1 . One day, you might be ordering your favorite pizza from a robot.Researchers at a university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are working on creating a pizza-making robot.
“Robots are basically preprogrammed to repeat the same actions over and over,” says David Held, a robot expert from Carnegie Mellon University, and one of the members of a pizza-making team．But making pizza has challenges.For instance, the flour (面粉) will become squishy when meeting water, with a shape that can change in many ways.Also, pizza-making requires many steps—such as rolling and cutting—and several tools, including a rolling, a knife and so on.In what order should the steps be done? Which tools should be picked, and when? “If you need to do a cooking task, there are several levels that you have to reason about,” Held says.Once people get the hang of it, “We don’t even need to think about exactly how we’re doing it- it sort of just happens.But robots can’t really “understand what to do on their own”.
To start, the team used a computer to consider how a robot could lift, fatten, gather, move and cut dough (生面团).The method has two levels of robotic reasoning: one that thinks how it should approach the overall task, and the other that thinks how it should move its “hands” to perform each action．The result was better than with the usual programming techniques.“We got a little bit closer to the right shape than the former methods,” Held says．“‘But there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”
For now, people will continue to make pizza the old-fashioned way: with their own hands.Sill, a pizza-making robot is a good goal.And if a robot could deal with dough, it could also work with other objects that can change shapes.“You can imagine robots helping in hospitals, or robots that clean up toys in day cares,” Held says.“The general goal is to eventually have robots that can help with whatever the task may be.”
1. What does the underlined word “squishy” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Soft. | B．Dirty. | C．Plain. | D．Precious. |
| A．Separating flour from water. |
| B．Doing all the steps in order. |
| C．Using several tools at once. |
| D．Repeating the same actions. |
| A．Methods of moving a pizza. |
| B．Problems with pizza making. |
| C．Improvements to the pizza robot. |
| D．Suggestions on how to make pizza. |
| A．They will help humans in different fields. |
| B．They will replace humans to do all the work. |
| C．They will do better than humans in day cares. |
| D．They will do whatever task as well as humans. |
2 . Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it seems that TV channels will have vanished by 2050. Instead, people will choose a programme from a “menu” and a computer will send the programme directly to the television. By 2050, music, films, programmes, newspapers and books will come to us in the similar way.
In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages of water. Some scientist predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.
In the future, cars will run on new, clean fuels (燃料) and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.
Some big companies now prefer to use robots that do not ask for pay rises or go on strike, and work 24 hours a day. They are also easy to control. And they never argue with people. They can be easily used in a variety of places — factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.
Scientists will have discovered how to control genes (基因). Scientists have already produced clones (克隆) of animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look and how they behave. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?
1. Which of the following best explains “vanished” underlined in paragraph 1?| A．Settled. | B．Spread. | C．Disappeared. | D．Decreased. |
| A．Robots can work in different places. |
| B．Robots have much to be improved. |
| C．Robots work for humans for free. |
| D．Robots have many advantages. |
| A．He probably disagrees with the idea of human cloning. |
| B．He is looking forward to using of cloning technology. |
| C．The scientists have already discovered how to control genes. |
| D．The scientists will face many difficulties of controlling genes. |
| A．High-tech Cars | B．Life in the Future |
| C．Is Cloning Really Good? | D．Are You Ready for the Future? |
3 . “We are running out of space and the only places to go to are other worlds... Spreading out may be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. I’m convinced that humans need to leave the earth.” These are the words of the famous scientist Stephen Hawking, spoken at a science festival in Norway in 2017, a year before his death.
Hawking was not alone in this view. Many experts feel that the only way for humanity to last far into the future is to colonise (移民于) other planets. That way, if a terrible disease, nuclear war or some other disasters strike the earth, civilisation as we know it would still have a chance. Mars is one of the most attractive destinations. NASA, the United Arab Emirates, the private company SpaceX, and the organisation Mars One all have plans to send humans there. “Either we spread the earth to other planets, or we risk going extinct,” SpaceX founder Elon Musk said at a conference in 2013.
But not everyone agrees that colonising Mars or any other planet is such a great plan. The most common argument against going is that it’s just too expensive or dangerous. It will take huge amounts of money and other resources just to get people there,let alone set up a place for them to live. It’s not even clear if humans could survive on Mars. One of the biggest dangers is its deadly radiation that ruins the planet.
Maybe all the time and money people would pour into a Mars mission would be better spent on more urgent projects here on Earth, like dealing with poverty or climate change. Some experts argue that handling a problem like an asteroid (小行星) strike or a disease outbreak while staying here on Earth would be much easier and less expensive than surviving on a new planet.
In addition, moving to a new planet could harm or destroy anything that already lives there. Mars seems uninhabitable, but micro-organisms could exist on Mars. Human visitors may destroy these lives or permanently change or damage the Martian environment. Some feel that’s too much of a risk to take.
1. Why did the author mention NASA, the United Arab Emirates, SpaceX and Mars One?| A．To stress the risk of dying out on Earth. |
| B．To provide evidence for Hawking’s theory. |
| C．To show growing intention of moving to Mars. |
| D．To explain the advanced technology in astronomy. |
| A．It is costly and risky to colonise Mars. |
| B．Civilisation is difficult to maintain on Earth. |
| C．Poverty is the most urgent problem to handle. |
| D．All the time and money should be spent on Earth. |
| A．Not steady to keep. |
| B．Not fit to live on. |
| C．Not easy to approach. |
| D．Not safe to set foot on. |
| A．Mars, Our Future Planet |
| B．Moving to a New Planet |
| C．Should We Colonise Mars? |
| D．Stay Home or Outer Space? |
4 . What is the future of AI (人工智能)? Will it be a good thing? We asked four students what they think.
Liu Lei
| I think AI will be more useful in our future lives. It’s now used in many fields, like phones and medicine. No one really knows what will happen if machines become smarter than humans. However, I’m sure AI will help us solve many problems. |
Xu Lu
| I’m worried that people create something that can be better than themselves. In the near future, AI will develop at a high speed. Humans may be replaced (取代) because AI robots will do a lot of work instead of people. |
Zhao Mingming
| I really think that Al will change the way we work, the way we live, and the way we think. Imagine if we could put a CPU into our brains! Soon we’ll be able to improve our math and memory. How exciting! |
Molly
| Think of what’s happening now. Some robots are used to kill animals. So I think AI will be very dangerous for humans, too. We need to be careful about what we ask machines to do. |
| A．Because humans are smarter than AI. |
| B．Because AI robots will do lots of human jobs. |
| C．Because humans will put a CPU into our brains. |
| D．Because we can’t improve our math and memory. |
| A．AI will be more useful for people. | B．AI will be less useful for people. |
| C．AI will be dangerous for people. | D．AI will be important for people. |
| A．Liu Lei and Xu Lu | B．Liu Lei and Zhao Mingming |
| C．Xu Lu and Molly | D．Zhao Mingming and Molly |
5 . Step into Moving to Mars, an exhibition of the Mars mission and colony design at London’s Design Museum, and immediately you have good reasons for not moving there.
Frightening glowing wall-texts announce that Mars wasn’t made for you, that there is no life and little precious water, that, dressed in a spacesuit, you will never touch, taste or smell the planet you now call “home”. As Lisa Grossman wrote for New Scientist a couple of years ago, “What’s different about Mars is that there is nothing to do there except try not to die.”
It is an odd beginning for such a celebratory exhibition, but it provides a valuable, dark background against which the rest of the show can sparkle(闪耀)—a show that is, as its chief manager Justin remarks, “not about Mars; this is an exhibition about people.”
Moving along, there is a quick yet clear flash through what the science-fiction writer Robinson calls “the history of Mars in the human mind”. A Babylonian clay tablet and a Greek vase speak to early ideas about the planet. A poster for the original Total Recall film reminds us of Mars’ psychological threat.
The main part of the show is our current plans for the Red Planet. There are real spacesuits and models of 3D-printed Martian settlements and suitable clothing and furniture. Mission architectures and engineering sketches line the walls. Real hammers meant for the International Space Station are wall-mounted beside a low-gravity table that has yet to leave, and may indeed never leave, Earth.
This, of course, is the great strength of approaching science through design: reality and assumptions can be given equal visual weight, drawing us into an informed conversation about what it is that we actually want from a future on Mars.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．How to move to Mars. |
| B．How to survive on Mars. |
| C．What preparations we made for Mars. |
| D．What the exhibition of Mars truly tells us. |
| A．It’s impossible to live on Mars. |
| B．It’s no good settling on Mars. |
| C．You have nothing to do living on Mars. |
| D．You can live on Mars in your spacesuit. |
| A．The current plans for Mars. |
| B．The advantages of living on Mars. |
| C．The early ideas about Mars. |
| D．The history of Mars in the human mind. |
| A．An experience. | B．An opinion. |
| C．A fantasy. | D．A solution. |
6 . We don’t know how different our future 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 be making 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 be using solar-powered cars, which will be much more environmentally friendly.
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 sanguine 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．that computers will do all the things for human beings |
| B．how people will use computers to communicate with each other |
| C．that machines like computers and robots will help people a lot |
| D．how people will use robots to do the housework |
| 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. |
| A．disappointed | B．surprised |
| C．curious | D．optimistic |
7 . Children’s Sci-fi Art Predicts Extraordinary Future
More than 80 sci-fi artworks are on display at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, showing a beautiful yet puzzling future. The “Brave New Sci-Fi World” exhibition features paintings and art installations (设备) by students from Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing and other cities. They imagine the future as a world where robots and human beings co-exist.
Ru Chen, from Shanghai New Putuo Primary School, has pictured a robot chameleon (变色龙) to be used in outer space to aid in the search and rescue of human beings in case of danger.
Li Jiaqi from Guangzhou Dongfeng East Road Primary School has painted a city where advanced technologies are everywhere, and even the city itself turns into a large robot.
Huang Yanrui from Beijing Shijingshan Gucheng No. 2 Primary School imagines his rubber, pencil box and such stationery (文具) becoming conscious robots, and beginning to design future human beings.
Wang Zhihan, from Shanghai Shangde Experimental School and her schoolmates, stick electronic components on stone faces as a metaphor (隐喻) for the increasingly unclear boundaries between the reality and virtual world. “We hope to remind people never lose yourself in a world with advanced technologies,” she said.
The exhibition will last till November 4.
Opening hours:
Tuesdays-Sundays 9: 00- 17: 15; legal holidays 8: 45- 18: 30.
Transportation Guide:
Metro: Metro Line 2: Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Station.
Metro Line 4, Metro Line 6 and Metro Line 9: change to Metro Line 2 at the Century Avenue Station.
Bus Routes: Bus 184, 640, 794, 983, 984, 987, 1023, 640 inter-zonal bus will take you there.
1. Whose artwork is related with space?| A．Ru Chen’s. | B．Li Jiaqi’s. | C．Huang Yanrui’s. | D．Wang Zhihan’s. |
| A．Shanghai. | B．Guangzhou. | C．Chongqing. | D．Beijing. |
| A．Metro Line 2. | B．Metro Line 4. | C．Metro Line 6. | D．Metro Line 9. |
8 . In 1901, H. G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon. When the explorers landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities. They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met. In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise. “Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”
H. G. Wells could only imagine travel to the moon. In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.
Underground systems are already in place. Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The “Chunnel”, a tunnel (隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.
But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities”. The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome (太阳能穹顶) would cover the whole city.
Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space. The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness, H. G. Wells’ “moon people” would agree. Would you?
1. What surprised the explorers in H G Wells’ story ?| A．The moon people’s unique language. |
| B．The moon people’s friendliness. |
| C．The moon people’s space technology. |
| D．The moon people’s underground cities. |
| A．Traveling to outer space. |
| B．Meeting the “moon people” again. |
| C．Using the earth’s inner space |
| D．Discovering the moon’s inner space. |
| A．Tunnels, gardens, offices. |
| B．Gardens, car parks, power stations. |
| C．Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas. |
| D．Offices, shopping areas, power stations. |
| A．Enjoy living underground | B．Building down, not up |
| C．Alice Cities—cities of the future | D．Space travel with H. G. Wells |
9 . Some people believe that humans could live on the planet Mars by the year 2100. Our own planet, the Earth, is becoming more and more crowded and polluted. It is hoped that people could start all over again and build a better world on Mars. Here is what life there could be like.
At present, our spacecraft are too slow to carry large numbers of passengers to Mars — it would take months. With the development of technology, by the year 2100, the journey might only take about 20 minutes in spacecraft that travel at the speed of light! However, the spacecraft would travel really fast, so the journey to Mars might be quite uncomfortable. Many people would feel ill.
Humans can’t live without water, air or food. So far, nobody knows whether there would be enough water or air on Mars for people. Moreover, scientists are not sure whether plants could grow on Mars. Food would most probably be in the form of pills (药片) and would not be so tasty.
Compared with life on the earth, life on Mars would be better in some ways. People would have more space. They might live in houses with huge comfortable rooms. Also, robots would do a lot of their work so that they could have more time to relax. There would probably be no schools on Mars. Every student would study at online schools with “e-teachers”.
Life on Mars would be interesting and challenging. However, it may take hundred or years to make it true. So the most important thing we need to do now is to protect our beautiful blue planet — the Earth!
1. The underlined word “spacecraft” means ________.| A．spaceships | B．hot-air balloons | C．space stations | D．planes |
| A．Fast and enjoyable. | B．Fast but uncomfortable. |
| C．Slow and boring. | D．Slow but comfortable. |
| A．There would be enough water and air on Mars for people. |
| B．Food on Mars would be more delicious than that on the earth. |
| C．People would be busy with work on Mars. |
| D．The writer thinks living on Mars would be full of challenges. |
| A．Schools on Mars | B．Food on Mars |
| C．Life on Mars | D．Environment on the Earth |
10 . Futurologists are making a lot of predictions about our future life.
By the middle of the century, it’s believed that buildings will be able to “talk” to people through various sensors when the heating needs to be turned on.
By midcentury, scientists believe that buildings will be miles tall. Some of them may be very large and they can function as small cities. By comparison, at present, the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, measures 829.8 metres high.
At height extremes, a London Spaceport is also likely to come into being by 2048 as the space industry develops very quickly. There is a huge cost advantage going to space from as high a base as possible.
| A．As cities are being very crowded, |
| B．As a result, there will be no switches. |
| C．As the future building can rise through the clouds, |
| D．As architects are racing to develop the world’s tallest buildings, |
| E．They are predicting how we will travel, work and live in the next 30 years. |
| F．Therefore, a spaceport is very likely to be over 10 km, using carbonbased materials. |
| G．What is more likely, though, is that planes will become smarter and may even become autonomous. |
