1 . When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.
Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note — “Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery” — and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically (魔术般) appear.
All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.
There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.
Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊) . Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.
1. Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer to __________.A.show his magical power | B.pay for the delivery |
C.satisfy his curiosity | D.please his mother |
A.He wanted to have tea there. | B.He was a respectable person. |
C.He was treated as a family member. | D.He was fully trusted by the family. |
A.Nobody wants to be a milkman now. | B.It has been driven out of the market. |
C.Its service is getting poor. | D.It is not allowed by law. |
A.He missed the good old days. | B.He wanted to tell interesting stories. |
C.He needed it for his milk bottles. | D.He planted flowers in it. |
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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3 . The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is mostly a desert. However, this has not stopped the country from creating great building projects. On September 26, UAE officials announced another ambitious project — Mars Science City. Expansive deserts and miles of coastline provide plenty of options for safe rocket launches (发射). And its position on the Earth makes it especially appealing as the spin of the Earth provides an extra push, meaning less fuel is needed to get payloads into orbit. All these seem to make it possible.
The Mars City Project, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, or BIG, will provide a realistic model to simulate (模仿) living on the surface of Mars, the red planet. It is part of the UAE’s Mars 2117 Project to lead the global race to land humans on Mars and be the first to build a settlement there. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai, says, “The UAE seeks international support to develop technologies that benefit humans, and lay the foundation of a better future for more generations to come.”
Built outside Dubai, the 1.9 million square feet city is expected to cost $135 million. It will consist of several dome-shaped laboratories, similar to the ones imagined for the first Mars settlers. Scientists from around the word will be invited to conduct research to come up with methods to create food, water and energy, using techniques which can be copied onto the red planet. The living spaces, where the researchers can live for up to a year, will simulate the planet’s conditions as much as possible.
The research city will also include a museum featuring famous space achievements to help educate and inspire children to undertake space exploration and discovery. To discover whether the construction method works on Mars, the museum’s walls will be 3D printed using the sand from the nearby desert. Now, if they would only add some living quarters for the general public to experience life on Mars without leaving Earth, life would be perfect.
1. What can we conclude about the United Arab Emirates?A.It is short of fine weather. |
B.It is a nice place for launching. |
C.It can provide adequate fuel supply. |
D.It has the greatest architects in the world. |
A.Educate visitors on trips to Mars. |
B.Develop the Mars settlers’ imagination. |
C.Find ways to produce food, water and energy on Mars. |
D.Create a climate-controlled environment for future use. |
A.To show famous space techniques. |
B.To make full use of the nearby desert. |
C.To inspire children to love exploration. |
D.To test building skills used by Mars settlers. |
A.UAE to Build Mars Science City |
B.UAE’s Great Exploration of Mars |
C.UAE to Build First Mars Settlement |
D.UAE’s Scientistific Contribution to Humans |
4 . 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 |
5 . Have you ever wanted 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 from 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 many 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 will 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, 15 years 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 share your feelings with 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 |