1 . When it came to imaging the future, Arthur C. Clarke stubbornly refused to take credit for any predictions. The Internet, 3-D printers, email: he may have described them all long before they existed. As a science fiction writer, he came up with the idea of a “personal transceiver” that is small enough to be carried about, able to contact with anyone in the world and perform global positioning, making getting lost a thing of the past. Elsewhere, he predicted everything from online banking to reusable spacecraft. His best remembered fictional work of all is 2001: A Space Odyssey. It also happened to forecast the iPad, computer software that is able to read lips, and space stations.
Interestingly, his vision of the future has barely aged. For example, life in Sri Lanka inspired his 1979 novel, featuring a “space elevator”, a planet-to-space transportation system that would do away with the need for rocket travel. Those human settlements on Mars or Venus are decidedly behind schedule(we humans were expected to have set foot on both by 1980), and we’re still looking for the key that should have fully unlocked the languages of whales and dolphins by 1970.
It’s a way of thinking that was likely fuelled by his inability to be anything other than utterly absorbed in all that interested him. At the very start of his career, he shared a flat on London’s Gray’s Inn Road with fellow science fiction writers who nicknamed him “Ego” because of his talent for turning out (关掉) distraction. Once he’d become a big enough name to be interviewed, he’d send journalists home loaded with research papers.
He once said, “Trying to predict the future is a discouraging and risky occupation.” If a prediction sounds at all reasonable, technological progress is sure to leave it seeming “ridiculously conservative”. But if, by a miracle, a person were to be able to describe the future exactly as it will unfold, “His predictions will sound so absurd and far-fetched that everybody would laugh him to scorn (轻蔑).”
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?A.Clarke is an imaginative science fiction writer. | B.Clarke is crazy about the future devices. |
C.Clarke is expert at telling one’s fortune. | D.Clarke is a rarely talented inventor. |
A.there is no need for rocket travel in future |
B.unlocking the languages of animals is ahead of time |
C.humans were expecting to settle on Mars by 1980 |
D.Clarke’s predictions still seem impossibly distant |
A.He could focus all his mind on something. | B.He cared more about himself than others. |
C.He was absorbed in what interested him. | D.He was proud of being a big name. |
A.The rapid progress of technology. | B.The absurdness of some predictions. |
C.The difficulty of predicting the future. | D.The miracle of dependable predictions. |
2 . Who has no regrets about things done in the past? Wouldn’t it be nice if, somehow, we could go back to change a couple of bad decisions? This sounds like science fiction.
The laws of physics prohibit traveling back in time for many reasons. If we did travel back in time and changed the course of events, we would be altering the course of history. An example often cited is the grandfather’s paradox (悖论): If your grandfather died when he was still a high school student, he wouldn’t have met your grandmother and your father and you wouldn’t exist.
Putting humans or consciousness traveling back in time aside for the moment, is there anything in science even similar? Surprisingly, yes. At the level of quantum particles (量子粒子), there is something called Wheeler’s delayed-choice experiments that show that actions in the present can influence the past. The experiments use something called the wave-particle duality (波粒二象性) of light and of matter. The fact that the physical nature of quantum objects is undetermined until it is measured. In other words, this means that a particle of light or of matter can behave either as a wave (spreading out in space) or as a particle (staying together) depending on the measuring devices. Long and ongoing discussions about the nature of quantum physics are still trying to work out what this actually means. Do our minds determine the nature of physical reality?
Should we offer food for thought for the future or the past? Unfortunately, these experiments say very little about how we could interfere with the past in events relevant to the human scale. Better to think carefully about decisions than to try to fix them backwards.
1. What’s the purpose of mentioning the paradox?A.To show it is interesting. |
B.To explain Wheeler’s tests. |
C.To demonstrate time is different from what we have known. |
D.To show it’s impossible to travel back in time. |
A.Consciousness traveling back in time was tried in the experiments. |
B.Different measuring devices have the same result. |
C.More research is needed in the future. |
D.These experiments can determine the nature of matter. |
A.We should focus on the present. |
B.The future food is more nutritious. |
C.We can change the past from the experiments. |
D.It is never too late to make up for mistakes. |
A.Is changing the past wise? |
B.Can we change the past? |
C.Do our minds determine the future? |
D.Do the laws of physics ban traveling back? |
Take a moment
Some people have a vivid sense of future self, which feels
You could almost think about your future self as a relationship that should
4 . What picture do you have of the future? Will life in the future be better, worse or the same as now? What do you hope about the future?
Futurologists(未来学家) predict that life will probably be very different in 2050 in all the fields of activity, from entertainment to technology. First of all, it seems that TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. By 2050, music, films, programs, newspapers and books will come to us by computer.
In what concerns the environment, water will have become one of our most serious problems. Demand for water will increase ten times between now and 2050 and there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists predict that water could be the cause of war if we don’t act now.
In transport, cars will run on new, clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed of the car 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.
In the domain(领域)of technology,robots will have replaced people in factories. Many factories already use robots. Big companies prefer robots-they do not ask for pay rises or go on strike, and they work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere-in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.
Last but not least, medicine technology will have conquered many diseases. Today scientists have discovered how to control genes. They have already produced clones of animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?
1. What’s the purpose of the first paragraph?A.To arouse the interest of the reader. |
B.To tell the background of the passage. |
C.To show the author’s doubts about the future. |
D.To describe the pictures of the future. |
A.Computer will finally take the place of the media nowadays. |
B.Robots will completely have replaced people in factories. |
C.Not all diseases will be conquered by scientists. |
D.The clones of animals have a long way to go. |
A.Excited but pessimistic. |
B.Optimistic but worried. |
C.Eager but afraid. |
D.Enthusiastic but cautious. |
A.Travel. |
B.Sports. |
C.Education. |
D.Life. |
5 . “May 17, 2157
Dear diary,
Today, Tommy found a real book!...”
“What’s it about?” Margie asked.
“School.” replied Tommy, turning the yellow pages.
“Why would anyone write about school? I hope they can take my geography teacher away.”
“It’s not our school. This is the old sort that they had centuries ago.”
“Anyway, they had a teacher.” Margie said, reading the book over his shoulder.
“Sure, they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”
“A man? How could a man be a teacher?”
“Well, he just told the boys and girls things and gave them assignments and asked them questions.”
“A man isn’t smart enough.”
“Sure, he is. My father knows as much as my teacher.”
Margie wasn’t prepared to argue about that. She said, “I wouldn’t want a strange man in my house to teach me.”
Tommy laughed. “The teachers didn’t live in the house. They had a special building and all the kids went there.”
“And all the kids learned the same thing?”
“Sure, if they were the same age.”
“But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught differently.”
“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to read the book.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly.
They weren’t even half-finished when Margie’s mother called, “Margie! School!”
“Not yet, Mamma.”
“Now!” said Mrs. Jones.
Margie said to Tommy, “Can I read the book some more with you after school?”
“Maybe,” Tommy said.
Margie went into the schoolroom, right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on waiting for her.
The screen was lit up, and it said, “Please insert yesterday’s assignments in the proper slot.”
Margie was still thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the whole neighborhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom, going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things, so they could help one another on the assignments and discussed them.
And the teachers were people…
1. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?A.Margie doesn’t like her school. |
B.It’s common to read paper books in 2157. |
C.Online learning is what Margie wants. |
D.Tommy feels his father is smarter than his teacher. |
A.There are only female teachers at school. |
B.Teachers give no assignments to students. |
C.A special building is constructed for teachers. |
D.Students learn different things at their own pace. |
A.Envelope. | B.Opening. |
C.Screen. | D.Schoolroom. |
A.Longing. | B.Objection. |
C.Suspicion. | D.Tolerance. |
6 . Someone has put forward a dream home which is so advanced that its kitchen can suggest what to make with certain things. Also, a Microsoft home doesn’t just warn you when you’re out of milk—it can send you a fresh gallon.
But are these innovations(创新)just magic, or are they really coming soon to a neighborhood near you? To find it out, US News asked some experts to get their opinions about the home of the not-so-distant future. Here’s a look at the innovations.
The housing boom(迅速发展)was marked by mass produced buildings filled with units which look the same. The coming years, however, will see a personalized approach to home building, with houses as more of an instrument of self-expression. “The successful builders will be the ones that figure out how to change their production model enough to make the buyers feel like they are really getting something that is designed for them, not just a model,” says Kermit Baker, the chief economist at the American Institute of Architects.
Future homes will probably shrink. “We will be building small but smarter houses,” says Ed McMahon, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute. “Instead of having a room for just one use, buyers will need homes that make better use of space,” says Susanka, whose best-selling book. The Not So Big House, has become increasingly influential in home design. Seldom used quarters, such as dining and living rooms, will be replaced with space that can serve both functions(功能). “The goal of his ‘right-size’ home is to fit its owners like a specially cut suit rather than a jacket you buy in a store,” says Susanka.
1. Why does the writer mention a dream home and a Microsoft home?A.To lead to the topic of the passage. |
B.To tell us what kind of house to buy. |
C.To stress the importance of technology. |
D.To show what future houses will look like. |
A.They will be in mass production. |
B.They will have a lot of things in common. |
C.They will express the owners’ personalities. |
D.They will be designed by the owners themselves. |
A.Become cleaner. | B.Become brighter. |
C.Become smaller. | D.Become more comfortable. |
A.Houses that have a room for every use. |
B.Houses that can make better use of space. |
C.Houses that have very advanced furniture. |
D.Houses that can warn you when you’re out of milk. |
Everyone
To link up the
1. What are the speakers talking about?
A.Unemployment. | B.Future ways of working. | C.At-home activities. |
A.Sending friends emails. | B.Calling her friend. | C.Watching TV. |
9 . Life in the future will be different from the life today. Between then and now many changes will happen. But what will the changes be?
The population is growing fast. And most of them will live longer than people now.
Computers will be much smaller and more useful, and there will be at least one in every room. And computer studies will be one of the important subjects in schools then. People will work fewer hours than they do now and they will have more free time for sports, watching TV and travel. Travelling will be much cheaper and easier. And many more people will go to other countries for holidays.
There will be changes in our food, too. More land will be used for building new towns and houses for all the people. Then there will be less room for cows and sheep, so meat will be more expensive. Maybe no one will eat it every day. Instead, they will eat more fruits and vegetables. Maybe people will be healthier. Work in the future will be different, too. Robots will do dangerous and hard work. Because of this, many people will not have enough work to do. This will be a big problem.
1. In the future there will be________.A.fewer vegetables | B.much more fruit |
C.more people | D.less people |
A.walk on foot | B.work long hours |
C.work fast | D.eat meat |
A.people will eat more fruits and vegetables |
B.many people may not be able to find work |
C.room for growing fruits and vegetables will reduce |
D.all the work will be done by robots |
10 . Since several organisations plan to put the first man on Mars by 2030, new trips to the Moon will take place around 2025. If you go to the Moon, you need a place to stay in. So what will it be like? Maybe the following article can give us some inspiration.
August 23, 2025—Today a new chapter in space travel was written. Rod Markham and his wife-to-be Susan Millster arrived safely on the Moon to spend 5 nights as the first guests at the Starbright Hotel that was set up for this purpose two years ago.
Not only are they the first hotel guests on the Moon, but they also set a new record for expensive accommodation since the price was $3.7 million per night, per person. However, the move from the Earth to the hotel is included in the price.
The hotel itself will probably have a hard time just to try to gain one star in any hotel rating system, because there is no room service. The guests have to do the cleaning of the room themselves and there is no bathroom in it. However. they have more stars than they need just outside their windows.
Rod and Susan will get married by linking their local minister in San Diego, California at 9:00 p.m. EST tonight, and the wedding will be broadcast live by several major TV networks in a 1-hour special report, including the preparations for the trip.
Six astronauts are along with them and during the stay they’ll set up further accommodations for the guests who have made reservations at the Starbright Hotel next year. The hotel has no employees, only some workers when guests stay at it.
1. What does the new chapter in space travel refer to according to paragraph 2?A.That humans landed on Mars for the first time. |
B.That the first hotel on the Moon was set up. |
C.That the first hotel guests landed on the Moon. |
D.That the hotel on Mars welcomed its first guests. |
A.They can't find much help. |
B.They will get five-star service. |
C.They have to cook food themselves. |
D.They can use the bathroom in their room. |
A.It will last for an hour. |
B.It can be watched live on the Earth. |
C.A minister on the Moon will host it. |
D.Their relatives and friends will be present. |
A.Accept reservations from others. |
B.Improve room service for the couple. |
C.Look for several employees for the hotel. |
D.Prepare accommodations for future guests. |