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. 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. 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.

　　1.From the first paragraph, we learn that______________.
　　[A] All the diamonds are almost invisible.
　　[B] Many scientists had tried hard to make perfect crystals long time ago.
　　[C] His father expected to find a diamond used in industry.
　　[D] Diamond 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 diamond to high-quality one’s.

　　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 display
　　[C] high-definition televisions
　　[D] prototype diamond semiconductor

　　答案：B C B A D

　　篇章剖析

　　本篇主要介绍了人造钻石的制造、用途和应用前景。第一段叙述了布赖恩特·李艾尔斯父亲偶然发现制造精美人工钻石的技术；第二段介绍工业上生产钻石的情况和人造钻石用途；第三段说明钻石制造公司的制造技术不断进步；第四段芯片制造商设法生产出钻石半导体来生产微芯片；最后一段介绍了人造钻石的应用前景。

　　词汇注释

　　recipe[5resIpI] n.处方,秘诀

　　artificial[7B:ti5fiFEl] adj.人造的, 假的, 非原产地的

　　eureka[jJE5ri:kE] int.我发现了（表达有重大新发现时的欢乐）

　　synthetic[sin5Wetic] adj.合成的, 人造的, 综合的

　　dissipate[5disipeit] v.驱散, (使)(云、雾、疑虑等) 消散, 浪费(金钱或时间)

　　silicon[5silikEn] n.[化]硅, 硅元素

　　wafer[5weifE] n.[无]晶片, 圆片, 薄饼, 干胶片

　　gemstone[5dVem7stEun] n.经雕琢的宝石

　　prototype[5prEJtEJtaIp] n.原型；模型；典型；

　　impurity[im5pjuEriti] n.杂质, 混杂物, 不洁, 不纯

　　attribute[E5tribju(:)t] n.属性, 品质, 特征

　　manipulate[mE5nipjuleit] vt.(熟练地)操作, 操纵(人或市价、市场), 利用, 应付, 假造

　　stigma[5sti^mE] n.污名

　　distribute[dis5tribju(:)t] vt.分发, 分配, 散布, 分布, 分类, 分区

　　难句突破

　　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.

　　主体句式：His father had managed what…

　　结构分析：这是一个复杂句，what引导的是宾语从句，to manufacture a stone实际上是what many scientists had given up的同谓语从句，that引导的是定语从句。

　　句子译文：他的父亲完成了许多科学家很久以前放弃的研究，即制造出一块用在订婚戒指上也显得合适不过的钻石。

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

　　主体句式：… crystals … open up possibilities …

　　结构分析：jewelry being the least of them是一个分词独立主格结构，在句中做伴随状语。

　　句子译文：高质量的水晶展现了巨大的潜力，用来制作珠宝只是其中最小的一部分。

　　题目分析

　　1.答案是B，属判断推理题。文中第一段讲到