1 . In 1901, H. G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon. When the explorers landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities. They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met. In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise. “Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”
H. G. Wells could only imagine travel to the moon. In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.
Underground systems are already in place. Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The “Chunnel”, a tunnel (隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.
But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities”. The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome (太阳能穹顶) would cover the whole city.
Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space. The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness, H. G. Wells’ “moon people” would agree. Would you?
1. What surprised the explorers in H G Wells’ story ?| A．The moon people’s unique language. |
| B．The moon people’s friendliness. |
| C．The moon people’s space technology. |
| D．The moon people’s underground cities. |
| A．Traveling to outer space. |
| B．Meeting the “moon people” again. |
| C．Using the earth’s inner space |
| D．Discovering the moon’s inner space. |
| A．Tunnels, gardens, offices. |
| B．Gardens, car parks, power stations. |
| C．Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas. |
| D．Offices, shopping areas, power stations. |
| A．Enjoy living underground | B．Building down, not up |
| C．Alice Cities—cities of the future | D．Space travel with H. G. Wells |
2 . Given how valuable intelligence and automation are, we will continue to improve our technology if we are at all able to. At a certain point, we will build machines that are smarter than we are. Once we have machines that are smarter than we are, they will begin to improve themselves. The concern is really that we will build machines that are much more competent than we are. And the slightest divergence (分歧) between their goals and our own could destroy us.
Just think about how we relate to ants. We don’t hate them. We don’t go out of our way to harm them. In fact, sometimes we take pains not to harm them. We step over them on the sidewalk. But whenever their presence seriously conflicts with one of our goals, we will kill them without hesitation. The concern is that we will one day build machines that, whether they’re conscious or not, could treat us with similar disregard.
The bare fact is that we will continue to improve our intelligent machines. We have problems that we desperately need to solve. So we will do this, if we can. The train is already out of the station, and there’s no brake to pull. If we build machines that are more intelligent than we are, they will very likely develop in ways that we can’t imagine, and transcend us in ways that we can’t imagine.
So imagine we hit upon a design of super intelligent AI that has no safety concerns. This machine would be the perfect labor-saving device. It can design the machine that can build the machine which can do any physical work, powered by sunlight, more or less for the cost of raw materials. So we’re talking bout the end of human labour. We’re also talking about the end of most intellectual work. So what would apes like ourselves do in these circumstances?
But the moment we admit that information processing is the source of intelligence, we have to admit that we are in the process of building some sort of god. Now would be a good time to make sure it’s a god we can live with.
1. Why does the author mention ants in Paragraph 2?| A．To compare intelligent machines to ants. |
| B．To show improved machines will get away from us. |
| C．To stress the presence of machines does conflict with our goals. |
| D．To explain future intelligent machines could treat us without mercy |
| A．Disable. | B．Inspire. | C．Disappoint. | D．Outpace. |
| A．By making comparisons. |
| B．By giving assumptions. |
| C．By showing valid evidence. |
| D．By analyzing statistics |
| A．Human beings will no doubt be destroyed by AI in the future |
| B．Super intelligent AI will put an end to human labour eventually. |
| C．We should keep the development of AI within humans’ control. |
| D．Human beings should stop the development of super intelligent AL. |
3 . “The past is a different country; they do things differently there," L.P. Hartley wrote in one of his best-known novels, The Go-Between. To the British novelist, the past was irrelevant. And one of my Chinese students once told me "I have no interest in the past. I'm only interested in the present and the future." I have to disagree. The "past" is a very interesting country, and the more we know about it, the more we will be able to understand the present and thus, prepare ourselves for the future.
An ideal place, as I see it, that can allow us to look back on the past is the museum. I prefer to visit museums as if you are sitting in the same room with some of the greatest men in history. While no museums can claim to offer a complete picture of human history, the lessons we can learn from the events and wonders of the past are of great value.
Thanks to modern technology, museums are being transformed from places of looking and learning to spaces of participation and interaction. A large number of immersive (沉浸式) multi-media displays, which allow visitors to engage with its exhibits during their visit, play a big part at the Shanghai Natural History Museum.
The rise in technology has also made museums more accessible than ever. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, traditional museums have started to think outside of the box in order to create new ways for visitors to experience their collections online. It is definitely good news for those who are fascinated by museums but are struggling to actually go there. However, you shouldn't expect to get the same experience that an in-person visit would provide, at least, that is, for now.
International Museum Day is observed on May 18 every year. This is a quick reminder that you should always spare some time to visit museums and appreciate the "must-see 'em" things that are an important part of the cultural heritage of humankind.
1. What does the writer think of “the past”?| A．Different. | B．Significant. | C．Unrelated. | D．Understandable. |
| A．It’s where to learn and reflect. |
| B．It’s where to learn about previous events. |
| C．It’s where to meet with great minds. |
| D．It’s where to appreciate ancient wonders. |
| A．Offering online exhibits. | B．Allowing more in-person visits. |
| C．Adding multi-media displays. | D．Showing a complete picture of history. |
| A．Technology Revives Museums | B．Observe International Museum Day |
| C．Museums Are “Must-see 'ems” | D．Visit Museums In-person or Online |
4 . After astronaut Rusty Schweickart looked down at the Earth from space for the first time, he described a sense of awe that has become common to almost every space traveler since. “You realize that on that little blue and white thing there is everything that means anything to you, all history and music and poetry and art and death and birth and love, all of it on that little spot out there you can cover with your thumb.” No matter what country you’re from, you return from space with a feeling that our home is tiny, fragile, and something we need to protect.
Anyone who reads the new book Growth by one of my favorite thinkers will come with similar urgency. The author, Czech-Canadian profe Vaclav Smil, approaches things from a scientist’s point of view, but he reaches the same conclusion: The Earth is fragile and “before it is too late, we should launch the most fundamental task of making any future growth consistent with the long-term preservation of our planet.”
Before I get into how Smil came to this conclusion, I should warn you. Although Growth is a brilliant combination of everything we can learn from patterns of growth in the natural and human-made world, it’s not for everyone. Long sections read like a textbook or an engineering guidebook. And it has 99 pages of references!
The book covers everything from agriculture to steel production to smartphone use. Smil’s goal is to show that no matter what field you’re talking about, eventually you hit growth limits. As Smil writes, “My aim is to explain varieties of growth in evolutionary and historical perspectives and to appreciate both the accomplishments and the limits of growth in modern ivilization…”
I don’t agree with all of his analysis. In particular, I'm more optimistic than he is about the degree to which today’s renewable energy technologies carl be used, and the pace at which scientists and engineers will develop new clean sources. In my view, Smil underestimates our accelerating ability to model the physical world using digital technologies equipped with artificial intelligence.
But I've always felt that Smil’s great strength isn’t predicting the future, but documenting the past. There’s great value in that—you can’t see what’s coming next if you don’t understand what’s come before. Nobody sees the big picture with as wide an aperture(光圈孔径) as Vaclav Smil.
1. What does the underlined phrase “similar urgency” refer to in paragraph 2?| A．To protect our home is difficult. |
| B．It’s too late to protect the Earth. |
| C．The Earth means everything to us. |
| D．We need to protect the fragile Earth. |
| A．Causal. | B．Academic. |
| C．Humorous. | D．Straightforward. |
| A．Anxious. | B．Objective. |
| C．Optimistic. | D．Pessimistic. |
| A．Smil intends to document the history. |
| B．Smil sees the world from a great angle. |
| C．Smil shows great concern for the future. |
| D．Smil describes a promising future for us. |
There is no doubt that humankind dreams of making Mars our second home. However, sending people there will require all the skills, courage and
As early as the 1980s, scientists were building Biosphere 2 in the Arizona desert. It consisted of a closed space
For now, human settlement of Mars is still
6 . Japan's biggest airline is betting that the future of travel isn't traveling at all. For the last month, a married couple has been interacting with a robot—called an Avatar—that's controlled by their daughter hundreds of miles away. Made by ANA Holdings Inc., it looks like a vacuum cleaner with an iPad attached. But the screen displays the daughter's face as they chat, and its wheels let her move about the house as though she's really there.
“Virtual travel” is nothing new,of course.Storytellers, travel writers and artists have been stimulating the senses of armchair tourists for centuries. It's only in recent decades that frequent, safe travel has become available to the non- wealthy.
Yet even as the world's middle classes climb out of the armchair and into economy-class seat, there are signs of a post-travel society emerging. Concerns about environmental sustainability cause loss to airlines which release much carbon. And the aging of abundant societies is both restricting physical travel and creating demand for alternative ways to experience the world. For the travel industry, virtual reality offers an attractive response to these trends.
Of course, new technologies encourage far-out claims. ANA doesn't plan to start selling Avatars until next year. Profits, too, will probably be difficult to make: By one estimate, the global market for this kind of technology will be worth only about $300 million by 2023. By contrast, ANA's traditional travel business brought in more than $19 billion last year.
But if the business value for virtual vacations is still weak, the market for technologies that bridge physical distances between families and coworkers seems likely to only expand. ANA's robots may not replace its airplanes any time soon, but they ll almost certainly be a part of travel's high-tech future.
1. Why does the author use the example of a couple interacting with a robot?| A．To show the Japanese are crazy about travel. |
| B．To indicate virtual travel begins to enter people's real life. |
| C．To show the couple are very enthusiastic over robots. |
| D．To express the close relationship between the couple and their daughter. |
| A．Storytellers, travel writers and artists have been using it for centuries. |
| B．Frequent and safe travel has become available to the ordinary people. |
| C．People are worried about the air pollution caused by airlines. |
| D．More and more people lose interest in travel. |
| A．They will be put on the market soon. |
| B．They will bring ANA a lot of money, |
| C．They will replace ANA's airplanes soon. |
| D．They are almost unavoidable in travel's future. |
| A．Your Next Travel May Be Virtual |
| B．Easy Travel in the Future |
| C．Virtual Travel Benefits |
| D．Air Travel Disappearing |
7 . According to a report by the United Nations，54 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas and it predicts that by 2050，this figure will have increased to around 70 percent.But as more and more people migrate from the countryside to the city to get better opportunities，they can end up with nowhere to live.
This is true in places such as Rio de Janeiro，where migrants can’t rent or buy a home，and they end up building their own communities and houses on unoccupied land.These are called shanty towns—poor communities where the houses are built out of cheap materials—and often don’t have any electricity or water supply.
These are，of course，not the megacities(大城市)of the future we want to see. Some serious urban planning is needed to make our cities of the future good，safe and modern places to live in. This involves improving the infrastructure(基础设施)，the housing conditions and also the opportunities for education and employment.
Something urban planners are looking at now is the creation of “smart cities”. According to John Rossant，founder and chairman of the non-profit organization New Cities Foundation ，technology is the way forward.He thinks that it’s generally accepted that“cloud computing, ubiquitous internet，robust 5G networks,etc，will transform our cities.” He says technology is really “a game changer” in urbanisation. It would collect large amounts of data about how a city is performing and may improve how a city functions.
This may sound like a utopian(乌托邦似的)view. For now，some big cities around the world are trying out more low—tech schemes to try and make them desirable places to live and work in. Building shared—ownership housing and improving public transport are some ways. And encouraging cycling and building bike lanes can keep the population healthy and cut down on smog. What would make your city a better place to live in?
1. What’s the text mainly about?| A．The city of the future. | B．The increase of the population. |
| C．Urban construction. | D．The function of smart cities. |
| A．To show the growth of the world population. |
| B．To show the problems in urbanization. |
| C．To show poor living conditions of the city. |
| D．To show financial trouble of the city. |
| A．Technology. | B．Urban planning. |
| C．The infrastructure of the city. | D．Opportunities for education. |
| A．High-tech plans can be easily realized. |
| B．Public transport is well developed in cities. |
| C．Shared-ownership houses make no sense. |
| D．Ways of low-tech are available at present. |
Her______ made me think. It’s true that people don’t ______ much any more: nowadays you often find that everyone just jumps on the bus. Or maybe this is only in London. Also the idea of a man standing up and offering his______ to a woman on a train or bus is ______ these days, although my father still does it!
Speaking of the______: well, we all know that a hundred years ago there used to be fog all year round in London, but we______ have much fog; nowadays we have pollution from all the cars! Over the last few years in_____ London had been one of the hottest places in Europe, although we still get more than enough rain in the season.
What about the city men in their working “uniform”? Well, you can still see some city gentlemen in their smart ______ , but men hardly ever_____ bowler hats. A few things don’t ______, though. If you try to______ a conversation with an English person on the underground in London, she or he will probably look at you as if you were mad!1.
| A．left | B．went | C．arrived | D．returned |
| A．lost | B．spent | C．took | D．wasted |
| A．However | B．But | C．So | D．And |
| A．looking | B．understanding | C．watching | D．noticing |
| A．earlier | B．later | C．recently | D．usual |
| A．all | B．everything | C．nothing | D．something |
| A．ticket | B．picture | C．fog | D．uniform |
| A．wait | B．pull | C．back | D．push |
| A．different | B．similar | C．familiar | D．strange |
| A．notes | B．records | C．comments | D．lists |
| A．stop | B．queue | C．stand | D．wait |
| A．drink | B．book | C．seat | D．bag |
| A．unusual | B．polite | C．different | D．common |
| A．air | B．weather | C．pollution | D．season |
| A．sooner or later | B．no more | C．no sooner | D．no longer |
| A．autumn | B．spring | C．summer | D．winter |
| A．dress | B．suits | C．jackets | D．shirts |
| A．wear | B．mend | C．prepare | D．buy |
| A．remain | B．continue | C．turn | D．change |
| A．finish | B．start | C．stop | D．break |
9 . Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict.” he jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes—khaki pants and a sports shirt—to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. “I am working harder than ever.” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday (but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday”. “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code.” “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative(保守的)dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale(心境，士气). Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative influence on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”
1. David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict,” because .| A．he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt |
| B．he couldn’t stand a clean appearance |
| C．he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time |
| D．he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes |
| A．they make him feel at ease when working |
| B．he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes |
| C．he looks handsome in casual clothes |
| D．he no longer works for any company |
| A．Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code. |
| B．Comfortable clothes make employees more productive. |
| C．A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees. |
| D．All the employers in the U. S. are for casual office wear. |
| A．Company workers started to dress down about fifty years ago. |
| B．Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 90s. |
| C．“Dress-down Friday” was first given as a favor from employers. |
| D．Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people. |
| A．saving employees’ money |
| B．making employees more attractive |
| C．improving employees’ motivation |
| D．making employees happier |
