1 . 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 just magic, or are they really coming soon to a neighborhood near you? To find 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 was marked by mass-produced buildings filled with units which look the same. The coming years, however, will give way to a personalized approach to home construction, 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 become smaller. “We will be building smaller but smarter houses,” says Ed MeMahon, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute. “Instead of having a room for just one use, consumers will demand 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. “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. What is the function of the first paragraph?

A．To present the main idea the passage.	B．To present what the future house is like.
C．To lead to the topic of the passage.	D．To show the history the housing.

2. What were houses like during the housing boom?

A．Almost all the houses had no their own features.

B．The houses were designed according to owners’ idea.

C．The houses were smaller but smarter than before.

D．The houses could change production model easily.

3. What kind of house may be popular in the future?

A．Those that are much bigger and brighter.	B．Those that are much smaller but smarter.
C．Those that are much bigger and smarter.	D．Those that are environmental and energy saving.

4. What’s Susanka’s opinion about smart house?

A．Smart houses have a room for every use.	B．Smart houses can make better use of space.
C．Smart houses have very advanced furniture.	D．Smart houses can warn you when you’re out of milk.

2 . Nowadays, everyone seems to hope to go into space and live on new planets. Instead of depending on another pre-existing planet, could we make a new planet by ourselves?

First of all, if we were to live on it, we should find a good place in space to put the new planet. We would want it to be in a habitable zone, which means the planet should be at the right distance from its star to make sure there would be perfect temperatures and most importantly, liquid water.

We’d also need the right materials to make the planet. Our Earth is made up of many different elements (元素). If we made our own new planet, we’d probably want it to have similar elements and a similar structure (结构). We’d also want enough water to form some oceans.

But even if we get all of the materials, creating a new planet like Earth could have many troubles. It might be something more like a huge space station. It would be pretty expensive if we wanted it to be super big.

We would probably also need a lot of food because there is going to be many scientists and astronauts out in space working on this project!

According to NASA, each astronaut uses about 0.83 kilograms of food per meal, including 0.12 kilograms of packaging (包装) material. Without the weight of the packaging material, we’d need about 780 kilograms of food just to feed one astronaut for a year.

Putting all these together could make it possible to make our own planet one day! In fact, creating a new planet would probably require a very modern technology and there would be tons of other things to think about. And if this is possible, it won’t likely happen within a very long time.

1. To create a new planet, which of the following should we first do?

A．To collect materials similar to Earth.	B．To prepare plenty of food for astronauts to eat.
C．To design its inner structure.	D．To find a proper place to set it.

2. How much food will an astronaut really eat for each meal?

A．About 0.12 kilograms.	B．About 0.71 kilograms.
C．About 0.83 kilograms.	D．About 0.95 kilograms.

3. What does the author think of making a new planet?

A．It is a waste of time and money.

B．It may be a dangerous thing for humans.

C．It is impossible to come true in the near future.

D．It should be one of NASA’s next plans.

4 . 语法填空

In the future, we     1    (live) in smart homes that will keep us secure, save us energy, and provide a more comfortable environment. Smart homes will control just    2    everything in our home. They will use integrated     3    (sensor) to go into an energy-efficient mode all by itself when we leave home. In     4    (add), smart homes will be monitoring our health every day. If they find there is something    5    (normal) or you have a critical illness, they will give you a     6    (warn) early on and    7    (potential) save our life.Smart homes will also be able to prevent serious damage from accidents. If they find something wrong they will detect    8    and provide us with the relevant information for us    9    (fix) the problem. In a word, this smart technology is not a fantasy, and it will take some years    10    most new homes begin to use this new technology.

5 . 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.

6 . 阅读下面材料，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。

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). The food on Mars will be different     5     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 in the school spaceships. And people won’t work in factories or companies. They can stay at home,     8    (work) with computers. People believe       9    Mars can support life in the future. Nevertheless,     10     will take some years before these dreams come true.

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In the not-too-distant future, we will be living in smart homes. These smart homes will ensure our     1     (secure), save us energy, and provide a more comfortable environment to live in. We will be using advanced technology every day — for    2     (automation) control of just about everything in our home. The future home will use integrated sensors     3     (tell) when you leave home each morning, and then go into an energy-efficient mode all by    4     (it). Your home will also learn your daily routine and     5     (prefer), so everything will be ready for you when you get home each evening. All controls will respond     6     voice commands, so if you want to change your routine, you just say aloud     7     you want and the home system will obey. In addition, the smart home     8     (programme) to monitor your health every day. Smart homes will be able to prevent serious damage from accidents. If there is     9     short in the electrical wiring, your smart home will detect it and provide you with the relevant information. This way, you will be able to fix the problem before your home becomes flooded     10     catches fire.

8 . 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.

9 . 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.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly tell us?

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.

3. What does the underlined word “ sanguine” in the last paragraph most probably mean?

A．Disappointed.	B．Surprised.
C．Curious.	D．Optimistic.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

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.

10 . 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.

2. What may the kitchen of the future help you do?

A．Lose weight fast.	B．Keep a healthy diet.
C．Cook delicious food.	D．Clean the fridge in time.

3. What does the underlined word “ ingredients” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Data.

B．Opinions.

C．Materials.

D．Fruits.

4. What does the fourth paragraph tell us about the smart kitchen?

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.