1 . 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 |
2 . Imagine you enter a car with no steering wheel, no brake or accelerator pedals (踏板). Under a voice-activated command, you say an address. “The fastest route will take us 15.3 minutes. Should I take it?” You say “yes” and you are on your way. The car responds and starts moving all by itself. All you have to do is sit back and relax.
How weird would it be if, one day in the future, everyone had such a car? No crazy driving, no insults, no cutting in; traffic laws would be respected and driving much safer. On the other hand, imagine the cost savings for local police enforcement and town budgets without all those speeding and parking tickets.
A new technology has the potential to change modern society in radical ways. There’s no question that self-driving vehicles could be an enormous benefit. The potential for safer cars means accident statistics would drop: some 94% of road accidents in the U.S involve human error. Older drivers and visually- or physically-impaired people would gain a new level of freedom. Maintaining safe speeds and being electric, self-driving cars would drastically reduce pollution levels and dependency on non-renewable fuels. Roads would be quieter, people safer.
But we must also consider the impact of the new technology on those who now depend on driving for their livelihoods. According to the U.S. Department of Labor. In May 2015 there were 505,560 registered school bus drivers. The American Trucking association lists approximately 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the U.S.
The companies developing self-driving vehicles should be partnering with state and federal authorities to offer retraining for this massive workforce, many of whom will be displaced by the new technology. This is similar to what’s happening in the coal and oil industries, a situation that fuels much of the current political discontent in this country.
New technologies will, and should, be developed. This is how society moves forward. However, progress can’t be one-sided. It is necessary for the companies and state agencies involved to consider the ethical consequences of these potential changes to build a better future for all.
1. What would be the impact of the extensive use of driverless car?| A．People would be driving in a more civilized way. |
| B．It would save local governments a lot of money. |
| C．More policemen would be patrolling the streets. |
| D．Traffic regulations would be a thing of the past. |
| A．They could enjoy greater mobility. |
| B．They would suffer no road accidents. |
| C．They would have no trouble driving. |
| D．They could go anywhere they want. |
| A．Political dissatisfaction. | B．Retraining of employees. |
| C．Fossil fuel conservation. | D．Business restructuring. |
| A．The conflict between labor and management would intensify. |
| B．The gap between various sectors of society would be widened. |
| C．Professional drivers would have a hard time adapting to new road conditions. |
| D．Numerous professional drivers would have to find new ways of earning a living. |
| A．Keep pace with technological developments. |
| B．Make new technologies affordable to everyone. |
| C．Enable everyone to benefit from new technologies. |
| D．Popularize the use of new technologies and devices |
3 . 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. |
4 . The human beings seem to be facing a crisis （危机）． After our best Go players were defeated one by one by the artificial intelligence （AI） AlphaGo， we lost our pride of being at the top of the intelligence chain． And in October， when Saudi Arabia gave citizenship to a robot named Sophia， another privilege of being human was taken away． It looks like everything that separates humans and AI is at risk fight now．
But we keep hoping that instead of "everything"， there's still something left in us that makes us irreplaceable．
To Hao Jingfang， winner of the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Novelette， that "something" is our consciousness． "AlphaGo is intelligent in a certain way， but not intelligent enough to ask the important questions -- Do I like playing Go？ Do I want to play Go today？ Why do I have to play Go when you tell me to？" she once said． In other words， computer programs don't have a choice to say "no"． They probably don't even know what a "choice" is -- all they ever do is calculate．
And to He Huaihong， a philosophy （哲学） professor at Peking University， imagination and creativity are also what make us special． "A machine couldn't have come up with the theory of gravity just because it was hit by a falling apple"， he said． "It's human imagination that connects what seem to be completely random and irrelevant concepts， something that a machine--which works by fixed rules only--can't do， at least for now．"
This is why BBC reporter Viktor Mayer-Schonberger suggested that instead of focusing on how computers have overshadowed us on calculating abilities than humans， we should probably "consider our quality at a different end of the spectrum （光谱）：creativity， originality （原创性）， even plain illogical craziness， instead of hard-nosed （顽固的） logic"， he wrote．
So maybe in the future， as artificial intelligence becomes even more intelligent， humans and A1will learn to use each other's talents for good． If AI can handle the boring tasks like calculating and driving for us， we'll have more time to create， think， and be busy with "being human"．
1. What can we learn about AlphaGo， according to Hao Jingfang？ ______| A．It will be taught to say no in the future． |
| B．It will be more intelligent than humans one day． |
| C．It has difficulty answering personal questions． |
| D．It is unable to think independently as humans do． |
| A．Intelligence． | B．Originality． |
| C．The ability to make rules． | D．The ability to make choices． |
| A．Competed with | B．Taken control of |
| C．Been more successful than | D．Influenced |
| A．It will be used to help humans， rather than compete with us． |
| B．It may develop creativity besides better logical thinking． |
| C．It might be very dangerous to humans in different fields． |
| D．It will be applied to provide driving service for humans． |
5 . When people find out that I am a journalist, they often ask me: What do you think about the future of newspapers?
I tell them that I think the future of communications is moving online. People expect me to be fearful for the future of print. After all, in some people's minds I wouldn't be able to build a career in journalism if it all moves online. However, strangely enough, I’m actually comforted by the fact that online journalism is becoming usual. I am a blogger who has always been able to find a home for my writing online.
Since I began writing blogs, I have become aware of how many people you can reach with online writing. Compare this to the newspapers circulation base, and you will have a strong reason for online journalism.
In her successful blog post titled The Job I have spent the last year learning is not the one I will have, author Jenny Surane states, "Print is an expensive product to love. And general managers, publishers and editors must now figure out a profitable way to get their news into readers' heads.” She goes on to state that people don't feel like picking up a newspaper now and would rather scroll(滚屏) through their Twitter feed, and get news from many different sources.
If print is dying, then a new form of communicating information is being born. The need for information has not died. If anything, it has increased. What has died, rather, is the way in which information is presented.
Now more than ever, in this age of information, there is a desire for stories on the same topic from different points of view. The printing industry can keep pate with the need of providing a variety of sources, if it chooses to.
Is the future of print grim? Maybe, But is the future of journalism of communicating information to people, grim as well? Definitely not.
1. According to Paragraph 2, the author feels .| A．confident about the future of his career |
| B．worried about the future of print |
| C．tired of being a newspaper journalist |
| D．embarrassed about online writing |
| A．Twitter is not very popular |
| B．It is hard to manage online journalism |
| C．Prim still has its advantages |
| D．People have more choices to get information |
| A．Promising | B．Depressing |
| C．Unforgiving | D．Encouraging |
| A．To explore the future of journalism |
| B．To analyze the cause of print decline |
| C．To explain the bright future of a journalist |
| D．To introduce a successful blog post about print |
