1 . We don’t know how different our life will be in the future. We can only try to imagine it.
At first we think about human relationship. In the year 2050, we will use computers almost every day. We will make new friends through the Internet—even our husbands or wives will be met in this way. It will be much faster and easier for us. On the other hand, our relationships with people won’t be as important as they are today—we will feel a little lonely.
Computers will also help us in many other activities in 2050. For example, they will be used by the children at school to make their learning easier. In addition, there will be much more other machines which will play a similar role as computers, like robots which will do the housework for us.
Spending holidays will also be completely different. Traveling to other planets or to the moon will be available for everyone. Means of transport will, of course, change, too. We will use solar-powered cars, which will be much cleaner.
We could expect that the faster technological progress would lead to a more polluted environment. But it isn’t true. We will pay more attention to protecting the environment. And, scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases, like cancer or AIDS. Therefore, our surroundings as well as health will be in better condition.
Although we can’t predict the exact changes which will be made in the world, we often think about them. We worry about our and our children’s future;we have expectations, hopes as well as fears. But I think we should be rather hope about our future. We should be happy and believe good things will happen.
1. Why will people probably feel a little lonely in 2050?| A．Because the number of people will become much smaller. |
| B．Because there will be less face-to-face communication. |
| C．Because people won’t like making friends with each other. |
| D．Because people won’t communicate with each other much often. |
| A．computers will do all the things for human beings |
| B．how people will use computers to communicate with each other |
| C．machines like computers and robots will help people a lot |
| D．how people will use robots to do the housework |
| A．How people will communicate in the year 2050. |
| B．What our life will be like in the year 2050. |
| C．How people will travel and spend their holidays in the year 2050. |
| D．What high technology will appear in the year 2050. |
| A．The relationship between people will be more important than that of today. |
| B．The way of spending holidays will be the same as that of today. |
| C．It won’t be difficult for people to travel to other planets. |
| D．Our environment will be much more polluted with a growing number of cars. |
2 . The future home is something that people have talked about for decades. Because the future home idea inspires our imagination, scientists and engineers have been working hard to develop different systems to make houses “smarter”.
The video camera at the entrance recognize visitors using facial recognition. The facial recognition software of the future home will not only recognize friends, but strangers as well. And the software in the future home will run the strangers faces against a database of criminals.
The future home will also have smart application appliances (家电) as well. There will be a vast networking system connecting them. Ovens, microwaves and refrigerators will be controlled automatically, so remote cooking will be a possibility and meals are prepared for your arrival.
There will also be a green systems in place such as saving and reusing washing water and bathwater. Plants and people may receive pure or mineralized (含矿的) drinking water.
If you think this future home idea is pie in the sky or science fiction, then think again. Most of the systems described here are either in development or already out in the market. Future homes may not be standard yet for the middle class but this is not as far ahead as many people would think.
1. What can the facial recognition software be used for in the future houses?| A．Greeting friends. | B．Collecting criminals information. |
| C．Recognizing visitors. | D．Following dangerous criminals. |
| A．Facial recognition software. | B．Remote cooking. |
| C．Smart refrigerators. | D．Saving and reusing water. |
| A．Attractive. | B．Common. | C．Special. | D．Excellent. |
| A．Smart future home |
| B．A smart networking system |
| C．Software in future home |
| D．Various household appliances |
3 . Once upon a time, there was a man who believed he could see the future through the stars. He called himself an astrologer and got used to
One evening he was
He was
As they pulled him out of the mud, one of them said, “You
“What use is it,” said another, “to read the stars, when you can’t see what’s right here on the earth?”
We all want our future to be
| A．laughing | B．shouting | C．aiming | D．staring |
| A．disaster | B．future | C．fortune | D．others |
| A．relatives | B．teenagers | C．villagers | D．scientists |
| A．driving | B．cycling | C．walking | D．running |
| A．back | B．around | C．down | D．up |
| A．stones | B．fish | C．waste | D．mud |
| A．struggling | B．swimming | C．flowing | D．bathing |
| A．madly | B．patiently | C．surprisingly | D．confidently |
| A．family | B．life | C．career | D．money |
| A．death | B．injury | C．cries | D．climb |
| A．like | B．have | C．pretend | D．offer |
| A．happen | B．fail | C．wait | D．refuse |
| A．bright | B．rich | C．different | D．safe |
| A．predict | B．share | C．improve | D．prepare |
| A．happy | B．present | C．unknown | D．past |
4 . Life on Mars: Is it really possible?
Now that Curiosity is beaming back Earth-like pictures of Martian landscape, the old question raises its head: Could man and woman ever go there? The answer is very definitely yes. There are a number of practical challenges to overcome first, however. There are differences between Earth and Mars, but also a number of similarities.
Phobos and Deimos
Unlike Earth, Mars does not have a polar magnetic field. Scientists believe that the two Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, are little planets.
For the annual IGEM or International Genetically Engineered Machines competition, students around the world attempt to make living cells perform new tasks. In preparation for the human colonization of Mars, seeds and organic matter would have to be transported from Earth to begin growing plants and establishing a food supply.
Super-sized Bees
Plants need pollinators as well as water, and the best pollinator on Earth is the humble bee-and entire hives would be transported to Mars.
Overcoming Challenges-Opening Possibilities
There will be other challenges to overcome, for example, the effect on the human body of living in a field with low gravity.
| A．IGEM |
| B．The next question is: Could man colonize Mars? |
| C．Once there, the insects would be let loose among the plants. |
| D．However, all kinds of other interesting things will be happening. |
| E．But these are already issues for astronauts living on the International Space Station. |
| F．They do not have the stabilizing effect on the spin of the planet like the moon has upon Earth. |
| G．Mars has Earth-like seasons and the planet surface is abundant in minerals essential for plant growth. |
5 . 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 |
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 just magic, or are they really coming soon to a neighborhood near you? To find 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 was marked by mass-produced buildings filled with units which look the same. The coming years, however, will give way to a personalized approach to home construction, 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 smaller but smarter houses,” says Ed McMahon, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute. “Instead of having a room for just one use, consumers will demand 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. “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 tell us that technology develops fast. |
| D．To tell us something about future homes. |
| A．be mass-produced |
| B．have a lot of things in common |
| C．express the owners’ personalities |
| D．be designed by the owners themselves |
| A．become cleaner |
| B．become brighter |
| C．become smaller |
| D．become more comfortable |
| A．have a room for every use |
| B．can make better use of space |
| C．have very advanced furniture |
| D．can warn you when you’re out of milk |
