H. G. Wells, born in 1866, was trained as a scientist, a pioneer among his literary contemporaries, and was perhaps the most important figure in the genre (类型) that would become science fiction. Writers in this tradition have a history not just of imagining the future as it might be, but of inspiring others to make it a reality.
Audio book, Airplane, and Television
Wells imagined forms of future entertainment. In When the Sleeper Wakes (1899), residents use fantastic forms of technology like audio books, airplanes and television sets.
Visitors to The Island of Dr. Moreau(1896) meet odd creatures created by the mad man doctor in human-animal hybrid experiments that may predict the age of genetic engineering.
Lasers(激光)
Martians in The War of the Worlds(1898) give off what Wells called a Heat Ray.
Atomic Bombs(原子弹)
| A．Genetic Engineering |
| B．Directed-energy Weapons |
| C．It can burn enemies with a noiseless flash of light |
| D．It is often a warning about the consequences of technology |
| E．Here are some of the incredible Wells predictions that have come true |
| F．Wells recognized the damaging power that might be created by this weapon |
| G．Scientists are working towards the possibility that animal organs could save human patients |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】The annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has been a major marketing event for Victoria’s Secret for more than two decades. Over the years, it grew into a luxurious fashion show, with music from pop stars，plus bright costumes and diamond decorated dresses. However, the fashion show is about to undergo a big change. The lavish event, featuring some of the world’s top models performing in its signature costumes, will no longer air on network television on account of the declining television ratings and increased criticism.
People aren’t watching like they used to. According to The Times, the show’s viewership has dropped about 2/3 within five years. Last year the show dropped to 3. 3 million viewers from 9. 7million viewers in 2013. Besides, its reluctance to change has been made even more obvious with the emergence of competitors like Rihanna’s company Savage X Fenty，American Eagle Outfitter Inc’s Aerie and ThirdLove, which aim to be more friendly to women of different shapes, colors and backgrounds. To some extent，the days of network television viewers being able to admire supermodels in Victoria’s Secret costumes performing on the catwalk are over.
Leslie Wexner，the chief executive of L Brands which is the parent company of Victoria’s Secret said in a statement that he and his colleagues are taking a fresh look at every aspect of the business from advertising, marketing and brand positioning,todigital business and cost accounting.
“Fashion is a business of change. We must evolve and change to grow.” Wexner said the company will focus the rest of the year on developing exciting content and it will push the boundaries of fashion in the global digital age.
Since the annual event attracts hundreds of celebrities, high-profile entertainers and performers each year，the influence of this fashion show still couldn’t be ignored. Changes may pave new ways for its favorable development and a major makeover will boost the careers of supermodels as always, and provide them with a more excellent platform.
1. What is true about the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show?| A．It will be canceled due to the decreased television rating and increased criticism. |
| B．It has lost audience's enthusiasm for watching models performing on network TV. |
| C．It actively brings in new changes and learns from competitors to be more friendly to women. |
| D．It is a visual feast concentrating on charity with the performances of pop stars and world’s top models. |
| A．fashion is a field lack of changes |
| B．the Victoria’s Secret will insist on developing in its old way |
| C．senior leaders of the Victoria’s Secret feel desperate about its dilemma |
| D．the Victoria’s Secret is going to explore thrilling content which will achieve breakthrough in fashion |
| A．Sympathetic. | B．Optimistic. | C．Indifferent. | D．Doubtful. |
【推荐2】Today’s grandparents are joining grandchildren on social media, but the different generation’s online habits couldn’t be more different. The over-55s are joining Facebook in increasing numbers, meaning that they will soon be the site’s second biggest user group, with 3.5 million users aged 55-64 and 2.9 million over-65s.
Sheila, aged 59, says, “I joined to see what my grandchildren are doing, as my daughter posts videos and photos of them. It’s a much better way to see what they’re doing than waiting for letters and photos in the post. I think I’m lucky I get to see so much more of their lives than my grandparents did.”
However, Sheila’s grandchildren are less likely to use Facebook themselves. Children under 17 are leaving the site—only 2.2 million users are under 17---but they’re not going far from their smartphones. Chloe, age 15, even sleeps with her phone. “It’s my alarm clock so I have to,” she says. “I look at it before I go to sleep and as soon as I wake up.”
Teenagers might have their parents to thank for their smartphone and social media addiction as their parents were the early adopters of the smartphone. Peter, 38 and father of two teenagers, reports that he used to be on his phone or laptop constantly. He says, “How could I tell my kids to get off their phones is I was always in front of a screen myself?” So, in the evenings and at weekends, he takes his SIM card out of his smartphone and puts it into an old-style mobile phone that can only make calls and send text messages. “I’m not completely separated from the world if emergent, but the important thing is that I’m setting a better example to my kids and spending more quality time with them.”
Is it only a matter of time until the generation above and below Peter catches up with the new trend (趋势) for a less digital life?
1. How does Sheila feel about social media?| A．Useful. | B．Disappointed. | C．Useless. | D．Addicted. |
| A．To make calls to his boss. |
| B．To stop his work. |
| C．To set a good example to his kids. |
| D．To catch up with the new trend. |
| A．different | B．figured out | C．cut off | D．protected |
| A．Children under 17 don’t use smartphone at all. |
| B．Chloe is one of the early adopters of the smartphone. |
| C．Today’s grandparents enjoy a life without social media. |
| D．People may enjoy a less digital life in the near future. |
【推荐3】What will our world be like in 2050?
There are two features in the growth of world population. First, the annual increase in population in 15 European countries, in the past few years, has been only 300,000. The United Nations estimates (估计)that by 2050, the population of European countries will decrease from the current 0.72 billion to 0.63 billion. Second, the population in developing countries is growing rapidly. By 2050，the population of Africa is expected to reach 1.8 billion, 0.9 billion more than its current population.
A recent research report published by the United Nations indicates that it is quite possible that the Earth's temperature is rising well above the previous estimate. The Antarctic ice sheet, which contains 90% of the world's ice, has lost significant mass in the past few years. The discovery comes as a surprise to scientists, who thought that the continent would gain ice this century because of increased snowfall in a warming climate. A research team from the University of Colorado used satellite data to estimate that the ice sheet will lose up to 48 cubic miles by 2050.
Africa's rivers face great change that will leave a quarter of the continent severely short of water by the middle of the century, according to a global warming study published today. Even modest decreases in rain in western Africa will see rivers lose as much as 80% of their water and a rise of what the scientists call "water refuges(难民)”. "In those areas where there is already a water shortage, it's going to have a destructive effect," the study says,.“If you're already walking 5 km to the nearest stream, by 2050,it's going to mean walking 30 km or moving your whole household closer to the water source."
1. Which of the following situations in 2050 is NOT mentioned in the text?| A．Population change. |
| B．Economic decline. |
| C．Global warming. |
| D．Water shortage. |
| A．The Antarctic ice sheet has decreased. |
| B．The Earth's temperature is going down. |
| C．Global warming is destroying the Earth. |
| D．Snowfall increases in the Antarctic area. |
| A．The ill fate of Africa's rivers. |
| B．The importance of doing exercise. |
| C．The hard life of the African refugees. |
| D．The seriousness of the water problem. |
| A．Happy. |
| B．Angry. |
| C．Worried. |
| D．Calm. |
【推荐1】We were at the top of the mountain when the call came through on the radio.
I was in the Altai Mountains with Biosphere Expeditions(生物圈考察队) as a member of the first team to take part in a survey of snow leopards(雪豹) in this part of the world.
Getting to the base camp had been an expedition in itself. It was getting dark as we arrived. After a very welcome night’s sleep we were up early for a couple of days training on how to fill in the datasheets, identify tracks and prints and what to do with useful animal droppings amongst other things.
The next day four of us set off up one of the mountains to do our first surveying with our guide Oleg. We spent most of the morning climbing the endlessly steep mountain with little communication from Oleg who only became active when we stopped to take on water. By early afternoon we reached what appeared to be the top but was another ridge(山脊). My 47-year-old bones were shaking and I was struggling to breathe. We hadn’t seen a thing except for rocky mountains. Our guide was keeping going but we had very little idea about what we were supposed to be doing. Energy was dropping rapidly.
Then everything changed. The radio came to life. Hardly able to speak through excitement, one of the other groups told us that they had just discovered fresh snow leopard tracks!
On arrival, we found the other group silently looking a gulf(溪谷). A set of very clear paw prints ran from top to bottom. I was filled with a feeling of complete exhilaration. One of the rarest big cats in the world had passed through where I was standing! They were here and what we were going to do would help them survive.
All the suffering of the past days fell away. The long walk back to the base camp that night seemed to go by in seconds.
1. Why did the author make his expedition in the Altai Mountains?| A．To become a member of Biosphere Expeditions. |
| B．To enjoy the mountainous scenery. |
| C．To measure the height of the mountains. |
| D．To carry out the research on snow leopards. |
| A．He visited the camp with his partners. | B．He got up late after some extra rest. |
| C．He received some basic training. | D．He organized a welcome party. |
| A．Climbing the endlessly rocky mountains at his age. |
| B．Having good communication with his guide. |
| C．Finding the right way to the mountain top. |
| D．Searching for clean drinking water. |
| A．Freedom. | B．Excitement. | C．Peace. | D．Loss. |
【推荐2】An unconventional method for growing rice has been found to increase yields(产量) by 20 to 50 percent. Reports from China, India, Southeast Asia and Africa suggest that average yield increases of 20 to 50 percent are regularly being achieved by farmers adopting the "system of rice intensification(集约化)"(SRI)，which needs one-tenth as many seeds and aims to stimulate the root system of plants rather than trying to increase yields in the conventional way by using improved seeds and fertilizers.
The idea of using less to gain more is seen as an important innovation(革新) for adapting farming to climate change and a way to increase yields at a time when human populations are growing fast but traditional plant breeding and genetically modified techniques have failed to increase yields more than a few percentage points, says Norman Uphoff, professor of international agriculture at Cornell.
The new way to grow rice needs only half as much water, and is proving most popular in water-stressed countries, says Tavseef Mairaj Shah, a Ph.D. researcher. "Rice growing in Kashmir largely depends on irrigation systems that draw water from the river Jhelum. But climate change is leading to drier winters, untimely rains, and warmer summers."
“SRI is a great technique, not just from the water-saving perspective but because it offers better yields and soil conditions. Different studies, both at the experimental level and farmer-participative level, have shown that SRl improves yields with less water.” Shah adds.
Some academic, the global seed industry and the international community once rejected reports of “fantastic” yields, accusing farmers of falsifying(篡改）records and researchers of carelessness and "non-science". But more than 600 articles, checked by SRI International at Cornell University, have shown benefits.
Uphoff says, “Attitudes are changing.The original hostility(敌意) has gone." However, the early opposition has resulted in comparatively little scientific research being conducted into SRI and a slow understanding by funders.
1. How does SRI increase the yields of rice?| A．By sowing more seeds | B．By using improved seeds. |
| C．By improving its root system. | D．By adopting special fertilizers. |
| A．needs less water | B．increases labor costs |
| C．requires better soil conditions | D．depends on genetically modified techniques |
| A．Curious | B．Skeptical. | C．Approving | D．Uninterested. |
| A．How to Increase Yields |
| B．People's Attitudes Towards SRI |
| C．An Innovative Means of Growing Rice |
| D．The Disadvantages of Conventional Plant Breeding |
【推荐3】What is the nature of the scientific attitude, the attitude of the man or woman who studies and applies physics, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering, medicine or any other science?We all know that science plays an important role in the societies in which we live.
The first of these is the application of the machines, products and systems of applied knowledge that scientists and technologists develop. Through technology, science improves the structure of society and helps man to gain increasing control over his environment.
The second aspect is the application by all members of society of the special methods of thought and action that scientists use in their work. What are these special methods of thinking and acting?
Moreover, he thinks he can improve the existing conditions and enjoys trying to solve the problems which this involves. He is a good observer, accurate, patient and objective and applies logical thought to the observations he makes.
Lastly, he is highly imaginative since he often has to look for relationships in data which are not only complex but also frequently incomplete.
These seem to be some of the ways in which a successful scientist or technologist thinks and acts.
| A．First of all, it seems that a successful scientist is full of curiosity |
| B．To begin with, he is not only critical of the work of others, but also of his own |
| C．Scientists always check statements and make experiments carefully and objectively to verify them. |
| D．Furthermore, he needs imagination if he wants to make hypotheses of how processes work and how events take place. |
| E．He knows that man is the least reliable of scientific instruments and that a number of factors tend to disturb objective investigation. |
| F．He uses the facts he observes to the fullest extent. |
| G．Many people believe, however, that our progress depends on two different aspects of science. |
