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. |
B
Chinese children will be able to get a taste of adult working life in a theme park planned for Hang-zhou city,East China's Zhejiang Province.The Kids City,the first of its kind in China,will allow children aged five to ten to try out jobs of their choice after it opens in October 2008.
Located in eastern Hangzhou,the indoor entertainment and educaion park,similar to "Kidzania" in Mexico and Japan,offers more than 50 professions,including pilot,doctor,police officer and lawyer,according to Hangzhou Youth Activity Center(HYAC),the organizer of the park,The park will be a 7:10 scale (比例尺) city with streets,hospitals,museums,supermarkets, schools,airport and other facilities.Construction has begun on the indoor section.
Inside the 7,000-square-meter city,every kid would get a bank account holding special money that they can only spend in the park.They could earn more money by working in different booths or workshops.One job would take about half an half an hour and the whole tour would usually last five to six hours."The interactive(交互式) experience will help kids to learn about the adult life,which is good for their future career planning.They will have a lot of fun here,"said Huang Jianming,chief of HYAC.Parents are not allowed to enter the city,but they can take pictures from outside the huge glass house.
The ticket price has not been decided yet.But HYACsaid it might be lower than Kidzania Tokyo's and around several hundren yuan.With the majority of investment(投资) coming from the government,the project also needs financial support from companies and organizations,according to HYAC.
The world's first Kidzania was opened in Mexico City in 1999.It has turned out to be a huge success receiving about 800,000 visitors every year.In 2006,Kidzania opened its Tokyopark in Japan,which also became an attraction to kids."We are confident that the Chinese version(版本) wll be very successful."said Huang.
60.The theme park is aimed at letting the kids_______.
A.work with adults B.experience adult careers
C.imitate adults looking after a family D.watch adults work
61.The Kids City will________.
A.be more than half the size of Hangzhou City
B.consist of two parts,one larger than the other
C.contain buildings smaller than those we use
D.have lower buildings than Kidzania Tokyo's
62.A visitor to the Kids City ______.
A.has nothing in his bank unless he's worked
B.always leaves his tour with much money in his bank
C.learns to earn money as well as to use it
D.can try out all the professions on one tour
63.How many of such theme parks are open to visitors at present in the world?
A.Only one B.Two C.Three D.None
第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Chinese cigarette packs will have skulls(骷髅),blackened teeth or diseased lungs printed on them in the latest effort to deal with smoking,but one expert said the images may actually attract younger people to take up the habit.
The images would have to take up at least 30 percent of the pack's surface area under rrules that would come into force from January 2009.It was part of a plan that would also see tobacco advertising banned in China by 2011.Similar images are already printed on packs in countries including Singapore,Thailand and Canada.
Chinese are the world's most enthusiastic smokers,with a growing market of more than 300 million making it a magnet for cigarette companies and a focus of international health concern.China has banned smoking on public transport,but it is still allwed in many public places such as restaurants,and it is not uncommon to see people smoking in hospitals.
The average age people take up smoking in some parts of the country had hallen to as low as just over 10.And the new measures could make the problem worse,according to Zhao Cuiping,a youth expert."In analysis over the past decade(十年) on what young people like,they far prefer skulls and other scary images to cats or dogs,"she said.
Chinese cigarettes are also among the cheapest in the world and a packet can cost as little as eight US. cents.
The country needs to take effective measures to cut down smoking or the habit could end up killing 2.2 million Chinese a year by 2020,the World Health Organization said in May.
56.The new designs will be adopted on cigarette packs ______.
A.to attract young people B.increase tobacco sales
C.as trade mardks D.as health warnings
57.We can infer from the article that nobody is allowed to smoke while _____ in China now.
A.staying in a hospital B.taking a bus ride C.eating outsede D.walking in the street
58.Zhao Cuiping seemed to think that teenagers would ______.
A.enjoy the new cigarette packs
B.dislike the new measures
C.be the last to give up their smoking habit
D.prefer to have pet animals on the packs
59.All the paragraphs support the idea that China's smoking problem is serious except ____.
A.Paragraph 1 B.Paragraphs 1 and 2 C.Paragraphs 1and 5 D.Paragraphs 2,5 and 6
第二节（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
The purpose of a letter of application is to help you to "sell" yourself. 71 It should be simple,human,personal and brief without leaving out any necessary facts.
In writing a letter of application,keep in mind that the things a possible employer is most likely to want to know about are your qualifications(条件),your achievements and your aims. 72 If the first few sentences fail to win the reader's attention,the rest of the letter may not be read at all.Try to focus your opening remarks on the needs or interests of the employer not on your own need or desires.For example,instead of beginning with "I saw your advertisement in today's newspaper,"you might say " 73 "or "I have made a survey in my neighborhood to find out how many housewives use your product and why they like it."
74 Be clear about the kind of job for which you are now aplying.College graduates looking for their first positions often ask "Which can I provide in a letter? Employers want experience - which,naturally,no beginner has." The answer is that everything you have ever done is experience.
It is important to write a good strong closing for your letter.Make a specific request for an interview or give the possible employer something definite to do or expect.At excellent idea is to enclose(内附)a stamped,self - addressed envelope with your letter. 75
| A．I have made a careful study of your advertising during the past six months. |
| B．Don't be late for an interview. |
| C．It should state clearly the job you want,and should tell what your abilities are and what you have done. |
| D．Try to avoid generalities. |
E.The opening paragraph is perhaps the most important part.
F.That makes it easier for a possible employer to get in touch with you.
G.At the end of the letter,you should sign your name nicely.
D
For many year,motorcycle riding was considered a male sport.Women usually rode on the seat behind the men driving the two - wheeled vehicle.Now more and more women are taking the front seat.
More than twenty million people in the United States ride motorcycles.The number of female motorcyclists has increased greatly over the past few years.More than ten percent of motorcycle owners in the United States are women.
We spoke with "Lisa Russell,Briggit Pope,Rayna Evans and Angela Meeks-Odom".They are on the executive committee of Lady Sport Riders motorcycle club in Largo,Maryland.They say they ride for more than fun.They say it gives women a wonderful feeling,a sense of freedom and control.
In 1998 the number of female bikers rose sharply.Lady Sport Riders began in 1999 in the Washington,D.C. area.The women formed the organization to share,their love of motorcyle riding.They say female motorcycle clubs let women share a strong sisterhood.Like other motorcycle clubs,the members of Lady Sport Riders also help their community(社区).
Female riders have helped change motorcycle culture.The Motorcycle Industry Council says more than five years ago factories began producing equipment that makes riding more pleasant for women.Some bikes now have smaller,softer seats and controls that are easier to reach. Modern clothes for riding look good and still provide protection.Besides,women are now riding motorcycles that are as powerful as the ones men ride.Lady Sprot Riders believe women have earned their place in the sport of motorcycle riding.When speaking of male motorcyclists,the members of the club say:"They Made the Game…We Came to Play!"
68."Taking the front seat" means ______ in the first paragraph.
A.siiing in front of the driver
B.sitting in front of the driver
C.driving faster than male drivers
D.driving motorcycles themselves
69.What do we know about Lisa Russell,Briggit Pope,Rayna Evans and Angela Meeks-Odom?
A.They together wrote the passage.
B.they were interviewed by the writers.
C.They started a club to help the community.
D.They started riding motorcycles in 1999.
70.Which is the same with both male and female riders?
A.The size and quality of the seats.
B.The design of the controls.
C.The clothes for riding.
D.the engine power of the motorcycles.
C
This summer vacation,Xiaokai,a high school student in Guangzhou,planned to spend his time surfing the Internet,playing basketball and watching TV.
But Xiaokai's parents tried to make him read some classics at home.In their yees,reading the classics would do his son much more good than other activities.
Though his room was full of the classic books,he had just finished reading one of them,The Old Man and the Sea.
"I picked up the book just because it was not very thick,"he said."Nothing impressed me at all after reading."
Xiaokai is not alone in today's China.Now most of the teenagers are fond of reading martial arts stories,cartoons and popular magazines.Theose classics cannot get them interested at all.
Parents areworrying about this phenomenon(现象).They always tell their chilren to read the classsics,which is supposed to help their children improve their academic studies.
Ms Li made a classics reading plan for her daughter,but her daughter refused to carry it away.She just finished less than 10 pages of the Dream of Red Chamber(阁楼) during the whole summer vacation. Ms Li sighed,"What's wrong with the children today?"
It is the same with teachers.One middle school Chinese teacher once prepared a chart(图表) of Interpersonal relationship in the best-known novel Dream of Red Chamber for his students. They were asked to remember how the characters are related to each other while preparing for the final exam.
To improve the situation in which the fastfood culture (快餐文化) seems to be winning over teenagers,parents are expected to understand their children's interests, and guide them to read the books instead of forcing them,according to some experts.It is not necessary for the kids to read the classics in their childhood.They can read classics after having their own life experience.
64.Xiaokai read only one classic book because _______.
A.he didn't have more
B.he wasn't interested in the classics
C.it took him a lot of time
D.he just acted on his parents' advice
65.When the writer says"Xiaokai is not alone",she means that ________.
A.many others don't like classics either
B.some parents and teachers support Xiaokai
C.Xiaokai is not the family's only child
D.Xiaokai often reads together with others
66.Which belong,or belongs,to the fastfood culture according to the article?
A.The old Man and the Sea.
B.The Dream of Red Chamber.
C.Martial arts stories.
D.The books filling up Xiaokai's room.
67.Who would be more likely to stand on the side of that Chinese teacher?
A.The students. B.The parents. C.The experts. D.The writer.