team intends to use its tempformed steel to make ultra-high strength parts, such as bolts. They hope to reduce both the number of (34) ______ needed in a construction job and their weight—by replacing solid supports with (35) ______ tubes, for example. This could reduce the amount of steel needed to make everything from automobiles to buildings and bridges.
Answers & Explanations (答案与解析)
Section A: Banked Cloze
26. A (abruptly)。解析：空格在主语 `Most forms of steel` 和谓语动词 `become` 之间，需要填入副词。句意：大多数形式的钢材在低于零下25℃的温度下会“突然”变脆。`abruptly` 意为“突然地”，符合钢铁在低温下发生脆变的特性。因此填入 abruptly。
27. J (fractures)。解析：空格在动词 `resists` 之后，需要填入名词作宾语。前文提到钢材变脆（become brittle），这里是说新型钢材能在更低温度下抵抗“断裂/破裂”。`fractures` 意为“断裂，破裂（名词）”。因此填入 fractures。
28. B (additives)。解析：空格在形容词 `expensive` 之后，需要填入名词。前文提到为了防脆通常要混入其他金属（mixed with other metals），而新型钢材不需要昂贵的“添加剂”（即其他金属）。`additives` 意为“添加剂”。因此填入 additives。
29. M (besieged)。解析：空格在定冠词 `the` 和名词 `British` 之间，需要填入形容词或分词作定语。当时正值二战，英国船只被德国U型潜艇大量击沉，英国处于被“围困”的状态。`besieged` 意为“被围困的”。因此填入 besieged。
30. I (cracked)。解析：空格在主语 `the steel shells` 之后，缺少谓语动词，且后接 `and 12 broke...` 描述过去发生的事，需要动词过去式。句意：数百艘船的钢壳在冰冷的北大西洋中“破裂”了。`cracked` 意为“破裂”。因此填入 cracked。
31. N (strived)。解析：空格在助动词 `have` 和不定式 `to find` 之间，构成现在完成时，需要过去分词。`strive to do sth.` 意为“努力/奋斗去做某事”。句意：所以科学家们一直“努力”通过混入昂贵金属（如镍）来寻找解决方案。因此填入 strived。
32. C (approach)。解析：空格在形容词 `physical` 之后，需要填入单数名词。前文提到混入金属是化学方法，而日本团队尝试了一种更偏物理性质的“方法”。`approach` 意为“方法，途径”。因此填入 approach。
33. G (comparable)。解析：空格在系动词 `is` 和介词 `to` 之间，构成固定搭配。`be comparable to` 意为“可与...相媲美，与...相当”。句意：由此产生的钢材所实现的强度和韧性的结合，可与现代高合金含量的钢材“相媲美”。因此填入 comparable。
34. H (components)。解析：空格在 `the number of` 之后，需要填入可数名词复数。前文提到要制造螺栓等零件，这里希望减少建筑工程中所需的“组件/部件”数量。`components` 意为“组件，部件”。因此填入 components。
35. K (hollow)。解析：空格在介词短语 `with ______ tubes` 中，修饰名词 `tubes`（管子），需要形容词。破折号前提到要减轻重量（reduce their weight），通过将实心支撑物（solid supports）替换为“空心”管子来实现。`hollow` 意为“空心的”，与 solid 形成对比。因此填入 hollow。
【核心搭配与亮点句型】
resist fractures：抵抗断裂（resists fractures at much lower temperatures）
strive to do sth.：努力/奋斗去做某事（scientists have strived to find a solution）
rather than：而不是（Rather than adding other metals）
be comparable to：可与...相媲美，相当（is comparable to that of modern steels）
be rich in：富含，在...方面含量高（steels that are very rich in alloy content）
replace A with B：用B替换A（replacing solid supports with hollow tubes）