What"s going to happen in the future? Will robots take over our planet? Will com
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What"s going to happen in the future? Will robots take over our planet? Will computers become smarter than us? Not likely. But here are some things that scientists say are most likely to happen 10 to 30 years later from now, according to the BBC.
1．Digital money
We used to pay with cash for everything we bought. Now when we swipe(刷) our bus pass or use a credit card to shop online, money is spent without us even seeing it. In fact, we are already using one type of digital money.
You have to admit that using a card is much easier than searching your pockets for change. It is also safer than carrying a lot of cash.
When ATM cards were first introduced, they were not accepted everywhere. But now it"s hard to live without them. People in Sweden completely stopped using cash last year, according to the Associated Press, and the US might be next.
2．Bionic(能力超人的)eye
It"s no longer something only in a scifi movie. People who are blind may have a chance to get their sight back—by wearing bionic eyes.
A blind eye can no longer sense light, but a bionic eye can use a camera to “see” the environment and send data directly to the brain.
Although the bionic eye that"s out now only allows patients to see lights and unclear shapes, a highresolution(高清晰度的) version could be just a few years away.
3．Selfdriving cars
Everything is going automatic these days—washing machines, ticket selling machines and even cars. Unlike a human driver, a selfdriving car won"t get distracted by a phone call, the radio or something outside the window. Sensors and cameras on the car would allow it to stick strictly to the rules of the road and keep a safe distance from other cars. This would greatly reduce the number of road accidents. You could even take a nap while the car drives itself.
Many vehicle companies are now planning selfdriving cars. “By 2040, driverless vehicles will be widely accepted and possibly be the dominant vehicles on the road，” said Jeffrey Miller, professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, US, in Wired magazine.
小题1:The underlined word “distracted” in the article is closest in meaning to “________”．| A．directed | B．discouraged | | C．attacked | D．disturbed |
小题2:Jeffrey Miller"s attitude towards selfdriving cars is ________.| A．optimistic | B．pessimistic | | C．doubtful | D．cautious |
小题3:Which section is the article most likely to be found in the newspaper?| A．Learning Kit | B．Campus Trends | | C．Entertainment | D．Technology |
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答案
小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:D |
解析
本文是一篇说明文，文章就10到30年之后科学家预测可能会出现的高科技产品进行了介绍。
小题1:答案：D 词义猜测题。根据画线词所在句可知，自动驾驶汽车不会像人一样受到电话、无线电广播和窗外事物的干扰，因此可以得出distracted在这里是“注意力分散的，思想不集中的”的意思，故选D项。
小题2:答案：A 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段Jeffrey Miller的话可以得出他对selfdriving cars的前景非常看好，故选A项。
小题3:答案：D 推理判断题。本篇文章介绍了未来可能会出现的三项高科技产品，属于科技方面的文章，故选D项。
疑难词汇解读
1．automatic adj.自动的，无意识的
Maybe there will even be automatic kitchens to cook instant meals for us.甚至还会有自动厨房来给我们烹煮快餐。
2．dominant adj.最主要的，最突出的
the dominant flavour in a dish.
一份菜肴的主要香味 |
举一反三
One might expect that the evergrowing demands of the tourist trade would bring nothing but good for the countries that receive the holidaymakers. Indeed, a rosy picture is painted for the longterm future of the holiday industry. Every month sees the building of a new hotel somewhere. And every month another rockbound Pacific island is advertised as the ‘last paradise(天堂) on earth’．
However, the scale and speed of this growth seem set to destroy the very things tourists want to enjoy. In those countries where there was a rush to make quick money out of seaside holidays, overcrowded beaches and the concrete jungles of endless hotels have begun to lose their appeal.
Those countries with little experience of tourism can suffer most. In recent years, Nepal set out to attract foreign visitors to fund developments in health and education. Its forests, full of wildlife and rare flowers, were offered to tourists as one more untouched paradise. In fact, the nature all too soon felt the effects of thousands of holidaymakers traveling through the forest land. Ancient tracks became major routes for the walkers, with the consequent exploitation of precious trees and plants.
Not only can the environment of a country suffer from the sudden growth of tourism. The people as well rapidly feel its effects. Farmland makes way for hotels, roads and airports; the old way of life goes. The onetime farmer is now the servant of some multinational organization; he is no longer his own master. Once it was his back that bore the pain; now it is his smile that is exploited. No doubt he wonders whether he wasn"t happier in his village working his own land.
Thankfully, the tourist industry is waking up to the responsibilities it has towards those countries that receive its customers. The protection of wildlife and the creation of national parks go hand in hand with tourist development and in fact obtain financial support from tourist companies. At the same time, tourists are being encouraged to respect not only the countryside they visit but also its people.
The way tourism is handled in the next ten years will decide its fate and that of the countries we all want to visit. Their needs and problems are more important than those of the tourist companies. Increased understanding in planning worldwide tourism can preserve the market for these companies. If not, in a few years" time the very things that attract tourists now may well have been destroyed.
小题1:What does the author indicate in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?| A．The Pacific island is a paradise. | | B．The Pacific island is worth visiting. | | C．The advertisement is not convincing. | | D．The advertisement is not impressive. |
小题2:The example of Nepal is used to suggest ________.| A．its natural resources are untouched | | B．its forests are exploited for farmland | | C．it develops well in health and education | | D．it suffers from the heavy flow of tourists |
小题3:What can we learn about the farmers from Paragraph 4?| A．They are happy to work their own lands. | | B．They have to please the tourists for a living. | | C．They have to struggle for their independence. | | D．They are proud of working in multinational organizations. |
小题4:Which of the following determines the future of tourism?| A．The number of tourists. | | B．The improvement of services. | | C．The promotion of new products. | | D．The management of tourism. |
小题5:The author"s attitude towards the development of the tourist industry is ________.| A．optimistic | B．doubtful | | C．objective | D．negative |
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Meet the “Tutor Kings and Queens”
“If you want to be a top tutor, it definitely helps if you are young and attractive. Students look at your appearance，” said Kelly Mok, 26, a “tutor queen” at King"s Glory, one of Hong Kong"s largest tutorial establishments.
Richard Eng from Beacon College, a former secondary school teacher, is often credited with being the first of Hong Kong"s “star tutors”. “In school all the teachers look the same, there"s no excitement，” he said.
The celebrity tutor phenomenon is a result of the huge growth in outofschool tutoring in Asia. It is fuelled by highly pressured examination systems and ambitious parents wanting their children to secure places at top universities and highstatus secondary schools.
In societies where success is_equated_with good exam results, parental anxiety converts into a “steady stream of revenue(收入)” for tutoring establishments, according to a study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)．
The tutoring industry, or “shadow education” as the ADB calls it, has become very widespread in Asia, fed by the growth in universities and the rising proportion of school leavers aiming for university. Hong Kong University"s professor Mark Bray, one of the authors of the ADB study, said a staggering 72% of finalyear school students in Hong Kong now go to private tutors.
It"s not just Hong Kong. Tutoring has “spread and intensified(强化) in Asia and become more commercialized，” said Professor Bray. In South Korea, 90% of primary school children attend such classes. In China, New Oriental Education and Technology has grown to become one of the largest tutoring schools in Asia with around 2.4 million students this year. In South Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India, tutorial schools use star tutors to attract even more students.
小题1:According to Kelly Mok, tutors ________.| A．have a lot in common with school teachers | | B．benefit much from their appearances | | C．become more and more popular in the world | | D．have much more pressure than in the past |
小题2:Who is probably a “tutor king” in Hong Kong?| A．Kelly Mok. | B．Richard Eng. | | C．Mark Bray. | D．Not mentioned. |
小题3:What Professor Bray says in this passage means that ________.| A．the number of school leavers is increasing | | B．tutoring may improve achievement for individual students | | C．star tutors have attracted 2.4 million students | | D．more and more students in Asia go to private tutors |
小题4:The underlined part in Paragraph 4 is similar in meaning to ________.| A．is equal to | B．leads to | | C．results in | D．is different from |
小题5:Where is this passage probably taken from?| A．An English newspaper. | B．A travel guide. | | C．A fashion magazine. | D．A physics book. |
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What would it be like to take a walk on the surface of Mars? If you could design the tallest building in the world, what would it look like? Do you dream of being the next J．K. Rowling? This summer, you can experience all of these things, and more. All you need is an Internet connection and your imagination.
A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that kids spend an average of 1 hour and 29 minutes online each day. Many kids like to use that time to chat with friends, play games or check emails. But the next time you get on the Web, try exploring the world instead. “With the Internet, you can go back 11,000 years in time, or go 11,000 kilometers across the planet.” said Russell, Web search expert of Google. “The whole scope of history and the world is open to you.”
There is a wealth of information to be found online. For example, if your family is going on vacation somewhere，do a quick online search on the area before you even get in the car. “What"s the background of the place; what"s the history？” says Russell. “I like to tell my kids, ‘Whenever you have a question, whenever you have a doubt, search it out.’”
Ready to launch a virtual journey of your own? Here are a few starting points to get you thinking and to help you on your way. You can invite your parents along for the ride, too. Always ask for permission before downloading programs and software onto your computer. And check with a parent or an adult before visiting a new Web site.
Navigate the world in 3D with Google Earth. Begin in outer space and zoom(快速移动) into the streets of any city, from Hong Kong to San Francisco. Or visit ancient monuments, watch the changing rainforests over time, and dive underwater to explore tropical reef.
With the Moon in Google Earth tool, you can walk in Neil Armstrong"s famous footsteps. Take a guided tour of the moon"s surface with Armstrong"s fellow shuttle mate astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
When you"re exploring that part of the solar system, hop on over to the Red Planet with Google Mars. There, you can move very quickly around the surface and see images from the Mars Rovers.
小题1:The author uses questions in the first passage to ________.| A．introduce the topic of the paragraph | | B．question the possibility of realizing the dream | | C．attract the readers" attention | | D．let the readers answer it |
小题2:How do you travel around the world in a day according to the passage?| A．By taking the time shuttle. | | B．By making use of the Internet | | C．By watching 3D films. | | D．By finding a tourism company in Google |
小题3:Russell thought ________.| A．the students spent too much time on the Internet | | B．the students shouldn"t chat and play games online | | C．the students could solve their problems through the line | | D．the students should learn knowledge instead of chatting online |
小题4:What"s the purpose of the passage?| A．Encourage the kids to spend more time online. | | B．Encourage the kids to do some research on science. | | C．Encourage the kids to learn to use the computer. | | D．Encourage the kids to explore the world online. |
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There are some new drivers going back to school. Teens who have recently gotten their driver"s licenses may be taking the wheel to school this fall. However, parents fear when their teen starts driving. And it turns out that such parental fears are justified, so it"s worth reviewing how to keep your teen safe while he or she is behind the wheel.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among US teens. Drivers 16 to 19 years old are at the greatest risk of crashes. In fact, their risk is 4 times greater than that of older drivers. The teens at the greatest risk are those who are male, those carrying other teenage passengers in the car, and those still in their first year of driving. Nearly 50 percent of teen deaths related to automobile crashes happen on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays between the hours of 3 pm and midnight.
Why are teens at higher risk of motor vehicle crashes?
Development. Teens haven"t completely matured mentally and have greater risktaking behaviors, possibly because they tend to underestimate the risk associated with a particular behavior. Teens also have a greater tendency to speed and to drive too close to the cars in front of them.
No seatbelts. Teens have the lowest rate of seatbelt use among all driving groups.
Alcohol. A least 25 percent of motor vehicle deaths in teens are related to drinking alcohol.
Technological distractions(分散注意力的事)．Cellphones，texting，MP3 players，and the like can all distract drivers greatly—and who more than teenagers?
Be aware of your teen"s driving practices and discuss safe driving habits when opportunities present themselves. Check out the applications and devices now available for restricting your teen"s use of technology while driving. Some applications alert you to the danger when your teen is texting while the vehicle is moving. Another device blocks incoming and outgoing texts when the car is running—incoming messages get an automatic reply (eg. “I"m driving right now”), and phone calls go directly to voicemail. You can also get notifications if your teen tries to shut off the program. There are also GPS programs that let you know your new driver"s whereabouts at all times. All in all, you can"t be too cautious when teaching your teen how to be safe on the road.
小题1:What factor is least related to the teen drivers" high risks of crashes?| A．Drivers" age. | B．Passengers" sex. | | C．Driving experience. | D．Driving time. |
小题2:Teens probably turn away their attention from driving when they are ________.| A．using no seatbelts | B．drinking water | | C．carrying passengers | D．answering cellphones |
小题3:According to the passage, which should be prevented during teens" driving?| A．Texting. | B．GPS programs. | | C．Automated replies. | D．Voicemail. |
小题4:The author writes the last paragraph in order to ________.| A．offer parents practical suggestions | | B．summarize teens" driving practices | | C．advocate different driving habits | | D．set an example for the teens |
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October 15th is the Global Handwashing Day. Activities are planned in more than 20 countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap. For example, donors（捐赠者） will give 150,000 bars of soap to schools in Ethiopia.
Experts say people around the world wash their hands every day, but very few use soap at so-called important moments. These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food.
Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap. Partners include the United Nations Children’s Fund, American government agencies, the World Bank and soap makers Unlever and Procter and Gamble. The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germ(细菌). They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub（揉搓） it into all areas, including under the fingernails（指甲）. Rub for at least twenty seconds. Then rinse well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth or wave them in the air.
The Partnership for Handwashing says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend in washing hands. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell. The Partnership for Handwashing also says washing with soap before eating or after using the toilet could save more lives than any vaccine(疫苗)or medicine. Hand washing could also prevent the spread of other diseases. When people get germs on their hands, they can infect（感染）themselves by touching their eyes, noses or mouths. Then they can infect others.
小题1:What’s the best title for this passage?| A．Say no to washing hands in the wrong way. | | B．Find out why washing hands carefully is so important. | | C．Hand washing: so important----it gets a day of its own. | | D．Want to live a longer life?-wash your hands. |
小题2:The word “rinse” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.| A．to dry your hands | B．to wash away the soap | | C．to rub your hands carefully | D．to clean your fingers |
小题3:The last paragraph mainly tells us ______.| A．how to wash your hands correctly | | B．why washing hand with soap is so important | | C．the dangers of washing hands without soap | | D．when we should especially wash our hands with soap |
小题4:In which part of newspaper would you most probably read this passage?| A．Medical care | B．Public service | C．Health report | D．Advertisement |
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