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 . Everything is going to change more in the next ten years than it has in the last hundred, so it’s difficult to think about 100 years in the future. I can only guess what it might be like.
After 100 years, I think that borders will disappear through the development of science and technology.
Food from Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter will become popular.
My family will live in Mangshi, but I’ll take the super airplane daily to my work office. It’ll take 30 minutes from Mangshi to New York. My wife will go to her office in London.
| A．We plan to eat dinner in Paris. |
| B．They will fly to Tokyo for shopping. |
| C．In other words, the world will be united into one. |
| D．What kinds of car will we be driving in the future? |
| E．However, I think it will be better to live then than now. |
| F．People who don’t have time will eat such things as beans. |
| G．The clothes that people will wear in the future are easy to wash. |
3 . Those concerned that robots are taking over the world can rest easy-for now. Though the androids have proved useful at performing ordinary tasks, they are not ready for prime time. At least that appears to be the case at Japan’s cutting-edge Henn-na Hotel chain where over half of the robot staff is being replaced by humans.
The first Henn-na Hotel opened in July 2015, where guests were greeted and checked-in by either a family-friendly English-speaking dinosaur robot or a Japanese-speaking humanoid. Autonomous robots stood ready to help guests carry luggage to their rooms, while a cute doll-shaped android called Churi, placed inside each room, provided them with information about nearby attractions. Even the hotel’s garbage cans were robotic.
Not surprisingly, the lodging, recognized in 2016 as the world’s first robot-staffed hotel by Guinness World Records, drew in curious visitors from all around the world.
But as the years have passed, the hotel’s main draw — its employees — are becoming less of a novelty (新颖) and more of a bother. Also as the robots are “aging”, they are costing more to repair and maintain. Earlier this month, the hotel chain’s parent company H. I. S. announced that it had decided to “fire” over half of the robot employees and replace them with humans. Among them are the chain’s two robot receptionists. In addition to scaring young guests, they are also unable to photocopy guests’ passports-a requirement when checking into a Japanese hotel--forcing human employees to step in each time. Also, out are the cute Churi robots, which have proved unable to answer even the simplest questions and annoyed guests by interrupting their conversations.
While this is a setback, the company’s officials are not discouraged. They plan to continue with their ambitious expansion plans and believe the human-robot interaction is a learning process.“When you actually use robots, you realize there are places where they aren’t needed.” said one of the officials.
1. What could robots in the first Henn-na Hotel do?| A．Offer guests traffic information. | B．Help guests pack their luggage. |
| C．Greet guests in English or Japanese. | D．Direct guests to check in at the front desk. |
| A．They cause trouble to customers. | B．They ignore instructions. |
| C．They annoy human employees. | D．They are beyond repair. |
| A．They think highly of their interaction with customers. |
| B．They are against the use of state-of-art equipment. |
| C．They plan to hire more cute Churi robots. |
| D．They’ve realized the limitations of robots. |
| A．Robot Employees-Ready for Prime Time |
| B．Japanese Hotel Chain Expands Ambitiously |
| C．Robot Employees-a New Novelty for Hotels |
| D．Japanese Hotel Chain “Fires” Robot Employees |
4 . The home of the future won't be completely different and we will be living in houses and flats just as we do today. But people will want to shape their homes to match their dreams. No two homes will be the same. People will be able to buy "house kits" containing a basic house structure, with movable walls, doors and windows. They will put together the different parts to create the home they want.
Many jobs that we do today will disappear, others will still exist but will change and new jobs will be created. Skilled workers such as builders, gardeners and electricians won't disappear because machines can't replace them. Teachers will still exist because students need human contact. But they will be using modem technology in class more and students will be working more at home. The medical technology revolution and space travel will create new jobs which we can only imagine today.
Space holidays will develop in the future, but these holidays won't be for everyone because they won't be cheap. Short space trips will develop first; then space hotels will orbit the earth where it will be possible to have a longer vacation. By the end of the next century, there will have been holiday centres on the moon with leisure facilities（休闲设施）for families.
Paper won't exist in the future. Instead, there will be e-paper which people will be able to use over and over again. This will develop in order to save natural resources. E-newspapers and e-magazines will replace traditional newspapers and magazines and we will download information and news articles from the Internet every day onto our reusable paper.
The laws of physics tell us that the earth is going to disappear some time in the future. This isn't going to happen tomorrow but scientists predict that it will happen in five billion years when our sun explodes. We will have to explore the universe and find another home. At some point in the distant future, either we stay on the earth and die with it, or we leave and move to another planet. There won't be any other choice.
1. Homes of the future will .| A．be completely different from those of today |
| B．be very similar to our homes |
| C．all be different from one another |
| D．be movable as you want |
| A．Skilled workers will face great challenges. |
| B．The future will witness job changes. |
| C．Technology will totally replace workforce. |
| D．An unimaginable life will come into being. |
| A．become a very common way to spend holidays |
| B．be the best holiday options for families |
| C．attract a lot of people |
| D．be still only for very rich people |
| A．it will be a symbol of fashion |
| B．it won't waste natural resource |
| C．it will be cheaper to produce |
| D．it will be convenient to carry |
5 . The home of the future won't be completely different and we will be living in houses and flats just as we do today. But people will want to shape their homes to match their dreams. No two homes will be the same. People will be able to buy "house kits" containing a basic house structure, with movable walls, doors and windows. They will put together the different parts to create the home they want.
Many jobs that we do today will disappear, others will still exist but will change and new jobs will be created. Skilled workers such as builders, gardeners and electricians won't disappear because machines can't replace them. Teachers will still exist because students need human contact. But they will be using modern technology in class more and students will be working more from home. The medical technology revolution and space travel will create new jobs which we can only imagine today.
Space holidays will develop in the future, but these holidays won't be for everyone because they won't be cheap. Short space trips will develop first, then space hotels will orbit the earth where it will be possible to have a longer vacation. By the end of the next century, there will be holiday centers on the moon with leisure facilities for families.
Paper won't exist in the future. Instead, there will be e-paper which people will be able to use over and over again. This will develop in order to save natural resources. E-newspapers and e-magazines will replace traditional newspapers and magazines and we will download information and news articles from the Internet every day onto our reusable paper.
The laws of physics tell us that the earth is going to disappear sometime in the future. This isn't going to happen tomorrow but scientists predict that it will happen in five billion years when our sun explodes (爆炸). We will have to explore the universe and find another home. At some point in the distant future, either we stay on the earth and die with it, or we leave and move to another planet. There won't be any other choice.
1. Homes of the future will__________.| A．be completely different from those of today. |
| B．be very similar to our homes |
| C．be movable as you want |
| D．all be different from one another |
| A．become a very common way to spend a holiday |
| B．be the cheapest holiday choice for families |
| C．still only be for very rich people |
| D．attract a lot of people |
| A．it won't waste natural resource |
| B．young people like it |
| C．it will be cheaper to produce |
| D．it will be convenient to carry |
| A．if we want to live a better life |
| B．if we want to save the human race |
| C．when the earth explodes |
| D．when the earth is too crowded to live on |
注意：1.词数100左右；2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Life in the Future
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7 . U.K. astronomer Martin Rees says that in future, some people may decide to leave Earth in order to live on other worlds. Finally, he added, they might use high technologies to change themselves to adapt to their new environment.
“They will find themselves ill-adapted to conditions there, so they will redesign themselves using powerful genetic engineering (基因工程) technologies,” Rees says. “These techniques will, I hope, be kept under control on Earth; but those on other planets will be freer to try.”
“We should surely wish them luck in changing their children to adapt to outer planets. This may be the first step towards the development of a new species,” says Rees. He says that these “post-humans” could one day turn into “fully inorganic intelligences” which may not even need an atmosphere to live and may grow well in zero-gravity environments, which ordinary people are not adapted to. “So it is in deep space, not on Earth, that ‘brains’ may develop powers that humans can’t even imagine,” says Rees.
Rees also warns that human beings shouldn’t fall back on the idea that they can avoid disaster on Earth by heading deeper into space. “It’s dangerous to think that space offers an escape from Earth’s problems,” he says. “We must solve them here. Dealing with climate change is a doddle compared with changing other planets; there’s no environment in our solar system as mild as even the top of Qomolangma.”
This isn't the first time Rees has made interesting predictions. Last year, Rees predicted possible dangers of nuclear physics (核物理学) tests taking place on Earth. “Maybe a black hole could form, and then take in everything around it,” he said. However, some scientists were not worried about this prediction. Stefan, a physicist, said he wouldn't be “losing any sleep” over that prediction.
1. What might be Rees’s prediction?| A．People might live on other planets soon. |
| B．Space technologies might be improved greatly. |
| C．People might avoid using genetic technology in outer space. |
| D．Space exploration might lead to genetically-changed humans. |
| A．They have better survivability. |
| B．They are sensitive to zero gravity. |
| C．They are as smart as ordinary people. |
| D．They cannot adapt to the global environment. |
| A．The top dog. | B．A hot potato. |
| C．A piece of cake. | D．A white elephant. |
| A．It was doubtful. |
| B．It made great sense. |
| C．It required special attention. |
| D．It questioned many popular beliefs. |
8 . Looking out across the city and on top of the tall buildings before you are cows. Yes, you read that right. Farm animals are eating grass on high-rise urban farms on top of high buildings in London. Elsewhere, off the coast of mainland England, against the background of extremely beautiful White Cliffs of Dover, a wonderful pod (吊舱) structure forms part of floating city. This is how we will live 100 years from now — if a group of UK experts to be believed.
Temporary housing pods, underwater cities and 3D-printed houses will also help reduce the burden of overpopulation and inner city living-space shortages. Building with their own microclimates and cities built in the skies are also among the amazing achievements of future engineering predicted by experts.
But not only today’s architects continue to advance towards the clouds, building higher and higher, as engineering advances allow, but we’ll also be headed deep below ground. Meanwhile, the future will feature city-spanning (跨城市) bridges. Want to travel to Mars quickly? No problem — the experts are predicting spaceports (宇航基地) will become common places, so future generations will be able to head over to their local station and hitch (搭顺风车) the next ride.
The predictions were heavily focused on water - based architecture and present problems such as overpopulation, global warming and rising sea levels. Using the future tech predictions, 2,000 people were then surveyed to see which of the suggestions they thought — and hoped — would become a reality by 2115. Topping the survey was super-deep basement buildings complete with hotels, restaurants, green space, swimming pools and gyms. The survey also found that one in three respondents (调查对象) considered floating sea cities — which could use solar and tidal (潮汐的) energy — as a choice for future development.
1. The first paragraph is meant to ______.| A．present the topic | B．make a comment |
| C．give an example | D．draw a conclusion |
| A．different kinds of building structures. |
| B．recent development of building structures. |
| C．means to control the increase of population. |
| D．future building structures helping to solve the lack of living space. |
| A．air station | B．traveling agency |
| C．spaceport | D．traveling destination |
| A．City-spanning bridges | B．Deep underground buildings |
| C．Floating sea cities | D．slightly-deep basements |
9 . 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. |
10 . If you had to guess which direction Apple would be headed in 2019, what might you say? The company’s iPhone business has been stricken because of an economic slowdown and a maturing smartphone market. It’s clear Apple needs to adapt to face new realities.
Some might say the obvious answer is to lower the prices on the iPhone. Others want it to expand its services beyond Apple devices to Android and Windows.
But what’s more likely to happen is this: iPhones will get even more expensive. The evidence for this is already starting to appear. A new report from The Wall Street Journal suggests Apple is going to give its entire 2020 iPhone line OLED screens(有机发光二极管屏幕)—the same very expensive tech currently only found in the iPhone X and XS.
This may seem surprising, but it’s all of a piece with Apple’s strategy: Make high profit, desirable tech, and get the rewards of creating a closed ecosystem.
So Apple wants to focus on the high-end in order to satisfy choosy customers, while also recognizing that in a mature market, people will replace smartphones less often. This means high-profit devices will be key to maintaining a healthy profit, which helps explain the shift to an all-OLED lineup. That shift also allows for more basic design updates, like curved screens or edges.
It is important to note, too, that even though iPhone sales are down, sales for the Apple Watch and iPad are up. For the future, Apple will continue to put more emphasis on those categories. And looking even further out, it is almost certain that Apple will enter new sectors.
Apple has made some mistake policies in recent years. But the company is not down and out. Far from it: By focusing on high-end, high-profit tech, plus services, all while keeping an eye to the future, Apple will likely keep its dominant position for many years to come.
1. What can we know about OLED screens?| A．They haven’t been used by Apple. | B．They will make iPhones expensive. |
| C．They will let Apple save cost. | D．They have been used in computers. |
| A．It’s not fully mature. | B．It needs more smartphones. |
| C．It needs many design updates. | D．Its customers are hard to be satisfied. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Terrible. | C．Concerning. | D．Promising. |
| A．IPhones Will Be More Expensive | B．The Advantages Apples Will Have |
| C．IPhones Will Work Harder | D．Apple Is Facing Difficulty |
