What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity (容量). As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring about a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over a very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.
56. The size of man’s forehead will probably grow bigger because _______.
A. he will use his brain more and more as time goes on
B. he makes use only 20% of the brain’s capacity
C. his brain has grown larger over the past centuries
D. the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time
57. What serves as the evidence that man is changing?
A. Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had.
B. Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years.
C. Man’s hair is getting thinner and thinner.
D. Man’s arms and legs have become lighter and weaker.
58. What will be true about a human being in the future?
A. He will be hairless because hair is no longer useful.
B. He will have smaller eyes and will wear better glasses.
C. His fingers will grow weaker because he won’t have to make use of them.
D. He will think and feel in a different way.
59. It is implied that __________________.
A. human beings will become more attractive in the future
B. body organs will become poorer if they are not used often
C. human beings hope for a change in the future life
D. future life is always predictable
60. The passage mainly tells us that _______________.
A. man’s life will be different in the future B. man is growing taller and uglier as time passes
C. future man will look quite different from us
D. human beings’ organs will function weaker
Directions: Complete the following passage by filling in each blank with ONE word that best fits the context.
New studies show how food and its production affect the globe and its climate. The process of making a hamburger, for example, requires lots of energy. A cow has to be fed and raised on farmland. And cow waste is a major source of methane（沼气）— 48 especially powerful greenhouse gas. The cow has to be killed. The meat has to be processed and shipped, 49 takes fuel. Most of the cow won’t even be used for meat people eat. By the time a hamburger finally lands on a dinner plate, 50 has made bad effect on the environment.
We can reduce the production of global warming gases by eating less beef. Other kinds of meat like pork and chicken do 51 harm to the environment ---at least 52 terms of the amount of greenhouse gases released. 53 , all kinds of meat are harder on the planet than vegetables. 54 changing our diet to less meat and more vegetables, as it turns 55 , may do the world some good.
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with word or phrases that best fits the context.
When other nine-year-old kids were playing games, she was working at a petrol station. When other teens were studying or going out, she struggled to find a place to sleep on the street. But she overcame these terrible setbacks to win a highly competitive scholarship and gained 36___ to Harvard University. And her 37___story has inspired a movie, Homeless to Harvard: The Tony Morrison Story 38___ in late April.
Tony Morrison, a 22-year-old American girl, has been writing a real-life story of willpower and determination. Tony grew up in the 39___of two drug-addicted parents. There was never enough food or warm clothes in the house. Tony was the only member of the family who had a job. Her mother had AIDS and died when Tony was just 15 years old. The effect of that loss 40___ a turning point in her life. Connecting the environment in which she had grown up with how her mother had died, she decided to do something about it. Tony went back to school. She 41___ herself into her studies, never telling her teachers that she was homeless. At night, she slept on the streets.
“What drove me to survive had 42___to do with understanding, by understanding that there was a whole other way of being. I had only experienced a small part of the society,” she wrote in her book Breaking Night. She admitted that she used envy to drive herself on. She used the benefits that came easily to others, such as a safe living environment, 43___ herself that “next to nothing could hold me 44___”. She finished high school in just two years and won a full scholarship to study at Harvard University.
But Tony decided to leave her top university for a couple of months earlier this year in order to take care of her 45___, who has also developed AIDS. “I love my parents so much. They are drug addicts. But I never forget that they love me 46___.” Tony wants moviegoers to go away with the idea that changing your 47___ is “as simple as making a decision”.
36. A. permission B. entry C. honor D. confidence
37. A. puzzled B. puzzling C. amazing D. amazed
38. A. published B. appeared C. sold D. shown
39. A. charge B. face C. middle D. shadow
40. A. lay in B. led to C. referred to D. stuck to
41. A. threw B. put C. devoted D. concentrated
42. A. nothing B. everything C. something D. anything
43. A. to encourage B. to control C. to persuade D. to believe
44. A. up B. down C. off D. back
45. A. mother B. sister C. father D. brother
46. A. once in a while B. time and time again
C. at the same time D. all the time
47. A. life B. university C. way D. family
Theses are his cousin’s first two __________paintings, which he likes very much.
|
A．little red French interesting oil |
B．interesting little red French oil |
|
C．interesting French little red oil |
D．little red interesting oil French |
Jude,seated in a chair and lost in thought, gave me a sudden look, as if ,“Are you kidding?”
A. to say B. to have said C. said D to be saying
However, when ______teams to complete tasks at school, we are often hardly aware of this.
|
A．forming |
B．to form |
C．formed |
D．be forming |
