1 . When was the last time you used a telephone box? I mean to make an actual phone call — not to shelter from the rain. Ages ago, right? The last time I used a phone box for its intended purpose was…2006. I was conducting auditions (试演) for my play in my tiny old shared house in London. Hoping to impress some talented actors to come and work for me for nothing, I spread some throws over the sofas and lit candles to make it seem a bit more ”young professional”.
As I rushed outdoors to empty the wastepaper baskets, the door swung shut behind me. Suddenly I was locked outside. My mobile phone was inside, but luckily there was a telephone box across the street. So, I called Directory Assistance, got put through to our landlady’s managing agent, and had a spare key sent to me with just enough time to get back in before the actors arrived.
As it has been many years since I last used one, I should hardly be surprised that then are no longer any public telephones near my house. The last one standing has just been turn into a “mini community library”: any passer-by can “borrow” a book from its shelves return it later, or replace it with another title from their own collection.
For a few months after the “library” opened, I didn’t bother taking a look, as I had assumed that it would be stuffed full of cheese love stories. Then I noticed fork conducting spring cleans dropping boxes of voluminous books on various subjects there. And these books were free. This unbeatable price-point encouraged me to experiment with dozens of titles that I would never normally consider buying. And I’ve discovered some great books!
If I ever get trapped outside my house again, my local telephone box will, sadly no longer be able to connect me with my keys. But it can certainly keep me entertained while I wait for my wife to rescue me.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refer to?A.The play. | B.The shared house. |
C.The sofa. | D.The telephone box. |
A.To place an urgent call. | B.To put up a notice. |
C.To shelter from the rain. | D.To hold an audition. |
A.It provides phone service for free. | B.Anyone can contribute to its collection. |
C.It is popular among young readers. | D.Books must be returned within a month. |
A.He wanted to borrow some love stories. |
B.He was encouraged by a close neighbour. |
C.He found there were excellent free books. |
D.He thought it was an ideal place for reading. |
2 . What will man be like in the future——in 5000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example, Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring about a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over a very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald(光秃的).
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. But in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.
1. The passage mainly tells us that____A.humans need’t wear glasses in the future. |
B.man’s life will be different in the future. |
C.future man will look quite different from us. |
D.man is growing taller and uglier as time passes |
A.guess | B.explain | C.compete | D.know |
A.future life is always predictable(可预测的) |
B.human beings will become less attractive in the future |
C.less use of a bodily organ(器官)may lead to its degeneration(退化) |
D.human beings hope for a change in the future life |
A.Colour and height | B.size and appearance |
C.thought and observation | D.thought and emotion |
3 . It’s 2035. You have a job, a family and you’re about 40 years old. Welcome to your future life. Getting ready for work, you pause in front of the mirror, “Turn red,” you say. Your shirt changes from sky blue to deep red. Tiny preprogrammed electronics are rearranged (重新设置) in your shirt to change its color. Looking into the mirror, you find it hard to believe that you are 40. You look much younger. With amazing advances in medicine, people in your generation may live to be 150 years old. You’re not even middle-aged.
As you go into the kitchen and prepare to pour your cereal (谷类)breakfast into a bowl, you hear: “To lose weight, you shouldn’t eat that,” from your shoes. They read the tiny electronic code on the cereal box to find out the nutrition details. You decide to listen to your shoes. “Kitchen, what can I have for breakfast?” A list of possible foods appears on the counter as kitchen checks its food supplies.
“Ready for your trip to space? ”You ask your son and daughter. In 2005 only specially trained astronauts went into space, — and very few of them. Today anyone can go to space for day trips or longer vacation. Your best friend even works in space. Handing your children three strawberries each, you add, “The doctor said you need these for space travel.” Thanks to medical advances, vaccination shots (疫苗注射) are a thing of the past. Ordinary foods contain specific vaccines. With the berries in their mouths, the kids head for the front door.
It’s time for you to go to work. Your car checks your fingerprints and unlocks the doors. “My office. Autopilot (自动驾驶).” you command. Your car drives itself down the road and moves smoothly into traffic on the highway. You sit back and unroll your e-newspaper. The latest news downloads and fills the viewer. Looking through the pages, you watch the news as video films rather than read it.
1. What changes the color of your shirt?A.The mirror. | B.The shirt itself. | C.The counter. | D.The medicine. |
A.By pouring the breakfast into a bowl. | B.By listening to the doctor’s advice. |
C.By testing the food supplies in the kitchen. | D.By checking the nutrition details of the food. |
A.breakfast | B.lunch | C.vaccines | D.nutrition |
A.In order of time. | B.In order of character. |
C.In order of preference. | D.In order of importance. |
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
5 . In the near future, IoT (Internet of Things) will drive huge innovation (革新) in the way our food is grown. Plants will have a “voice”, not a human voice, but a voice based on data that can tell people, computers, and machines when, for example, they are thirsty, or need more sun, medicine, etc.
Take vertical (垂直的) farms, for example. Farming is moving indoors where the growth of plants can be monitored and controlled. The facilities are built vertically, so growing areas can be put in piles. This greatly reduces the amount of land needed for farming.
From an IoT point of view, vertical farms are connected in two ways. First, small sensors (传感器) in the soil or connected to plants tell a control system exactly how much light, water, and nutrients are needed to grow the healthiest crops. Sensors will also tell vertical farmers when crops are nearing their peak for harvesting at just the right time to make sure it’s still fresh when it reaches its final destination.
Second, vertical farms will be connected to other networks and information systems, including databases that track local demand. For example, local restaurants may input when they need fresh food supplies. And vertical farmers could get that information so they know which crops to grow in what quantities. This type of IoT system would have been unimaginable a generation ago.
Today, vertical farms are being experimented. Yet, the numbers point to a bright future for the industry, especially as the world’s population continues to grow. For example, Green Sense Farms in Chicago is able to harvest crops 26 times a year using 85 percent less energy, one-tenth the water, and no pesticides. A side benefit of lower energy use is lower CO2 output of two tons per month, with the added benefit of creating 46 pounds of oxygen every day.
1. What is the main idea of the text?A.Voice machines help plants speak up. |
B.Farmers are all turning to vertical farming. |
C.IoT has brought great innovation to our future life. |
D.Vertical farms driven by IoT are a future for agriculture. |
A.By recording farmers harvesting crops. |
B.By monitoring farmers working their fields. |
C.By analyzing information to preserve crops. |
D.By passing information on to a control system. |
A.expand the output of crops | B.match supply with demand |
C.determine the needs of farmers | D.move restaurants onto farms |
A.Negative. | B.Indifferent. | C.Optimistic. | D.Doubtful. |