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.
1..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
2.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.
3.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
4.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.
Heroes of Our Time
A good heart
Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa among great poverty and disease. He came to Georgetown University on a scholarship（奖学金） to study medicine — but Coach (教练) John Thompson got a look at Dikembe and had a different idea. Dikembe became a star in the NBA, and a citizen of the United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth, or the duty to share his fortune with others. He built a new hospital in his old hometown in the Congo. A friend has said of this good-hearted man: “Mutombo believes that God has given him this chance to do great things.”
Success and kindness
After her daughter was born, Julie Aigner-Clark searched for ways to share her love of music and art with her child. So she borrowed some equipment, and began filming children’s videos (录像) in her own house. The Baby Einstein Company was born, and in just five years her business grew to more than $20 million in sales. And she is using her success to help others — producing child safety videos with John Walsh of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Julie says of her new program: “I believe it’s the most important thing that I have ever done. I believe that children have the right to live in a world that is safe.”
Bravery and courage
A few weeks ago, Wesley Autrey was waiting at a Harlem subway station with his two little girls when he saw a man fall into the path of a train. With seconds to act, Wesley jumped onto the tracks, pulled the man into the space between the rails (铁轨), and held him as the train passed right above their heads. He insists he’s not a hero. He says: “We have got to show each other some love.”
1.What was Mutombo praised for?
A. Being a star in the NBA.
B. Being a student of medicine.
C. His work in the church.
D. His willingness to help the needy.
2.What did the Baby Einstein Company do at its beginning?
A. Produce safety equipment for children.
B. Make videos to help protect children.
C. Sell children’s music and artwork.
D. Look for missing and exploited children.
3.Why was Wesley Autrey praised as a hero?
A. He helped a man get across the rails.
B. He stopped a man from destroying the rails.
C. He protected two little girls from getting hurt.
D. He saved a person without considering his own safety.
某外资公司正在招聘外语兼职翻译。假如你叫李华，你是一名大学在校生，想去应聘，故写一封求职信进行自我介绍。内容要点如下：
①中学时，喜欢英语，成绩很好，经常受到老师表扬；
②中学毕业后，利用业余时间自学英语，坚持每天收听英语广播，每天看15页英语书，并练习英语口语；
③经过几年的努力学习，已经取得了很大的进步，现在能和外宾流利地用英语交谈；
④若能被录用，相信一定能把工作做好。
注意：字迹工整，要点齐全，100词左右。
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Yours truly,
Li Hua
短文改错（共10小题；每小题0.5分，满分5分）
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同学写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出修改后的单词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错词下面画一横线，并在该词下写出修改后的单词。
注意： 1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I am writing this letter to express my regret that I can’t go to the Great Wall with you next weekend. It’s really pity. I feel sorry for them and want you to know that happened.
Yesterday, my father, worked in the United States now, informed me that he would be back to home tomorrow. I was very happy when I heard the news. Father and I had not seen each other for two years, but I am really looking forward to this meeting.
I sincere hope that you can be able to think in my position and accept my apology. I would appreciate your allowing me to make another dates to go to the Great Wall.
Once again, I am sorry for any inconvenience I have caused.
Last week, our class was 1. duty in the cafeteria for student self-management. On the first day, I 2. (shock) to see so much leftover food thrown away by students. What a waste! Being concerned about it, my classmates and I had a 3. (heat) discussion on how 4. (solve) the problem. Lots of good ideas came up, such as holding class meetings, putting up wall newspapers and charging a fine for wasting food. Finally, we all agreed that wall newspaper would be 5. (good) choice.
The next day, we put our idea into reality. Towards lunch time, we put up a wall newspaper outside the school cafeteria, 6. (call) on students not to waste food. Many students gathered around to read and 7. (express) their support. To my great delight, there were changes soon. In the cafeteria, I found the trays returned after lunch all empty 8. any leftover. Food9. (save) and the dining hall was cleaner. Seeing this, I felt relieved and proud of 10. we had done.
I will never forget the year I was about twelve years old. My mother told us that we would not be _ _ Christmas gifts because there was not enough money. I felt sad and thought, “What would I say when the other kids asked what I’d ?” Just when I started to that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women at our house with gifts for all of us. For me they brought a doll. I felt such a sense of that I would no longer have to be embarrassed when I returned to school. I wasn’t . Somebody had thought of me to bring me a gift.
Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my Christmas there special and memorable, I remembered the women’s visit. I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of for as many children as I could possibly reach.
So I a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help. We gathered about 125 orphans (孤儿) at the Christmas party. For every child, we wrapped colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school supplies, with a child’s name. We wanted all of them to know they were . Before I called out their names and handed them their gifts, I them that they couldn’t open their presents every child had come forward. Finally the they had been waiting for came as I called out, “One, two, three. Open your presents!” As the children opened their packages, their faces beamed and their bright smiles up the room. The in the room was obvious, and wasn’t just about toys. It was a feeling –the feeling I knew that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit. I wasn’t forgotten. Somebody thought of me. I matter.
1.A. sending B. receiving C. making D. exchanging
2.A. got B. prepared C. found D. expected
3.A. doubt B. hope C. accept D. suggest
4.A. broke in B. turned up C. settled down D. showed off
5.A. achievement B. loss C. relief D. justice
6.A. blamed B. forgotten C. loved D. affected
7.A. enough B. little C. poorly D. highly
8.A. present B. recent C. first D. previous
9.A. hardly B. occasionally C. regularly D. instantly
10.A. importance B. independence C. strength D. safety
11.A. kept up with B. came up with C. caught up with D. put up with
12.A. none B. few C. each D. some
13.A. fine B. normal C. helpful D. special
14.A. convinced B. guaranteed C. reminded D. promised
15.A. until B. after C. when D. since
16.A. chance B. gift C. reward D. moment
17.A. took B. lit C. burned D. cheered
18.A. atmosphere B. sympathy C. joy D. calmness
19.A. such B. it C. something D. everybody
20.A. from B. till C. for D. by
