techniques , but he admitted there would be difficulties in meeting his goal .
“ For example , if you run out of ink while printing on paper , you will throw that paper away . But you cannot throw half-completed buildings away if your material gets stuck , ” he said . Although the printed house is not available to visit , there is a chance for people in Shanghai to see items printed in 3D.
The Belgium-based company Materialise NV held a 3D printing exhibition in Shanghai that started in late 2012 and ended in the middle of 2013 . The company is eager to show Asia what is possible with 3D printing .
“ All the pieces shown here are what cannot be made through traditional techniques . A good example of this customization is hearing aids . More than 10 million people already use 3D printed hearing aids, all made according to the size of their ears , ” said Wim Michiels , executive vice-president at Materialise NV .
“ You can produce anything whenever and wherever you like . You don’t need to set up production lines for pieces that only need a limited amount of products . Setting up a production line is a lot of work . It takes a long time and is very expensive for a limited number of pieces , ” said Michiels .
Kim Francois , managing director of Materialise China , said their European and American clients have already taken the next step toward additive manufacturing with small series production such as hearing aids .
小题1:What is mainly talked about in the text ?
A. The development of 3D printing .
B. A 3D printing show in Shanghai .
C. Varieties of items printed in 3D .
D. The company Materialise NV .
小题2:According to Behrokh Khoshnevis , what is the main difficulty in printing buildings ?
A．Time .
B．Technique .
C．Space .
D．Material .小题3:The example of 3D printed hearing aids was mentioned to show that ______________ .
A．these items used to be impossible to make
B．3D printing has a large market share
C．3D hearing aids help people hear better
D．people need different sized hearing aids小题4:According to the text , 3D printing is suitable for ___________ .
A．mass production
B．making small items
C．small series production
D．reducing production costs
