1 . Preparing Cities for Robot Cars

The possibility of self-driving robot cars has often seemed like a futurist’s dream, years away from materializing in the real world. Well, the future is apparently now. The California Department of Motor Vehicles began giving permits in April for companies to test truly self-driving cars on public roads. The state also cleared the way for companies to sell or rent out self-driving cars, and for companies to operate driverless taxi services. California, it should be noted, isn’t leading the way here. Companies have been testing their vehicles in cities across the country. It’s hard to predict when driverless cars will be everywhere on our roads. But however long it takes, the technology has the potential to change our transportation systems and our cities, for better or for worse, depending on how the transformation is regulated.

While much of the debate so far has been focused on the safety of driverless cars(and rightfully so), policymakers also should be talking about how self-driving vehicles can help reduce traffic jams, cut emissions(排放) and offer more convenient, affordable mobility options. The arrival of driverless vehicles is a chance to make sure that those vehicles are environmentally friendly and more shared.

Do we want to copy — or even worsen — the traffic of today with driverless cars? Imagine a future where most adults own individual self-driving vehicles. They tolerate long, slow journeys to and from work on packed highways because they can work, entertain themselves or sleep on the ride, which encourages urban spread. They take their driverless car to an appointment and set the empty vehicle to circle the building to avoid paying for parking. Instead of walking a few blocks to pick up a child or the dry cleaning, they send the self-driving minibus. The convenience even leads fewer people to take public transport — an unwelcome side effect researchers have already found in ride-hailing(叫车) services.

A study from the University of California at Davis suggested that replacing petrol-powered private cars worldwide with electric, self-driving and shared systems could reduce carbon emissions from transportation 80% and cut the cost of transportation infrastructure(基础设施) and operations 40% by 2050. Fewer emissions and cheaper travel sound pretty appealing. The first commercially available driverless cars will almost certainly be fielded by ride-hailing services, considering the cost of self-driving technology as well as liability and maintenance issues(责任与维护问题). But driverless car ownership could increase as the prices drop and more people become comfortable with the technology.

Policymakers should start thinking now about how to make sure the appearance of driverless vehicles doesn’t extend the worst aspects of the car-controlled transportation system we have today. The coming technological advancement presents a chance for cities and states to develop transportation systems designed to move more people, and more affordably. The car of the future is coming. We just have to plan for it.

1. According to the author, attention should be paid to how driverless cars can __________.

A．help deal with transportation-related problems

B．provide better services to customers

C．cause damage to our environment

D．make some people lose jobs

2. As for driverless cars, what is the author’s major concern?

A．Safety.	B．Side effects.
C．Affordability.	D．Management.

3. What does the underlined word ＂fielded＂ in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Employed.	B．Replaced.
C．Shared.	D．Reduced.

4. What is the author’s attitude to the future of self-driving cars?

A．Doubtful.	B．Positive.
C．Disapproving.	D．Sympathetic.

2 . People have always wanted to know what the future will look like. Then, how can we?     1       The world has changed a lot in the last 150 years, but we humans are driven by the same basic needs as we were 150 years ago, such as food, sleep, the feeling of being appreciated and loved.     2     No. In addition, generally speaking, the inventions for the last 150 years have been a human effort for freedom and communication, to be able to get in control of the time and world. Since there is still much to do in this area, this will be the focus at least for the next 150 years.

But why do we need to predict the future? Predicting the future is important for two reasons: First, we need to start to think about what kind of future we would like for ourselves and to pass on to the next generation.     3    

How about the virtual worlds? It might be in the future to experience the sand between your toes, and hear the waves, just lying in your bed at home.     4     So, even if a great invention is there for an affordable price, it’ll never take the place of the common experience if it is not real.

    5     What we’ll see in the next 50 years is the transition (过渡) from an oil-dependent society to a new society. Here there’ll be new medicine, continued exploration of space, challenges in the climate change, and new inventions that make life a little easier.

A．So what will the future look like then?

B．Will this change in the next 150 years?

C．Predicting the future can help us in many ways.

D．However, you’ll never get the feeling of being there.

E．Well, to understand the future, you must know the past.

F．However, no matter how real the experience will feel, it doesn’t happen for real.

G．Then we need to know what decisions we need to make today that will give the best result in the future.

3 . If you haven’t heard of the expression, you must have been living ______ for the past year, because “the world is big, and I owe it a visit” was all over the Internet last year.
This expression was chosen as one of 2015’s “popular cyber phrases” in China. When a year comes to an end, many institutions, including the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center, People’s Daily Online and CCTV, put together their lists of the Internet’s most used words and phrases.
Most of the selected words and phrases may seem funny and playful, but they can show lifestyle changes. The term “duoshoudang” meaning shopping addicts is a good example. The past year saw record-high online shopping sales in China, the world’s largest e-commerce market. In fact, according to Xinhua, e-commerce (电子商务) is “a new engine” for China’s economic development.
Meanwhile, although phrases like “xiasibaobaole” meaning “you scared the pants off me”may be a fun expression, they reflect the desire for attention now that social networking sites and apps such as weibo and WeChat have become part of people’s lives. “People now have a need to express emotion in bite-size, 140-character bits,” wrote The New York Times.
Here, Teens has picked some phrases from last year’s popular “cyber words” lists. Did you use them often?
The world is big, and I owe it a visit.
Seeing more of the world has become a hot topic for Chinese people in recent years. But never before had someone used it as an excuse to quit a job until Gu Shaoqiang did. The 35-year-old middle school teacher in Henan province struck a chord with (产生共鸣) the nation by posting her 10-word resignation letter: “The world is big, and I owe it a visit.”
The letter’s simplicity, honesty and bravery are what made it one of 2015’s top catchphrases (流行语), wrote Zhang Shixuan, a commentator for People’s Daily.
A pretty face can feed you, yet you choose to make a living off your talent.
Comedian Jia Ling is well known for her funny performances as well as her plump figure. So it came as a great surprise when a photo of her surfaced online, showing how slim and pretty she was in her younger years. In response, true to her humorous nature, Jia wrote this on Sina Weibo: “My story shows that I could totally have lived on my pretty face, yet I chose to rely on my talent.” Since then, the words have become popular when describing good-looking people who are still hardworking.
Other popular “cyber words” include “it’s your charm that matters”, “important things should be stressed three times”, “makers” (创客), “memeda”, a phrase to show cuteness and affection and “xiaoxianrou” referring to young and pretty men.
1. Which is the most popular network buzzword of 2015?

A．It scared me to death.

B．It’s your charm that matters.

C．Important things should be stressed three times.

D．It is not mentioned in the passage.

2. The underlined phrase“ living under a rock” is closest in meaning to ____________.

A．living far from satisfaction

B．living out your fantasy

C．living unexposed to the world

D．living up to others’ expectation

3. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．Gu Shaoqiang resigned because of financial and mental pressure.

B．If you think Jia ling is fat and humorous, you may get the wrong end of the stick.

C．Hot online words basically bring more harm than good to Chinese culture.

D．New words are a reflection of changing technology, politics, morals, and worldviews.