Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it looks as though TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programmers, newspapers and books will come to us in this 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. Some futurologists (未来学家) predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.
In future, cars will run on new，clean fuels 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.
A number of large companies now use robots instead of people who ask for pay rises, or go on strike, and can not work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere—in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.
By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people see and hear again. In the last few years, scientists have discovered how to control genes and have already produced clones of animals. By 2050，scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?
40. By 2050, people will get information mainly by _______.
A. watching TV B. reading newspapers
C. listening to the radio D. turning to a website
41. From the second paragraph, we learn that _______.
A. the demand for water will increase a lot in the future
B. future wars will lead to an increasing need for water
C. there can be no agriculture without enough water
D. the population will decrease for lack of water
42. Which of the following is NOT a reality at the present time?
A. Scientists have found out how to control some genes.
B. Cars have computers which tell drivers their positions.
C. People can learn about what has happened anywhere on the Internet.
D. Robots have completely replaced humans in some factories.
43. What will play the biggest part in the quality of life in the future?
A. Medicine. B. Technology. C. Education. D. Agriculture.
【改编】Feeling blue about the world? “Cheer up,” says science writer Matt Ridley. “The world has never been a better place to live in, and it will keep on getting better both for humans and for nature.”
Ridley calls himself a rational optimist—rational, because he’s carefully weighed the evidence; optimistic, because that evidence shows human progress to be both unavoidable and good. And this is what he’s set out to prove from a unique point of view in his most recent book, The Rational Optimist . He views mankind as grand enterprise that, on the whole, has done little but progress for 100,000 years. He backs his findings with hard facts gathered through years of research.
Here’s how he explains his views.
1）Shopping fuels invention
It is reported that there are more than ten billion different products for sale in London alone. Even allowing for the many people who still live in poverty, our own generation has access to more nutritious food, more convenient transport, bigger houses, better cars, and, of course, more pounds and dollars than any who lived before us. This will continue as long as we use these things to make other things. The more we specialize and exchange, the better off we’ll be.
2) Brilliant advances
One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs—food, clothing, fuel and shelter—have grown a lot cheaper. Take one example. In 1800 a candle providing one hour’s light cost six hours’ work. In the 1880s the same light from an oil lamp took 15 minutes’ work to pay for. In 1950 it was eight seconds. Today it’s half second.
3) Let’s not kill ourselves for climate change
Mitigating(减轻) climate change could prove just as damaging to human welfare as climate change itself. A child that dies from indoor smoke in a village, where the use of fossil-fuel(化石燃料) electricity is forbidden by well- meaning members of green political movements trying to save the world, is just as great a tragedy as a child that dies in a flood caused by climate change. If climate change proves to be mild, but cutting carbon causes real pain, we may well find that we have stopped a nose-bleed by putting a tourniquet(止血带) around our necks.What does “blue” mean in the first paragraph?
| A．Anxious. | B．Depressed. |
| C．Curious. | D．Positive. |
What is Ridley’s recent book about?
| A．Facts about human progress. |
| B．Opinions about climate change. |
| C．Importance of reducing pollution. |
| D．Protection of environment. |
Which is the writer’s opinion?
| A．The earth will no long fit to live on if we don’t take action to protect the earth. |
| B．The more we specialize and exchange, the better off we’ll be. |
| C．The price of everything is growing higher and higher. |
| D．People mustn’t use fossil-fuel for environmental protection. |
According to the writer , One reason why humans live longer is that_____.
| A．people can be treated immediately |
| B．people pay more attention to health |
| C．people can eat better food without spending much money |
| D．climate becomes much warmer |
The author develops the passage mainly by_____.
| A．Topic- Explanation |
| B．Explanation ---Conclusion |
| C．Argument --- Topic ---Conclusion |
| D．Conclusion - Topic |
【改编】Many experts say that Billy Wilder changed the history of American movies. He is often called the best movie maker Hollywood has ever had.
He was known for making movies that offered sharp social comment. Wilder was one of first directors to do this. Between the middle 1930sand the 1980s,Billy Wilder made almost fifty movies. During that time he received more than twenty nominations(提名) from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He won six of the Oscar awards. His movies have been seen by people around the world.
In 1944,Billy Wilder made the film Double Indemnity. Some critics said this movie established him as one of the greatest Hollywood directors. Wilder directed The Lost Weekend in 1945.Ray Milland plays the part of an alcoholic writer in the movie. It shows that alcohol rules his life, yet he does not admit it. He hides alcohol in his home and says he is not drinking.
In 1950, Wilder made Sunset Boulevard. This movie told of an aging actress in silent movies. She plans to return to movies though facing many problems. In 1954, Billy Wilder became an independent producer. The next year, Wilder’s first movie as an independent filmmaker was a huge success. It was The Seven Year Itch. In this movie, a married mail wants to cheat on his wife with some of hisfriends.In1959,
Wilder made a funny movie that was very popular. It was Some Like It Hot. It tells about two jazz musicians being chased by criminals. They decide to wear women’s clothes and join a band in which all the musicians were women.
Wilder died in March,2002. He was ninety-five. A current Hollywood producer said: “Billy Wilder made movies that people will never forget.”From the second paragraph we can knowBilly Wilder _____.
| A．Billy Wilder is a productive movie maker |
| B．Billy Wilderis famous for his sharp words |
| C．Billy Wilderreceived twenty Oscar awards. |
| D．Billy Wilder’s movies have humorous social comment. |
At what age did he make the film The Lost Weekend ?
| A．47. | B．43. | C．38. | D．39. |
Which film tells of the story of an old actress?
| A．Double Indemnity. | B．The Seven Year Itch. |
| C．The Lost Weekend | D．Sunset Boulevard. |
What can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Billy Wilder---A Great Film Maker. |
| B．Famous Hollywood Stars. |
| C．The history of American movies. |
| D．A View of Oscar- awarding Films. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
A.Billy Wilderdirected the film Double Indemnity in the 1940s.
B. Billy Wildermade fifty movies all his life.
C Billy Wilderwas addicated to alcohol in his late years.
D.Billy Wilder is highly thought of by the world.
【改编】Can you believe everything that you read? It seems as if every day, some new articles come out about a new discovery about this or that. For example, water is bad for you, or good for you. The answer depends on which scientific study has just come out. People cannot decide which food items are healthy, how pyramids were constructed, and why dinosaurs disappeared. When we look for answers we sometimes can believe persuasive researches and scientists. But how trustworthy are they really? Here are two examples of scientific hoaxes.
As far back as 1726, Johann Beringer was fooled by his fellow scientists into thinking he had made an amazing discovery. The fossils of spiders, lizards, and even birds with the name of God written on them in Hebrew were unlike anything that had been found before. He wrote several papers on them and was famous for those only to have it revealed that they were planted by jealous colleagues to ruin his reputation.
When an early human being was discovered in 1912, scientists at this time were wild with excitement over the meaning it had for the theory of evolution. There were hundreds of papers about this Piltdown man over the next fifty years until it was finally discovered to be a complex hoax. The skull (头骨) of a man had been mixed with the jawbone of an orangutan (猩猩) to make the ape (猿) man.
The next time you read the exciting new findings of a study of the best scientist, do not automatically assume that it is true. Even qualified people can get it wrong. While we certainly should not ignore scientific research, we do need to take it with a grain of salt. Just because it is accepted as the truth today does not mean it will still be trustworthy tomorrow.What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Everything in the newspaper is doubtful. |
| B．People are encouraged to suspect everything. |
| C．Not everything you read is believable. |
| D．Sometimes scientists may make mistakes. |
What does the underlined word “ hoaxes” mean?
| A．Truths. | B．Tricks. | C．Researches. | D．Result. |
From the second paragraph we can know______.
| A．Johann Beringer was envied by his colleagues. |
| B．Johann Beringer lived in the seventeenth century. |
| C．Johann Beringer found the Piltdown man. |
| D．Johann Beringer found he was fooled by others in time. |
According to the passage ,the discovery of Piltdown man______.
| A．was significant to the theory of evolution. |
| B．proved orangutan developed from man. |
| C．didn’t prove false until 50 years later. |
| D．proved that scientists were very careless. |
From the last paragraph we can infer the author thinks_____.
| A．scientists are unreliable. |
| B．everyone can make a mistake. |
| C．we should ignore scientific research. |
| D．we should treat scientific research reasonably. |
【原创】The spread of Western eating habits around the world is bad for human health and the environment. Those findings come from a new report in the journal Nature.
There are ways to solve this diet-health-environment problem. But they will require a change in eating habits. And what we eat can be a product of culture, personal taste, price and ease.
David Tilman , a professor of ecology, examined information from 100 countries to identify what people ate and how diet affected health and found as nations industrialized, population increased and earnings rose, more people began to adopt what has been called the Western diet.
The Western diet is high in refined or processed sugar, fat, oil and meat. By eating these foods, people began to get fatter -- and sicker.
David Tillman says overweight people are at greater risk for non-infectious diseases like diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.
Unfortunately when people become industrialized, if they adopt this Western diet, they are going to have these same health impacts, and in some cases if you are Asian, you have them more seriously than what happens in the West."
China, he says, is an example where the number of diabetes cases has jumped. And that’s happening all across the world, in Mexico, Nigeria and so on.
A diet bad for human beings is also bad for the environment. As the world's population grows, experts say more forests will become farmland for crops or grasslands for grazing cattle.
"We are likely to have more greenhouse gas released in the future from agriculture because of this dietary shift than all the greenhouse gas that comes out of cars, airplanes, boats and ships. So our change in diet is likely to be worse for the world for climate warming than all the transportation sources we use right now."
He says one possible solution is leaving the Western diet behind. What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The advantage of the Western diet |
| B．The disadvantage of the Western diet. |
| C．The diseases caused by the Western diet. |
| D．The popularity of the Western diet. |
Why do more and more people eat Western diet?
| A．Because Western diet is good for health. |
| B．Because people have more money. |
| C．Because Western diet is cheaper. |
| D．Because Western diet can make people thin. |
According to the passage, what is good for our environment?
| A．Giving up the Western diet. |
| B．Returning to Chinese diet. |
| C．Growing more crops |
| D．Raising more cattle. |
In which section of a newspaper can you find this passage?
| A．Science and Technology. | B．Education and Culture. |
| C．Environment and Health. | D．Agriculture and Climate. |
Which statement is true?
| A．The Western diet has little effect on Asians . |
| B．The China diet is rich in fat and oil. |
| C．Leaving the Western diet behind is easy for people. |
| D．More forests will become farmland as the world's population grows . |
Do you know the open-air art gallery in London's Blackall Street? Probably -not. Not many Londoners know it either, but Henri does and he is willing to show it to you.
Henri used to sleep in parks until he met a charity(慈善机构) that helps homeless people get back on their feet by becoming tour guides.
Rather than show traditional London sights, “Unseen Tours" take people off the beaten track. Henri has been teaching tourists about the history and architecture of Shoreditch, where he slept on public benches for three years.
When he felt separated from the society, contact with the volunteer network "The Sock Mob" gave Henri hope. "Not everyone just looked down on me," he said. The tours aren't the only actions trying to help those who have suffered a misfortune to stand tall again.
An innovative(创新的) college for homeless people in London, the first of its kind in the country, is attracting hundreds of students. The Recovery College, set up by St Mungo's charity, is providing courses designed to improve technical skills and life skills.
According to Andy Williams, who helps to organize the college, the most popular courses have proved to be about raising self-confidence and developing self-pride.
Steve, now in his 50s, told a reporter how much of a difference it makes to "have a bit of confidence". He had difficulty learning to read and had to leave school when he was 12. Because Steve's problem was not recognized at the time, he was "seen to be unable to read or write", and suffered with depression and alcohol addiction. He says the status of "student" is itself important for people who are used to being treated as outcasts（被遗弃者）
Some charities aim not only to help the homeless become independent but also to make them popular. The Homeless World Cup started ten years ago. Today the tournament draws teams from 48 countries made up of players-men and women-who are, or have been, living in the streets. It gives them a chance to become football heroes.The underlined part "take people off the beaten track" means "take people to______.”
| A．famous galleries | B．traditional sights |
| C．unusual places | D．public benches |
How does the Recovery College help the homeless people?
| A．By training them to be guides. |
| B．By offering them different courses. |
| C．By keeping in contact with them. |
| D．By asking more students to help them. |
At the age of 12, Steve _______ .
| A．wasn't treated as a normal student |
| B．had much confidence in himself |
| C．didn't want to study at school |
| D．left school because of depression |
The purpose of the Homeless World Cup is to help the homeless people _______.
| A．become football stars | B．improve life skills |
| C．gain self-confidence | D．find proper jobs |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Confidence Back Now. | B．London Tour. |
| C．The Popular Homeless. | D．Football Heroes. |