綜合類A級：完形填空Less Is More

　　It sounds all wrong--drilling holes in a piece of wood to make it more resistant to knocks．But it works because the energy from the blow gets distributed throughout the wood rather than focusing on one weak spot．The discovery should lead to more effective and lighter packaging materials. Carpenters have known ________(51)centuries that some woods are tougher than others．Hickory(山核桃木)，for example，was turned into axe handles and cartwheel spokes(輪輻)because it Can absorb shocks without breaking．White oak，for example，is much more easily

　　damaged，_________ (52)it is almost as dense．Julian Vincent at Bathe University and his team were convinced the wood’s internal structure could explain the differences．

　　Many trees have tubular(管的)vessels that run _________ (53)the trunk and carry water to the leaves．In oak they are large，and arranged in narrow bands，but in hickory they are smaller，and more evenly distributed．The researchers _________ (54)this layout might distribute a blow’s energy throughout the wood．soaking up a bigger hit．To test the idea，they drilled holes 0.65 millimetres across into a block of spruce(云杉)，a wood with _________ (55)vessels，and found that _________ (56)withstood a harder knock．_________ (57)when there were more than about 30 holes per square centimetre did the wood’s performance drop off．

　　A uniform substance doesn’t cope well with knocks because only a small proportion of the material is actually _________ (58)．All the energy from the blow goes towards breaking the material in one or two places，but often the pieces left _________ (59)are pristine(未經破壞的)．

　　But instead of the energy being concentrated in one place，the holes provide many weak spots that all absorb energy as they break，says Vincent．“You are controlling the places_________ (60)the wood breaks，and it can then absorb more _________ (61)，more safely．”The researchers believe the principle could be applied to any material- _________ (62)example．to manufacture lighter and more protective packaging．It could _________ (63)be used in Car bumpers，crash barriers and armour for military vehicles，says Ulrike Wegst， _________ (64)the Max Plank Institute for Mental Research in Stuttgart．But she emphasizes that you _________ (65)to design the substance with the direction of force in mind．“The direction of loading is crucial，”she says．

　　51 A in B since C for D at

　　52 A or B although C and D despite

　　53 A down B over C up D into

　　54 A knew B concluded C saw D thought

　　55 A no B per C each D every

　　56 A it B the idea C they D spruce

　　57 A if B Just C Only D Rarely

　　58 A effected B beaten C slapped D affected

　　59 A behind B beyond C for D in

　　60 A which B there C that D where

　　61 A water B air C energy D safety

　　62 A among B in C as D for

　　63 A also B besides C else D yet

　　64 A over B at C around D on

　　65 A have B must C should D had

　　滿分100分，其中：

　　1—15每題1分

　　16—30每題1分

　　31—45每題3分

　　46—50每題2分

　　51—65每題1分。