1 . Future means a time that is not yet here. It can be a short time from now or a long time from now. Scientists think that many wonderful things may come true in our future life.
Are you wondering whether there’ll be televisions in the future?
What about driving cars in the future? Well, a very small child probably will be able to drive a car. Computer systems will hold each car on the right road to get wherever the “driver” wants to go.
| A．What about the food of the future? |
| B．In the future, life will be the same as we live today. |
| C．People will suffer from serious hunger in the future. |
| D．And it probably will be impossible for car accidents to happen. |
| E．Now let’s see what the wonders are that may appear in the future. |
| F．The future televisions will be totally different from what they are. |
| G．But maybe the most wonderful surprise in the future will be weather control. |
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. |
3 . Given how valuable intelligence and automation are, we will continue to improve our technology if we are at all able to. At a certain point, we will build machines that are smarter than we are. Once we have machines that are smarter than we are, they will begin to improve themselves. The concern is really that we will build machines that are much more competent than we are. And the slightest divergence (分歧) between their goals and our own could destroy us.
Just think about how we relate to ants. We don’t hate them. We don’t go out of our way to harm them. In fact, sometimes we take pains not to harm them. We step over them on the sidewalk. But whenever their presence seriously conflicts with one of our goals, we will kill them without hesitation. The concern is that we will one day build machines that, whether they’re conscious or not, could treat us with similar disregard.
The bare fact is that we will continue to improve our intelligent machines. We have problems that we desperately need to solve. So we will do this, if we can. The train is already out of the station, and there’s no brake to pull. If we build machines that are more intelligent than we are, they will very likely develop in ways that we can’t imagine, and transcend us in ways that we can’t imagine.
So imagine we hit upon a design of super intelligent AI that has no safety concerns. This machine would be the perfect labor-saving device. It can design the machine that can build the machine which can do any physical work, powered by sunlight, more or less for the cost of raw materials. So we’re talking bout the end of human labour. We’re also talking about the end of most intellectual work. So what would apes like ourselves do in these circumstances?
But the moment we admit that information processing is the source of intelligence, we have to admit that we are in the process of building some sort of god. Now would be a good time to make sure it’s a god we can live with.
1. Why does the author mention ants in Paragraph 2?| A．To compare intelligent machines to ants. |
| B．To show improved machines will get away from us. |
| C．To stress the presence of machines does conflict with our goals. |
| D．To explain future intelligent machines could treat us without mercy |
| A．Disable. | B．Inspire. | C．Disappoint. | D．Outpace. |
| A．By making comparisons. |
| B．By giving assumptions. |
| C．By showing valid evidence. |
| D．By analyzing statistics |
| A．Human beings will no doubt be destroyed by AI in the future |
| B．Super intelligent AI will put an end to human labour eventually. |
| C．We should keep the development of AI within humans’ control. |
| D．Human beings should stop the development of super intelligent AL. |
4 . For years, planet-hunters have been searching for a planet other than Earth that can support life. They may have found one.
The planet is the sixth found orbiting a star called Gliese 581. Steven Vogt, one of the scientists involved, expects the new planet to have water. On Earth, when we find water, we find life.
A planet that can support life has to be just the right size for its system and just the right distance from its star. Some planets orbit so close to their stars that they’re much too hot for liquid water—or for life as we know it.
But a right-sized planet that's neither too close nor too far might be just right for water. Gliese 581 is probably just right. It is about three times as huge as Earth.
The new planet is 20 light years away, which is as far as 250 million trips to the Moon and back.
Gliese 581 is an exciting discovery—and astronomers are likely to find more soon, thanks to new, powerful telescopes specifically designed to look for planets.
| A．We can’t travel at the speed of light. |
| B．It’s pretty hard to imagine that water wouldn't be there. |
| C．Human beings won’t be visiting this planet any time soon. |
| D．So scientists looking for life on other planets look for water first. |
| E．It orbits its star so closely that it goes all the way around in only 37 days. |
| F．Astronomers will probably find more potential life-supporting planets soon. |
| G．Other planets keep their distance from the stars—where they’re too cold to have water or life. |
5 . You are just waking up in the spring of 2030. Your Internet of Things (IoT) bedroom opens solar powered e-windows and plays gentle music while your smart lighting displays a montage (剪辑的) of beachfront sunrises from your recent vacation.
Your shower uses very little water or soap. It recycles your grey water and puts the extra heat back into your home’s operating system. While you dress, your artificial intelligence (Al) assistant shares your schedule for the day and plays your favorite tunes.
You still start your day with a coffee but it comes from your IoT refrigerator which is capable of providing a coffeehouse experience in your home. A hot breakfast tailored to your specific nutritional needs (based on chemical analysis from your trips to the “smart toilet”) is waiting for you in the kitchen.
When it’s time to leave, an on-demand transport system has three cars waiting for you, your wife (or husband) and your kids. On the road, driverless cars and trucks move with mathematical accuracy, without traffic jams, routine maintenance or road rage. Accident rates are near zero.
On the way, you call your R&D team, who are enveloping a day’s work in Shanghai. Your life-sized image is projected (投射) into the China Innovation Centre and your colleagues see you as if you were sitting in the room. It’s a bit strange for them to see you in the morning light because it’s dark on the Bund, Shanghai’s waterfront, though the novelty disappears after a few uses.
You review the day’s cloud- based data from your Shenzhen manufacturing center, your pilot project in San Diego, and your QA team in Melbourne. The large amounts of datasets were collected in real-time from every piece of equipment and have been beautifully summarized by your company’s AI. All these facilities are closely maintained and operated through an advanced predictive analytics platform.
Pleased with the team’s progress, you end the call and ease into a good book.
This is the future and it will be here sooner than you think.
1. How can we describe the life in the future?| A．Virtual | B．Romantic |
| C．Inspiring | D．Intelligent |
| A．We can have a bath without using water. |
| B．We can drive to work without concerning any accidents. |
| C．We can enjoy the coffeehouse experience without going there. |
| D．We can deal with all our work at home without turning to others for help. |
| A．To attract us to use the AI system. |
| B．To introduce the life in the future. |
| C．To teach us how to use the AI system. |
| D．To encourage us to study hard for the future. |
6 . In the future, people may travel to Mars（火星)by water-powered spaceship! Today's spaceships are fine for getting things into space, but they are not so good at travelling long distances. These spaceships burn chemical fuels(燃料)and they are very expensive. Scientists say that a water-powered spaceship could make the trip to Mars much cheaper. The idea is just in the planning stages now, but scientists think such a spaceship could be developed soon.
The key to the water-powered spaceship is the engine(发动机).Regular engines push spaceships by burning fuel. The water engine will use steam, created by solar panels(太阳能板)that heat water to a high temperature. Of course, the spaceship will have to carry a lot of water for the long trip to Mars.
Today's spaceships could not carry that much water. But scientists think that a spaceship blown up like a balloon will be able to.
One Us company has already developed a spaceship like this. These spaceships are made of a strong material. Two of them have already been sent up into space, using rockets and then later filed with air. “Balloon” spaceships could be very large and carry enough water for a long trip. With the “Balloon” spaceships, enough water could be carried to power the engines and grow food during the trip. And the people on the spaceship might even get to take a hot bath!
Scientists say the biggest advantage of such a spaceship would be cost. The “Balloon” spaceship uses water to push it through space and costs about one thirtieth of a normal spaceship. Such savings naturally encourage continued research into balloon spaceships and water engines. If these scientists are correct, we may soon be on our way to Mars in a spaceship powered by water.
1. Which sentence best describes the main idea of the passage above?| A．The key to the water-powered spaceship is the engine. |
| B．In the future, people may travel to Mars by water-powered spaceship. |
| C．One US company has already developed a spaceship like this. |
| D．Scientists say the biggest advantage of such a spaceship would be cost. |
| A．use steam. |
| B．push spaceships. |
| C．heat water. |
| D．carry that much water |
| A．Take a hot bath. |
| B．Freeze dangerous things. |
| C．Blow up a balloon. |
| D．Change the surface of Mars. |
| A．www. freedictionary. com/power. |
| B．www. mooc. cn/music. |
| C．www. chinadaily. com. cn/culture. |
| D．www. space. com/spaceflight. |
7 . In many parts of the world, cars play an important role in daily life and many societies would not exist without them. So the idea that in 20 years’ time, no one will own cars may be hard to believe. But this is the prediction made by a team of transport researchers who are taken seriously, not only by government but also by car manufacturers.
The Human Science and Advanced Technology Institute at Loughborough in the UK is part of an international research program. The team there believes that by 2020 all cars will be computerized, which will mean much saving, no accidents and better use of roads. The super-intelligent car of the 2lst century will drive itself, and it will not be owned by one individual. Instead, we will have a choice of cars and change them as frequently as we change our clothing.
According to Dr. David Davis, who leads the research team, these predictions are based on the rising cost of the car culture, which had blocked up our cities, polluted our air, and caused more deaths than both world wars put together.
Davis says, cars will be fitted with some intelligent devices to regulate the distance between one car and another. The car will automatically speed up, or slow down, to match the speed of the car in front. Computers are much safer drivers than people, so cars in a road train will be able to drive much closer together than cars driven by people.
By 2010, Dr. David Davis believes, car technology will give motorists a clear view of the road, whatever the weather conditions, by projecting an image of the road ahead on to the car’s windscreen. And by 2020, cars will travel in convoy, linked to each other electronically. Cars will be connected by an electronic tow bar to the car in front to form “road trains”. “The front vehicle in such a train burns the normal amount.” says Davis. “But all the others in the train would burn about ten percent of the normal amount, and so produce about ten percent of the pollution.”
1. We know from the passage that governments and car manufacturers .| A．do not believe the prediction that no one will own cars by 2020 |
| B．are devoted to the technological revolution in car industry |
| C．consider the predictions seriously |
| D．have put the super-intelligent car into mass production |
| A．The car will speed up out of control. |
| B．We will own as many cars as we want. |
| C．All cars will be driven by computers. |
| D．Cars will produce more pollution than present ones. |
| A．cars play a very important role in daily life |
| B．many societies would stop functioning without cars |
| C．cars should not be owned by one individual |
| D．it causes many deaths to human society |
8 . Several recent studies examined how machine automation and artificial intelligence(AI) will change the future of work.
Some researchers predict these technologies could replace up to 30 percent of workers worldwide by 2030. The risk of being replaced will greatly increase for workers with less education, said Price Waterhouse Coopers, an international company providing financial and tax services. It estimated that in Britain, up to 46 percent of workers without a college degree could be at risk due to automation. The would drop to about 12 percent for workers with undergraduate degrees of higher.
“New smart machines have the possibility to replace our minds and to move around freely in the world,” the study said. It added that the greatest job replacement is expected to come in the areas of transportation, storage, manufacturing and retail.
The Rand Corporation recently issued its own report on the future effects of automation and AI on jobs and the workplace. Sonde Osoba was a co-author of the report. He noted that fears over machines taking jobs from humans goes back centuries. He agrees there will be major job disruptions due to AI and automation, especially for lower skilled workers. But he believes the future problems have been overestimated without historical evidence to support the predictions. “It’s not so much that the jobs are getting replaced, but it’s more like tasks are getting replaced and jobs are reconfiguring over time to account for that automation.” He added that it will be very difficult for companies to completely automate most jobs, because they require a worker to perform many different duties and to react to unexpected situations.
“If you are thinking about things an individual might do to prepare themselves, I guess being more adaptable, being more flexible, being able to reeducate yourself to fit into a different job.” Sonde Osoba suggests.
1. According to the whole passage, who are most likely to lose their job?| A．Officers in governments. | B．Deliverers in milk companies. |
| C．Scientists in laboratories. | D．Teachers in colleges and universities. |
| A．Many more jobs will be replaced as time goes by. |
| B．People could do nothing in the face of the job replacement. |
| C．People are too worried about it since there is a lack of proof of the job replacement. |
| D．Companies will completely automate some jobs by using machines instead of workers. |
| A．Automation and AI: how to change the future job | B．Future workers: what to do to keep the job |
| C．Job replacement: who is to blame | D．New studies: who is to replace the future job |
9 . The hotel on the moon may be just a few decades away, as the European Space Agency (ESA) is advising building a lunar vacation spot. This "Lunar Village" would be the first structure of its kind, a unique achievement for Europe, and the human race in general.
The Lunar Village would likely be built near the poles of the moon where water ice is trapped at the bottom of dark holes. Such places would not only provide water for the tourists, but would also allow for constant daylight, unlike other locations on the lunar surface. Visitors would wear normal clothing while inside the hotel, putting on spacesuits when out on the lunar surface.
The plan suggests that this hotel could house scientists and prospectors (勘探者) along with the next generation of space tourists. Construction of the facility would largely be financed by Russia, together with contributions from China, Japan and India.
ESA managers are warning the public of space travel dangers, including extreme temperatures and radiation from the sun.
By 2030, it may be possible to construct a base on the moon, providing a supply station for space travelers on their journeys to Mars or other locations in the solar system, space engineers predicted
"The ESA space exploration strategy sets the moon as a priority destination for humans on the way to Mars, and the recent talk of a "Moon Village" certainly has spread a lot of positive energy in Europe." said Kathy Laurini of NASA's Exploration Roadmap Working Group.
Although such a base is possible, there are no dates set yet for the public opening. Tourists wishing to visiting the moon can afford to wait to pack their bags-rockets taking passengers to the lunar surface are not leaving anytime soon.
1. What would you do if you could live in the "village"?| A．You could live the same life as on the earth. |
| B．You should put on spacesuits when you're out. |
| C．You would live a life without much light. |
| D．You would wear special clothes all the time. |
| A．Saved. | B．Controlled. | C．Supported. | D．Influenced. |
| A．New Exploration of the Moon |
| B．Moon Village Is Waiting for Visitors |
| C．European Space Agency Built a Hotel |
| D．Prepare For a Holiday on the Lunar Village |
10 . The annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has been a major marketing event for Victoria’s Secret for more than two decades. Over the years, it grew into a luxurious fashion show, with music from pop stars，plus bright costumes and diamond decorated dresses. However, the fashion show is about to undergo a big change. The lavish event, featuring some of the world’s top models performing in its signature costumes, will no longer air on network television on account of the declining television ratings and increased criticism.
People aren’t watching like they used to. According to The Times, the show’s viewership has dropped about 2/3 within five years. Last year the show dropped to 3. 3 million viewers from 9. 7million viewers in 2013. Besides, its reluctance to change has been made even more obvious with the emergence of competitors like Rihanna’s company Savage X Fenty，American Eagle Outfitter Inc’s Aerie and ThirdLove, which aim to be more friendly to women of different shapes, colors and backgrounds. To some extent，the days of network television viewers being able to admire supermodels in Victoria’s Secret costumes performing on the catwalk are over.
Leslie Wexner，the chief executive of L Brands which is the parent company of Victoria’s Secret said in a statement that he and his colleagues are taking a fresh look at every aspect of the business from advertising, marketing and brand positioning,todigital business and cost accounting.
“Fashion is a business of change. We must evolve and change to grow.” Wexner said the company will focus the rest of the year on developing exciting content and it will push the boundaries of fashion in the global digital age.
Since the annual event attracts hundreds of celebrities, high-profile entertainers and performers each year，the influence of this fashion show still couldn’t be ignored. Changes may pave new ways for its favorable development and a major makeover will boost the careers of supermodels as always, and provide them with a more excellent platform.
1. What is true about the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show?| A．It will be canceled due to the decreased television rating and increased criticism. |
| B．It has lost audience's enthusiasm for watching models performing on network TV. |
| C．It actively brings in new changes and learns from competitors to be more friendly to women. |
| D．It is a visual feast concentrating on charity with the performances of pop stars and world’s top models. |
| A．fashion is a field lack of changes |
| B．the Victoria’s Secret will insist on developing in its old way |
| C．senior leaders of the Victoria’s Secret feel desperate about its dilemma |
| D．the Victoria’s Secret is going to explore thrilling content which will achieve breakthrough in fashion |
| A．Sympathetic. | B．Optimistic. | C．Indifferent. | D．Doubtful. |
