1 . Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it seems that TV channels will have vanished by 2050. Instead, people will choose a programme from a “menu” and a computer will send the programme directly to the television. By 2050, music, films, programmes, newspapers and books will come to us in the similar way.
In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages of water. Some scientist predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.
In the future, cars will run on new, clean fuels (燃料) and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.
Some big companies now prefer to use robots that do not ask for pay rises or go on strike, and work 24 hours a day. They are also easy to control. And they never argue with people. They can be easily used in a variety of places — factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.
Scientists will have discovered how to control genes (基因). Scientists have already produced clones (克隆) of animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look and how they behave. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?
1. Which of the following best explains “vanished” underlined in paragraph 1?A.Settled. | B.Spread. | C.Disappeared. | D.Decreased. |
A.Robots can work in different places. |
B.Robots have much to be improved. |
C.Robots work for humans for free. |
D.Robots have many advantages. |
A.He probably disagrees with the idea of human cloning. |
B.He is looking forward to using of cloning technology. |
C.The scientists have already discovered how to control genes. |
D.The scientists will face many difficulties of controlling genes. |
A.High-tech Cars | B.Life in the Future |
C.Is Cloning Really Good? | D.Are You Ready for the Future? |
2 . Where is the future going?
Our work habits have changed a lot over the past thirty years. While our parents may have expected to stay in one job, with one company, for their whole life, we are faced with the possibility of changing jobs and even careers several times. Our understanding of education, work and society is different from that of earlier generations.
People in the future will still need food, of course, but the way we produce food will not be the same.
What about people who work with computers? Well, things will change for them, too. More advanced computer programs and new technologies will remove the need for computer operators who perform simple actions. Modern search engines can do many of the things that yesterday's computer operators did. Word processing and simple information handling can be done automatically.
A rapidly changing job market also creates new challenges for students, teachers and parents.
A.What life will be like in the future is difficult to predict. |
B.Not only the way we work and view the job has changed. |
C.It is hard to imagine where all these advanced technologies will lead us. |
D.For people with these skills, there will be new jobs as database managers. |
E.Where is the future going and what can we do to find a place for ourselves in it? |
F.Small farms that use old methods will be replaced by large farms with high efficiency. |
G.The difference in values, skills, education and desires between two generations is growing. |
3 . Life in the future will be different from the life today. Between then and now many changes will happen. But what will the changes be?
The population is growing fast. And most of them will live longer than people now.
Computers will be much smaller and more useful, and there will be at least one in every room. And computer studies will be one of the important subjects in schools then. People will work fewer hours than they do now and they will have more free time for sports, watching TV and travel. Travelling will be much cheaper and easier. And many more people will go to other countries for holidays.
There will be changes in our food, too. More land will be used for building new towns and houses for all the people. Then there will be less room for cows and sheep, so meat will be more expensive. Maybe no one will eat it every day. Instead, they will eat more fruits and vegetables. Maybe people will be healthier. Work in the future will be different, too. Robots will do dangerous and hard work. Because of this, many people will not have enough work to do. This will be a big problem.
1. In the future there will be________.A.fewer vegetables | B.much more fruit | C.more people | D.less people |
A.walk on foot | B.work long hours | C.work fast | D.eat meat |
A.fish | B.fruit | C.rice | D.meat |
A.people will eat more fruits and vegetables |
B.many people may not be able to find work |
C.room for growing fruits and vegetables will reduce |
D.all the work will be done by robots |
4 . I log onto a computer at the doctor’s office to say I have arrived and then wait until a voice calls me into the examination room. There, a robotic nurse
I should say I really do like many aspects of
When I call my dentist’s office and actually get a human being on the line, I am
After all, human cashiers sometimes
Even more than that, real-life cashiers often take an interest in particularly cute children, which can
Machines can be
Call it the spirit, the soul or the heart. It is
A.tears | B.directs | C.follows | D.separates |
A.worker | B.nurse | C.doctor | D.cleaner |
A.signals | B.symptoms | C.words | D.symbols |
A.at most | B.at last | C.at least | D.at intervals |
A.economy | B.agriculture | C.literature | D.technology |
A.cut in | B.pass by | C.take over | D.go away |
A.annoyed | B.thrilled | C.discouraged | D.disappointed |
A.smiling | B.laughing | C.shouting | D.weeping |
A.machine | B.human | C.animal | D.plant |
A.give | B.remind | C.bargain | D.buy |
A.brighten | B.darken | C.strengthen | D.widen |
A.turning | B.happening | C.describing | D.struggling |
A.urgent | B.efficient | C.frequent | D.consistent |
A.But | B.Because | C.Otherwise | D.Therefore |
A.everything | B.nothing | C.anything | D.something |
5 . Technologically, the 20-year jump from 2015 to 2035 will be huge. Back in 1995 we were in the early days of the Internet, we worked in small rooms and our computers were heavy and powered by Windows 95. There were no touch screen phones or flat screen TVs; people laughed at the idea of reading electronic books.
So, what will our world really be like in 2035? What will the future jobs and technology be like? The world in 2035 will probably be much like it is today, but smarter and more automatic. We can see the future of our work first.
Taxi drivers will be replaced by self-driving Uber cars and receptionists will be replaced by robots. Doctors can use vast medical databases and travel agents will be wiped out by trip-planning, flight-booking web services. Even writers are threatened by companies such as Narrative Science, which currently uses AI to create sports reports and financial updates.
Obviously, there will also be new jobs created: the computer engineer who fixes the self-driving Uber taxis, programmers, space tour guides and vertical (垂直的) farmers. Technology will continue to disrupt (扰乱) businesses and get rid of jobs, creating new professions we can’t yet envisage now.
Those of us who work probably won’t do so in a traditional office either. We’re already seeing a shift in the definition of work. It’s now a task you perform, not a place you go to. Productivity is no longer measured by sitting at a desk. There’s no nine to five. No job for life.
The biggest advantage of working from home is that you save a lot of time commuting back and forth to work. You can spend extra time with your children or spouse and read the newspaper instead of sitting in traffic. Of course, advanced technology will ensure that most of us can work from home.
1. What’s the function of the questions in paragraph 2?A.Leading in the topic of the article. | B.Raising the thinking of the readers. |
C.Introducing the work of the future. | D.Inspiring readers to explore the future. |
A.Assess. | B.Ignore. | C.Imagine. | D.Reject. |
A.In the office. | B.At the hotel. | C.In the open air. | D.At home. |
A.The future health. | B.The future technology. | C.The future marriage. | D.The future transportation. |
6 . Is there anybody out there? For centuries humans have wondered although the ways in which we have gone about this have varied. As we have gained a greater understanding of the universe, our searches have taken on more concrete(具体的) forms. Questions about aliens(外星人) have become a subject for science rather than science fiction.
Now new cooperation between the Very Large Array (VLA) observatory in New Mexico and the SETI Institute in California means that our curiosity about whether aliens exist can be closer than ever before to being satisfied. Data from the VLA’S 28 radio telescopes, used to scan a vast area of sky, will be fed through a special supercomputer that will search for distant signals.
How likely it is that a signal will be found, and what this might mean, are hard questions to answer. SETI’s existing projects have not discovered any signals from other planets so far. But recent discoveries in space and Earth sciences have provided some encouragement for those who are enthusiastic about the possibility, however remote, of detecting other civilizations.
Once it was thought that our solar system could be unique. Since the discovery of the first exoplanet (a planet beyond the solar system) in the 1990s, thousands more have been located. Around one in five stars is now thought to have a planet in their orbit(运行轨道) in a so-called “habitable(适合居住的) zone”—that is, at a distance from the star where the temperature means that life is theoretically possible.
Are Earth’s 7.5 billion humans, along with billions of other animals and plants they share their home with, on their own in the universe? If there is another life form somewhere, could it be as intelligent as humans? Or could it threaten them? I think all of these need further exploration. As explorations of Mars continue, and a new set of observations from the James Webb Space Telescope are set to begin, our interest in the possibility of alien life appears as much as before.
1. Why does the VLA work with SETI?A.To develop new radio telescopes | B.To find evidence of aliens’ existence |
C.To build a special supercomputer | D.To search for distant signals |
A.Life does indeed exist on exoplanets |
B.New technologies are employed to find aliens |
C.Some exoplanets may have habitable zones |
D.Signals have been discovered from other planets |
A.Uncertain | B.Positive | C.Unacceptable | D.Worried |
A.Space: the unknown place | B.Finding aliens: possible or not? |
C.Receiving signals: aliens appear again? | D.Exoplanets: home of aliens |
7 . Today’s grandparents are joining grandchildren on social media, but the different generation’s online habits couldn’t be more different. The over-55s are joining Facebook in increasing numbers, meaning that they will soon be the site’s second biggest user group, with 3.5 million users aged 55-64 and 2.9 million over-65s.
Sheila, aged 59, says, “I joined to see what my grandchildren are doing, as my daughter posts videos and photos of them. It’s a much better way to see what they’re doing than waiting for letters and photos in the post. I think I’m lucky I get to see so much more of their lives than my grandparents did.”
However, Sheila’s grandchildren are less likely to use Facebook themselves. Children under 17 are leaving the site—only 2.2 million users are under 17---but they’re not going far from their smartphones. Chloe, age 15, even sleeps with her phone. “It’s my alarm clock so I have to,” she says. “I look at it before I go to sleep and as soon as I wake up.”
Teenagers might have their parents to thank for their smartphone and social media addiction as their parents were the early adopters of the smartphone. Peter, 38 and father of two teenagers, reports that he used to be on his phone or laptop constantly. He says, “How could I tell my kids to get off their phones is I was always in front of a screen myself?” So, in the evenings and at weekends, he takes his SIM card out of his smartphone and puts it into an old-style mobile phone that can only make calls and send text messages. “I’m not completely separated from the world if emergent, but the important thing is that I’m setting a better example to my kids and spending more quality time with them.”
Is it only a matter of time until the generation above and below Peter catches up with the new trend (趋势) for a less digital life?
1. How does Sheila feel about social media?A.Useful. | B.Disappointed. | C.Useless. | D.Addicted. |
A.To make calls to his boss. |
B.To stop his work. |
C.To set a good example to his kids. |
D.To catch up with the new trend. |
A.different | B.figured out | C.cut off | D.protected |
A.Children under 17 don’t use smartphone at all. |
B.Chloe is one of the early adopters of the smartphone. |
C.Today’s grandparents enjoy a life without social media. |
D.People may enjoy a less digital life in the near future. |
8 . 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 |
1. 你未来的职业和职业内容;
2. 给现在的自己建议与寄语。
注意:1.写作词数应为80左右;
2.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Me,
I'm YOU in 10 years!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Best regards!
Me in 10 years
10 . I arrive at the doctor’s office and then wait until a computer voice calls me into the examination room. A robotic nurse
I should say I really do like many aspects of
When I call my dentist’s office and actually get a human being on the line, I am
After all, human cashiers sometimes give you money-off coupons to
Machines can be
Call it the
A.receives | B.adopts | C.detects | D.extracts |
A.rushes | B.marches | C.steps | D.dashes |
A.signals | B.symptoms | C.sculptures | D.symbols |
A.leave | B.pay | C.mourn | D.bow |
A.past | B.present | C.future | D.history |
A.commerce | B.agriculture | C.literature | D.technology |
A.sponsor | B.partner | C.opponent | D.fan |
A.cut in | B.pass by | C.take over | D.break down |
A.annoyed | B.thrilled | C.discouraged | D.embarrassed |
A.warning | B.laughing | C.shouting | D.weeping |
A.machine | B.human | C.animal | D.plant |
A.save | B.obtain | C.make | D.collect |
A.human-made | B.full-time | C.man-machine | D.real-life |
A.brighten | B.darken | C.strengthen | D.widen |
A.turning | B.stretching | C.resisting | D.struggling |
A.urgent | B.artificial | C.efficient | D.consistent |
A.Nevertheless | B.Because | C.Otherwise | D.Therefore |
A.body | B.spirit | C.mode | D.routine |
A.everything | B.nothing | C.anything | D.something |
A.smile | B.call | C.laugh | D.stare |