Cao Yuan proved he was special at age 14 when he was enrolled in the University of Science and Technology of China's School of the Gifted Young，which is a special school to nurture teenagers into world-class talents．
But Cao himself didn't think he was special．He often stressed that he was just an ordinary kid who loved reading about science and doing experiments．
But there is other evidence that Cao is a bit different．On Dec 19，the now 22-year-old doctoral candidate in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology（MIT），US，was named one of the 10 people who mattered this year by the journal Nature．It was for discovering a "magic angle" in graphene（石墨烯）sheets that he has opened up a new field of superconductor physics（超導(dǎo)體物理學(xué)）．
Graphene，first discovered in 2004，is a material made of a single layer of carbon atoms．It's the thinnest and strongest material in the world．Cao's work shows that when two layers of graphene are cooled to 1.7 C above absolute zero（-273 C）and rotated（旋轉(zhuǎn)） to a "magic angle" of 1.1 degrees，the upper layer of graphene exhibits nonconducting behaviors．
However，Cao found that these electrons（電子） could flow in the graphene sandwich freely - as if they were traveling through a superconductor -when small amounts of electrons were added to the structure．
The discovery is exciting． "One can imagine making a superconducting transistor out of graphene，which you can switch on and off ，from superconducting to insulating"，Pablo Jarillo-Herrero，Cao's professor at MIT，told Science Daily．
But why was Cao able to make the discovery？Both his high school physics teacher Huang Jiatang and Jarillo-Herrero attribute it to Cao's capacity for independent learning and interest in doing experiments．
Huang said that he remembered that as a young kid Cao had a strong ability to study on his own，a love for hands-on experiments and was unafraid to challenge teachers and ask difficult questions．
Cao seems to be a highly inquisitive young man．Jarillo-Herrero told Nature that Cao's hobbies include photographing the night sky using homemade cameras． "Every time I go in Cao's office，it's a huge mess，with computers taken apart and pieces of telescope all over his desk，" he said．
But even with such convincing proof，Cao still sees himself as an ordinary college student． "After all，we are all humans，with flaws and emotions，" he said．
（1）Why was Cao Yuan listed Person of the Year by the journal Nature？ （within 20 words）
Because he discovered a"magic angle"in graphene sheets that he has opened up a new field of superconductor physics．
Because he discovered a"magic angle"in graphene sheets that he has opened up a new field of superconductor physics．
（2）Is graphene a new metal？What is it？ （within 15 words） No，it isn't．It is a material made of a single layer of carbon atoms．
No，it isn't．It is a material made of a single layer of carbon atoms．
（3）What are the factors that lead to Cao's achievement？List two of them． （within 15 words） Independent learning and interest in doing experiments．/A love for hands-on experiments and was unafraid to challenge teachers．/He loves reading about science and doing experiments．
Independent learning and interest in doing experiments．/A love for hands-on experiments and was unafraid to challenge teachers．/He loves reading about science and doing experiments．
（4）What does the underlined word "inquisitive" mean？ （within 2 words） Curious．
Curious．
（5）What's the title of the article？ （within 10 words） An Ordinary Young Man With Special Capacity/Cao Yuan：Ordinary or Special？
An Ordinary Young Man With Special Capacity/Cao Yuan：Ordinary or Special？
