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.

2. What does paragraph 4 intend to show?

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.

3. What does the author want to express in the last paragraph?

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.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．High-tech Cars	B．Life in the Future
C．Is Cloning Really Good?	D．Are You Ready for the Future?

3 . 你们班将举办以“未来的生活”为主题的英语演讲比赛。请根据下列要点和你的想象写一篇演讲稿。
1．工作；2．出行；3．环境。
注意：
1．词数80左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3．开头和结束语已为你写好，但不计入总词数。
Good afternoon, boys and girls!

I’d like to share with you my opinion about future life.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

That’s all.Thank you for your listening.

4 . If you could travel in time, where would you go? Perhaps you would watch an original performance of a Shakespeare’s play in Elizabethan England? What about hanging out with Laozi in the Spring and Autumn Period? Or maybe you’d voyage far ahead of the present day to see what the future holds.

The possibility of time travel is indeed appealing. Stories exploring the subject have been around for hundreds of years. Perhaps the best known example is the science fiction novel The Time Machine, which was written by H. G. Wells and published in 1895 for the first time. It was adapted into at least two feature films of the same name, as well as two television versions, and a large number of comic book adaptations. It is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposefully and selectively. The term “time machine”, coined by Wells, is now universally used to refer to a vehicle transporting people into the far future.

But could time travel actually be possible? Some scientists say yes, in theory. They propose using cracks in time and space called “wormholes”, which could be used as shortcuts to other periods. Einstein’s theory of relativity allows time travel in extreme circumstances. And British physicist Stephen Hawking said you could travel into the future with a really fast spaceship—going at nearly the speed of light. Though building such a spaceship would of course be no simple task.

Even if you could travel into the past, there is something called the “grandfather paradox”. It asks what would happen if a time traveller were to go back in time and have his own grandfather killed for some reason, and therefore prevent himself from being born. If the time traveller wasn’t born, how would he travel back in time?

And would you really like to visit the future? In H. G. Wells’ book, the main character travels into distant time where he arrives at a beach and is attacked by giant crabs. He then voyages 30 million years into the future where the only living thing is a black object with tentacles (触角). If that’s what’s in store, maybe we are better just living in the present day after all.

1. The novel The Time Machine mentioned in Paragraph 2 aims to show 　　　.

A．people’s interest in time travel

B．the special features of the book

C．the long history of time travel

D．the contribution of H. G. Wells

2. Einstein’s and Hawking’s theories 　　　.

A．have similarities in many ways

B．push the invention of the first spaceship

C．have proved wrong by some time travellers

D．suggest the possibility to invent the time machine

3. In Paragraph 4, “grandfather paradox” probably refers to the idea that 　　　.

A．the traveller is prevented from meeting his grandfather

B．the traveller goes back in time to seek for his grandfather

C．the grandfather’s death makes the traveller’s birth impossible

D．The reunion of the traveller and his grandfather brings happiness

4. What is probably the author’s attitude towards time travel?

A．Unclear.	B．Skeptical.
C．Supportive.	D．Unconcerned.

5 . 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

2. What can be inferred from the fact that the milkman had the key to the boy’s house?

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.

3. Why does home milk delivery no longer exist?

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.

4. Why did the author bring back home an old milk box?

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.

6 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

The Future Life on Mars

Compared with the life we     1    (live) on the earth now, the future life on Mars will be     2    (total) different.

Firstly, without pollution on Mars, people will be able to drink cleaner water     3     breathe fresher air, so they will be     4    (health).     5     food on Mars will be different from our food now. People will just take     6    (pill) and drink man-made juice instead of eating bread and meat. Secondly, people will travel back to the earth or to other planets for sightseeing by spaceship. Additionally, there will be no     7    (fix) school and classrooms. Children will just fly to the classroom     8     the school spaceships. And people won’t work in factories or companies.     9    (them) can stay at home,     10    (work) with computers.

7 . 2050 seems a long way away, but it is not impossible to predict the future though. With the speed we are moving now so many amazing things are going to happen in the future. So where is technology going in the future?     1    .

◇The Internet will be free for everyone.

The Internet is really a key driver these days. But it is not free for everyone yet. There have already been attempts like Facebook’s Free Basics.     2    , there is a very strong possibility that the Internet will be free for everyone in the future.

◇Personal airplanes will be used widely for short journeys.

With the increasing population, it is not very hard to predict that common methods of transportation will not be enough.     3    , so in this case personal airplanes will be a handy method of transportation for common people. Of course, there will be proper air traffic control for these personal airplanes.

◇Most cancers will be treated successfully.

    4    . It will be a huge achievement in the history of medical science. Many studies are already showing a trend (趋势) towards this.

◇    5     .

There will be great achievements in space research. In the year 2050, humans will be able to live on Mars. We will receive more intelligent signals from space. Chances are we will be able to find the next Earth — like planet.

A．Though it hasn’t happened yet

B．Let’s start our predictions

C．The world’s population will cross 9. 6 billion

D．What do you think of my predictions of 2050

E．Humans will live on other planets

F．There will be much heavier traffic on the road

G．The number of deaths caused by cancers will be greatly reduced

8 . Modern inventions have speeded up people’s lives amazingly. Motor cars ________ a hundred miles in more than an hour, aircraft cross the world within a day, while computers operate at lightning speed. Indeed, this love of ________ seems never-ending. Every year motor cars are produced which go even faster and each new computer boasts(吹嘘) of ________ precious seconds in handling tasks.

All these save time, but at a cost. When we lose or ________ half a day in speeding across the world in an airplane, our bodies tell us so. We get the uncomfortable feeling known as jet-lag(时差). Our bodies feel that they have been ________ behind in another time zone. Again, spending too long at ________ results in painful wrists(手腕) and fingers. Mobile phones also have their dangers: too much use may transmit harmful ________ into our brains.

However, how do we ________ the time we have saved? Certainly not relax, or so it seems. We are so used to constant activity that we find it ________ to sit down and do nothing or even just one thing at a   ________ . Perhaps the days are long gone when we might listen ________ to a story on the radio, letting imagination take us into another world.

There was a time when some people’s lives were devoted simply to the cultivation(耕作) of the ________ or the care of cattle. No multi-tasking there; their lives went on at a much gentler pace. There is much that we might envy about a ________ of life like this. Yet before we do so, we must think of the hard tasks our ancestors ________ . Modern machines have ________ people from that primitive(原始的) existence.

1.

A．explore

B．get

C．cover

D．fly

2.

A．speed

B．time

C．product

D．distance

3.

A．wasting

B．losing

C．saving

D．spending

4.

A．earn

B．drop

C．miss

D．gain

5.

A．left

B．come

C．forgotten

D．felt

6.

A．ships

B．airplanes

C．computers

D．cars

7.

A．prevention

B．radiation

C．combination

D．damage

8.

A．control

B．handle

C．do

D．deal

9.

A．uncomfortable

B．easy

C．difficult

D．good

10.

A．second

B．day

C．year

D．time

11.

A．actively

B．quietly

C．quickly

D．curiously

12.

A．surface

B．water

C．land

D．island

13.

A．way

B．view

C．pathway

D．point

14.

A．expressed

B．charged

C．inspired

D．faced

15.

A．freed

B．remained

C．kept

D．cleared

9 . 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

2. In the future people don’t have to________.

A．walk on foot

B．work long hours

C．work fast

D．eat meat

3. People may not eat_________ as much as they do today.

A．fish

B．fruit

C．rice

D．meat

4. One big problem in the future is that________.

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

10 . Since several organisations plan to put the first man on Mars by 2030, new trips to the Moon will take place around 2025. If you go to the Moon, you need a place to stay in. So what will it be like? Maybe the following article can give us some inspiration.

August 23, 2025—Today a new chapter in space travel was written. Rod Markham and his wife-to-be Susan Millster arrived safely on the Moon to spend 5 nights as the first guests at the Starbright Hotel that was set up for this purpose two years ago.

Not only are they the first hotel guests on the Moon, but they also set a new record for expensive accommodation since the price was $3.7 million per night, per person. However, the move from the Earth to the hotel is included in the price.

The hotel itself will probably have a hard time just to try to gain one star in any hotel rating system, because there is no room service. The guests have to do the cleaning of the room themselves and there is no bathroom in it. However. they have more stars than they need just outside their windows.

Rod and Susan will get married by linking their local minister in San Diego, California at 9:00 p.m. EST tonight, and the wedding will be broadcast live by several major TV networks in a 1-hour special report, including the preparations for the trip.

Six astronauts are along with them and during the stay they’ll set up further accommodations for the guests who have made reservations at the Starbright Hotel next year. The hotel has no employees, only some workers when guests stay at it.

1. What does the new chapter in space travel refer to according to paragraph 2?

A．That humans landed on Mars for the first time.

B．That the first hotel on the Moon was set up.

C．That the first hotel guests landed on the Moon.

D．That the hotel on Mars welcomed its first guests.

2. What's the meaning of the underlined sentence “there is no room service”?

A．They can't find much help.

B．They will get five-star service.

C．They have to cook food themselves.

D．They can use the bathroom in their room.

3. What can we learn about the wedding of Rod and Susan?

A．It will last for an hour.

B．It can be watched live on the Earth.

C．A minister on the Moon will host it.

D．Their relatives and friends will be present.

4. What will the six astronauts do during the stay of Rod and Susan?

A．Accept reservations from others.

B．Improve room service for the couple.

C．Look for several employees for the hotel.

D．Prepare accommodations for future guests.