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.
詞匯：
graphene n.石墨烯
abundant adj.豐富的，充裕的
atom n.原子
adhesive n.膠粘劑; adj. 黏著的
stack v.使成堆，堆放
graphite n.石墨
注釋：
1. superstrength：超強(qiáng)的力量。該詞是一個(gè)合成詞，由兩部分組成， super(超級的)和strength (力量)。
2. superthin：超薄。見注釋1。
3. Nobel Prize for Physics ：諾貝爾物理學(xué)獎(jiǎng)
4. the University of Manchester：曼徹斯特大學(xué)。這是一所位于英國曼徹斯特市的公立研究型大學(xué)，創(chuàng)建于1851 年。
5. If you were to hold a sheet of graphene in your fingers：句子使用的是虛擬語氣，因?yàn)椴豢赡軐缀跞庋劭床坏降氖┓旁谥讣馍稀?BR> 6. wonderstuff：神奇物。該詞為合成詞，由wonder(神奇)和stuff(東西)兩個(gè)詞構(gòu)成。
wonderstuff 指的是第二段提到的wonder material。
7. apply a small piece of adhesive tape over… ：將一小片膠帶敷在……上。
練習(xí)：
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 When we get to the thinnest possible layer of graphite，we find graphene.
D With a pencil，a sheet of paper and a piece of adhesive tape，we can find graphene.
5. Graphene's superstrength lies in the fact that
A It is the thinnest material in the world.
B It is made of the most abundant elements in the world.
C It can help to make electronic components smaller.
D It helps engineers to produce more sensitive electronic products.
答案與題解：
1. C 第一段最后一句提供了答案：工程師將眼光投向石墨烯，一種由碳原子組成的超薄材料，