1 . When it came to imaging the future, Arthur C. Clarke stubbornly refused to take credit for any predictions. The Internet, 3-D printers, email: he may have described them all long before they existed. As a science fiction writer, he came up with the idea of a “personal transceiver” that is small enough to be carried about, able to contact with anyone in the world and perform global positioning, making getting lost a thing of the past. Elsewhere, he predicted everything from online banking to reusable spacecraft. His best remembered fictional work of all is 2001: A Space Odyssey. It also happened to forecast the iPad, computer software that is able to read lips, and space stations.

Interestingly, his vision of the future has barely aged. For example, life in Sri Lanka inspired his 1979 novel, featuring a “space elevator”, a planet-to-space transportation system that would do away with the need for rocket travel. Those human settlements on Mars or Venus are decidedly behind schedule(we humans were expected to have set foot on both by 1980), and we’re still looking for the key that should have fully unlocked the languages of whales and dolphins by 1970.

It’s a way of thinking that was likely fuelled by his inability to be anything other than utterly absorbed in all that interested him. At the very start of his career, he shared a flat on London’s Gray’s Inn Road with fellow science fiction writers who nicknamed him “Ego” because of his talent for turning out (关掉) distraction. Once he’d become a big enough name to be interviewed, he’d send journalists home loaded with research papers.

He once said, “Trying to predict the future is a discouraging and risky occupation.” If a prediction sounds at all reasonable, technological progress is sure to leave it seeming “ridiculously conservative”. But if, by a miracle, a person were to be able to describe the future exactly as it will unfold, “His predictions will sound so absurd and far-fetched that everybody would laugh him to scorn (轻蔑).”

1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?

A．Clarke is an imaginative science fiction writer.	B．Clarke is crazy about the future devices.
C．Clarke is expert at telling one’s fortune.	D．Clarke is a rarely talented inventor.

2. The examples in Paragraph 2 prove ________.

A．there is no need for rocket travel in future

B．unlocking the languages of animals is ahead of time

C．humans were expecting to settle on Mars by 1980

D．Clarke’s predictions still seem impossibly distant

3. Why was Clarke called “Ego” by his fellows?

A．He could focus all his mind on something.	B．He cared more about himself than others.
C．He was absorbed in what interested him.	D．He was proud of being a big name.

4. What does Clarke stress in the last paragraph?

A．The rapid progress of technology.	B．The absurdness of some predictions.
C．The difficulty of predicting the future.	D．The miracle of dependable predictions.

2 . 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 near future, life is filled with amazing wonders.     1     the sun rises, cars soar through the sky applying anti-gravity technology, creating a breathtaking sight against the morning hues. People wear special glasses that combine virtual and real worlds, immersing themselves in a world of endless     2     (possibility).

Mornings are a delight as the delicious breakfast takes center stage. Helpful robots with advanced AI offer assistance gracefully. Transportation has become super fast with hyper loop trains that travel through tunnels     3     incredible speeds, sending passengers to their destinations in mere minutes.

As twilight sets in, streets come alive with holographic(全息的) displays     4     (show) art and ads. Homes     5     (equip) with voice controlled devices for lighting and temperature. Entertainment is immersive with virtual reality games     6     players can fight or explore other worlds, offering thrilling experiences. Deep underground, hidden laboratories are making     7     (consistent) scientific breakthroughs, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and unraveling the mysteries of the universe.

Yet among these technological wonders, the core of humanity     8     (remain) unchanged. Families gather around tables, sharing laughter and stories, cherishing the bonds that connect them.

As the day draws to     9     close, the city transforms into a breathtaking symphony(交响乐) of neon lights. Tomorrow holds infinite potentials as humanity tends     10     (push) the boundaries of scientific achievement, keeping on new frontiers of discovery with strong curiosity that knows no bounds.

3 . Fancy a holiday to the moon? Sounds crazy? Not really. A Japanese company has been working on how to organize holidays to the moon for several years now.    1    

Trying to make the holiday possible will not be an easy task, and the Japanese company plans to make it in stages.    2    A transport system, like the space shuttle ( 航天飞机) used by NASA at the moment is likely to be developed for this purpose.

The next stage is to build a big hotel orbiting 500 km above the earth. The hotel will orbit the earth once every four or five hours, which will offer visitors some fascinating views of the earth.     3    While this may not seem very exciting at first, think about new sports that can be designed for people to play in zero gravity.

The final stage in the plan is the construction of a hotel on the surface of the moon itself. As solar energy would be used to provide power, it would be important to build the hotel near one of the poles of the moon in order to gather as much solar energy as possible.    4    It is also important to find a part of the moon which is flat, as a long runway will need to be built for the space shuttle to land on. Meanwhile, the company has already developed ways to make cement (水泥) on the moon.     5    The company plans to produce water from oxygen elements, which can be found in moon rocks and hydrogen, which will have to be imported from earth.

So perhaps in a few years you might be enjoying yourselves on the moon.

A．Next, the hotel will have a wide range of sporting activities.

B．Tourists who want to travel into space can stay at a big hotel.

C．The first thing to do is to organize trips around the earth for a few hours.

D．There would probably be holidays to a moon hotel within the next ten years.

E．There is plenty of sand, but the big problem will come with producing water.

F．This part of the development plan does not seem to be too difficult to carry out.

G．This is because a lunar day, which is 14 earth days long, is followed by 14 days of darkness.

4 . 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.

    1     Let's start our predictions.

·The Internet will be free for everyone.

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

·    3    

With the increasing population, it is not very hard to predict that common methods of transportation will not be enough. There will be much heavier traffic on the road. 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.

·Humans will live on other planets.

There will be great achievements in space research.     5     

We will receive more intelligent signals from space. Chances are we will be able to find the next Earth-like planet.

A．But it is not free for everyone yet.

B．So where is technology going in the future?

C．The world's population will cross 9.6 billion.

D．What do you think of my predictions of 2050?

E．In the year 2050, humans will be able to live on Mars.

F．Personal airplanes will be used widely for short journeys.

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

5 . Everything is going to change more in the next ten years than it has in the last hundred, so it’s difficult to think about 100 years in the future. I can only guess what it might be like.     1    

After 100 years, I think that borders will disappear through the development of science and technology.     2     Advances in transportation will mean people will be able to move to other places easily, so dividing up the land would be meaningless. People will move not only to other regions of the Earth but also to other planets in space because the Earth will be already full.

    3     The future car will have a device on seats and it will be safely computer-controlled. All drivers will have to do is tell the car their destination and the computer will do the rest.

Food from Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter will become popular.     4     It will be easy to buy everything at the supermarket.

My family will live in Mangshi, but I’ll take the super airplane daily to my work office. It’ll take 30 minutes from Mangshi to New York. My wife will go to her office in London.     5     I’m looking forward to that happening someday.

A．We plan to eat dinner in Paris.

B．They will fly to Tokyo for shopping.

C．In other words, the world will be united into one.

D．What kinds of car will we be driving in the future?

E．However, I think it will be better to live then than now.

F．People who don’t have time will eat such things as beans.

G．The clothes that people will wear in the future are easy to wash.

6 . 随着时代的发展，我们的生活将会发生许多变化。请以My life in the future为题目写一篇英语短文，描述一下你未来的生活。
内容包括：
1.你未来的职业以及工作内容；
2.业余生活；
3.家务由谁来承担；
4.你在未来的生活中是否需要使用钱。
参考词汇：robot机器人；扫码支付Scan to Pay；支付宝Alipay
注意：
1.适当发挥，以使行文连贯；
2.数：100-120左右。

My life in the future

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