A huge cloud of dust rose and an overpass disappeared. This was the scene in Zhuzhou，Hunan Province on May 17.Nine people were killed and 16 injured.
Things were similar last year in the Sichuan earthquake. Thousands of people were buried in the ruins and lost their lives. What if we could have warned them?
People are always racking their brains to find a way of preventing buildings’ collapse. Better materials and technology help，but they are not a solution.
Just like humans，a building has its own life cycle from “birth” to “death”．If we know when a building is going to collapse，we can repair it in advance or get out of it before it falls.
Now，scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a material that turns red before it breaks. The invention could be used in things like climbing ropes or bridge supports.
The research was led by Nancy Sottos，a professor at the university’s Beckman Institute，and Douglas Davis，a graduate research assistant.
The secret behind the colorchanging material is a type of molecule (分子)．A molecule is a group of atoms held together by chemical bonds. Imagine you and your friends standing in a circle，holding hands. Each person stands for one atom，your hands represent the bonds，and the entire circle represents a molecule. If one person lets go of his or her hands，the molecule changes color.
The research team put the molecule into a soft material. When the researchers stretched the material，it turned bright red for a few seconds before it broke into two pieces. When they repeatedly stretched and relaxed the material，without breaking it，it only turned a little red.
The major problem is that light can get rid of the red color. When the team shone bright light on the molecule，the broken bond was fixed，and the color disappeared.
If the bright light keeps the red color from appearing，the material’s warning system will be useless. Scientists still have a lot of work to do before the colorchanging molecules can be used outside the lab.
小题1:What does the passage mainly introduce?
A．The collapse of an overpass in Zhuzhou，Hunan Province.
B．The Sichuan earthquake
C．A material that turns red before it breaks.
D．A way of preventing building from collapsing.小题2:The underlined words “racking their brains” in the third paragraph mean ________.
A．suffering a lot
B．collecting beyond imagination
C．losing a lot
D．thinking very hard小题3:Which of the following is a WRONG statement?
A．Thousands of people died from the collapse of buildings in the Sichuan earthquake because they hadn’t been warned.
B．There is no building that will never collapse.
C．A new material has been applied to buildings to warn people of collapse.
D．A colorchanging material can turn red before it breaks.小题4:What can we infer from the passage?
A．The colorchanging molecules are certain to be used outside the lab.
B．There will be no collapse with the help of the colorchanging material.
C．There is a long way to go before the material can be applied.
D．The problem caused by bright light will be solved by scientists.
