1 . The future home is something that people have talked about for decades. Because the future home idea inspires our imagination, scientists and engineers have been working hard to develop different systems to make houses “smarter”.
The video camera at the entrance recognize visitors using facial recognition. The facial recognition software of the future home will not only recognize friends, but strangers as well. And the software in the future home will run the strangers faces against a database of criminals.
The future home will also have smart application appliances (家电) as well. There will be a vast networking system connecting them. Ovens, microwaves and refrigerators will be controlled automatically, so remote cooking will be a possibility and meals are prepared for your arrival.
There will also be a green systems in place such as saving and reusing washing water and bathwater. Plants and people may receive pure or mineralized (含矿的) drinking water.
If you think this future home idea is pie in the sky or science fiction, then think again. Most of the systems described here are either in development or already out in the market. Future homes may not be standard yet for the middle class but this is not as far ahead as many people would think.
1. What can the facial recognition software be used for in the future houses?A.Greeting friends. | B.Collecting criminals information. |
C.Recognizing visitors. | D.Following dangerous criminals. |
A.Facial recognition software. | B.Remote cooking. |
C.Smart refrigerators. | D.Saving and reusing water. |
A.Attractive. | B.Common. | C.Special. | D.Excellent. |
A.Smart future home |
B.A smart networking system |
C.Software in future home |
D.Various household appliances |
2 . Myspace launched in September 2003. Friendster gave inspiration to the founders of Myspace, and the social network officially went live on the web in January 2004. After its first month online, over one million people signed up. By November 2004, that number grew to 5 million. By 2006, Myspace was visited more times than Google Search and Yahoo, becoming the most visited website in the United States. In June of that year, Myspace was reportedly responsible for nearly 80 percent of all social media traffic.
As explosive as Myspace was, it paled in comparison to how quickly Facebook grew into the internet giant it is today. In April 2008, both Facebook and Myspace attracted 115 million unique global visitors per month, with Myspace still winning in the U. S. alone. In December 2008, Myspace experienced peak (顶峰) U. S. traffic with 75. 9 million unique visitors. As Facebook grew, Myspace sustain a series of downsizing and redesigns as it tried to redefine itself as a social entertainment network. It was estimated (估价) in March 2011 that the site had dropped from attracting 95 million to 63 million unique visitors within the past year.
Although several factors triggered Myspace’s fall, one argument held that the company never figured out how to innovate well enough to keep up with the competition. Officially, however, Myspace is far from dead. If you go to myspace.com, you’ll see that it is very much still alive, though it has mostly transitioned away from social networking to become a site for planning music and entertainment. As of 2019, the site boasted over 7 million monthly visits. On Myspace’s front page, you’ll find a variety of entertainment news stories not just about music, but also movies, sports, food, and other cultural topics. Profiles are still a central feature of the social network, but users are encouraged to share their own music, videos, photos, and even concert events.
1. How long has it taken Myspace to become the most visited website in America since its establishment?A.About 2 years. | B.About 3 years. |
C.About 5 years. | D.About 8 years. |
A.adapted | B.acquired | C.challenged | D.experienced |
A.Lack of improvement. | B.Too much competition. |
C.Unclear business positioning. | D.Cutting down too many workers. |
A.Profiles. | B.Social networking. |
C.Entertainment news. | D.Music and entertainment. |
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4 . 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 |
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. |
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. |
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. |
5 . We don’t know how different our life will be in the future. We can only try to imagine it.
At first we think about human relationships. 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 -- 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. Travelling 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 the environment protection. Scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases, like cancer or AIDS. Therefore, our surroundings as well as our health will be in 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.The number of people will become much smaller. |
B.There will be less face-to-face communication. |
C.People won’t like making friends with each other. |
D.People won’t communicate with each other much often. |
A.Computers will do all the things for human beings. |
B.How people will use computers to communicate with each other. |
C.Machines like computers and robots will help people a lot. |
D.How people will use robots to do the housework. |
A.Disappointed. | B.Surprised. |
C.Curious. | D.Optimistic. |
A.How people will communicate in the year 2050. |
B.What our life will be like in the year 2050. |
C.How people will travel and spend their holidays in the year 2050. |
D.What high technology will appear in the year 2050. |
6 . Have you ever run out of coffee or tea and found no eggs in the fridge? No bread for the sandwich and the nearest shop is too far away? Well, all that can change in the future.
If all goes well, the intelligent future kitchen will soon help solve all your problems. In the future, all kitchen units will be connected to the Internet. The intelligent future kitchen will give wise advice on planning your menu for the day. Worried about your weight?It will tell you the right diet and what is good for your health. It will even keep in mind your likes and dislikes!
Designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this smart kitchen promises to pay attention to all your needs. The computer system will help keep an“ eye”on the fridge. If the fridge is empty, the kitchen will automatically call and place an order at the local supermarket. So you don’t have to worry about it at all.
You get home late, and don’t know what to make from the collection of ingredients in your fridge. A while back you might have ordered a takeout but now, instead of worrying about eating a collection of this and that, you’re excited. You can pull out each vegetable, and pass each one in front of a web camera next to your fridge. A few moments later, a screen on your fridge would display a tasty recipe.
After dinner, you take your plates to a box next to the sink. You don’t have to clean them, your machine does. It produces new plates every time you need to eat. Later in the evening, you phone your other half, who is on a business trip halfway around the world. As you drink your cup of hot coffee, it makes your other half’s cup change colour on the other side of the world, another special way to keep in touch.
1. How will the problem mentioned in the first paragraph be solved?A.By the intelligent kitchen itself. | B.By finding a good housekeeper. |
C.After you call the supermarket. | D.After you buy great amounts of food. |
A.Lose weight fast. | B.Keep a healthy diet. |
C.Cook delicious food. | D.Clean the fridge in time. |
A.Data. | B.Opinions. | C.Materials. | D.Fruits. |
A.It will order a takeout for you if you get home late. |
B.It has a big colour television and some web cameras. |
C.It can pull out all the vegetables from your fridge. |
D.It can give a suitable recipe according to your ingredients. |
内容 | 参考词汇 |
职业名称 | teacher, doctor, singer... |
选择理由 | be interested in, help people, make contributions to... |
实现方式 | work hard at, go to university... |
1. 词数 100 左右,题目已给出,不计入总词数;
2. 可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯;
3. 不允许出现真实的姓名和校名。
My Dream Job
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8 . Someone has put forward a dream home which is so advanced that its kitchen can suggest what to make with certain things. Also, a Microsoft home doesn’t just warn you when you’re out of milk—it can send you a fresh gallon.
But are these innovations(创新)just magic, or are they really coming soon to a neighborhood near you? To find it out, US News asked some experts to get their opinions about the home of the not-so-distant future. Here’s a look at the innovations.
The housing boom(迅速发展)was marked by mass produced buildings filled with units which look the same. The coming years, however, will see a personalized approach to home building, with houses as more of an instrument of self-expression. “The successful builders will be the ones that figure out how to change their production model enough to make the buyers feel like they are really getting something that is designed for them, not just a model,” says Kermit Baker, the chief economist at the American Institute of Architects.
Future homes will probably shrink. “We will be building small but smarter houses,” says Ed McMahon, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute. “Instead of having a room for just one use, buyers will need homes that make better use of space,” says Susanka, whose best-selling book. The Not So Big House, has become increasingly influential in home design. Seldom used quarters, such as dining and living rooms, will be replaced with space that can serve both functions(功能). “The goal of his ‘right-size’ home is to fit its owners like a specially cut suit rather than a jacket you buy in a store,” says Susanka.
1. Why does the writer mention a dream home and a Microsoft home?A.To lead to the topic of the passage. |
B.To tell us what kind of house to buy. |
C.To stress the importance of technology. |
D.To show what future houses will look like. |
A.They will be in mass production. |
B.They will have a lot of things in common. |
C.They will express the owners’ personalities. |
D.They will be designed by the owners themselves. |
A.Become cleaner. | B.Become brighter. |
C.Become smaller. | D.Become more comfortable. |
A.Houses that have a room for every use. |
B.Houses that can make better use of space. |
C.Houses that have very advanced furniture. |
D.Houses that can warn you when you’re out of milk. |
they will from so when exist light entire which fish meet complete |
Last year, I returned to Fuling, a river town near the Yangtze River. I visited the White Crane Ridge Underwater Museum. It’s a very strange museum
I taught English at the local college in the town of Fuling
During my visit, I
10 . Margie wrote about it that night in her diary, “Today Tommy found a real book!”
It was a very old book. Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper. They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly (皱巴巴的), and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to-on a screen.
“What’s it about?”
“School.”
Margie was scornful. “School? What’s there to write about school?” Margie was always fed up with school. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography. So she said to Tommy, “ Why would anyone write about school?” Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes, “Because it’s not our kind of school, stupid. This is the old kind of school that they had centuries ago.”
She read the book over his shoulder for a while, and then said, “Anyway, they had a teacher.”
“Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”
“A man isn’t smart enough.” She added, “I wouldn’t want a strange man in my house to teach me.”
Tommy screamed with laughter. “You don’t know much, Margie. They had a special building and all the kids of the same age went there, learning the same thing from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m. on weekdays.”
They weren’t even half-finished when Margie’s mother called, “Margie! School!” Margie looked up. “Not yet, Mamma.” “Now!” said Mrs. Jones.
Actually the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday, because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular time.
The large screen was lit up. “Today’s math lesson is on the addition of proper fractions (分数). Please insert yesterday’s homework in the proper slot (插槽).” Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. All the kids from the whole neighborhood came, sitting together in the schoolroom, going home together at the end of the day. And the teachers were people. She was thinking about the fun they had.
1. Where is Margie’s schoolroom?A.Inside her house. | B.In a special building. |
C.On a large screen. | D.Around her neighborhood. |
A.Teachers of great wisdom. | B.Classmates of the same age. |
C.Regular schooling hours. | D.Advanced learning equipment. |
A.Doing math homework is more than funny. |
B.The school life in the old days is much more appealing. |
C.Mechanical teachers are more suitable in teaching for her. |
D.Reading on a screen is more convenient than reading a real book. |