1 . Humans will come to love robots like they are family rather than consider them as the enemy, according to Sir Nigel Shadbolt, a professor of computer science at Oxford University. He says we are entering an age when robots will act as carers for the elderly and friends for lonely children. He also says that the fear that robots will destroy humans is baseless.
Sir Nigel Shadbolt also made the comments at the Hay Festival of Literature &Arts in Wales. “Do robots threaten (威胁) humans? Certainly, anything you see in Hollywood describes them that way,” he said. “They are usually mad, bad and dangerous. Basically, you don’t want to get too close to them. But this is to misunderstand where the real problem lies. It is not robots that should scare you. It is natural stupidity.”
The principal of Jesus College, Oxford, said he did understand why people were concerned about rapidly smartening robots, “Indeed, people begin to worry that the machines are going to wake up and that they are going to become super-capable (超能力的). I want to tell you that they are not.”
Instead of computers seeking to get closer to humans, Sir Nigel Shadbolt believes it will be the other way round, with humans wanting to build meaningful relationships with the machines. “It will not be long before these robots are the friends that grow up with our children and that look after us in elder care,” Sir Nigel Shadbolt said. “It doesn’t matter that there’s nobody at home but a very good robot.” Sir Nigel Shadbolt mentioned the video that appeared earlier this week about the burial of robot dogs in Japan. Mourners (悼念者) believe their robots have a soul that needs to be put to rest and they are much-loved members of the family.
1. Sir Nigel Shadbolt thinks it is unnecessary for people to________.| A．make use of robots | B．feel scared of robots |
| C．doubt the role of robots | D．study the development of robots |
| A．Natural stupidity. | B．Hollywood movies. |
| C．The advertisements for robots. | D．The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts. |
| A．They will be buried by their users. |
| B．They will offer to chat with us. |
| C．They will become our soul mates. |
| D．They will have closer relationships with humans. |
| A．Lovely Robot Dog | B．The Greatest Robot |
| C．Future New Family Member | D．Possible Enemy of Mankind |
2 . Scientists may have found a way to reduce shortage of type O blood. Type O is the kind of blood that hospitals most often need. What the researchers are testing is an easier way to make type O blood out of other kinds of blood.
There are four main kinds of blood. Most people born with one of these four: Type A,Type B, Type AB or Type O. Type O can be safely given to anyone. So it is commonly used when a person is injured or sick and has to have blood.
The differences among blood types are linked to whether or not red blood cells contain certain kinds of sugar molecules(分子). These molecules are found on the surface of the cells.They are known as antigens (抗原). These antigens are found with type A, B and AB blood but not with type O.
More than twenty-five years ago, scientists found that the antigens could be removed to create what they called universal-type cells. They could be removed with chemicals called enzymes(酶). But large amounts of enzymes were required to make the change.
Doctor Henrik Clausen of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark led the study. The next step, he says, is to complete safety tests. The team is working with the American company ZymeQuest to test the new method. If it meets safety requirements(*k)and is not too costly,it could become a widely used life-saving tool to increase the supply of universal blood.
1. How do scientists deal with the problem of lacking type O blood?| A．Hope more people to donate type O blood. |
| B．Make the most of the present type O blood. |
| C．Develop new ways of using type O blood. |
| D．Make type O blood out of other kinds of blood. |
| A．Sugar molecules in red blood cells. |
| B．People's different living conditions. |
| C．Peoples various immune systems. |
| D．The variety of peoples cells and genes. |
| A．Type O blood can be safely given to anyone |
| B．Antigens could easily be removed to create universal blood. |
| C．A Danish company wanted to involve itself in studying blood. |
| D．The new method is not safe enough to be put into use in hospitals now. |
| A．Four different kinds of blood |
| B．A new way to make type O blood |
| C．The latest research on blood type |
| D．Find the proper type of blood |
3 . 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, so 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 our health will be in a 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 people won’t like making friends with each other. |
| C．Because there will be less face-to-face communication |
| D．Because people won’t communicate with each other much often. |
| A．It won’t be difficult for people to travel to other planets. |
| B．The way of spending holidays will be the same as that of today. |
| C．The relationship between people will be more important than today. |
| D．Our environment will be much more polluted with a growing number of cars. |
| A．disappointed | B．surprised |
| C．curious | D．optimistic |
| A．What our life will be like in the year 2050. |
| B．How people will communicate in the year 2050. |
| C．What high technology will appear in the year 2050. |
| D．How people will travel and spend their holiday in the year 2050. |
4 . Driverless technology will soon enter another major global industry: shipping. Several companies recently announced plans to start self-sailing ships to improve safety and efficiency（效率）.
One of them is Norwegian chemical company Yara International. Yara has designed to build an autonomous ship expected to start next year. The ship is fully electric to reduce air pollution. It is designed to carry containers normally transported by truck. This means the ship will also improve road safety by replacing about 40,000 truck trips a year.
Yara plans to operate the ships by remote control beginning sometime next year. By 2020, the ships should be loading and sailing themselves. Another company focusing on self-sailing ships is the world's largest mining company, Australia’s BHP Billiton. The company’s Vice President of Freight, Rashpal Bhatti, recently spoke about the technology. He said, “I believe automation（自动化）will be one of the biggest changes for shipping in the future.” Autonomous ships offer important chances to improve safety and provide better efficiency results to the marine supply chain. He added that self-sailing ships could become a reality within the next decade.
Rolls-Royce, the British automobile and engine manufacturer, is also developing unmanned shipping technologies. Oskar Levander is the company’s head of marine operations. He told a conference last year, “This is happening. It’s not if, it’s when.” Several shipping companies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to develop self-sailing ships expected to be used by 2025. These ships will be equipped with technology to collect weather and sea data. They will then use the data to plan out the safest, shortest and most fuel-efficient route.
1. Which one is the advantage of the driverless ship according to the passage?| A．Environmental friendly. | B．Without noise. |
| C．Low cost. | D．Having stronger ship body. |
| A．Australia’s BHP Billiton is the world’s largest ship company. |
| B．The ships will work almost automatically by 2020. |
| C．Bhatti isn’t sure of the future of driverless ship. |
| D．Self-sailing ships will be used widely in a couple of years. |
| A．Unsure. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Confident. | D．Objective. |
| A．A physics textbook. | B．A book review. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．A science report. |
5 . How to change the world
You want to change the world, but you aren’t sure where to start. First, remember that changing the world can mean so many different things.
Understand what's wrong.
Know that change doesn't come overnight.
Start small.
Find ways to make a difference every day. It may feel as though you are just one tiny part of a huge system. At first, you almost certainly will be. Be patient.
Write letters to newspapers; post an article, video, or idea on the internet; wear a T-shirt. If you think that it is important and worthy of attention, try to raise awareness(意识) by telling as many people as you can.
Consider a career.
Think about which sort of job might put you in the best position to change the world.
| A．Read the news. |
| B．Spread the word. |
| C．All things begin small |
| D．Remember that you don’t need to do it alone |
| E．You could be a teacher, a reporter, or something else. |
| F．There are other, less public ways to show your support! |
| G．Don’t expect to change the world with one big heroic act. |
6 . During the 20th century there has been a great change in the lives of women. A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century probably has been in her middle 20’s and would be likely to have seven or eight children. By the time the youngest was 15, the mother would have been in her early 50’s and would expect to live a further 20 years, during which chance and health made it hard for her to get paid work.
Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman’s youngest child will be 15 when she is 45 and she can be expected to live another 35 years and is likely to get paid work until 60.
This important change in women’s life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school and took a fulltime job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is 16, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Many more return to work later. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with the husband accepting a greater share of the duties of family life.
1. We learn from this passage that in the 19th century ．| A．there were more children in the world than there are today |
| B．women spent a greater part of their lives raising |
| C．there were more women in poor health than there are today |
| D．women married younger than they do today |
| A．she is young when her children can look after themselves |
| B．she is obliged to help her husband support the family |
| C．she feels lonely at home when her children grow up |
| D．she hopes to change the world a bit |
| A．give up their jobs after they get married |
| B．leave school as soon as they can |
| C．marry early so that they can get better jobs |
| D．continue working until they are going to have a baby |
| A．stay at home after leaving school |
| B．find jobs when they reach the age of 16 |
| C．start working again later in life |
| D．marry and have children while still at school |
| A．plays a greater part in doing housework |
| B．does almost all of the housework |
| C．feels unhappy about his wife’s going out to work |
| D．takes a part-time job so as to help at home |
How can we know what the future will look like? To be able to understand the future, you must know the past. What has taken us to where we are today and what has changed along the way? The world has changed a lot in the last 150 years, but we humans are driven by the same basic needs as we were 150 years ago. Will this change in the next 150 years? No.
What inventions have really made a difference in the last 150 years? In the past years, the inventions that have affected most people around the world for everyday living are the telephone, electricity, radio, television, computer, the car and the ability to communicate through the Internet. Then we of course have a lot of inventions that have made life easier, like new medicine, faster transports etc. In general, human beings have been working hard in the last 150 years to make the inventions so that they will be able to get control of the time and the world. Since there is still much to do in this area, this will be the focus at least for the next 150 years.
Why do we need to predict the future? Predicting the future is important for two reasons: first we need to start to think about what kind of future we would like for ourselves and to pass on to the next generation, and then we need to know what decisions we need to make today that will give the best result in the future.
1. What does the author try to tell us in the second paragraph?
| A．Our basic needs will not change in the future. |
| B．The world is quite different from what it was. |
| C．Humans will no longer enjoy food in the future. |
| D．The world will be completely changed tomorrow. |
| A．our daily life more stressful |
| B．it easy for us to live |
| C．our work easily done |
| D．us work less time |
| A．To produce more cars for transportation. |
| B．To spend more time working on the Internet. |
| C．To work much harder to achieve their goals. |
| D．To focus on making more inventions. |
| A．What result we’ll receive in the future. |
| B．The two reasons of predicting the future. |
| C．The importance of predicting the future. |
| D．The decisions we make for our future. |
