| A.revealed B.display C.doubles D.contrary E.suggestions F.raw G.advance H.dramatic I.functions J.connected K.developed |
Your new smart TV might be your pride and joy today but they will pale into insignificance compared with the technology expected to fill homes by 2030.
And now experts at Rightmove have
In just two years’ time, a temperature-changing mattress(床垫) will come into being that warms up in the winter and stays cool in the summer.Self-cleaning fabrics(布), truly waterproof materials and personal climate control are all being
Fast forward to 2023, a “smart window” appears in the bedroom that
A smart mirror, which is actually a screen with an integrated computer, could even make polite outfit (服装）
And by 2025 the experts predict there will be self-heating towels.
While in 2030 the home will seem like an incredibly hi-tech space, with
Perhaps most excitingly, there’s a 3D printer that could be used to print everything from tools and electronics to food and clothing using just
And the experts predict that by 2030, the machines will be as popular as televisions.Pocket-lint’s Stuart Miles said that every single electronic device in the home will be
Tim Danton, Editor of PC Pro magazine thinks smart phones will
2 . What will the future school look like is difficult to make clear, but most experts agree that the school will be electronic in the future.
“Present-day schools will no longer exist in the next century,” says a report in The Age. “At that time, future schools will become community-style centers, which run seven days a week, 24 hours a day.” At the same time,computers will surely become a central part of the school in the future.
According to The Age, the distant learning will be popular and students will listen to teachers on computers. Going into classrooms on their computers, students will study at any time, which is very easy for them. However, it is necessary for students to go to the actual school in order to develop some social skills.
The Seashore Primary School is an imaginary school in the future created by the Education Department of Australia. At this school, all the teachers and students have laptop computers. Teachers check messages and call students back on a special telephone system and students use telephones to search for information or speak to their experts who teach their lessons. Besides, all the lessons are related to all sorts of subjects and all the students have their own learning plans created by teachers.
As one headmaster says, a laptop computer is students' library. data storage as well as the bridge to a wider world. Technology has changed the emphasis of future learning. Thus, we'll pay more attention to the learning of kids rather than the teaching.
1. What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?| A．Present-day schools are more practical than future schools. |
| B．Students can't have discussions in future schools. |
| C．Future schools will be open to students all the time. |
| D．The number of teachers in future schools will become larger. |
| A．It has fewer desks and chairs. |
| B．Students study at a set time. |
| C．It has no teachers and books. |
| D．Students will go to actual school when necessary. |
| A．was built by the Education Department of Australia |
| B．is not a real school, but a virtual school at present |
| C．is very popular among teachers and students in Australia |
| D．is a successful example of the future school in the world |
| A．Objective. | B．Supportive. | C．Critical. | D．Contradictory. |
3 . I log onto a computer at the doctor’s office to say I have arrived and then wait until a voice calls me into the examination room. There, a robotic nurse
I should say I really do like many aspects of
When I call my dentist’s office and actually get a human being on the line, I am
After all, human cashiers sometimes
Even more than that, real-life cashiers often take an interest in particularly cute children, which can
Machines can be
Call it the spirit, the soul or the heart. It is
| A．tears | B．directs | C．follows | D．separates |
| A．worker | B．nurse | C．doctor | D．cleaner |
| A．signals | B．symptoms | C．words | D．symbols |
| A．at most | B．at last | C．at least | D．at intervals |
| A．economy | B．agriculture | C．literature | D．technology |
| A．cut in | B．pass by | C．take over | D．go away |
| A．annoyed | B．thrilled | C．discouraged | D．disappointed |
| A．smiling | B．laughing | C．shouting | D．weeping |
| A．machine | B．human | C．animal | D．plant |
| A．give | B．remind | C．bargain | D．buy |
| A．brighten | B．darken | C．strengthen | D．widen |
| A．turning | B．happening | C．describing | D．struggling |
| A．urgent | B．efficient | C．frequent | D．consistent |
| A．But | B．Because | C．Otherwise | D．Therefore |
| A．everything | B．nothing | C．anything | D．something |
4 . Where is the future going?
Our work habits have changed a lot over the past thirty years. While our parents may have expected to stay in one job, with one company, for their whole life, we are faced with the possibility of changing jobs and even careers several times. Our understanding of education, work and society is different from that of earlier generations.
People in the future will still need food, of course, but the way we produce food will not be the same.
What about people who work with computers? Well, things will change for them, too. More advanced computer programs and new technologies will remove the need for computer operators who perform simple actions. Modern search engines can do many of the things that yesterday's computer operators did. Word processing and simple information handling can be done automatically.
A rapidly changing job market also creates new challenges for students, teachers and parents.
| A．What life will be like in the future is difficult to predict. |
| B．Not only the way we work and view the job has changed. |
| C．It is hard to imagine where all these advanced technologies will lead us. |
| D．For people with these skills, there will be new jobs as database managers. |
| E．Where is the future going and what can we do to find a place for ourselves in it? |
| F．Small farms that use old methods will be replaced by large farms with high efficiency. |
| G．The difference in values, skills, education and desires between two generations is growing. |
5 . Sixty percent of Americans play video games daily, according to Techjury. In order to escape from the reality of quarantine (隔离), more people have turned to video games and VR (virtual reality) has become more popular than ever.
The world of VR isn't new to the gaming industry. It has been an ongoing concept for years, dating back to the 1800s. NASA popularized VR technology in 1989, bringing light to advancements that had never been seen before, and in 1991, SEGA introduced VR to gamers.
Gaming companies such as Oculus and HTC have redefined gaming by allowing players to involve themselves deeply in the world of VR through personal headsets. VR users are able to socialize through chat rooms, create 3D art and exercise through heart-pumping gameplay. Once a user puts on a headset, they are immediately transported into a virtual world. This allows the player to have a better experience compared to simply staring at a TV with a game controller.
Although VR has many positive aspects, using virtual reality too much can cause health problems among users. When using VR, it is common for people to lose spatial (空间的) awareness. Therefore, users are encouraged to play in an area that is clear of furniture and other objects causing potential danger. Eye strain can also be caused by using VR too much, so it is important to limit your time playing in virtual reality and take breaks in order to minimize the possibility of experiencing negative health effects.
How VR will develop in the future is unknown to us. However, new advancements for it are on the way. Teslasuit, a company specializing in VR equipment, is creating haptic (触觉的) suits for VR gameplay. These suits will allow users to feel aspects of VR while in game and will increase involvement, build 360-degree awareness and engage muscle memory. There are an endless number of possibilities that users can experience and create in VR, and the boundaries of the virtual world are limitless.
1. The second paragraph is mainly concerned with _______.| A．the function of VR |
| B．the origin of VR games |
| C．the history of online games |
| D．the future of the gaming industry |
| A．do physical exercise together in nature |
| B．have a more realistic gaming experience |
| C．enjoy better-quality pictures and sounds |
| D．play games without disturbing others |
| A．contact. | B．Movement. | C．Opening. | D．Damage. |
| A．Negative. | B．Objective. | C．Confident. | D．Suspicious. |
6 . Unless you are like Nasty Gal’s founder Sophia Amoruso, the passwords you use to access your email and the endless other accounts you need for work aren’t filled with intention. With increasing security requirements, it’s likely your word/number combinations are becoming even less memorable. But new research suggests it may not be long before you won’t need to memorize passwords.
“Brainprint”, published in Neurocomputing, reveals that the brain’s reaction to certain words could be a unique identifying code — like a fingerprint — that could eventually replace passwords.
In a small experiment, the researchers measured the brains’ signals of 45 volunteers as they read through a list of 75 acronyms such as FBI and DVD. The word-recognition response differed so much between each participant that a second experiment using a computer program could identify each one with 94% accuracy.
It’s not enough to feel totally secure, but promising enough to hint at the future of securing sensitive information.
The advantage of using such a biometric system (生物识别系统) is that it can be used for continuous verification (验证), New Scientist points out. Passwords or fingerprints only provide a tool for one-off identification. Continuous verification could in theory allow someone to interact with many computer systems at the same time or even with a variety of intelligent objects, without having to repeatedly enter passwords for each device.
As Hollywood has illustrated, it’s simply a matter of cutting off a finger to steal that person’s identity. “Brainprints, on the other hand, are potentially cancellable,” said Sarah Laszlo, assistant professor of psychology and linguistics at Binghamton University and co-author of the study, “So, in the unlikely event that attackers were actually able to steal a brainprint from an authorized user, the authorized user could then ‘reset’ their brainprint.”
Until now, brain signals have been a challenge to understand. This experiment leaped over the obstacle by focusing on the brainwaves from the specific area that reads and recognizes words. The signal is therefore clearer and easier to measure.
The problem, so far, is that the brain signal is still not as accurate as scanning someone’s fingerprint, and initially requires sticking diodes (二极管) on your head in order to get a read. That’s ok, according to Zhanpeng Jin, assistant professor at Binghamton University and coauthor of the study, because brainprint isn’t going to be mass-produced any time soon. He says the researchers foresee its use at places such as the Pentagon, where the number of authorized users is small, and they don’t need to be continuously verified the way you do to access your mobile device or email.
Better keep your memory sharp, at least a little while longer.
1. In paragraph 5, “one-off identification” refers to the identification that _______.| A．happens as part of a regular series | B．interacts with intelligent objects |
| C．can be verified continuously | D．needs repeated verification |
| A．fingerprints can be canceled once stolen | B．brainprints are theft-proof and resettable |
| C．attackers can steal and replace brainprints | D．users have the authority to cancel brainprints |
| A．brainprints will sharpen users’ memory | B．brainprints will become easier to be measured |
| C．brainprints will receive narrow application | D．brainprints will eventually replace fingerprints |
| A．Brainprints: A New Way to Replace Passwords |
| B．Brainprints: A Unique Device to Identify Codes |
| C．Brainprints: A Quicker Way to Access Your Email |
| D．Brainprints: A Securer Device to Identify Brain Signals |
7 . What makes a human being? Is it our thoughts? Our emotions? Our behavior?
All of these things make us who we are, but at the center of the matter is the genome (基因组) — the genes inside our bodies that may determine everything from our hair colour to our intelligence. But if we could change our genome, what would it mean to us?
In an online video posted on Nov 26, He Jiankui, a biological researcher from Southern University of Science and Technology in China, said that he had helped to make the world’s first genetically edited babies.
These are twin girls, born in November, with genes edited in an attempt to help them fight against possible future infection (感染) with the AIDS virus.
He said that he chose to do this because HIV infections are a big problem in China. “I feel such a strong responsibility that it’s not just to make a first, but also to set an example,” He told the Associated Press(AP).
The announcement has caused an international storm. Some believe that success will benefit the families of HIV patients. Considering that HIV is “a major and growing public health threat,” attempted gene editing for HIV is justifiable, Harvard Medical School genetics professor George Church told AP.
However, others think that gene editing technology is still unsafe to attempt.
“Gene editing itself is experimental and is still associated with unexpected mutations (突变), causing genetic problems early and later in life, including the development of cancer,” Julian Savulescu, a specialist in ethics at the University of Oxford, told BBC News.
Others fear that this could open the door to using gene editing technology to make designer babies. It might give the parents the choices to choose everything from their baby’s eye color to intelligence.
“You could find wealthy parents buying the latest ‘upgrades’ for their children, leading to even greater inequality than we already live with,” Marcy Darnovsky, director of the San Francisco Center for Genetics, told BBC News.
However, Merlin Crossley, a biologist at the University of New South Wales, Australia, believes that’s a long way off. According to him, many genes produce qualities like height and intelligence — not to mention environmental influences.
And he believes the technology will be better controlled in the future.
“It’s hard to get genies (妖怪) back into bottles — but I’m optimistic that this technology, which I think of as ‘genetic surgery’, could be controlled quite effectively in the future,” Crossley told ABC News.
1. Why did He Jiankui make the genetically edited babies?| A．Because he wanted to be a leader in gene editing technology. |
| B．Because he tried to do his part in fighting against HIV infection. |
| C．Because he attempted to help the twin girls who were infected with AIDS. |
| D．Because he wanted to became the first to make the genetically edited babies in the world. |
| A．Gene editing can cause genetic problems sooner or later in life |
| B．Gene editing may widen the gap between the rich and the poor |
| C．Gene editing may enable wealthy parents to design their babies |
| D．Gene editing can determine everything inside a person’s body |
| A．Absurd. | B．Hopeless. | C．Acceptable. | D．Skilful. |
| A．Gene editing: the genie in the bottle |
| B．Gene editing: the way we should go |
| C．Gene editing: hope or fear for human beings |
| D．Gene editing: a great success in human history |
8 . The sea could be the food bowl of the future. In Jervis Bay, south of Sydney, seaweed, which is rich in fibre and omega 3, is grown and harvested.
Pia Winberg is a marine scientist who runs Australia's first food-grade fanned seaweed company. Her crop is grown alongside mussels (贻贝)and is used as an additive in pasta (意大利面)and other products.
Seaweed is also raised in large tanks, where it absorbs carbon dioxide waste from a wheat processing factory. The business is small, but could help to reduce the ecological footprint of traditional farming.
“We used ten percent of seaweed instead of wheat in breads and pastas, we've eliminated a million hectares of land, we've eliminated all of the carbon dioxide emissions associated with that, and we've also reduced the pressures on very precious fresh water.” said Pia Winberg.
Spiny sea urchins (多刺海胆虫)are another blue economy resource. They can destroy marine habitats, but a recent competition for environmental start-ups in Australia, saw them not as a pest but a delicacy (美味).
Martina Doblin, CEO of Sydney Institute of Marine Science, said, “By 2050 we will have some ten billion people on the planet, and about half the food they eat will come from the ocean. So, we really do need to pay attention to the way that we manage the blue economy-generating wealth from the ocean but in a sustainable (可持续的)way.”
Farming at sea has its challenges. Infrastructure (基础设施)has to be sound, as do supply chains and biosecurity. But get these things right, and the ocean might just be the next great economic frontier.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To lead to the main topic. |
| B．To describe a new kind of seaweed. |
| C．Tell how important the food safety is. |
| D．To explain the meaning of blue economy. |
| A．Ocean exploration has made little progress so far. |
| B．More and more people will die of hunger in the future. |
| C．More work is needed for a better use of the natural resources. |
| D．Sea farming will be a good way to solve the coming world food problem. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Objective. | C．Tolerant. | D．Negative. |
| A．How to Protect the Marine Animals |
| B．Measures to Develop Blue Economy |
| C．Farming the Sea for the Future of Food |
| D．Traditional Farming is Gradually Disappearing |
9 . What if we had the power to control time, instead of moving from the past to the present to the future? What if we could jump, loop and travel through time in a machine? What if we could go wherever and whenever we pleased?
This ability would allow us to witness historic wonders, change decisions and see people from the past. We could right wrongs and stop wars from starting.
The mysterious puzzle of time has kept people debating its nature for hundreds of years. Science fiction writers have turned it into imaginative stories. Some scientists have even attempted to explain it using math. This math tries to make the dream of time travel come true.
The scientist Albert Einstein said that time and space are one thing. He called it “spacetime.” Einstein said that there are three dimensions in space: height, width and depth. A scientist named Hermann Minkowski added time as a fourth dimension.
Einstein introduced two ideas that have led to theories about the possibility of time travel. The first is relativity. The idea of relativity is that the force of gravity causes space to bend, which causes time to twist. The second idea focuses on special relativity. The idea is that a traveler moving super-fast through flat spacetime will enter the future. Einstein considered time “relative” because it is measured based on where we are on Earth or in space.
Stephen Hawking is a famous scientist. He believes that a time machine will never be built. If it were possible, he thinks we would already know. If a time machine could be built, how come no one from the future has invaded us?
The first science fiction story with this theme is The Clock That Went Backward by Edward P. Mitchell, which was published in 1881. Since then, thousands of books, films and television shows have explored the idea of time travel, in which some tools such as phones, watches, photographs and old books take travelers backward and forward.
Will time travel ever happen? Who knows? Most important is to keep your eyes open and have a sense of wonder.
1. What is the author’s purpose of writing the first paragraph?| A．To show time and space are connected. |
| B．To show people’s interest in time travel. |
| C．To draw readers’ attention to time travel. |
| D．To make people believe time travel is possible. |
| A．Time travel is possible in the future. |
| B．People can’t move faster than light. |
| C．Time travel is against scientific rules. |
| D．Spacetime is not a real thing in theory. |
| A．The first science fiction story. |
| B．Some tools used in time travel. |
| C．Edward P. Mitchell, the pioneer. |
| D．Different works about time travel. |
| A．cautious. | B．pessimistic |
| C．sceptical | D．optimistic. |
10 . 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 nanotechnology(纳米技术) make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what was possible in the past. “There is a great effort 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 disease, 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”,Michael Zey means_________.| A．they have got some ideas about living forever |
| B．they believe that there is no limit of living |
| C．they are able to make people live past the present life span |
| D．they are sure to find the truth about long living |
| A．the human body is designed to last past about 120 years |
| B．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future |
| C．it is still doubtful how long humans can live |
| D．people can live from 120 to 180 |
| A．a great effort |
| B．the conservative estimate |
| C．the idea of living from 200 to 300 years |
| D．the idea of living beyond the present life span |
| A．No Limit for Human Life |
| B．Living Longer or not |
| C．Science,Technology and Long Living |
| D．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living |
