It’s March, 2050. Frank and Mary Smith wake up in their comfortable house in the morning and switch on the bedroom computer to get the latest news. They used to read the Times, but changed to electronic newspapers many years ago.
There is the usual news about space: another space flight has returned from Mars and scientists have discovered a new planet. Then they turn to business news: the US dollar has risen greatly in Shanghai, one of the world’s leading business centers. Mary tells the computer to buy 5,000 dollars, and there is a quick response that it has been done.
As they watch the screen, Mary orders one of the household robots to make coffee for them. Frank disappears into the study to join a video conference with his partners around the world. He is a computer engineer, working for several companies. This is his third job: he used to be in marketing and then television.
Mary has a quick look at the shopping channels—the usual selection of electric cars, household robots and cheap travel offers—before picking up the video phone to talk to her assistant. She also has a job and she is doing medical research. Both she and Frank used to have an office desk in London, but in 2014 they decided to move to the seaside and work from home.
Frank and Mary have one daughter, Louise, who also has her own workstation at home. She goes to school only one day a week, mainly to play with other students. Classrooms disappeared in 2030 because there was no longer any need for them: communications systems have made it much easier to learn at home.
Louise, now thirteen, is studying Chinese at present, which has become a world language as important as English. Louise has many Chinese friends. They communicate by computer.
According to the family doctor, Louise will live to at least 130. Her wish is to work for a few decades (十年) and then spend her time on music and painting.
1. Why do Frank and Mary switch on the bedroom computer in the morning?_________________________________________________________________________
2. Who makes coffee for Mary and Frank?
_________________________________________________________________________
3. How does Frank work with others from home?
_________________________________________________________________________
4. What are the two world languages in 2050?
_________________________________________________________________________
5. What do you think of Louise’s life in 2050?
_________________________________________________________________________
相似题推荐
【推荐1】What will our life be like in 100 years? No one can truly know the answer, but we are sure that it will be very different from the life today.
My brother David makes some predictions. Here are some of his ideas.
First, people will have less work to do.
People will spend most of their time playing sports and traveling. So people will become stronger and healthier, and they will live longer as well.
Second, computers will control (控制) the cars and people don’t need to drive. So there will be fewer and fewer traffic accidents (交通事故).
Planes will be very popular, and most people would like to take a plane for their trips. As for robots, they’ll be very popular with human beings. Every family will have a robot. Robots will do dangerous and heavy work for people.
Third, people will be able to live in the sea, on the moon or on other planets. The earth won’t be crowded or noisy any more. So there will be much space for people to plant trees. There will be less pollution.
Finally, water shortage (短缺) will become one of the most serious problems. If we don’t save water now, people will start wars for water in 100 years.
1. What will people spend most of their time doing in the future?2. How will most people go traveling?
3. Why will robots be very popular with people?
4. Where will people live in 100 years?
5. What will happen if we don’t save water now?
We all know the strange feeling of watching the time change on a clock. You never really see it change because the hands move so slowly. But, of course, the time is changing all the time.
Human faces, like clock faces, are also changing. And like clocks, the changes take place too slowly to be noticed. Over many thousands of years, though, huge changes are possible. For example, the human brain is three times as large as it was thousands of years ago. Our faces became fatter, and began to think more.
If our heads became larger in the past, how will things change in the future? Unlike the changes of a clock face, the changes in human faces are very difficult to predict(预测). One of the main reasons for this is the way in which we can now control parts of nature. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, all changes were natural, but now we can actively choose paths for our own evolution(进化).
A US artist named Nickolay Lamm has recently offered an idea. It is what human faces may one day look like. The designs, inspired（受启发)by his conversations with the scientist Alan, show humans with larger heads and eyes. In particular(特别的), Lamm predicts the forehead may be larger because of increasing usage of the brain.
Just a few hundred years ago, most humans were working in the fields. However, nowadays more and more people receive education. These are just predictions, and no one can be sure how human beings will become in the future. But with such huge changes in our environments, it seems likely(很可能)that we will not look the same in the future.
Changes to human | |
Similarity between the changes to the clocks and human faces | ※ They both keep ※ The changes are too ※ Over the time, it is |
Examples of human faces changes in the | ※ The human brain has become lager since thousands of years ago. ※ Human faces became |
What human faces may look like in the fixture | ※ It is ※ A US artist, Lamn, shows humans with ※ He predicts that because humans |
Conclusion | ※ How human beings will become is in our environment are likely to make humans look very different. |
【推荐3】I’m sixteen now and I’m studying in a high school. I’m going to finish high school in two years, and then I’m going to college for years. I’m going to study languages because after college I’m going to work as a language teacher. While at college, I’m also going to take computer lessons because I’m going to use the computer in my work. Also, I’m going to play sports to keep healthy.
I really enjoy travelling, so before starting to work, I’m going to travel. To get the money to travel, I’m going to get a part-time Job. I’m going to save my money for six months, and then I’m going to visit Egypt. I’m going to see the pyramids (金字塔) and ride a camel (骆驼). Of course, I’m going to take lots of photos during my trip so that I can remember it.
I’m going to concentrate on (全神贯注于) my studies and my job. I’m not going to get married (结婚) until I’m a little older.
根据短文内容，回答下列问题。
1. When is the writer going to finish high school?
2. What is the writer going to be after he finishes college?
3. What is the writer going to do to keep healthy?
4. What does the writer enjoy?
5. Where is the writer going to visit?
The famous artist Wen Tong was considered as a master during the Song Dynasty. He was born in 1018 and died in 1079. He was famous for his paintings of bamboo. No one else in all of China could draw bamboo like Wen Tong could.
Why was he so good at drawing bamboo? Well, he loved bamboo! He planted only bamboo in his garden. He didn’t just grow bamboo. He also studied bamboo to see how it moved and how it grew in different weather.
One day in spring, a storm moved into the village. Everyone rushed home to get inside. But Wen Tong rushed outside to his bamboo garden. He wanted to see what water on bamboo leaves looked like.
One hot day in summer, most people were inside their homes, trying to stay cool. But Wen Tong was outside in his bamboo garden. He wanted to see the bamboo clearly in the strong sunlight.
One day in fall, it was so windy that some people fell over when they stepped outside. But Wen Tong went outside to his bamboo garden. He wanted to see the bamboo leaves swaying in the wind.
One day in winter, it started to snow. All the other villagers were inside their homes, staying warm. But of course, Wen Tong was outside in his bamboo garden. He wanted to see the snow on the bamboo.
After many days just like these, he knew what bamboo looked like in all seasons, in all weather, and at all ages.
So when it was time to paint, he remembered everything he had seen. One of his friends said, “When Wen Tong draws bamboo, he has its image in his mind.”
1. When was Wen Gong born in?2. Where did he grow bamboo?
3. Why was he good at drawing bamboo?
4. How many seasons did he study bamboo in?
5. What’s the title of this passage?
【推荐2】The Value of Labor
Can you cook? If so, what are your special dishes?
For middle and primary school students, being able to cook will become a must in the near future. They will also need to learn how to plant vegetables, repair home electric products, raise animals at home according to the new curriculum standard（课程标准）for labor（劳动）education.
Starting from this autumn term, students in primary and middle schools need to take courses on labor skills at least once a week. The labor courses have three types of labor tasks. The first type is everyday chores. It includes cleaning, organizing, cooking, and using or repairing home electric products. The second type is productive labor. It includes making traditional handicrafts（手工艺）, and using new technologies such as 3D printing and laser（激光）cutting. The third type is service work. It includes volunteer work in the communities.
The new curriculum also calls for the build of a labor week every school year. Schools should arrange（安排）a week of off-campus activities. The labor education must be strengthened（加强）to help students develop an interest in labor and form a strong social responsibility（责任）.
Recently, internet users have discussed the changes online. Many welcome such courses and say it is necessary to teach young students basic life skills. Some have regretted not learning such skills during their own school days.
Liu Fang, a mother of 6-year-old twins in Beijing, is a strong supporter of labor education. For the past year, she has trained her daughters to do house chores and make simple dishes for the family.
“The main idea is to let them share responsibilities as family members and become independent as early as they can.” said Liu, “Through doing housework, their hand-eye coordination（协调）, time management and organization skills can be trained and it’s also good to help them relax. My twins have fun in doing chores and are more independent.”
阅读短文，回答以下各小题。
1. How often do the students need to take labor courses in a term?
2. What does the third type of labor courses include?
3. What is labor education trying to help students do?
4. What do you think of having labor courses? Why?
One Sunday, Nicholas, a teenager, went skiing (滑雪). In the early afternoon, when he was planning to go home, a snowstorm swept into (横扫) the area. Unable to see far, he was lost, all alone! He didn’t have food, water or a phone.
Nicholas had no idea where he was. He tried not to fear. He thought about all the survival (生存) shows he had watched on TV. It was time to put the tips he had learned to use.
The first thing he did was to look for a place to keep himself from the freezing wind and snow. If he didn’t, his body temperature would get very low, which could quickly kill him. Using his ski boards, snow and branches (树枝), Nicholas built a snow cave (洞穴) to keep warm.
That evening, Nicholas was really hungry. He ate snow and drank water from a nearby river so that his body wouldn’t lose too much water.
The next day, Nicholas went out to look for help, but he couldn’t find anyone. The third day, Nicholas went out again. Luckily, a volunteer searcher found him and saved him.
If Nicholas had not seen that TV show, he might not have survived this snowstorm. He had often watched Bear Grylls’ survival show Man vs. Wild. That was where he learned the tips and saved himself. When Bear heard about Nicholas’ story, he was moved. He knew it was very hard for Nicholas to stay alive, but Nicholas did it.
One Sunday, Nicholas went skiing and got lost because of a |
