Graphene's Superstrength
Big technology comes in tiny packages. New cell phones and personal computers get smaller
every year，which means these electronics require even smaller components on the inside.
Engineers are looking for creative ways to build these components，and they've turned their eyes to graphene，a superthin2 material，made of carbon，that could change the future of electronics.
This year's Nobel Prize for Physics3 has been awarded to Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov
from the University of Manchester4，UK. for the discovery of graphene. Graphene isn't just small,
it's“the thinnest possible material in this world，” says Novoselov. He calls it a“wonder
material. ”It's so thin that you would need to stack about 25,000 sheets just to make a pile as thick as a piece of ordinary white paper. If you were to hold a sheet of graphene in your fingers5，you'd have no idea because you wouldn't be able to see it.
Carbon is one of the most abundant elements in the universe. Every known kind of life
contains carbon. Graphene is a sheet of carbon，but only one atom thick. You don't have to look
far to find grapheme —it's all around you.
If you want this high-tech wonderstuff6，all you need is a pencil，paper and a little adhesive
tape. Use the pencil to shade a small area on the paper, and then apply a small piece of adhesive
tape over the area7. When you pull up the tape，you'll see that it pulls up a thin layer of some of
the shading from your pencil. That layer is called graphite，one of the softest minerals in the world.
Now stick the same piece of tape on another sheet of paper and pull the tape up —there should be an even thinner layer，this time left on the paper. Now imagine that you do this over and over，until you get the thinnest possible layer of material on the paper. This layer would be only one atom thick，and you wouldn't be able to see it. Graphite is made of layers of graphene，so when you get to the thinnest possible layer，you've found graphene.

词汇：
graphene/ 'græfi:n/ n．石墨烯
abundant/ə’bʌndənt / adj．丰富的，充裕的
atom/ 'ætəm/n．原子
adhesive/ əd'hi:siv/ n．胶粘剂； adj. 黏着的
stack/stæk/ v．使成堆，堆放
graphite / 'græfait / n．石墨

注释：
1. superstrength：超强的力量。该词是一个合成词，由两部分组成， super（超级的）和strength （力量）。
2. superthin：超薄。见注释1。
3. Nobel Prize for Physics ：诺贝尔物理学奖
4. the University of Manchester：曼彻斯特大学。这是一所位于英国曼彻斯特市的公立研究型大学，创建于1851 年。
5. If you were to hold a sheet of graphene in your fingers：句子使用的是虚拟语气，因为不可能将几乎肉眼看不到的石墨烯放在指尖上。
6. wonderstuff：神奇物。该词为合成词，由wonder（神奇）和stuff（东西）两个词构成。
wonderstuff 指的是第二段提到的wonder material。
7. apply a small piece of adhesive tape over… ：将一小片胶带敷在……上。

练习：
1 .What would change the future of electronics according to engineers?
A  Big technology.
B  Creative ways.
C  Graphene.
D  Both A and B.
2. According to the second and third paragraphs，what is true of graphene?
A  It can be used to make paper.
B  It is possible to see it with our naked eye.
C  It is easy to find graphene.
D  It is possibly the thickest material in the world.
3. Which of the following can be used to replace the word “apply”in paragraph 4?
A  request.
B  polish.
C  use.
D  put.
4. Which of the following is NOT meant in the last two paragraphs?
A  Graphene is made of graphite，one of the softest materials in the world.
B  Graphite is made of layers of graphene，the thinnest material in the world.
C &n