Welcome to your future life!
You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. Your face is firm and young-looking. In 2035, medical technology is better than ever. Many people could live to be 150, so at 40, you’re not old at all. And your parents just had an anti-aging (抗衰老的) treatment. Now, all three of you look the same age!
You say to your shirt, “Turn red.” It changes from blue to red. In 2035, “smart clothes” contain particles (粒子) much smaller than the cells in your body. The particles can be programmed to change clothes’ color or pattern.
You walk into the kitchen. You pick up the milk, but a voice says, “You shouldn’t drink that!” Your fridge has read the chip (芯片) that contains information about the milk, and it knows the milk is old. In 2035, every article of food in the grocery store has such a chip.
It’s time to go to work. In 2035, cars drive themselves. Just tell your “smart car” where to go. On the way, you can call a friend using your jacket sleeve. Such “smart technology” is all around you.
So will all these things come true? “For new technology to succeed,” says scientist Andrew Zolli, “it has to be so much better that it replaces what we have already.” The Internet is one example. What will be the next?
1. We can learn from the text that in the future ________.| A．people will never get old |
| B．everyone will look the same |
| C．red will be the most popular color |
| D．clothes will be able to change their pattern |
| A．Milk will be harmful to health. |
| B．More drinks will be available for sale. |
| C．Food in the grocery store will carry electronic information. |
| D．Milk in the grocery store will stay fresh much longer. |
| A．Nothing can replace the Internet. |
| B．Fridges will know what people need. |
| C．Jacket sleeves can be used as a guide. |
| D．Cars will be able to drive automatically. |
| A．Food and clothing in 2035. |
| B．Future technology in everyday life. |
| C．Medical treatments of the future |
| D．The reason for the success of new technology. |
相似题推荐
What will the home of the future look like? A team of architects in Hong Kong say that city homes will be tiny, as populations continue to grow and space becomes more expensive.
They have designed “space flats” with just 30 square meters in size as the houses in the following years. These flats have several small rooms: a living room, a bathroom and a bedroom, but everything is carefully planned to make good use of the limited space.
The living room is the main room of the flat. It can be used as an office, a kitchen or even a second bedroom. There is a sofa that can be changed into a bed. The dining table can be changed into a computer desk. And, if not needed, both the sofa-bed and the table can be folded and put away. There is a flat-screen TV, which can also serve as a computer monitor. In one corner of the room, a small cooker, a microwave oven and a mini-refrigerator are hidden out of sight. The other rooms are small but practical. The bathroom contains a toilet and a shower. The double bed in the bedroom can also be transformed into a sofa, if required.
“Space flats” are wonderful and they are now being tested in a building in Hong Kong. It is believed that “space flats” will be improved to be our future homes.
1. According to the architects, why will city homes be tiny?(no more than 10 words)2. How many rooms does a “space flat” have?(no more than 1 word)
3. How can we deal with the sofa-bed and the table if we don’t need them?(no more than 8 words)
4. According to the passage, list 3 kinds of kitchen equipment in the flat.(no more than 10 words)
5. What do you think of the “space flats”? Give your reasons.(no more than 20 words)
【推荐2】If you had to guess which direction Apple would be headed in 2019, what might you say? The company’s iPhone business has been stricken because of an economic slowdown and a maturing smartphone market. It’s clear Apple needs to adapt to face new realities.
Some might say the obvious answer is to lower the prices on the iPhone. Others want it to expand its services beyond Apple devices to Android and Windows.
But what’s more likely to happen is this: iPhones will get even more expensive. The evidence for this is already starting to appear. A new report from The Wall Street Journal suggests Apple is going to give its entire 2020 iPhone line OLED screens(有机发光二极管屏幕)—the same very expensive tech currently only found in the iPhone X and XS.
This may seem surprising, but it’s all of a piece with Apple’s strategy: Make high profit, desirable tech, and get the rewards of creating a closed ecosystem.
So Apple wants to focus on the high-end in order to satisfy choosy customers, while also recognizing that in a mature market, people will replace smartphones less often. This means high-profit devices will be key to maintaining a healthy profit, which helps explain the shift to an all-OLED lineup. That shift also allows for more basic design updates, like curved screens or edges.
It is important to note, too, that even though iPhone sales are down, sales for the Apple Watch and iPad are up. For the future, Apple will continue to put more emphasis on those categories. And looking even further out, it is almost certain that Apple will enter new sectors.
Apple has made some mistake policies in recent years. But the company is not down and out. Far from it: By focusing on high-end, high-profit tech, plus services, all while keeping an eye to the future, Apple will likely keep its dominant position for many years to come.
1. What can we know about OLED screens?| A．They haven’t been used by Apple. | B．They will make iPhones expensive. |
| C．They will let Apple save cost. | D．They have been used in computers. |
| A．It’s not fully mature. | B．It needs more smartphones. |
| C．It needs many design updates. | D．Its customers are hard to be satisfied. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Terrible. | C．Concerning. | D．Promising. |
| A．IPhones Will Be More Expensive | B．The Advantages Apples Will Have |
| C．IPhones Will Work Harder | D．Apple Is Facing Difficulty |
【推荐3】Several recent studies examined how machine automation and artificial intelligence (AI) will change the future of work.
Some people predict these technologies could replace up to 30 percent of workers worldwide by 2030. The possibility of being replaced will greatly increase for workers with less education, said Price Waterhouse Coopers, an international company providing financial and tax services. It estimated(估计) that in Britain, up to 46 percent of workers without a college degree could be in danger because of automation. This would drop to about 12 percent for workers with undergraduate degrees or higher.
“New smart machines have the hidden power to replace our minds and to move around freely in the world,” the study said. It added that the greatest job replacement is expected to come in the areas of transportation, storage, manufacturing (制造业)and retail（零售）.
The Rand Corporation recently published its own report on the future effects of automation and AI on jobs and the workplace. Osonde Osoba was a co-author of the report. He noticed that fears over machines taking jobs from humans goes back centuries. He agrees there will be major job disruptions(混乱) because of AI and automation, especially for lower skilled workers. But he believes the future problems have been overestimated(高估) without historical evidence to support the predictions. “It’s not so much that the jobs are getting replaced, but it’s more like tasks are getting replaced and jobs are reconfiguring(重新装备) over time to account for that automation.” He added that it will be very difficult for companies to completely automate most jobs, because they request a worker to perform many different duties and to respond to unexpected situations.
“If you are thinking about detailed things an individual(个人) might do to prepare themselves, I guess being more adaptable and being able to reeducate yourself to fit into a different job.” Osonde Osoba suggests.
1. According to the whole passage, _________are most likely to lose their job?| A．scientists in laboratories | B．teachers in colleges and universities |
| C．milkmen in milk companies | D．officers in governments |
| A．Companies have completely automated most jobs for saving cost. |
| B．Humans have feared to be replaced by AI and automation. |
| C．The job replacement has come in transportation and retail. |
| D．People with high degrees get higher danger of losing jobs than those with no college degree. |
| A．Future workers: what to do to keep the job. |
| B．Job replacement: who is to blame. |
| C．Automation and AI: how to replace the future job. |
| D．New studies: why the future job is replaced. |
【推荐1】Nowadays, social media is flooded with stranger and stranger food and wellness trends. One of them may well be shared images of black ice cream with activated charcoal (活性炭) in it. Besides, you’ll find activated charcoal in pizza crusts, burger buns, cold-pressed juices and cocktails. At your local drugstore, you’ll see it in cleansers, shampoos and toothpaste.
The charcoal in activated charcoal is created by burning carbon-rich materials such as wood, bamboo, coconut shells and olive pits, transforming them into a concentrated black substance. Then the charcoal is “activated” by steaming it at high temperatures, which opens up its carbon structure and makes it have many small holes that can stick unpleasant substances (dirt, oil, bacteria) on its surface.
“There’s no scientific evidence for the ‘detox’ action—the process of removing harmful substances from one’s body, the claimed health benefits of such diets. It doesn’t hurt you, but it doesn’t have the claimed effect”, says registered dietitian Abby Langer. “Over the last several years, Japanese and Korean beauty rituals have entered the North American cosmetic market. Activated charcoal has long been used in those countries as a purifying ingredient”, says Dr. Dennis Orgill, medical director at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “There is no clinical evidence for the effectiveness of activated charcoal as a beauty ingredient. Likewise, there is no good evidence showing that using charcoal will make your breath fresher or teeth whiter.” From my perspective, the reason for its recent popularity is that marketers know we’re suckers for anything novel. The Canadian Dental Association wouldn’t recommend using charcoal products because they have no demonstrated health benefits, and they may even be too rough and damaging to your enamel (牙釉质). If you’re seeking brighter skin, and a whiter smile, drinking plenty of water every day and eating high-fibre foods is a better way to go.
1. What do we know about activated charcoal?| A．It serves well as a health ingredient. | B．It is widely criticized in social media. |
| C．It is added to food and other products. | D．It exists in nature and can be exploited directly. |
| A．Activated charcoal has the “detox” action it promises. |
| B．Evidence of the health and beauty functions hasn’t been found. |
| C．North Americans have created and used activated charcoal for long. |
| D．Japanese and Korean beauty rituals have won high praise in North America. |
| A．We’d like to follow the tradition. | B．We are easily persuaded by others. |
| C．We’d believe in the medical experts. | D．We are extremely crazy about new things. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Indifferent. | D．Uncertain. |
【推荐2】Should We Fear Maths?
How good are you at maths? Some people love the challenge of algebra (代数) or enjoy working out number puzzles. But many dread the moment when they have to deal with numbers and figures and feel a real sense of worry and confusion. It can seem depressing (令人沮丧的), but this maths anxiety is perfectly normal, and you’re definitely not alone. And anyway, our worries and fears don’t necessarily reflect our ability.
Research has found that maths teachers who are nervous about teaching the subject can pass on their anxiety to the pupils, and girls may be more likely to be affected. The Programme for International Student Assessment found around 31% of 15- and 16-year-olds across 34 countries said they got very nervous while doing maths problems, 33% said they got tense while doing maths homework, and nearly 60% said they worried maths classes would be difficult.
Psychologists (心理学家) have been trying to work out why mental arithmetic (心算) can bring us out in a sweat. That seed of fear may come from many sources, but some suggest that expressing your fears can loosen their hold on you, and encourage children to see a maths test as a challenge, not a threat. In fact, we need to think positively about maths and give it a second chance.
1. What do we know about maths from paragraph 1?| A．It is less useful in our daily life. | B．It is a subject that all of us love it. |
| C．The anxiety about it depresses many people. | D．The worries about it perfectly reflect our ability. |
| A．Like. | B．Fear. | C．Overcome. | D．Challenge. |
| A．By listing numbers. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By explaining definitions. |
| A．Different. | B．Negative. | C．Opposite. | D．Positive. |
【推荐3】Churchill, Manitoba is a small town. The northern winds roll through it from Canada's Hudson Bay. It might be just another point on the map if not for its seasonal settlers.
It happens like clockwork every fall that hundreds of polar bears make their way through the town to the freezing bay where they hunt for seals after the ice packs enough to support their weight. The animals have been connected with Churchill since at least 1619. That's when Norwegian explorer Jens Munk and his sailors recorded making a meal of one bear while they wintered in the area. “It was of good taste and did not disagree with us. ”That's what Munk wrote in his journal.
Over the years, the animals' coming has earned the town the name of“Polar Bear Capital of the World. ”Today, Churchill's bear population goes beyond its human population. There used to be about 7, 000 residents but now only 813 living there. There was no such thing as an organized tour group to see the bears until 1980. The town might have been in terrible financial hardships. But the growing bear tourism industry helped.
Today, some 10, 000 tourists come to the town to see polar bears for six weeks in autumn every year. But the reasons why they come are different from before. Everyone was happier and they had such a good time seeing polar bears. Now things have changed because the word is out that this Western Hudson Bay population of bears, Churchill Bears, are going to be the first population of polar bears to die out. So when the tourists come up, they all have a little bit of a lump in their throats（如鲠在喉）because they're looking at a beautiful bear, but they're also looking at a dying-out bear, which makes the whole attitude toward the bears different. Unfortunately, that's becoming the major part of the whole attraction of the tours as well. Come and see the bears before it's too late.
1. What can we learn about Churchill polar bears from the text？| A．They have eaten up the seals in the Hudson Bay. |
| B．They come to Churchill at the same time every year. |
| C．They move to Churchill to escape the northern winds. |
| D．They are so dangerous that most natives left their home. |
| A．They fed many polar bears. | B．Polar bears were dangerous. |
| C．They hunted a bear for food. | D．They found some seals in the bay. |
| A．They make many people settle down. | B．They attract many hunters to come here. |
| C．They bring much tourist income. | D．They supply food to locals. |
| A．To say good-bye to Churchill Bears. | B．To help polar bears become happier. |
| C．To take photos with Churchill Bears. | D．To stop polar bears going to the town. |
