2 . Morning tea is a family tradition. It is nothing less than an art form, with the ______ laid down by my late grandmother. Her ______ had been formed during her childhood years ______ in the border state of Punjab, the land of five rivers, the bread basket of India. After her marriage, she eventually ______ to Mumbai, located on the western coast of the country. She lived here for nearly 70 years, bringing with her the ______ of home.

Each morning started with a cup of tea boiled in a kettle. Her favorite was a(n) ______ of fine black Assam loose leaf tea, to which a small amount of CTC tea was ______ for color and flavor. This mix would be ______ without a little crushed cardamom(小豆蔻).

Accompanying the tea was milk, ______ to boil. Both were served in stainless steel pots in quilted(有夹层的)covers, keeping them ______. The final touch was her cup, prewashed in boiling water, so she could ______ a steaming cup of tea.

Adding a spoonful of ______ sugar and a spot of milk to the beverage, she would drink it with her biscuits. Occasionally it would be sweet grape biscuits dipped in the tea, but with age, she ______ moved on to digestive biscuits packed with fiber. Depending on the ______, her tea would be ______. On hot days, she would drink iced tea, and on cool windy days, she’d mix up the spices.

No one can foretell the future of technology exactly, because no one can see the future. However, there are reasonable     1     (argue) based on the advances and trends in technology in the past. For example, it’s reasonable to predict that computers will continue to become more powerful, numerous and cheaper. Areas with huge potential,     2     are just beginning to be made use of today, like biotechnology, will continue to produce fruit.

Technology in general will probably continue to improve,     3     (create) both promises and risks. In     4     area of computers, someone might interact with hundreds of embedded microchips (嵌入式微芯片) throughout the home and the office. In the future, it will be many thousands.     5     some have called “ubiquitous computing” —— computers everywhere helping us with everything —— will be caused by increasing bandwidth and decreasing costs. Some viewers, especially Bill Gates, believe the next few decades     6     (characterize) by long-awaited revolutions in robotic technology. Other futurists see trends in automation technology leading to desktop factories that enable users     7     (make) objects from a host of simple     8     (origin) parts.

Apart from above areas, there are dozens if not hundreds of areas that will continue to advance technologically. One thing is     9     sure: the future will have better technology than the past did. But will we put     10     to better use? Only time and effort will tell.

6 . Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it seems that TV channels will have vanished by 2050. Instead, people will choose a programme from a “menu” and a computer will send the programme directly to the television. By 2050, music, films, programmes, newspapers and books will come to us in the similar way.

In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages of water. Some scientist predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.

In the future, cars will run on new, clean fuels (燃料) and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

Some big companies now prefer to use robots that do not ask for pay rises or go on strike, and work 24 hours a day. They are also easy to control. And they never argue with people. They can be easily used in a variety of places — factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

Scientists will have discovered how to control genes (基因). Scientists have already produced clones (克隆) of animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look and how they behave. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?

7 . I log onto a computer at the doctor’s office to say I have arrived and then wait until a voice calls me into the examination room. There, a robotic nurse________ me onto the scales and then takes my blood pressure. Some time later, in steps the doctor, who is also a robot. He notes down my ________and gives me a prescription. I pay for my ________ using a credit card and return home without having met another human being. This is my nightmarish (噩梦般的) vision of the future, which hasn’t happened ________ yet.

I should say I really do like many aspects of ________. I am a big fan of air conditioning in summer and heaters in winter. But I am writing this because I don’t want machines to________.

When I call my dentist’s office and actually get a human being on the line, I am ________. And when I see the introduction of yet more self-service checkout station sat the grocery store, I feel like ________, “When it comes to cashiers, make mine a(n) ________, please!”

After all, human cashiers sometimes ________ you a store coupon (优惠券) for items you are buying. Even more than that, real-life cashiers often take an interest in particularly cute children, which can ________ young mothers’ day. A cashier may also show compassion for an elderly person ________ to get that last penny out of his purse.

Machines can be ________ and cost-effective and they often get the job done just fine._______ they lack an element so important to everyday life.

Call it the spirit, the soul or the heart. It is ________ no machine will ever have. It is human being that encourages us to smile at others, which may be what they need at that moment.