Unit 6 The Secret Life Of Science

3D printing technology first appeared in the US in 1980s. 3D printing is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. It is achieved by using an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes. The technology is used for both prototyping (模型設(shè)計(jì)) and distributed manufacturing (分布式制造) in jewellery, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, medical industries, geographic information systems, civil engineering, and many other fields. In 2015, a 3D printing technology developed by Silicon Valley startup, Carbon3D Inc., enables objects to rise continuously from a liquid medium rather than being built layer by layer as they have been for the past 25 years, representing a fundamentally new approach to 3D printing. Futurologists believe that 3D printing signals the beginning of a third industrial revolution.

3D打印技術(shù)在20世紀(jì)80年代首次出現(xiàn)在美國。3D打印是按照數(shù)字模型打造任何形狀的三維固體物件的過程。這是一個疊加過程，把材料層層覆蓋，鑄造出不同的形狀。這項(xiàng)技術(shù)可用于產(chǎn)品的模型設(shè)計(jì)和分布式制造，能應(yīng)用于珠寶、制鞋、工業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)、建筑、工程與施工、汽車制造、航空航天、醫(yī)療行業(yè)、地理信息系統(tǒng)、土木工程和其他諸多領(lǐng)域。2015年，美國硅谷的一家創(chuàng)業(yè)機(jī)構(gòu)碳3D公司開發(fā)了一項(xiàng)3D打印技術(shù)，能讓物體從液體介質(zhì)中源源不斷地生成出來，而不是像過去25年里那樣，靠層層疊加塑造物體。這項(xiàng)技術(shù)為3D打印提供了一種全新的方法。未來學(xué)家認(rèn)為，3D打印標(biāo)志著第三次工業(yè)革命的開始。

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2008年8月，中國第一條高鐵"京津城際鐵路"正式通車運(yùn)營，宣告中國進(jìn)入高鐵時代。近年來，中國高鐵不僅在關(guān)鍵技術(shù)領(lǐng)域取得一系列重大的創(chuàng)新與突破，還建立了具有自主知識產(chǎn)權(quán)、世界一流水平的高鐵技術(shù)體系。憑借先進(jìn)的技術(shù)、高性價(jià)比（cost effectiveness）和成功的運(yùn)營經(jīng)驗(yàn)，中國正在向世界各國大量出口高鐵技術(shù)及相關(guān)產(chǎn)品。中國的高鐵技術(shù)正在走向世界，對推動"一帶一路"（Belt and Road Initiative）戰(zhàn)略起到積極作用。

In August 2008, China's first high-speed railway, the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway, was opened, ushering China into an era of high-speed railway. In recent years, in addition to achieving a series of major innovations and breakthroughs in key technologies, China has also developed a world-class high-speed railway technology system with independent intellectual property. With its advanced technology, cost-effectiveness and successful operating experiences in high-speed railway, China is witnessing an increasing export of its high-speed railway technologies and related products to many countries around the world. China's high-speed railway technology is finding its way in the world and is playing a positive role in promoting "the Belt and Road Initiative".