Peoplehave all kinds of obsessions - silly, serious, and everything in between. Thesheer diversity of these fascinations, from playing bridge (my personalobsession) to scanning the skies for new planets, is one of the most beautiful thingsabout humanity. And yet one person's obsession doesn't necessarily makefor interesting reading for those of us who have never been bitten by that samebug. MarkMiodownik's personal and professional obsession, as he explains in his book StuffMatters, is basic materials we often take for granted such as paper, glass, concrete, andsteel - as well as new super-materia that will change our world in the decadesahead. I'm pleased to report that he is a witty, smart writer who has a great talent forimparting his love of this subject. As a result, Shuff Matters is a fun accessible read. Myfavorite writer, the historian Vaclav Smil, also wrote a wonderful book on materials,but it's completely different from Miodownik's. Smil is a facts-and-numbersguy; he doesn't bring any romance to his topic. Miodownik is the polaropposite. He's heavy on romance and very light on numbers. Miodownik.an Oxford-trained materials scientist who has worked in some of the mostadvanced labs in the world, discovered his obsession with materials in a bizarre way.When he was in high school in the 1980s, he was the victim of a. random attack ona London Tube train. In his telling, instead of freaking out about the five-inchslash wound in his back, he fixated on the elegance of the attacker's steel razorblade. "This tiny piece of steel, not much bigger than a postage stamp, had cut throughfive layers of my clothes, and then through the epidermis and dermis of myskin in one slash without any problem at all”, he writes. "It was the birth of myobsession with materials." Mostof us have the luxury of not thinking much about steel - and not being attacked with arazor. But as Miodownik makes clear, steel is pretty magical. Its greatest virtueis that it doesn't crack or break under tension, unlike iron, from which it isforged. Steel has been made by skilled blacksmiths dating back to ancient Romantimes, but once inventors created a process for producing steel cheaply atindustrial scale in the mid-19th century, it became central to ourlives -fromour utensils to our transport to our built environment. Our next centuryis likely to produce even bigger material innovations. I live close to thelongest floating bridge in the world, which, like so many big modern structures, ismade from steel-reinforced concrete. That bridge has served Seattle well for morethan a half century, but now it's near the end of its lifespan. (From my yard I cansee the construction crews working on the bridge that will replace it.) According toMiodownik, future bridges may be built with a "self-healing concrete" thatcould save billions of dollars in repair and replacement costs. Self-healingconcrete is a great study in material innovation. In highly sulfurousvolcanic lakes that would burn human skin, scientists found incredibly resilientbacteria that can stay dormant in rock for decades. You embed these bacteria inconcrete with starch for them to consume; when the concrete cracks and water startsseeping in, the bacteria revive, find the starch, begin to replicate, and excrete mineralsthat seal up the crack.
What does the writer say about obsessions?
A、They are varied and fascinating.
B、They are stupid but look beautiful.
C、They have something in common.
D、They help people to get away from being bitten by a bug.
【正确答案】：A
