1 . 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. |
2 . Professor Stephen Hawking recently came out with a serious warning for people. While at the Starmus Festival, a festival in Trondheim, Norway, celebrating science and the arts, Hawking warned people that the human race is in serious danger.
Hawking criticized President Donald Trump for denying climate change. Then the physicist warned the audience, “I am not denying the importance of fighting climate change and global warming, unlike Donald Trump, who may just have taken the most serious, and wrong, decision on climate change this world has seen.”
Hawking proposed that the leading countries should send astronauts to the Moon before 2020 to restart a movement of more exploration in space. BBC reported that Hawking suggested that we “build a lunar base in 30 years’ time and send people to Mars by 2025.”
According to BBC, Professor Hawking said, “Spreading out into space will completely change the future of humanity.” He continued, “I hope it would unite competitive nations in a single goal, to face the common challenge for us all.” The physicist shared more ideas to motivate the younger generation to continue exploring space. Hawking stated, “a new and ambitious space program would excite (young people), and stimulate interest in other areas, such as astrophysics and cosmology.”
Hawking also revealed his vision for other forms of energy that could move us to a new planet. He warned the audience, “The Earth is under threat from so many areas that it is difficult for me to be positive.” He continued, “Our natural resources are being drained, at an alarming rate. We have given our planet the disastrous gifts of climate change, rising temperatures, reduction of the polar ice caps, deforestation, and decimation (大量毁灭) of animal species. We can be ignorant, unthinking lot (人).”
The professor warned the audience that doing nothing would lead nowhere. He said, “If we succeed, we will send a probe (航天探测器) to Alpha Centauri within the lifetime of some of you alive today. It is clear we are entering a new space age. We are standing at the threshold (起点) of a new era. Human colonization and moving to other planets is no longer science fiction, and it can be science fact.” Hawking advised the audience to move to other worlds because we are running out of space.
1. According to Hawking, what is the first step for humans to spread out into space?| A．To build a lunar base. |
| B．To send people to Mars. |
| C．To send astronauts to the Moon. |
| D．To change the future of humanity. |
| A．Spreading out into space. |
| B．Facing the common challenge of humans. |
| C．Stimulating young people’s interest in other areas. |
| D．Motivating the younger generation to explore space. |
| A．speeded up | B．stored |
| C．used up | D．explored |
| A．Worried. | B．Confused. |
| C．Positive. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．To warn the audience that humans are in danger. |
| B．To predict what will happen to the earth in future. |
| C．To stress that humans are entering a new space age. |
| D．To encourage the audience to move to other planets. |
| A．the Earth is under threat and the human race is in serious danger |
| B．a new and ambitious space program would excite young people |
| C．astronauts have found a better world in the space than the Earth |
| D．humans have found other forms of energy to move to a new planet |
3 . SHOULD WE FIGHT NEW TECHNOLOGY?
This morning, I saw the shocking headline: “Passenger Dies When Car Crashes in Driverless Mode”.In the article, a lot of people said that the public should oppose the idea of developing driverless cars.They said that some advances in technology were unnecessary and could even be dangerous.Hence, we should cease accepting technology just because it is new.The newspaper reported that the car company had already apologized for the accident, but the families of the deceased said it was not enough.Nevertheless, the company still claimed that most people would be travelling in driverless cars one day soon.
On the one hand, there are many different groups of people around the world who live happily in the absence of new technology.Probably the most well known are the Amish, a group of Christians living in rural America.They do not own or drive cars, watch TV, or use the Internet.They have lived mainly as farmers since the 18th century, and they will probably be living the same way in the distant future.They advocate a simple life with an emphasis on hard work, family, and community.They think that is better than caring about luxuries or following the lives of the rich and famous.It could even be argued that the Amish’s quality of life is better since they live in and appreciate the natural environment rather than living in large, polluted cities.
On the other hand, new technology has provided people everywhere with many benefits over the years.For example, the latest weather-tracking computer programs give people lots of warnings about potential natural disasters, which saves many lives.Moreover, the Internet has made it possible for friends and family to keep in touch easily even if they are on opposite sides of the world.It has also made finding opportunities in life much easier, as it allows people to make larger networks of friends through using social media.
Personally, I have benefited quite a lot from technological advances.I found my career as an AI designer through a social media network.My health monitor, which I wear all the time, has also helped me get into the best shape of my life.Of course, when new technology changes the way we live, it can be a scary prospect.Nevertheless, I will always look on the positive side of change and accept it rather than resist it.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．A person died in an accident while driving his brand-new car. |
| B．The relatives of the victim would never accept the apology. |
| C．Many people took a negative attitude to this new technology. |
| D．The company was very concerned about the future of this new technology. |
| A．To persuade us to follow their natural living style. |
| B．To tell us the Amish prefer a harmonious and peaceful life. |
| C．To prove people can still live better without new technology. |
| D．To advocate a simple life with family and community by hard work. |
| A．Monitoring people’s physical health. |
| B．Providing chances in life more easily. |
| C．Predicting the earthquake and tsunami. |
| D．Helping people contact each other easily. |
| A．resistance | B．future | C．advance | D．positivity |
| A．The author wanted to praise the advantages of new technology. |
| B．The author wanted to show his supportive idea of new technology. |
| C．The author wanted to criticize the disadvantages of new technology. |
| D．The author wanted to arouse people’s concern about new technology. |
4 . The next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) may be sitting right beneath you, at least if furniture maker Ikea has any say in the matter. The Swedish furniture company’s “future-living” research lab in Copenhagen is conducting a survey to understand what people want when it comes to smart furniture.
AI is now walking into more aspects of people’s daily lives. Self-driving cars are just around the corner, and AI robots can play and beat the best players of strategy games. As smart home technologies have become more ubiquitous, products ranging from smart electrical outlets (插座) to smart smoke alarms are flooding the market. Therefore, it’s not surprising that Ikea would be moving in the same direction.
Exactly why people would want their sofa or bed frame to speak to then, track their daily movements or offer help is not yet clear. Though Ikea’s the new survey doesn’t directly answer that question, it does provide a hint of what people would feel comfortable with. Most participants wanted a more human-like form of virtual (虚拟的) assistants, as opposed to one that is more robotic. In terms of the ideal gender (性别) of the assistants, the most popular choice was neither male nor female. Few wanted a religious form of AI.
Just as with human friends, most wanted AI friends that were like them, affirming their own worldview. They wanted an AI assistant that was reasonably intelligent-that could collect data to predict what a person wanted before he or she asked, and that could prevent someone from making mistakes.
This is not the first time that Ikea has set foot in the field or futuristic technologies. In addition to wireless charging tables and chainless bikes that never rust, the furniture giant has also pictured smart kitchens that can cook the best meal. To decide on how intelligent you want your next sofa or bookshelf to be, you can take Ikea’s survey online.
1. The survey carried out by Ikea aims to ________.| A．know peoples need for smart furniture |
| B．understand future lifestyle |
| C．promote the company’s smart furniture |
| D．answer people’s questions |
| A．Beautiful. | B．Common. |
| C．Normal. | D．Environmental. |
| A．The differences between robot-like and human-like assistants. |
| B．What form of AI assistants people want. |
| C．What kind of friends people want. |
| D．The popular robots on the market. |
| A．help them become smarter |
| B．communicate with them without troubles |
| C．have its own worldview |
| D．deal with their problems in advance |
| A．Smart sofas that can speak to you. |
| B．Smart beds that can track your daily movements. |
| C．Wireless charging car. |
| D．Rustless bikes without chains. |
5 . Participants in an online forum were asked whether space exploration was worthwhile. Here are some of the comments they posted:
Planet Girl 7.17 pm
Our world is damaged by war, hunger and poverty. Billions of people struggle just to survive from day to day. Meanwhile the US space agency has US $16 billion to play with every year. We must deal with the world’s urgent problems. Space exploration is a luxury we cannot afford.
Dragon 7.18 pm
That $16 billion spent on space is nothing compared to the $370 billion spent on the military.
JJ 7.20 pm
Exploring space is investing in the future. Everyone knows we’re running out of resources. There’s massive over-population too. The solar system has heaps of resources we can use for mining, and maybe we can explore other planets. If we don’t do it now, it might be too late.
Planet Girl 7.22 pm
We have to settle problems of over-population and resource consuming here on Earth, instead of chasing science fiction dreams. Otherwise we will just export our unsustainable lifestyle to another planet. We might consume the whole universe!!
JJ 7.23 pm
Space explorers rock! They know what they are in for, and they still do it anyway. That’s what I call courage! We humans have always struggled to expand our horizons. We want to know what else is out there. Who knows, maybe we’ll discover the solution to all our problems out there!
Switched-on 7.25 pm
Space exploration has had a huge effect on our lives. Want to talk to someone halfway around the world? Sure. Get the weather forecast? Coming right up. Check exactly where you are? Absolutely. It’s all possible, thanks to satellite technology, global positioning systems, and the rest. If there was no space exploration, we’d be sitting around in the dark, not talking online!
Penny 7.50 pm
Satellites are launched by private companies — for profit. Planet Earth doesn’t always benefit. Exploring remote planets certainly does not contribute to life on Earth.
1. The underlined sentence (Par.2) means that space exploration is_________.| A．expensive but necessary |
| B．expensive and unnecessary |
| C．very important but too expensive |
| D．not very important but affordable |
| A．The cost of space exploration is too much. |
| B．Planet Girl’s idea is acceptable. |
| C．Space exploration is worthwhile. |
| D．The military is more useful than space exploration. |
| A．He agrees that space exploration costs too much. |
| B．He does not know how much space exploration costs. |
| C．He thinks space exploration is worthwhile, whatever the cost. |
| D．He knows Planet Girl is wrong about the cost of space exploration. |
| A．Its cost to the community. |
| B．Its effect on environment. |
| C．Its contribution to technology in everyday life. |
| D．Its capacity to serve people in their everyday life. |
| A．Living on other planets is a real possibility. |
| B．Spending money on war is unnecessary. |
| C．Space exploration encourages creativity. |
| D．Earth’s resources are fast disappearing. |
What will the home of the future look like? A team of architects in Hong Kong say that city homes will be tiny, as populations continue to grow and space becomes more expensive.
They have designed “space flats” with just 30 square meters in size as the houses in the following years. These flats have several small rooms: a living room, a bathroom and a bedroom, but everything is carefully planned to make good use of the limited space.
The living room is the main room of the flat. It can be used as an office, a kitchen or even a second bedroom. There is a sofa that can be changed into a bed. The dining table can be changed into a computer desk. And, if not needed, both the sofa-bed and the table can be folded and put away. There is a flat-screen TV, which can also serve as a computer monitor. In one corner of the room, a small cooker, a microwave oven and a mini-refrigerator are hidden out of sight. The other rooms are small but practical. The bathroom contains a toilet and a shower. The double bed in the bedroom can also be transformed into a sofa, if required.
“Space flats” are wonderful and they are now being tested in a building in Hong Kong. It is believed that “space flats” will be improved to be our future homes.
1. According to the architects, why will city homes be tiny?(no more than 10 words)2. How many rooms does a “space flat” have?(no more than 1 word)
3. How can we deal with the sofa-bed and the table if we don’t need them?(no more than 8 words)
4. According to the passage, list 3 kinds of kitchen equipment in the flat.(no more than 10 words)
5. What do you think of the “space flats”? Give your reasons.(no more than 20 words)
7 . Over the next decade, technology will decimate more jobs in many professions.
Some robots already cost less to operate than the salaries of the humans they replace, and they are getting cheaper. Boston Consulting Group predicts that, by 2025, the operating cost of a robot that does welding (焊接) will be less than $2 per hour, for example. That’s more affordable than the $25 per hour that a human welder earns today in America.
Uber and many other companies are working on developing cars and trucks that don’t need a driver in the driver’s seat. According to the American Trucking Associations, approximately 3 million truck drivers were employed in the United States in 2010, and 6. 8 million others were employed in other jobs relating to trucking activity. So roughly one of every 15 workers in the country is employed in the trucking business. We could be talking about millions of jobs disappearing in the early 2020s.
And then there is the “Gig Economy (零工经济)” that has some businesses moving toward part-time, on-demand employment. Uber has already done this to taxi drivers, and other technology companies are doing it to a wide range of jobs. A study by Intuit predicted that, by 2020, 40% of American workers will be self-employed, and that full-time jobs will be harder to find. We are talking about 60 million people in this category. The problem is that not only do such part-time workers lack reliable full-time jobs and sick pay, but they can’t enjoy health insurance and longer-term benefits.
The measures to be taken are to raise trade barriers. But closing the doors to foreign trade won’t bring jobs back. It will only slow the global economy and hurt American exports, shrinking the U. S. economy and accelerating job loss.
1. The underlined word “decimate” in Paragraph 1 can be replaced by “______”.| A．make someone interested in | B．equip someone for |
| C．wipe out | D．bring back |
| A．Robots will become smarter and smarter. |
| B．Uber’s labor cost will be lower and lower. |
| C．More and more truck drivers will be needed. |
| D．Taxi drivers can enjoy more health insurance. |
| A．It may be flexible. |
| B．It may offer sick pay. |
| C．It is full of adventure. |
| D．It is always well-paid. |
| A．Welcoming foreign trade. |
| B．Offering more part-time jobs. |
| C．Using fewer robots to stop job loss. |
| D．Developing more new technologies. |
| A．To show technology advances in our daily life. |
| B．To prove technologies cause low incomes. |
| C．To introduce what the Gig Economy is. |
| D．To warn the Gig Economy is coming. |
8 . What kind of house will you buy in the future? Would you like to live in a house where your plants can call your phone to tell you that they need to be watered? Or a house that helps you cut your energy bill by turning off the lights when you leave a room? It may sound like science fiction, but it already exists! Come and visit the Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois. It will show how you can live a green lifestyle by making use of advanced technology throughout the home that makes your life easier and simpler.
The Smart Home uses green technology to record the energy it uses, including electricity, water and gas. The house’s energy dashboard (仪表盘) lets you know your energy use through your television and computer. The house greets you with the new information when you walk in the door. It is able to record when you enter and leave rooms, and can switch the lights, television and music off .
The Smart Home is made entirely of recyclable and renewable materials. The furniture is made from used light bulbs, plastic bottles and other renewable materials, but you can’t tell from just looking at them. The kitchen countertops (工作台面) are made of recycled glass.
The entire house is designed to control the use of energy. The roof of the Smart Home has a sustainable vegetable garden, which does little harm to nature. Even the personal computer is green: it uses less power than a 60-watt light bulb. The house can raise and lower the window shades by itself.
1. What is the text mainly about? (no more than 8 words)2. Fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words. (no more than 5 words)
3. What is the Smart Home made of? (no more than 10 words)
4. What does the unlined word “sustainable” mean in the last paragraph? (no more than 3 words)
5. What do you think of the Smart Home? Explain your reason. (no more than 25 words.)
What will people die of 100 years from now？-If you think that is a simple question，you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology（生物技术）. With the help of new medicine，the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents，murder and war. Today's leading killers，such as heart diseases，cancer，and aging itself，will become distant memory.
In discussion of technological changes，the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live？Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells（细胞）are the basic units of all living things，and until recently，scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells，such as those of brain cells，would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100，medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so，people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs（器官）. The medicine，made up of the basic building materials of life，will build new brain cells，heart cells，and so on---in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic conditional human existence，but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.
1. What are the present major killers according to the writer？（no more than 5 words）2. Why are scientists sure that the life of cells cannot go much beyond 120 years？（no more than 10
words）
3. What does the underlined sentence mean in Paragraph 2？（no more than 10 words）
4. How can future humans live longer？（no more than 10 words）
5. If humans can live longer in the future，do you think it is bad or good for the society？And why？（no more than 20 words）
10 . Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict.” he jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes—khaki pants and a sports shirt—to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. “I am working harder than ever.” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday (but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday”. “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code.” “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative(保守的)dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale(心境，士气). Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative influence on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”
1. David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict,” because .| A．he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt |
| B．he couldn’t stand a clean appearance |
| C．he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time |
| D．he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes |
| A．they make him feel at ease when working |
| B．he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes |
| C．he looks handsome in casual clothes |
| D．he no longer works for any company |
| A．Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code. |
| B．Comfortable clothes make employees more productive. |
| C．A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees. |
| D．All the employers in the U. S. are for casual office wear. |
| A．Company workers started to dress down about fifty years ago. |
| B．Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 90s. |
| C．“Dress-down Friday” was first given as a favor from employers. |
| D．Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people. |
| A．saving employees’ money |
| B．making employees more attractive |
| C．improving employees’ motivation |
| D．making employees happier |
