1 . There’s a classic short story in which a young man travels years ahead and meets his future self. Narratives like this have always been related to science fiction. But what if you could meet your future self?
I’m a psychologist and professor. My research over the past 15 years isn’t far from this theme. I’ve largely focused on how people think about and relate to their future selves, and explored the reasons why we have such a hard time making long-term decisions. In my research, I’ve learnt that we often imagine our future selves like strangers, which can impede us in making long-term choices. One way to bridge the emotional gap is to think of future selves in more concrete and vivid ways, like writing letters to and from one’s future self, which can strengthen the connection between current and future selves.
Admittedly, having people engage in an imagined conversation is a far cry from actually meeting one’s future self. But it’s believed that far richer interactions may happen in the near future through artificial intelligence (AI). It wouldn’t be predicting exactly what choices you’d make. It’d be more about showing your potential, based on the lives of people similar to you: not just one possible life for you, but rather, the most possible life path for you. Such interactions could offer valuable insights into our potential future selves.
So, to return to my original question: if you could time-travel to meet your future self, what aspects of your life would you want to know more about? I realized, through thorough reflections, that the most powerful questions would be ones that helped me make better choices today —questions exploring personal growth, regrets and unfulfilled actions.
Actually, you don’t need to wait for time travel or advanced AI for answers that you can act on. Through my research, I’ve learnt that simply taking a bit of time to picture this meeting can help you make better choices now. All you need is a little imagination, and the willingness to put yourself in the shoes of a person you currently treat as a stranger.
1. Why is it difficult for people to make long-term decisions according to the author?| A．Technology for time travel is not available. |
| B．Strangers cannot help with decision-making. |
| C．Writing letters to one’s future self is impractical. |
| D．People find it hard to connect with their distant selves. |
| A．contradictory to | B．very different from |
| C．not as convenient as | D．less popular than |
| A．Why hasn’t my hard work ever paid off? |
| B．What can AI do to help people become better persons? |
| C．If given the chance, what would you have done differently? |
| D．How can I succeed without going through all the difficulties in life? |
| A．Time travel: What if you met your future self? |
| B．My research: How do people view their future selves? |
| C．Emotional gap: Why can’t we talk with our future selves? |
| D．Artificial intelligence: Is it possible to meet your future self? |
2 . 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. |
| A．Rice fields. | B．Childhood memory. | C．Game playing. |
| A．The making of a robot. |
| B．Their home in the future. |
| C．Technology’s impact on their lives. |
5 . Welcome to your future life!
You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. Your face is firm and young-looking. In 2035, medical technology is better than ever. Many people at your age could live to be 150, so at 40, you’re not old at all. And your parents just had an anti-aging(抗衰老的) treatment. Now, all three of you look the same age!
You say to your shirt, “Turn red.” It changes from blue to red. In 2035, “smart clothes” contain particles(粒子) much smaller than the cells(细胞) in your body. The particles can be programmed to change your clothes’ color or pattern(样式).
You walk into the kitchen. You pick up the milk, but a voice says,“ You shouldn’t drink that!” Your fridge has read the chip (芯片) that contains information about the milk , and it knows the milk is old . In 2035, every article of food in the grocery store has such a chip.
It’s time to go to work. In 2035, cars drive themselves. Just tell your “smart car” where to go. On the way, you can call a friend using your jacket sleeve. Such “smart technology” is all around you.
So will all these things come true? “For new technology to succeed,” says scientist
Andrew Zolli ,“it has to be so much better that it replaces what we have already.” The Internet is one example—what will be the next?
1. We can learn from the text that in the future__________.| A．people will never get old |
| B．everyone will look the same |
| C．red will be the most popular color |
| D．clothes will be able to change their pattern |
| A．Food in the grocery store will carry electronic information. |
| B．More drinks will be given for sale. |
| C．Milk in the grocery store will stay fresh much longer. |
| D．Milk will be harmful to health. |
| A．Cars will be able to drive automatically(自动地). |
| B．Fridges will know what people need. |
| C．Jacket sleeves can be used as a guide. |
| D．Nothing can replace the Internet. |
| A．Food and clothing in 2035 |
| B．The reason for the success of new technology. |
| C．Medical treatments of the future. |
| D．Future technology in everyday life. |
6 . What is the ideal physique(体形)? The answer is ever-changing. But it is to a large extent work of a single company that dominated the past 60 years of body image standards.
Since its creation in 1959, Barbie has been in the leading position of promoting hardly attainable body image standards, for which it was often heavily criticized. Scientific research shows that the probability of achieving a Barbie-like body shape is less than 1 in 100,000!
Mattel, the company behind the Barbie doll, has recognized that the 60s’ idea of good body image is long gone. In an effort to keep up with social change, Mattel is adjusting the dolls' body type and skin color, introducing special editions.
There is now a Barbie in a wheelchair. There is a Barbie Astronaut, Rescuer, or Engineer. In their latest Barbie special edition, Mattel honors the women fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, including Dame Sarah Gilbert. In the hope that Mattel is adapting to modern corporate standards just as well as it is to social change, we’re attracted by what the company's sustainability data may tell us.
What does the data tell us? To answer this question, we’ve launched a sustainability-focused beauty contest-with Mattel as one of the contestants. The company scores relatively well on environmental and social metrics(衡量标准).However, in terms of diversity, Mattel is well below its competitor, Hasbro. This being said, the judges advise that beauty should be equally defined by the inside and the outside.
What does this mean? Be body-positive! As we’re approaching the second quarter of the 21st century, the importance of a healthy relationship between mind and body is being recognized. And with this, body image standards are changing, allowing for more freedom of expression and identity.
Mattel’s efforts in product diversity are a welcome step in the right direction, as the doll has its very own influence. We believe that Barbie’s future lies in the empowerment(赋予力量)of today’s youth, contributing toward a generation of confident individuals.
1. How does scientific research evaluate a Barbie-like body shape?| A．It needs much luck to achieve it. |
| B．It's almost impossible to achieve it. |
| C．There is increasing probability of achieving it. |
| D．It's a breakthrough in attainable body image standards. |
| A．To score well on social metrics. |
| B．To launch a beauty contest. |
| C．To keep pace with the times. |
| D．To define what is real beauty. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Uncertain. | D．Uninterested. |
| A．The Future of Barb |
| B．New Metrics for Body Image |
| C．A Deep Dive into Barbie’s World |
| D．A Great Change in Body Image Standards |
7 . Don’t you want to talk less and smile more? That seems to be Amazon’s vision for the future of the smart home. According to the company, talking to their devices is just a temporary stage. Next, their gadgets (小玩意) will just know what we want and do it for us without a single command. To plot this route, the consumer tech giant showed off a series of new gadgets at its annual hardware event in September, 2020.
This vision of a smart home has been the road map for home automation for decades. A true smart home doesn’t just react to commands, it can foresee what will happen and take action accordingly. This could include lights switching on when you arrive home, heating turning off when the house is empty, or security drones (无人机) activating when somebody breaks in. Amazon says it’s ready for this domestic revolution, even if it’s still a few decades off.
Connectivity is the guarantee of a true smart home. The updated Echo smart speaker line that was recently displayed doesn’t just have a showy new look, it comes with a suite of tech to keep everything connected. This extended network, which will be launched in the US in later 2021, is designed to support expanding the smart home out to the smart garden and the smart driveway and beyond to the smart neighbourhood.
At the event, Amazon also showed off an actual robot. The Ring Always Home Cam ($ 250, coming in 2021) was perhaps the most fancy offering from the event, and certainly raised a fair number of eyebrows. At roughly 13cm high, the Always Home Cam is a drone with a camera. It rises up from its docking station and flies on pre-set paths. If a security event is detected, it will send warnings to your phone.
Ultimately, a true smart home won’t just rely on voice commands or drones. The less aggressive tech such as sensors, computer vision, and AI will work together to respond to our needs without violating our privacy. But, as Limp says, the true smart home “is a long-term vision, and there’s still lots to be done to make that a reality”.
1. According to Amazon’s vision, a true smart home ______.| A．is already available to the consumers last September |
| B．will be active and predictive |
| C．will be limited to indoor activities |
| D．can only act at its owner’s request |
| A．it only connects things in one’s own home | B．it is necessity for a true smart home |
| C．it has an attractive new look | D．it enjoys great popularity |
| A．Call the police. | B．Detect invaders. | C．Send messages | D．Take photos. |
| A．Introducing the company of Amazon. |
| B．Advertising the benefits of the smart home. |
| C．Talking about how Echo smart speaker line works. |
| D．What the true smart home is like and some related gadgets. |
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Once regarded as a geographical disadvantage, Shantang village in Zhejiang province has now become an
Tourists can enjoy
Shantang now offers sightseeing, leisure and shopping
10 . 2050 seems a long way away, but it is not impossible to predict the future though. With the speed we are moving now so many amazing things are going to happen in the future.
·The Internet will be free for everyone.
The Internet is really a key driver these days.
·
With the increasing population, it is not very hard to predict that common methods of transportation will not be enough. There will be much heavier traffic on the road. So in this case personal airplanes will be a handy method of transportation for common people.
Of course, there will be proper air traffic control for these personal airplanes.
·Most cancers will be treated successfully.
·Humans will live on other planets.
There will be great achievements in space research.
We will receive more intelligent signals from space. Chances are we will be able to find the next Earth-like planet.
| A．But it is not free for everyone yet. |
| B．So where is technology going in the future? |
| C．The world's population will cross 9.6 billion. |
| D．What do you think of my predictions of 2050? |
| E．In the year 2050, humans will be able to live on Mars. |
| F．Personal airplanes will be used widely for short journeys. |
| G．The number of deaths caused by cancers will be greatly reduced. |
