2 . What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物科技). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today’s leading killers, such as heart disease, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memories.

In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs. The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells and so on, in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.

It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.

3 . A night at the movies is always a good idea. But when you leave the theater and realize you just dropped $45 on a ticket and some snacks, you’ll wish you had been patient enough to wait until the movie came out on Netflix. The average movie ticket price in the United States in 2000 was $5.39; now, a ticket is over $9.

The main reason that movie tickets have gotten so expensive is because of inflation (通货膨胀). It was actually more expensive to go to the movies in the 70s than it is now. A ticket in 1978 cost $2.34. If you plug that into an inflation calculator, the same ticket would cost you $9.46 today. According to the National Association of Theater Owners, the average cost for a ticket today is $9.11.

Another reason you need to spend some of your life savings to see a movie on the big screen is that theaters are competing with streaming services that produce their own films, such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. And let’s be honest, sitting at home on your sofa or in your bed is more comfortable than sitting in a cold theater.

Because of streaming technology, theaters have to do something to bring in customers. Attractions—including alcohol, reclining seats (躺椅), surround sound, and 3-D movies are all examples of that. And those upgrades come at a price, leading to more expensive tickets.

“There’s all that extra cost, and it’s really important for theater owners and companies to make that experience as enjoyable as possible,” Patrick Corcoran, vice president of the National Association of Theatre Owners told Marketplace. “Because you’re offering a superb experience—audience expectations are for the latest and greatest technology. Audiences are willing to pay more for a particular experience.”

It's time to reconsider food. Around the globe, food problems threaten wildlife, wild places and the planet itself. Today, 7. 3 billion people consume 1. 6 times     1     the earth's natural resources can supply. By 2050, the world's population     2       (reach) 9 billion and the demand for food will double.

So how do we produce more food for more people without     3     (expand) the land and water already in use? We can't double the amount of food.       4     (fortunate), we don't have to—we just have to double the amount of food available now instead.       5     short, we must freeze the footprint of food.

In the near- term, food production is enough to provide for all, but it doesn't reach everyone who needs it. About 1. 3 billion tons of food     6     (waste) each year—four times the amount     7     (need) to feed the more than 800 million people who are     8     (hunger) .

By improving efficiency and productivity while reducing waste and shifting consumption     9     (pattern), we can produce enough food for everyone by 2050 on roughly     10     same amount of land we use now.

Cholera used to be one of the most feared     1    (disease) in the world. When young，John Snow became     2     (frustrate) because no one knew how to prevent or treat cholera. He desired     3     (destroy) cholera once and for all. He thought cholera was caused by an     4     (infect) from germs in food or water. Consequently，when an outbreak of cholera hit London in 1854，Snow began to investigate by     5    (mark) on a map the exact places where all those     6     died had lived. At last，John Snow found that the water from the Broad Street pump had been infected by waste. Through Snow's tireless efforts，the threat of cholera around the world saw    7     substantial decrease. However，cholera is still a problem. Fortunately，we now know how to prevent cholera，thanks     8    the work of John Snow. Moreover，in his use of maps and statistics，Snow     9     (transform) the way scientists study diseases. For this reason，Snow     10    (consider) the father of modern epidemiology.

7 . It happens all the time-you are standing on a bus, listening to music, when you feel someone's breath on the back of your neck. You think to yourself: Is this person getting too close to me? The answer is yes. Everyone has a sense of personal space.    1    

According to a new study, the size of the space is different for different people,    2    reported Los Angeles Times. In the study, researchers from University College of London asked volunteers to hold their hands at different distances from their face. They then gave them an electric shock on their hand while measuring how often the volunteers blinked. The more they blinked(眨眼),    3    

The results among volunteers were a little different, but the average personal space was 20 to 40 centimeters. Researchers also found that the more anxious a person was, the larger their personal space was because they were more sensitive.

Besides psychological factors,    4    . For example, a person who grew up in a country that hugs a lot has less of a problem with strangers getting too close than a person who grew up in one with more distance between people.

    5    "If you are chatting to someone in your living room, you won't have a large safety margin(界限)at all," explained researcher Gian Domenico Iannetti. "But if you are walking through a dangerous area, then that will be much bigger." Sadly, sometimes people just don't understand the idea of personal space and keep getting into yours. Whenever that happens, rather than trying to step backwards, researchers suggest that you "create a new space" by turning to wave at someone passing by or to get something out of your bag.

8 . I came to study in the United States a year ago .Yet I did not know the real American society until I was injured in a car accident because after the accident I had to see a doctor and go to court.

After the accident .my roommate called a doctor for me. I was very grateful and determined to repay him one day. But the next day, he asked me to pay him $200 for what he had done. I was astonished. He had good reason to charge me, he said. And if I wanted to collect money from the person who was responsible for my injury, I’d have to have a good lawyer. And only a good doctor can help me get a good lawyer .Now that he had helped me find a good doctor, it was only fair that I should pay him.

But every day I went to see the doctor, I had to wait about 50 minutes. He would see two or three patients at the same time, and often stop treating one so as to see another. Yet he charged me $115 each time .The final examination report consisted of ten lines, and it cost me $215.

My lawyer was all smiles the first time we met. But after that he avoided seeing me at all. He knew very well the other party was responsible for the accident, yet he hardly did anything. He simply waited to collect his money. He was so irresponsible that I decided to dismiss him. And he made me pay him $770.

Now I had to act as my own lawyer. Due to my inexperience, I told the insurance company the date I was leaving America. Knowing that, they played for time…and I left without getting a cent.

9 . Everyone would like to be a millionaire , a person with a lot of money, but can you imagine having over $30 million and only being 20 years old? Britney Spears from Kentwood, a small town in Louisiana, is only 20 years old. She is a world famous film star with not only $30 million but also a $2 million house in LA. At her young age, she can look after her family financially (经济上) all her life. This year is a big year for Britney. She is now on a 31-day tour of the US and every concert is a sell-out. That means she plays in front of a crowd of around 18,000 people every time. It’s a tiring schedule but brings her a lot. When touring, she goes to bed around 1 a.m. and then has a lie-in until 1 p.m. the next day. Her philosophy (人生观) is to take care of the body and relax but always make sure you work hard and have fun.

Spears is not pleased with only touring and selling nearly 40 million records so she decided to step into the movie business and try a bit of acting. She made an appearance in “Austin Power 3” this year and she is filming a teenage light play that will come out in March 2003. In this movie, she has a starring role.

For Britney, acting is another way to express herself and she is enthusiastic (热心的) about it all. If her movies are successful, her money in the bank is sure to grow by another few million dollars but she does it for the love, not the money, as she herself tells the reporters .

10 . Everybody knows Charlie Chaplin, a world-famous funny actor. People _______ have laughed at Charlie Chaplin's films _______ tears run down their faces. From his very first _______ they know what will happen. The little man is always with black moustache, wide-open eyes, round black hat and _______ too large for his feet. He’ll _______ through snow, and fall from windows. He’ll fight men who are twice his _______ or fall in love with women, who _______ notice him and try to hug(拥抱) them.

The poor man that Charlie Chaplin _______ in dozens of films makes all kinds of stupid mistakes. He is always in _______, but he never ________.He dreams of becoming a great man.

Even people who ________ understand English can ________ Chaplin's films, because they are mostly ________.It isn't what he ________ that makes people laugh. His comedy(喜剧) doesn't depend on words. It depends on little ________ which mean the ________ thing to people all over the world.

Chaplin raises his thick eyebrows or rolls his eyes. He hides behind a fat lady or under a table to escape from his ________. He dresses well and pretends to be a ________ and important man. It is all so hopeless and ________ that he makes us laugh. This is the ________ of Chaplin's huge success.