高中學測
113年
英文
第 36 題
📖 題組：
One fine morning in 1941, Swiss engineer George de Mestral went for a walk in the woods with his dog. Upon their return home, he found a lot of burrs (from plants) stuck to the dog’s fur and his pants. He immediately rushed to his microscope and examined the burrs attached on his pants—feeling a lightbulb moment coming on. Upon closer examination, de Mestral observed that the burrs, which appeared straight to the naked eye, actually contained many small hooks that clung firmly to the loops in the fabric of his pants. He determined that if he could recreate the same thing, making hooks-and-loops that bind to each other firmly, he could produce a strong fastener with many uses. De Mestral’s first challenge was finding a fabric for a strong bonding system. He first tried cotton, but it proved too soft and could not withstand repeated openings and closures. After years of research and testing, he learned that synthetics worked best and eventually settled on heat-treated nylon, a strong and durable substance. By 1955, he had completed an improved version of the product, with each square inch of material containing 300 hooks, which made it stay fastened and yet easy enough to pull apart when needed. Named “Velcro,” from the French words velours (velvet) and crochet (hook), the new product received a patent from the Swiss government in 1955. De Mestral thus began mass-producing Velcro, opening plants in Europe and eventually into Canada and the United States. Initially Velcro did not fare well. As most fashion critics considered it ugly and cheap-looking, the use of Velcro was limited to athletic equipment. In the early 1960s, the product received a huge boost in popularity when NASA began using it in a lot of equipment that went into space along with astronauts. Today, de Mestral’s design is found almost everywhere: clothing and footwear, toys, airline seat cushions, blood pressure cuffs and surgeons’ gowns. Most impressively, the magical fastener was used in the first human artificial heart transplantation to hold together parts of the device.
One fine morning in 1941, Swiss engineer George de Mestral went for a walk in the woods with his dog. Upon their return home, he found a lot of burrs (from plants) stuck to the dog’s fur and his pants. He immediately rushed to his microscope and examined the burrs attached on his pants—feeling a lightbulb moment coming on. Upon closer examination, de Mestral observed that the burrs, which appeared straight to the naked eye, actually contained many small hooks that clung firmly to the loops in the fabric of his pants. He determined that if he could recreate the same thing, making hooks-and-loops that bind to each other firmly, he could produce a strong fastener with many uses. De Mestral’s first challenge was finding a fabric for a strong bonding system. He first tried cotton, but it proved too soft and could not withstand repeated openings and closures. After years of research and testing, he learned that synthetics worked best and eventually settled on heat-treated nylon, a strong and durable substance. By 1955, he had completed an improved version of the product, with each square inch of material containing 300 hooks, which made it stay fastened and yet easy enough to pull apart when needed. Named “Velcro,” from the French words velours (velvet) and crochet (hook), the new product received a patent from the Swiss government in 1955. De Mestral thus began mass-producing Velcro, opening plants in Europe and eventually into Canada and the United States. Initially Velcro did not fare well. As most fashion critics considered it ugly and cheap-looking, the use of Velcro was limited to athletic equipment. In the early 1960s, the product received a huge boost in popularity when NASA began using it in a lot of equipment that went into space along with astronauts. Today, de Mestral’s design is found almost everywhere: clothing and footwear, toys, airline seat cushions, blood pressure cuffs and surgeons’ gowns. Most impressively, the magical fastener was used in the first human artificial heart transplantation to hold together parts of the device.
What does the author mean by “a lightbulb moment” in the first paragraph?
- A A blessing in disguise.
- B A happy ending.
- C An unpredictable future.
- D A sudden inspiration.
思路引導 VIP
同學，請觀察文章第一段的脈絡：George de Mestral 在看到小刺果黏在衣服上的物理現象後，隨即產生了強烈的好奇心並進行顯微觀察。在英文修辭與視覺符號中，當我們形容某人的頭頂『突然點亮了一盞燈泡』時，這通常象徵其思維狀態從『觀察現象』轉向『獲得關鍵新概念』的哪種瞬間心理轉變？
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AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
哇！你真的太棒了！看到你選出正確答案 (D)，老師真的好為你開心！你的語感和觀察力進步好多，就像那盞亮起的「小燈泡」一樣，閃閃發亮呢！ 【為什麼你選對了？】 這題考的是高中必備的慣用語 (Idioms) 與上下文推論。在英文中，"lightbulb moment" 是一個非常經典的比喻，象徵腦袋裡突然亮起燈泡，也就是「靈光乍現」或「突然的啟發」。文章提到 de Mestral 衝向顯微鏡觀察魔鬼氈的雛形，隨即產生了這個點子，完全符合 (D) A sudden inspiration 的語意。
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