In the future your automobile will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a supercomputer that fits in your pocket! You might even drive a flying car!
Not all past predictions have been proven wrong. A few of them have been surprisingly accurate. Some great thinkers predicted the arrival of the credit card, the fax machine and even the internet years before they happened. But for each prediction that has come true, some others have missed by a mile. Many of these predictions didn’t consider how people would want to use the technology, or if people really needed it in their lives or not. Let’s look at some predictions from the not-too-distant past.
Robot Helpers
Where’s the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere, of course. And he’s probably not coming anytime soon. Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other working environments.Back in the 1950s, however, people said that by now personal robots would be in most people’s homes.So why hasn’t it happened? Maybe because robots are still too expensive and clumsy. And probably the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too strange. At home we seem to be doing fine without them.
Telephones of tomorrow
In 1964 an American company introduced the video telephone. They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes. But of course the idea hasn’t caught on yet. Why? The technology worked fine, but it overlooked something obvious: people desire for privacy. Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just stepped out of the shower? Probably not--it could be uncomfortable! Just because technology doesn’t always mean people will want to use it.
And finally, how about that crazy prediction of the flying car? It’s not so crazy any more! But a flying car remains one of the most wonderful technology ideas to catch our imagination. Keep watching the news or perhaps the sky outside your window to see what the future will bring..The passage mainly deals with______.
| A．predictions that can catch our imagination |
| B．predictions that haven’t come true |
| C．new technology can benefit our life |
| D．predictions that have come true |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Technology doesn’t always mean people will want to use it. |
| B．Predictions don’t need to consider people’s practical use of the technology. |
| C．Not all the high-tech things people thought we’d be using by now are widely used |
| D．High-tech things are not always convenient to people’s life. |
Robot Helpers haven’t been used in most people’s homes because______.
| A．using the kind of robots at home is simply a waste of time and money |
| B．the kind of robots hasn’t been developed yet |
| C．people find it difficult to control the kind of robots |
| D．the kind of robots won’t bring people practical use |
How does the writer find the flying car?
| A．It is too difficult to imagine. |
| B．It is too crazy an idea to realize. |
| C．It is likely to appear in the future. |
| D．It has been the focus of the news. |
Friendship can deeply affect the physical and mental health of both men and women. Studies show that people who have no friends or who are lonely, are more likely to die earlier, get sick more often and suffer greater physical wear and tear(折磨）than those who have a support system of friends.
Sometimes, family members may be more likely to give you advice or tell you what you don't want to hear. It may not be as good as a friend who will listen to you and guide you, but support your decisions anyway. The most important elements about friendship are those who suffer support and do not judge your decisions based on society.
One reason for the link between social support and good health practice seems to be that people who feel cared for by others are less stress-out and protected against the symptoms(症状）of depression and loneliness.
Generally, women benefit most because of how they deal with stress. Women are more social in how they deal with stress than men while men are more likely to have a "fight or flight” reaction. Women also tend to have larger, denser social network, in which more people know each other and help each other, while men typically have smaller groups of friends and will rely on their wives or other important people for more support. While all these affect people psychologically (心理上）, friendship brings comfort that reduces the ill effects of stress, and the sex difference also contributes to the difference in the length of one's life time.In the author's opinion, a real friend should.
| A．tell you what to do even if you refuse to hear it |
| B．try to persuade you to change your mind quickly |
| C．judge your decision according to his, her experience |
| D．give you advice but respect your own decision |
Women benefit more from friendship than men because.
| A．women are always cared for by more people than men |
| B．women are usually less stress-out when staying with others |
| C．women are more likely to solve problems with friends’ help |
| D．women can always keep more long-life friendship than men |
According to the passage we can infer that .
| A．it's good for women to tell men what they should do or not |
| B．friends are always more important than family members |
| C．men don't want to share their problems with many people |
| D．the trend that women can live longer makes them more relaxed |
This passage mainly talks about.
| A．why people should develop friendship |
| B．when friendship affects people's health |
| C．people’s different attitudes towards friendship |
| D．the friendship which can make people live longer |
I was in a strange city and I didn't know the city at all and what is more，I could not speak a word of the language. After having spent my first day in the town-centre，I decided to lose my way on my second day, since I believed that this was the simplest way of getting to know the strange city.
I got on the first bus that passed, rode on it for several stops then got it off and walked on. The first two hours passed pleasantly enough. Then I decided to turn back to my hotel for lunch. After walking about for some time, I decided I had better ask the way. The trouble was that the only word I knew of the language was the name of the street in which I lived and even then I pronounced it badly.
I stopped to ask a friendly-looking newspaper-seller. He smiled and handed me a paper. I shook my head and repeated the name of the street and he put the paper into my hands. I had to give him some money and went on my way. The next person I asked was a policeman. The policeman listened to me carefully, smiled and gently took me by the arm. There was a strange look in his eyes as he pointed left and right and left again. I thanked him politely and began walking in the direction he pointed.
About an hour passed and I noticed that the houses were getting fewer and fewer and green fields were appearing on either side of me. I had come all the way into the countryside.
The only thing left for me to do was to find the nearest railway station,The writer believed that if you wanted to get to know a strange city .
| A．you should go everywhere on foot |
| B．you should have a map |
| C．you should ask people the way |
| D．you should get lost |
The newspaper-seller ________
| A．could understand what he said |
| B．didn't know what he said |
| C．laughed at him |
| D．didn't want to take the money |
The writer's real trouble was that .
| A．he couldn't speak the language |
| B．he followed the policeman's direction |
| C．he took the wrong bus |
| D．he left the town-centre |
The policeman.
| A．didn't help him |
| B．pointed at him |
| C．didn't understand what he really meant |
| D．didn’t know the way |
Last August, Joe and Mary Mahoney began looking at colleges for their 17-year-old daughter, Maureen. With a checklist of criteria in hand, the Dallas family looked around the country visiting half a dozen schools. They sought a university that offered the teenager’s intended major, one located near a large city, and a campus where their daughter would be safe.
“The safety issue is a big one,” says Joe Mahoney, who quickly discovered he wasn’t alone in his worries. On campus tours other parents voiced similar concerns, and the same question was always asked: what about crime? But when college officials always gave the same answer — “That’s not a problem here.” — Mahoney began to feel uneasy.
“No crime whatsoever?” comments Mahoney today. “I just don’t buy it.” Nor should he: in 2008 the U.S. Department of Education had reports of nearly 600,000 serious crimes on or around our campuses. “Parents need to understand that times have changed since they went to colleges,” says David Nichols, author of Creating a Safe Campus. “Campus crime mirrors the rest of the nation.”
But getting accurate information isn’t easy. Colleges must report crime statistics （统计数字) by law, but some hold back for fear of bad publicity, leaving the honest ones looking dangerous. “The truth may not always be obvious,” warns S. Daniel Carter of Security on Campus, Inc., the nation’s leading campus safety watchdog group.
To help concerned parents, Carter promised to visit campuses and talk to experts around the country to find out major crime issues and effective solutions.The Mahoneys visited quite a few colleges last August ______.
| A．to express the opinions of many parents |
| B．to choose a right one for their daughter |
| C．to check the cost of college education |
| D．to find a right one near a large city |
It is often difficult to get correct information on campus crime because some colleges
______.
| A．receive too many visitors |
| B．mirror the rest of the nation |
| C．hide the truth of campus crime |
| D．have too many watchdog groups |
We learn from the text that “the honest ones” in the fourth paragraph most probably refers to colleges ______.
| A．that are protected by campus security |
| B．that report campus crimes by law |
| C．that are free from campus crime |
| D．the enjoy very good publicity |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Exact campus crime statistics. |
| B．Crimes on or around campuses. |
| C．Effective solutions to campus crime. |
| D．concerns about kids’ campus safety. |
Anyone for rocket salad? The Chinese are now growing huge vegetables from seeds they sent into space.
If you are the type who worries about the air miles travelled by fruits and vegetables, these beauties aren’t for you. It's because they have travelled a little further than most.
The seeds from which they grew were fired into space, where they orbited the earth for two weeks. Once they returned they were grown in hothouses, producing the monster kinds seen here.
China, which is behind these space fruits and vegetables, says they could be the answer to the world's food crisis.
The 21-pound tomatoes, nine-inch chillies, 15-stone pumpkins and large watermelons growing at the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ hothouses can feed many more than their smaller cousins, and may have more nutrients, the scientists say.
Researcher Lo Zhigang said, "Traditional agricultural development has taken us as far as we can go and demand for food from a growing population is endless. Space seeds offer the opportunity to grow fruits and vegetables bigger and faster."
He admitted he and his colleagues could not explain why time in orbit caused the seeds to change genetic structure. But they guessed exposure to the cosmic (宇宙的) radiation that attacked the spacecraft in orbit, as well as the near zero gravity conditions, microgravity, could play apart.
"We don't think there's any threat to human health because the genes themselves do not change; just their order changes," he said. "With genetically-modified (GM) crops you have seen environmental problems because they have added genes that can damage other organisms. But with space seeds they don't gain genes; they can only lose them."
He also claimed the Vitamin C content in some space vegetables was nearly three times higher than in common vegetables, while levels of zinc are also increased.
Western scientists are doubtful. NASA researchers who have experimented with seeds in space say there is not enough benefit to show the cost is reasonable. What do the underlined words "these beauties" in Paragraph 2 probably refer to ______?
| A．Beautiful views along the air routes. |
| B．Travelling experiences in space. |
| C．Seeds fired into space. |
| D．Giant vegetables. |
We can infer from Lo’s words in Paragraph 6 that _______.
| A．our conventional agriculture has developed too slowly. |
| B．we are asking too much from nature |
| C．space seeds may help meet our demand for food |
| D．we'll grow crops in space in the future |
Why the seeds changed their genetic structure _______.
| A．remains to be proved |
| B．is discovered by Lo Zhigang |
| C．has something to do with the conditions in hothouses |
| D．is due to the radiation that attacked them directly |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A．Western scientists’ doubt is unreasonable. |
| B．Westem scientists don’t believe that Chinese scientists have succeeded in the experiment. |
| C．Western scientists have proved space seeds to be of no benefit. |
| D．Western scientists think the cost of space seeds outweighs the benefits. |
Transport Guide
The Brisbane City Council(BCC)is responsible for bus and ferry services within the city limits and suburbs，Most buses will either arrive at the city or an interchange where connecting buses can be caught.BCC buses operate from 5：30 am to 11：00 pm Monday to Thursday and 5：30 am to 12：00 am on Fridays.On weekends and public holidays buses operate less frequently. Prepaid bus tickets can be purchased from the QUT (Queensland University of Technology)bookshop，the campus newsagency.most other newsagencies and general stores，and any BCC Customer Service Centre.Shortterm students at QUT cannot use their ID cards to gain a discount fare on BCC public transport.You will need to buy an adult ticket to travel.Bus fares are dependent on the number of zones you have to travel.There are several types of tickets：
| Zone |
Cost(AUD) |
|||||
| Single |
Daily |
Offpeak Daily |
Tentrip Saver |
Weekly |
Monthly |
|
| 1 |
2.50 |
4.20 |
3.50 |
16.80 |
16.80 |
67.20 |
| 2 |
2.90 |
5.00 |
4.10 |
20.00 |
20.00 |
80.00 |
| 3 |
3.30 |
5.80 |
4.70 |
23.20 |
23.20 |
92.80 |
Single：one way ticket to reach your destination，including transfers within 2 hours.
Daily: unlimited travel within the zones.
Offpeak Daily：discounted unlimited travel between 9：00 am and 3：30 pm and after 7：00 pm
Monday to Friday，and all day on weekends and public holidays.
Weekly：unlimited travel within the zones for one week from the date of issue.Monthly：unlimited travel within the zones for one calendar month from the date of issue.
Tentrip Saver: 10 trips at any time within the zones on buses and ferries only.
Transport routes，timetables and fare information are available from：
Public Transport Information Centre
69 Ann Street (corner of George St)
Brisbane City
Phone 13 12 30(Transport Information Service)The transport guide above is most likely provided by________.
| A．Public Transport Information Centre |
| B．the Brisbane City Council |
| C．Queensland University of Technology. |
| D．BCC Customer Service Centres |
We can learn from the passage that________.
| A．buses are scheduled as usual on weekends and public holidays |
| B．regular students at QUT need to buy adult tickets |
| C．prepaid tickets can be bought from the Public Transport Information Centre |
| D．Tentrip Savers can be used at offpeak time |
An exchange student staying at QUT for five days has to travel between zones every day.What type of ticket would he probably buy?
| A．Single. | B．Weekly. | C．Offpeak Daily. | D．Tentrip Saver. |