C

There’s a new frontier in 3D printing that’s beginning to come into focus: food. Recent development has made possible machines that print, cook, and serve foods on a mass scale. And the industry isn’t stopping there.

Food production

With a 3D printer, a cook can print complicated chocolate sculptures and beautiful pieces for decoration on a wedding cake. Not everybody can do that — it takes years of experience, but a printer makes it easy. A restaurant in Spain uses a Foodini to “re-create forms and pieces” of food that are “exactly the same,” freeing cooks to complete other tasks. In another restaurant, all of the dishes and desserts it serves are 3D-printed,rather than farm to table.

Sustainability(可持续性)

The global population is expected to grow to 9.6 billion by 2050, and some analysts estimate that food production will need to be raised by 50 percent to maintain current levels. Sustainability is becoming a necessity. 3D food printing could probably contribute to the solution. Some experts believe printers could use hydrocolloids (水解胶体) from plentiful renewables like algae(藻类) and grass to replace the familiar ingredients(烹饪原料). 3D printing can reduce fuel use and emissions. Grocery stores of the future might stock "food" that lasts years on end, freeing up shelf space and reducing transportation and storage requirements.

Nutrition

Future 3D food printers could make processed food healthier. Hod Lipson, a professor at Columbia University, said, “Food printing could allow consumers to print food with customized nutritional content, like vitamins. So instead of eating a piece of yesterday’s bread from the supermarket, you’d eat something baked just for you on demand.”

Challenges

Despite recent advancements in 3D food printing, the industry has many challenges to overcome. Currently, most ingredients must be changed to a paste(糊状物) before a printer can use them, and the printing process is quite time-consuming, because ingredients interact with each other in very complex ways. On top of that, most of the 3D food printers now are restricted to dry ingredients, because meat and milk products may easily go bad. Some experts are skeptical about 3D food printers, believing they are better suited for fast food restaurants than homes and high-end restaurants.

46. What benefit does 3D printing bring to food production?

A. It helps cooks to create new dishes.

B. It saves time and effort in cooking.

C. It improves the cooking conditions.

D. It contributes to restaurant decorations.

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47. What can we learn about 3D food printing from Paragraphs 3?

A. It solves food shortages easily.

B. It quickens the transportation of food.

C. It needs no space for the storage of food.

D. It uses renewable materials as sources of food.

48. According to Paragraph 4, 3D-printed food ________.

A. is more available to consumers

B. can meet individual nutritional needs

C. is more tasty than food in supermarkets

D. can keep all the nutrition in raw materials

49. What is the main factor that prevents 3D food printing from spreading widely?

A. The printing process is complicated.

B. 3D food printers are too expensive.

C. Food materials have to be dry.

D. Some experts doubt 3D food printing.

50. What could be the best title of the passage?

A. 3D Food Printing: Delicious New Technology

B. A New Way to Improve 3D Food Printing

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C. The Challenges for 3D Food Production

D. 3D Food Printing: From Farm to Table

【答案】46. B 47. D 48. B 49. C 50. A

【解析】本文是一篇科普类短文阅读。文章主要介绍了3D打印技术在食物上的应用取得了进展，但目前仍面临着许多方面的挑战。

46. 推理判断题。根据文章Food production中叙述了没有经验的人可以用3D打印机做出复杂的巧克力雕塑和美丽的婚礼蛋糕，以及餐厅能够用3D打印出所有的菜肴和甜点，从而可以推断出3D打印的优势是节省了做饭的时间和精力。故选B。

47. 细节理解题。根据文章第三段Some experts believe printers could use hydrocolloids (水解胶体) from plentiful renewables like algae(藻类) and grass to replace the familiar ingredients(烹饪原料).可知，3D打印机可以使用可再生材料作为食物来源。故选D。

48. 推理判断题。根据文章第四段Food printing could allow consumers to print food with customized nutritional content, like vitamins.(食品打印可以让消费者打印定制营养的食物)，从而可以推断出3D打印出来的食物可以满足个人营养需求。故选B。

49. 细节理解题。根据文章最后一段most of the 3D food printers now are restricted to dry ingredients, because meat and milk products may easily go bad.可知，阻止3D打印食物进一步广泛使用的原因是原料必须是干的，含水多的肉和牛奶不能应用于3D打印因为很容易坏。故选C。

50. 主旨大意题。文章主要介绍了3D打印技术在食物上的应用取得了进展，但目前仍面临着许多方面的挑战。所以用标题3D Food Printing: Delicious New Technology，故选A。

点睛：科普类说明文历来是高考阅读理解命题的重点。本文是一篇3D打印技术在食物方面的应用，文章运用一些小标题和对一些专业词汇作了多处中文注释，降低了考生的阅读难度。文章逻辑性强，条理清楚，主要考查学生对语篇的整体把握和领悟能力以及对特定细节的认读和处理能力。最后一小题考查主旨大意，为文章选择出最好的标题。考生做此题时一定要注意选择项必须要能概括整个文章的内容，不能以偏概全。如B、C、D选择项在文章中都有所涉及，但不足以概括全文，所以需要考生正确概括全文的主旨大意。