1 . Futurologists(未来学家)predict that life will probably be very different in 2050 in all the fields of activity，from entertainment to technology.First of all，it seems that TV channels will have disappeared by 2050.Instead，people will choose a programme from a “menu”(菜单)and a computer will send the programme directly to the television.Today，we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometres away.By 2050，music，films，programmes，newspapers and books will come to us by computer.We will also be able to see，smell and touch the things that we see on television.

In transport，cars will run on new，clean “gas” and they will go very fast.Cars will have computers to control the speed of the car 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 where you want to go.Space planes will fly all over the world and people will fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

In technology，robots will have replaced people in factories.Many factories already use robots.Big companies prefer robots — they do not ask for pay rises or go on strike，and they work 24 hours a day.By 2050，we will see robots everywhere — in factories，schools，offices，hospitals，shops and homes.

Last but not least，medicine technology will have conquered many diseases.By 2050，we will be able to help blind and deaf people see again and hear again.Scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look，how they behave and how much intelligence they have.

1. What is NOT true about television by 2050 according to this passage?

A．One will be able to smell the food on television.

B．One can have a try of the food he or she sees on television.

C．There will be no channels for us to choose programmes.

D．Televisions will be completely controlled by computers.

2. What can be the development of transport that benefits people most by 2050?

A．Cars will go at a very high speed on their own.

B．Space planes will fly all over the world in a short time.

C．There will be less pollution and no car accidents.

D．Computers will tell people where they are going.

3. It can be implied in the passage that by 2050         ．

A．people will live more healthily and longer

B．computers will control the speed of cars

C．people can read newspapers through a computer

D．there will be no people working in factories

4. What is the author's attitude towards people's life in future?

A．Doubtful.	B．Sad.
C．Happy.	D．Worried.

2 . The sea could be the food bowl of the future. In Jervis Bay, south of Sydney, seaweed, which is rich in fibre and omega 3, is grown and harvested.

Pia Winberg is a marine scientist who runs Australia's first food-grade fanned seaweed company. Her crop is grown alongside mussels (贻贝)and is used as an additive in pasta (意大利面)and other products.

Seaweed is also raised in large tanks, where it absorbs carbon dioxide waste from a wheat processing factory. The business is small, but could help to reduce the ecological footprint of traditional farming.

“We used ten percent of seaweed instead of wheat in breads and pastas, we've eliminated a million hectares of land, we've eliminated all of the carbon dioxide emissions associated with that, and we've also reduced the pressures on very precious fresh water.” said Pia Winberg.

Spiny sea urchins (多刺海胆虫)are another blue economy resource. They can destroy marine habitats, but a recent competition for environmental start-ups in Australia, saw them not as a pest but a delicacy (美味).

Martina Doblin, CEO of Sydney Institute of Marine Science, said, “By 2050 we will have some ten billion people on the planet, and about half the food they eat will come from the ocean. So, we really do need to pay attention to the way that we manage the blue economy-generating wealth from the ocean but in a sustainable (可持续的)way.”

Farming at sea has its challenges. Infrastructure (基础设施)has to be sound, as do supply chains and biosecurity. But get these things right, and the ocean might just be the next great economic frontier.

1. What is the function of the first paragraph?

A．To lead to the main topic.

B．To describe a new kind of seaweed.

C．Tell how important the food safety is.

D．To explain the meaning of blue economy.

2. What can we learn from what Martina Doblin said in paragraph 6?

A．Ocean exploration has made little progress so far.

B．More and more people will die of hunger in the future.

C．More work is needed for a better use of the natural resources.

D．Sea farming will be a good way to solve the coming world food problem.

3. Which word can be used to describe the author's attitude towards sea fanning?

A．Skeptical.

B．Objective.

C．Tolerant.

D．Negative.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．How to Protect the Marine Animals

B．Measures to Develop Blue Economy

C．Farming the Sea for the Future of Food

D．Traditional Farming is Gradually Disappearing

3 . Farms of the Future

Skyscrapers(摩天大楼) are the ultimate symbol of urban life. By 2050, almost 80 percent of the earth’s population could live in cities. The human population could increase to 9.1 billion people yet the amount of land available for farming will be the same.     1    

Vertical farms, where farmers could grow crops in environmentally friendly skyscrapers, could be the solution. In spite of concerns over high costs, experts want to make these urban farms a reality and use these skyscrapers to grow crops.     2    

Vertical farms would have many advantages, experts say. The food would be grown with minimal effects on the environment. Unlike traditional farming, vertical farming would not force animals out of their habitats by taking over large areas of land, nor would it pollute the air with the use of heavy farming equipment.     3     These have been well recognized.

Growing prosperity has led to many people demanding that all foods are available all year round. Indoor farming could produce crops constantly and crops would not suffer from weather-related problems like drought or flooding. In addition, the use of agricultural chemicals for controlling insects would be minimal.

    4     They point out that although crops growing in a tall glass building would get natural sunlight during the day, it wouldn’t be enough. The plants closest to the windows would grow much more quickly than the plants further inside. The plants growing away from the windows may not produce as many or as high quality vegetables.     5     They would need additional light sources.

Experts agree that the new farming practices are needed to support the planet’s need for more and more food at affordable costs, both to the farmer and to the consumer. Vertical farms may be a small-scale answer, but the best ideas could be yet to come.

A．Still, there are some people who are critical of vertical farms.

B．That is where vertical farms are often needed for year-round crops.

C．So how to meet the increasing food needs of our planet could be a big problem.

D．For these reasons, natural light cannot be a workable solution for vertical farms.

E．Vertically grown food is grown in environmentally controlled conditions in big cities.

F．Those farms would also reduce the cost and negative effects of transporting food over distances.

G．They believe that we can increase the food production by changing our thinking from out to up.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

There is no doubt that humankind dreams of making Mars our second home. However, sending people there will require all the skills, courage and     1     (intelligent) of the human race. While the Moon can be reached within days, it would take months to reach Mars,     2     (travel) through dangerous solar radiation. And even if the first settlers do reach Mars safely, staying alive will be     3    daily challenge, but as proved by the Biosphere experiment, not impossible.

As early as the 1980s, scientists were building Biosphere 2 in the Arizona desert. It consisted of a closed space    4     people, animals and plants could live together. The “closed” concept meant that the space was designed     5     (function) with its own oxygen, food and water, needing nothing from the outside world.     6     the two-year experiment was not a success, it did provide us with a better understanding of how humans might be able to live on another planet. More recently, scientists     7     (succeed) in growing a variety of plants in an environment similar to that on Mars. That     8     (definite) is a big step forward.

For now, human settlement of Mars is still     9     (decade) away. In the meantime, scientific research shows that the planet Earth is getting     10     (warm). This change is having a terrible effect on the biosphere.

5 . What if we had the power to control time, instead of moving from the past to the present to the future? What if we could jump, loop and travel through time in a machine? What if we could go wherever and whenever we pleased?

This ability would allow us to witness historic wonders, change decisions and   see people from the past. We could right wrongs and stop wars from starting.

The mysterious puzzle of time has kept people debating its nature for hundreds of years. Science fiction writers have turned it into imaginative stories. Some scientists have even attempted to explain it using math. This math tries to make the dream of time travel come true.

The scientist Albert Einstein said that time and space are one thing. He called it “spacetime.” Einstein said that there are three dimensions in space: height, width and depth. A scientist named Hermann Minkowski added time as a fourth dimension.

Einstein introduced two ideas that have led to theories about the possibility of time travel. The first is relativity. The idea of relativity is that the force of gravity causes space to bend, which causes time to twist. The second idea focuses on special relativity. The idea is that a traveler moving super-fast through flat spacetime will enter the future. Einstein considered time “relative” because it is measured based on where we are on Earth or in space.

Stephen Hawking is a famous scientist. He believes that a time machine will never be built. If it were possible, he thinks we would already know. If a time   machine could be built, how come no one from the future has invaded us?

The first science fiction story with this theme is The Clock That Went Backward by Edward P. Mitchell, which was published in 1881. Since then, thousands of books, films and television shows have explored the idea of time travel, in which some tools such as phones, watches, photographs and old books take travelers backward and forward.

Will time travel ever happen? Who knows? Most important is to keep your eyes open and have a sense of wonder.

1. What is the author’s purpose of writing the first paragraph?

A．To show time and space are connected.

B．To show people’s interest in time travel.

C．To draw readers’ attention to time travel.

D．To make people believe time travel is possible.

2. Which of the following statement could Einstein agree with?

A．Time travel is possible in the future.

B．People can’t move faster than light.

C．Time travel is against scientific rules.

D．Spacetime is not a real thing in theory.

3. What is the last but one paragraph mainly about?

A．The first science fiction story.

B．Some tools used in time travel.

C．Edward P. Mitchell, the pioneer.

D．Different works about time travel.

4. What is the writer’s attitude toward time travel?

A．cautious.	B．pessimistic
C．sceptical	D．optimistic.

6 . All the efforts you put into studying at university may not have been enough—because robots could be coming for your job. A new study finds that as many as 800 million workers could be replaced by robots by 2030.

The study from the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that between 400 million and 800 million individuals could be replaced by automation(自动化) or robots and need to find new jobs by 2030 around the world. It estimates that 30 percent of the hours people spend on working globally could have been automated by that time.

Those most affected will be people who work in predictable environments doing tasks such as operating machines and preparing fast food. Those who make a living by collecting and processing data also face a high risk of being replaced by robots. But people who work in less predictable environments such as gardeners, plumbers, and childcare staff face a smaller risk, because their roles are technically difficult to be automated and often command relatively lower wages, which makes automation a less attractive business proposition(商业提议).

However, it’s not all doom for the future of employment. The Study notes that automation sometimes allows workers to remain employed in a different position. “Even when some tasks are automated, the employment rate in those occupations may not decline because workers may perform new tasks,” McKinsey &Company wrote in a release on its website.

It noted that China has the largest number of employees who would need to switch occupations, up to 100 million if automation was adopted rapidly, or 12 percent of the 2030 workforce. The numbers are higher in more advanced economies, with up to one-third of the 2030 workforce in America and Germany needing to switch occupations, along with nearly half of the 2030 workforce in Japan. Countries which fail to prepare workers for transition to new jobs will feel the impact of a rise in unemployment and depressed wages, according to the study.

1. Why will lots of people need to find new jobs by 2030 around the world?

A．They don’t put efforts into their study at university.

B．The world’s working population is on the steady rise.

C．They will be paid less with the development of technology.

D．Robots or automation will take the place of their positions.

2. Which will be the least likely to be replaced by robots?

A．Machine operation.	B．Fast food cooking.
C．Childcare in kindergarten.	D．Data collection.

3. What is the study’s statement about jobs’ being replaced by robots mainly based on?

A．Estimated figures.	B．Public opinions.
C．Financial reports.	D．Website contents.

4. Which part does the article belong to?

A．Education.

B．Business.

C．Lifestyle.

D．Technology.

7 . 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

2. What does the second paragraph imply?

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.

3. Space trips and staying in space hotels will          .

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

4. E-paper will replace traditional paper because       .

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

8 . Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.

“I think we are knocking at the door of immortality(永生),” said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. “I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate(保守的估计).”

At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(纳米技术) make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what was possible in the past. “There is a great effort so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,” he said. “Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”

However, many scientists who specialize in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last past about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.

Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. “It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?” said Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Centre. “At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all.”

1. By saying“we are knocking at the door of immortality”,Michael Zey means_________.

A．they have got some ideas about living forever

B．they believe that there is no limit of living

C．they are able to make people live past the present life span

D．they are sure to find the truth about long living

2. Donald Louria’s attitude towards long living is that________.

A．the human body is designed to last past about 120 years

B．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future

C．it is still doubtful how long humans can live

D．people can live from 120 to 180

3. The underlined word“it”(in Paragraph 4)refers to________.

A．a great effort

B．the conservative estimate

C．the idea of living from 200 to 300 years

D．the idea of living beyond the present life span

4. What would be the best title for this text?

A．No Limit for Human Life

B．Living Longer or not

C．Science,Technology and Long Living

D．Healthy Lifestyle and Long Living

9 . 阅读下面短文,按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求,霍空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空。

Robots have been widely used in our daily life. They can be     1     (see) in many factories today and have gone to such far places as     2     moon. Some robots can” see"     3    ( clear). For they use TV cameras as their     4     (eye), Many robots have computer brains, Now they have even come into       5       (we) homes and work as       6     (help) at home , Not only can they do simple jobs for us ,such as     7       (put) things into boxes , but also they can look    8     babies Unlike human beings       9     needy sleep, robots can work 24 hours a day. In the future, with the aid of robots, our life will become much     10     (easy) than before.

10 . 文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在此处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出修改的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在其下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者（从十一处起）不计分。

I often imagine what I will be in the future. I desire to work as a computer program designer, for I am crazy about designing computer programs and had won first prize in software designing contests three time. Besides, I find it excited to work out a program for which is beneficial to our life. What makes us satisfied with this job is because it will provide me with flexible time. As result, I can spare time to keeping my family company. No matter how hardly it is, I will ever give up halfway.