1 . Up until a few decades ago, our expectation of the future were largely positive. Science and technology would cure all the ills of humanity, leading to lives of satisfaction and opportunity for all.

Now the utopia (乌托邦) has grown unfashionable, as we have gained deeper appreciation of the range of threats facing us, from natural disasters to deadly flu to climate change. You might even be tempted to assume that human beings have little future to look forward to.

But such negative attitude doesn’t make sense. The fossil record shows that many species have existed for millions of years- so why shouldn’t we? Take broader look at our species’ place in the universe, and it becomes clear that we have an excellent chance of surviving for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years.

So what does our deep future hold? Perhaps it may be easier to think about the question in long time periods than about the more immediate future. The potential evolution of today’s technology, and its social consequences, is astonishingly complicated, and it’s’ perhaps best left to science fiction writers and futurologists (未来学家) to explore the many possibilities we can merely imagine. That’s one reason why we have launched Arc, a new publication dedicated to the near future.

But take a longer view and there is a surprising amount that we can say with considerable assurance. As so often, the past holds the key to the future: we have now identified enough of the long-term patterns shaping the history of the planet, and our species, to make evidence-based forecasts about the situations in which our future generations will find themselves.

This makes the negative predictions of our future seem more likely to be temporary and unreliable. To be sure, the future is not all rosy. But we are now knowledgeable enough to reduce many of the risks that threatened the existence of earlier humans, and to prevent the lot of those to come.

1. What used to inspire our expectation of the future?

A．Our desire for lives of satisfaction.

B．Our faith in science and technology.

C．Our awareness of potential risks.

D．Our belief in equal opportunity.

2. Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 4?

A．Are limits the range of futurological studies.

B．Technology offers solutions to social problem.

C．The interest in science fiction is on the rise.

D．Our near future is comparatively hard to predict.

2 . When he was a kid, Alex Vardakostas began working in the grill (烧烤店) alongside adult employees. He estimates he has cooked 50,000 burgers (汉堡包).

Now, Vardakostas co-owns a burger joint called Creator, in San Francisco, California. But he doesn’t stand over a grill flipping burgers, and neither do his employees. At Creator, burgers are cooked and assembled entirely by machine. And because it costs less to maintain the machine than to pay a kitchen’s worth of employees, burgers cost less.

Creator is just one example of a growing phenomenon: Automation is taking over more and more jobs. That means work is done by machines or computers instead of people.

According to a report from McKinsey Global Institute, about 800 million people could be forced out of their jobs by 2030, McKinsey predicts that as technology improves, some tasks will be done more quickly or cheaply by machine, so businesses will install robots or computer programs to perform them.

Some jobs are more likely to be automated than others. Machines can do jobs that have three characteristics: They are routine, repetitive, and predictable. Some of these jobs pay low wages and require little education. But others pay well and demand an advanced college degree. Taxi drivers, cashiers, lawyers, and doctors all perform some tasks that can be done by machines.

So what jobs are safe from automation? Answers include coming up with new ideas or work that involves interacting with other people and building relationships, Jobs in engineering, science, the arts,therapy, and nursing are examples.

At Creator, Vardakostas hired people to do just that kind of work. Instead of repetitive burger prepping, workers interact with customers and advise them on flavor pairings, like mushroom sauce with pickles and onion jam. “In our world at Creator, all the work is creative and social,” Vardakostas says. “And I think that is what we’re going to see more of the future.”

1. What’s the difference between Creator and a traditional restaurant?

A．There is neither worker nor waiters at Creator at all.

B．The price of burgers at Creator is higher than that of a traditional one.

C．The number of owners of Creator is larger than that of a traditional one.

D．Some work is done by machines instead of humans at Creator.

2. What does the report from McKinsey Global Institute predict?

A．More working opportunities have to be created.

B．More cheap machines will be invented.

C．A lot of people will lose their jobs.

D．Humans will have difficulty in running business.

3. Why does the author mention Creator?

A．To introduce the topic of the text.

B．To increase the plot of the story.

C．To introduce a modern restaurant.

D．To make an advertisement for Vardakostas.

3 . What will man be like in the future--in 5000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.

Let us take an obvious example, Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring about a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.

Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over a very long period of time it is likely that man's eyes will grow stronger.

On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.

But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald (光秃的).

Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. But in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.

1. The passage mainly tells us that ________.

A．humans needn't wear glasses in the future.

B．man's life will be different in the future.

C．future man will look quite different from us.

D．man is growing taller and uglier as time passes.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．future life is always predictable (可预测的)

B．human beings will become less attractive in the future

C．less use of a bodily organ (器官) may lead to its degeneration (退化)

D．human beings hope for a change in the future life

3. Future man will be similar to us in ________.

A．Colour and height	B．size and appearance
C．thought and observation	D．thought and emotion

4 . If you’re tired of the big cities and sandy beaches; if you don’t want to head to Disney again, perhaps it’s time for a summer holiday in space. Russia has declared(宣布) plans for its first floating hotel, 217 miles above earth, and it is something of an offering with good service.

Hosting just seven guests in four cabins(座舱), the accommodation (膳宿) will include huge windows with views back to earth and tasty microwave meals will be served instead of the ones often used by astronauts.

Just getting there will be an adventure in itself—it will take two days aboard a rocket—and it won’t exactly be a budget holiday: A five-day stay will cost you￡100, 000 to￡500, 000 for your journey. The hotel is due to open by 2019 and it will be far more comfortable than the International Space Station (ISS) used by astronauts and cosmonauts.

In the weightlessness of space, visitors can choose to have beds that are either vertical(垂直的) or horizontal(水平的). Tourists, who will be accompanied by experienced astronauts, will dine on food prepared on Earth and sent up on the rocket, to be reheated in microwave ovens(炉子). Many kinds of delicious food will be offered.

Iced tea, mineral water and fruit juices will be included, but alcohol will be strictly forbidden. Toilets will use flowing air instead of water to move waste through the system. Waste water will be recycled.

Sergei Kostenko, chief executive of Orbital Technologies which will construct the hotel, said: “Our planned module inside will not remind you of the International Space Station. A hotel should be comfortable inside, and it will be possible to look at the Earth. The hotel will be aimed at wealthy individuals and people working for private companies who want to do research in space.” The hotel can also be used as an emergency shelter for astronauts aboard the International Space Station if there is a disaster.

1. Which can be the best title of the passage?

A．Russia has the advanced technology in exploring space

B．The International Space Station is being built now

C．The astronauts will have a second home in space

D．Russia declares the design for its first space hotel

2. What does the underlined word “budget” in the 3rd paragraph mean?

A．expensive	B．exciting
C．cheap	D．uncomfortable

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The space hotel is built to remind you of the International Space Station.

B．The hotel is built with big windows so that tourists can see the earth.

C．Many kinds of drinks are offered including alcohol.

D．In the near future, a space trip for most of the people can be realized.

5 . As anyone who freelances (做自由职业) knows, there are lots of advantages of working at home alone. But there are drawbacks too, like the potential loneliness. No wonder co-working spaces are becoming so popular, they permit self-employed individuals to feel like they are part of all office environment, while making them get some work done too. But renting a co-working space does cost money.

Now a Swedish project is aiming to change that by turning people’s under-used homes into temporary co-working spaces, available to freelancers for free. Hoffice was started by freelancers Christofer Gradin Franzen and Johline Zandra about a year ago in Stockholm when they invited a few people into their home office to work together. It was a great success, and the project has since spread to a number of cities in Europe, North and South America, Australia, India and Japan. Anyone can sign up and offer their home space as a free co-working space, or go find a Hoffice near them.

On a Hoffice day, everyone arrives and starts work at a certain hour. After 45 minutes，everyone gets up to take a break, stretch, do qigong or yoga for 10 to 15 minutes. Afterwards，people can gather around again, and re-state their intentions and goals for the rest of the work day, as a way to motivate each other. Meals can be eaten together at a certain hour, potluck-style (家常饭) or by bringing their own lunch.

This process creates an encouraging and supportive work environment. As some freelancers describe, “By working at Hoffice, we give ourselves and each other the gift to spend our days in a social working environment, where we are extremely productive without ignoring our other human needs. We also make sure to give ourselves and each other what we need to feel calm, happy, inspired and creative during the working day.”

So Hoffice is not just about sharing space; it’s also about a free exchange of ideas. And perhaps the best thing is that Hoffices are free to use.

1. Hoffice was started to________.

A．change people’s attitude to work	B．encourage people to be more social
C．provide a co-working space for free	D．improve people’s working conditions

2. What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3？

A．How a Hoffice day works.	B．How people respond to Hoffice.
C．What people share at Hoffice.	D．What Hoffice means to people.

3. Some freelancers’ descriptions of Hoffice suggest that they________.

A．work longer than before	B．benefit a lot from the working style
C．expect more people to join them	D．can’t be separated from each other

4. What do we know about Hoffice according to the text?

A．It is suitable for people from all walks of life.

B．It has created many new job opportunities.

C．It has been around for quite a few years.

D．It is becoming increasingly popular.

6 . 假定你是李华，是中国智博会SCE(Smart China Expo)重庆展区的负责人，请用英语向外宾简要地介绍“未来重庆”。以“What will Chongqing be like 30 years from now”为题写一篇发言稿，内容包括：
1.未来规划(城建、交通、旅游等)
2.欢迎考查与投资(invest)
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am Li Hua. Welcome to Chongqing Section at Smart China Expo.

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