Are all changes good?
It is a commonly held belief that as people get older, they become resistant to change. Their complaints that things used to be better in the past or
But is this automatically true? Are the views of an older person on a new development always to be disregarded? This would suggest that every new development must be a good
Take
2 . Japanese automaker Toyota has announced its “Woven City” plan, which aims to create a “smart city of the future". It will be a “living laboratory” for technologies including self-driving systems, high-speed internet connectivity to link major information and communication systems.
The main streets in Woven City will be divided for different purposes. One part will be used for faster vehicle traffic. Another will be designed for people riding bicycles. The third part will be used for walking. To move people through the city, only fully-autonomous, zero emission Toyota vehicles will be allowed on the roads. In and throughout Woven City, Toyota e-Palettes will be used for transportation and deliveries.
The city will be fully sustainable(可持续的)，with buildings made mostly of wood to cut carbon footprint to the minimum. The rooftops will be covered with solar panels to produce power in addition to power produced by H2 fuel cells. Houses will be equipped with the latest AI technologies, such as in-home robotics to assist with daily work and to check people' s health, Both neighborhood parks and a large central park for recreation and social gatherings are designed to bring the people together.
Toyota plans to populate the city with Toyota Motor Corporation employees and their families, visiting scientists and industry partners. The plan is for 2, 000 people to start, adding more as the ;project develops.
“Building a complete city from scratch, even in a small size like this, is a unique chance to develop future technologies. With people, buildings and vehicles all connected and communicating with each other through sensors, we will be able to test connected AI technology in both the virtual(虚拟的) and the physical areas to maximize its potential,” said Akio Toyoda，president of Toyota Motor Corporation.
Experts say smart cities, like Toyota's“Woven City”，will greatly improve our living conditions.
1. What is the “e-Palette” in paragraph 2?| A．An intelligent robot, | B．A driverless car. |
| C．An autonomous bike. | D．A slow vehicle. |
| A．All the houses are built with wood only. | B．Only Toyota workers live there. |
| C．It is designed to hold 2,000 people, | D．Just green power is used in the city. |
| A．He is not satisfied with the small size of the city. |
| B．It is difficult to build a complete city of the future. |
| C．The city is a good platform to test future technologies. |
| D．Toyota is committed to improving the living conditions. |
| A．What Does a “City of the Future" Look Like? |
| B．Can Toyota's Woven City Become a Reality? |
| C．Toyota's Plan for a “City of the Future" |
| D．New Technologies for Future Cities |
3 . By the year 2050, a fifth of the world’s cities will experience unprecedented climate conditions and environments that currently don’t exist in any major cities, according to new research. A team of scientists at the Crowther Lab in Switzerland produced the report, which described the climate for 520 major cities 30 years in the future.
The results showed that 77 percent of the world’s cities will experience a surprising change in climate conditions by 2050, and 22 percent of the 520 cities will see conditions that are not currently experienced by any existing major cities.
In China in 2050, the climate of Xi’an, in Shanxi province, will be similar to that of current day Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho in southern Africa, with the maximum temperature of the warmest month likely to increase by 4.59℃. Chongqing in southwest China will resemble the climate of Swaziland capital Mbabane, as the warmest temperature is predicted to rise by 5.1℃.
Scientists predict summers in Europe will get warmer by an average of 3.5℃ and European winters will see temperature rises of 4.7℃. London’s climate will be more similar lo Barcelona, and Madrid’s to Marrakech.
The Crowther Lab hopes the analysis will motivate decision-makers to take necessary steps to prevent or address some of the climate effects due to the threat of climate change. The report also found that cities in tropical regions will experience smaller changes in average temperature but will be controlled by shifts in rainfall regimes. This may lead to a noticeable increase in unexpected events, and severe droughts.
“Across all scientific fields, the greatest challenge in climate science is no longer the precise measurement of climate change impacts, but inspiring people to picture is actual effects in order to motivate action,” said Tom Crowther, senior scientist und founder of the Crowther Lab.
1. According to the research, among the 520 cities by 2050, about ________ cities will experience the climate conditions that no major cities currently have experienced.| A．400 | B．114 | C．260 | D．104 |
| A．By listing figures. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By doing experiments. | D．By explaining theory. |
| A．To compare the climate change of the major cities of the world. |
| B．To inspire people to picture its actual effects in order to motivate action. |
| C．To inspire decision-makers to take necessary steps to prevent some climate effects. |
| D．To show most word’s cities will experience a striking change in climate conditions. |
| A．World Temperature | B．Current Climate Change |
| C．Big Titles in the World | D．Future Climate Change in Most Big Cities |
4 . In 2017,the United Arab Emirates announced its ambition to colonize Mars within the next 100 years. But architects are already imagining what a Martian city might look like-and planning to recreate it in the desert outside Dubai.
Mars Science City was originally scheduled to cover 176,000 square meters of desert-the size of more than 30 football fields-and cost approximately 135 million dollars. To create a space for Dubai's Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) to develop the technology needed to colonize Mars,architects Bjarke Ingels Group were asked to design a prototype of a city suitable for sustaining life on Mars-and then adapt it for use in the Emirati desert.
For this unique commission,the architects first had to overcome the immense challenges of creating a design to make the severe environment of Mars habitable. Mars has a thin atmosphere and no global magnetic field,so there's little protection from harmful radiation. Temperature is another problem-the average on Mars is a chilly 63 degrees C. The thin atmosphere also means there's little air pressure,so liquids quickly evaporate into gas; despite freezing temperatures,an unprotected human's blood would boil on Mars.But according to Jonathan Eastwood,director of the Space Lab at Imperial College London,the biggest challenge in terms of a sustained presence on Mars is not the engineering or scientific challenge,but the human and personal one.More researches need to be done to test the effects of isolation on mental and physical health of astronauts.
The MBRSC hopes that,in future,such research could take place in Mars Science City.This is going to be our platform where we can develop the science and the technology that will help us in our future missions to Mars,said Adnan AlRais,Mars 27 Program Manager at MBRSC."We want to come up with a totally new facility that will help the international community.”
1. What information can you get about the Martian city?| A．It is planned to be completed in the next 100 years. |
| B．It occupies more than 30 football fields of Dubai. |
| C．It has been put into use in the desert outside Dubai. |
| D．It serves as a prototype for sustaining life on Mars. |
| A．A thin atmosphere exposes people to harmful radiation. |
| B．High temperature makes unprotected human's blood boil. |
| C．Little air pressure causes liquid to turn into gas quickly. |
| D．A long period of isolation may affect physical health. |
| A．Positive | B．objective | C．critical | D．skeptical |
| A．The research on the effects of living on Mars. |
| B．A Martian city designed for the desert outside Dubai. |
| C．The United Arab Emirates' ambition to colonize Mars. |
| D．The challenges of surviving the inhabitable environment of Mars. |
5 . Do you want to travel back in time? What about traveling into the future? There’s an easy way to do it.
One way you can make a time travel journey is by writing a letter to your future self to be opened in the future. To your future self, the letter will be a visit to the past. What can be gained by writing a letter to yourself? It depends on how good your letter is. You have the chance to say something to your future self. What would you want to communicate? You’ll be able to talk to yourself 5, 10, 15 years down the road. There may be instructions for your future self, or you may have goals that you will want to check up on.
There are a lot of things you could include in your letter or letters to yourself. The more you include, the better the letter will be to you. Here are some ideas of things to include in your letter:
Your thoughts and feelings about life, religion, politics, society, etc; Your feelings for your family; Your likes and dislikes; Your dreams; The type of person you want yourself to become...
Be creative with what you put in your letter. Include a picture of yourself or family to show the period from which the letter came.
You can store your letter in a number of different ways. You can give your letter to a friend or family member to keep and mail to you. If you can get others to take part, have them write letters to themselves as well and ask someone to be the letter holder until it’s time to send the letters. You can also use a service online to store your letter and e-mail it to you.
Make the most of your letter writing, and you’ll help your future self make the most of the present.
1. How can you travel into the future?| A．By traveling back in time. |
| B．By writing a letter to your future self. |
| C．By opening a letter from the past. |
| D．By paying a visit to the future. |
| A．Have the chance to say something to your future self. |
| B．Talk to yourself 5,10,15years down the road. |
| C．Write more about instructions for your future self. |
| D．Include as many things as possible in your letter. |
| A．To check up on your goals. |
| B．To prove your feelings for your family. |
| C．To show the time when the letter was written. |
| D．To find out your thoughts and feelings now. |
| A．How to Write a Letter to Your Future Self. |
| B．What to Communicate with Your Future Self. |
| C．What to Include in a Letter to Your Future Self. |
| D．How to Make the Most of Your Letter. |
6 . After decades of playing catch-up with the U.S. and Russian space programs, China did something neither nation nor any other had done this December: land a spaceship on the dark side of the moon.
Strictly speaking, of course, the moon has no dark side. But because of the way it orbits Earth, our natural satellite shows us only one side － the other is hidden from our view. No one even saw the far side until 1959, when the Soviet Luna 3 spaceship flew around for a look and sent back photos. No astronaut or spaceship went there until this December, when the China National Space Agency (CNSA) launched a 2,500-pound lander called Chang’e-4 to the southern end of the lunar far side.
Chang’e-4 operated a small rover (探测车) to survey the geography there for the first time ever. By examining the geography of its landing area, Chang’e-4 could solve longstanding puzzles about the moon, including how it formed 4.5 billion years ago. Chang’e-4 also carried a very small ―lunar biosphere (生态圈) ‖ containing silkworm eggs and a tiny greenhouse designed to grow potatoes in order to study the growth of the seeds on the moon.
Besides Chang’e-4, China plans to launch Chang’e-5 in 2019. Its mission will be to gather moon rocks using an orbiter, a lander or collector, an ascent stage (上升器) and a capsule that will separate from the orbiter and return the rocks to the earth. ―With these missions, the Chinese will have shown complete mastery of flight in the space between the earth and the moon,‖ said Paul Spudis, an experienced lunar researcher based in Houston.
CNSA has already outlined ideas for Chinese astronauts to follow the robots to the moon. Pei Zhaoyu, deputy director of CNSA’s Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center, told that China plans a permanent robotic lunar station in about 10 years and suggested a human presence on the moon another decade or so after that. Spudis said China’s ambitious Chang’e-4 and Chang’e-5 missions should send human’s plans for lunar return into rapid development.
1. What do we know about the dark side of the moon from the first two paragraphs?| A．Two western countries have taken its photos. |
| B．It is hidden from people’s view due to the earth’s orbit. |
| C．China is the first country to land a spaceship there. |
| D．It exists because the sun never shines there. |
| A．To study the geography of the lunar dark side. |
| B．To grow potatoes on the moon. |
| C．To examine the growth of eggs and seeds. |
| D．To survey the lunar biosphere. |
| A．The lander. | B．The collector. |
| C．The ascent stage. | D．The capsule. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Ambiguous. | D．Favorable. |
7 . Do you want to live another 100 years or more？Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.
“I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生),”said Michael Zey，a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. “I think by 2075 we will see it and that's a conservative estimate（保守的估计）.”
At the conference in San Francisco，Donald Louria,a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nano technology（纳米技术）make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. “There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,” he said. “Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”
However, many scientists who specialize in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last past about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less diseases, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live." It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life？" said Leonard Poon，director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Centre." At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all."
1. By saying “we are knocking at the door of immortality”, what does Michael Zey mean?| A．they believe that there is no limit of living |
| B．they are sure to find the truth about long living |
| C．they have got some ideas about living forever |
| D．they are able to make people live past the present life span |
| A．people can live from 120 to 180 years |
| B．it is still doubtful how long humans can live |
| C．the human body is designed to last past about 120 years |
| D．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future |
| A．a great push | B．the idea of living from 200 to 300 years |
| C．the idea of living beyond the present life span | D．the conservative estimate |
| A．Living Longer or Not | B．Science，Technology and Long Living |
| C．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living | D．No Limit for Human Life |
8 . 
News anchors(主播) must have been reluctant to read out the following news: Xin Xiaomeng began working as the world’s first female artificial(人工的) intelligence news anchor at Xinhua News Agency on Sunday, three months after a male robot joined the profession.
Unlike previous news robots though, Xin does not read news like a cold machine; she reads it almost like a human being. The muscles on her face stretch and relax-and her reactions change-as she continues reading. That’s why many news anchors were worried: Will AI replace us in the near future?
To find the answer, we have to analyse the technologies that support Xin at her job. Three key technologies are used to support Xin. First, samples of human voices are collected and synthesized (合成). This is followed by the collection and synthesis of human muscle movement samples. And third the voices and movements are married in a way that when the Al news anchor reads, the micro -electric motors behind her face move to make her expressions seem more human.
Yet we need a thorough knowledge of deep leaning technology to make a robot imitate a person’s voice. The developer needs to collect tens of thousands of pieces of pronunciations, input them Into the machine and match them with the text or the Al to lean and read. The process for imitating facial movements is similar. The developer has to analyse the movements of the 53 muscles in the human face, make a model set from the collected data for the AI news anchor to lean, and imitate the movements of facial muscles via programs
Both the technologies used to make Xin’s performance impressive are mature. The real difficulty lies in the third -the technology to match the pronunciations with facial movements so that Xin expressions vary according to the content of the news report. In fact, Xins expressions don' t always change according to the content. As a result, her expressions look anything but human. Actually. AI is still no match for human qualities.
1. What does the underlined word "reluctant "in the first paragraph mean?| A．Delighted. | B．Unwilling. | C．Confused. | D．Optimistic. |
| A．They read news without expressions. | B．They looked like a human being |
| C．They could interview sports stars | D．They could interact with audience. |
| A．This technology is very perfect so far |
| B．This technology is quite popular now |
| C．This technology remains at the theoretical stage |
| D．This technology is far from mature. |
| A．human news anchors should learn from AT anchors to save their jobs |
| B．Al anchors perform much better than human news anchors at present |
| C．Al news anchors won 't replace human news anchors in the near future |
| D．Xin Xiaomeng s expressions vary so naturally that they are true to life |
9 . What are your retirement plans? Keep working? Get more exercise? Or learn something new? You may put them on hold. There’s a chance that, sooner or later, you might have to move further than you were thinking, as far as mars.
On Thursday, National Geographic will show the first-ever Mars show home, giving earthlings (地球人) an idea of what their life could look like on the Red Planet. In the not-so-distant year of 2037, the igloo-shaped structure could be the home of your future.
It shows a house built using recycled spacecraft (航天器) parts and Martian soil, called regolith, which has been microwaved into bricks. Some parts of the home are recognizable—a kitchen, a bedroom—but there are fundamental differences that are important to human survival.
As the Martian atmosphere is around one hundredth as thick as the Earth’s, people will need permanent (永久的) shelter from the sun; society will move largely indoors. Most buildings will be connected by underground passages and the houses won’t have windows. The homes will have simulated solar lighting, or natural light that has been bent several times.
Walls will need to be 10 to 12 feet thick to protect people from dangerous rays (光线) that can pass through six feet of steel, and a double air-locked entrance to keep the home under proper pressure.
“We don’t think of our houses as things that keep us alive, but on Mars your house will be a survival centre,” says Stephen Petranek, author of How We’ll Live on Mars. This is not just the stuff of sci-fi. “10 to 20 years from now there will certainly be people, on Mars.” Petranek says.
“We’ve had the technology for 30 years to land people on Mars, but we haven’t had the will,” Petranek says. But two main factors have “completely swung public attitudes”.
The private companies’ participation has forced government agencies to speed up their game, and influential films such as Gravity and The Martian have caught society’s eye.
1. What can we know about the show home from the text?| A．It has no windows or doors due to security concern. |
| B．Its design presents the idea of environmental protection. |
| C．It has thick walls keeping the home under proper pressure. |
| D．Its underground passages connect all the building together. |
| A．Put them off. |
| B．Give them away. |
| C．Carry them through. |
| D．Take them seriously. |
| A．The great influence of the Mars show home. |
| B．The development of related technology. |
| C．The competition from private companies. |
| D．The popularity of influential books on Mars. |
| A．Living on Mars: Possible or Not |
| B．Sending People to Mars: Yes or No |
| C．First-ever show home: How Is It Made |
| D．Future Home on Mars: What Will It Be Like |
1.家庭：
2．工作：
3.业余生活。
注意：1.词数100左右：
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯：
3.开头语已为你写好。
I often imagine what my life will be like in the future._______________________________
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