阅读理解。
It’s exciting to imagine how future humans will have solved the problems we have now, or what amazing new inventions will make our lives more convenient and interesting. We asked top scientists to share their predictions on what the world will be like in a century. If they’re right, the 2114 is going to be really cool.
1. Robots will do your chores and more
Robots will be doing most of our jobs, from building homes to teaching math. There are already robots that clean floors and pump gas. In the future they will be more complicated and useful. Unfortunately, with robots taking all the jobs, unemployment will be high.
2. You will read minds.
Speaking of being social, we will communicate in an entirely different way. Forget texts and emails. Mind-reading technology will allow us to send thoughts to each other without speaking a word. We will also be able to send thoughts to objects around us. (Instead of pressing “start” on the microwave, you could just think “start.”) Meanwhile, chips implanted植入in our brains will improve memory and intelligence.
3. Your car will drive you
Today, around 30,000 Americans die in car accidents each year. One hundred years form now, accidents will be a thing of the past. According to Mark Safford, consultant or the U.S. Department of Transportation, future cars will drive themselves. These electric cars will communicate with other cars on the road to travel safely in close formation at high speeds.
4. You will eat fake meat.
Raising animals is not an efficient way to produce food, and it harms the environment: Cows, chickens, and pigs eat a lot, and then we have to deal with all that poop粪便. What’s more, that poop can up poisoning lakes, rivers, and streams. Today, scientists can “grow” meat in a lab from animal cells, but it’s expensive and not very delicious. In the future, they will have perfected the process. You’ll order hamburgers that come from factories, not cows. Scientists may even find ways to make lab-grown meat tastier and healthier than the real thing.
1. According to the passage, what is likely to happen when robots become more common in the future?
A. People will be much lazier.
B. More people will lose their jobs.
C. People may become physically weaker.
D. More people may become less intelligent.
2.Mind-reading technology will help people to _______.
A. have a good memory
B. talk to other creatures
C. read books efficiently
D. convey messages silently
3.According to the passage, in the future cars will be__________.
A. less popular
B. more expensive
C. much easier to operate
D. much smaller and lighter
4.Future meat will be ________.
A. much more affordable
B. less tasty but healthier
C. more organic and delicious
D. more environmentally friendly
5. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The history of human life.
B. The predictable future life.
C. The development of science.
D. The latest scientific findings.
阅读理解。
The computer keyboard helped kill shorthand—a system of rapid handwriting, and now it’s threatening to finish off handwriting as a whole. When handwritten essays were introduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2012, just 15% of the most 1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive(草写字母). The rest? Block letters.
And those college hopefuls are just the first edge of a wave of US students who no longer get much handwriting instructions in the primary grades, frequently 10 minutes a day or less. As a result, more and more students struggle to read and write cursive.
At Keene Mill Elementary School in Springfield, all their poems and stories are typed. Children in Fairfax County schools are taught keyboarding beginning in kindergarten. Ol der students who never mastered handwriting say it doesn’t affect their grades.
There are those who say the culture is at a crossing, turning from the written word to the typed one. If handwriting becomes a lost form of communication, does it matter?
It was at University Virginia that researchers recently discovered a previously unknown poem by Robert, written in his unique script. Handwritten documents are more valuable to researchers, historians say, because their authenticity(真实性) can be confirmed. Students also find them more fascinating.
The loss of handwriting also may be a cognitive(认知的) opportunity missed. Several academic studies have found that good handwriting skills at a young age can help children express their thoughts better—a lifelong benefit.
It doesn’t take much to teach better handwriting skills. At some schools in Prince George’s County, elementary school students use a program called Handwriting Without Tears for 15 minutes a day. They learn the correct formation of manuscript letters through second grade, and cursive letters in third grade.
There are always going to be some kids who struggle with handwriting because of their particular neurological(神经系统的) writing, learning issues or poor motor skills. Educators often point to this factor in support of keyboarding.
1. What is the author concerned about after 2012 Sat exams?
A. Keyboarding. B. Shorthand.
C. Handwriting. D. Block letters.
2. A poem by Robert mentioned in the passage is used to ____________.
A. prove how valuable handwriting is
B. explain what a famous poet he is
C. show how unique his poem is
D. stress how fascinating the documents are
3. The example of Handwriting Without Tears helps to argue that _____________.
A. the schools are responsible for the loss of handwriting
B. the loss of handwriting is a cognitive opport unity missed
C. it doesn’t take much to teach better handwriting skills
D. the culture is turning from the written word to the typed one
4. According to the author, when is a perfect time to learn handwriting?
A. Kindergarten. B. Primary school.
C. High school. D. College.
5. What is the author’s attitude towards this debate?
A. Devotion. B. Encouragement.
C. Critical. D. Objective.
阅读理解。
I wasn’t surprised when I read that actress Helen Hunt recently stated that she would never allow her young daughter to become a child star. Ms Hunt is the daughter of a Hollywood technical director, and grew up in Hollywood. Now in her late 40s, she started acting and modeling when she was eight and has probably seen a lot over those years in show business.
She has had a successful career. She earned four Golden Globes and four Emmys. She also attained the top honor of her profession when she won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role in the 1992 movie, As Good As It Gets. Given those accolades, Ms Hunt is successful. There is no doubt that her early experiences as a child star prepared her for what has been an outstanding adult career. Given those achievements, why would this star declare she’ll never allow her daughter, now at the age of six, to follow in her footsteps?
Everyone familiar with the entertainment scene is aware of the reasons for her attitude. Recent tabloid (小报) news headlines featuring the troubles of former child stars, among them Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and the late Gary Coleman, may answer the question. Although Ms Hunt managed to become a successful grown-up star, she apparently believes she’s an exception.
What Ms Hunt may be suggesting is that many very young stars go through unnatural childhoods on movie and TV sets. While they’re earning big incomes, they’re so pampered (纵容) by directors and praised by fans; they may get false impressions that their lives will always be that way. Then, within a few years, when faced with reality, they’re hurt and confused. After all the overwhelming affection, they find they can’t deal with the problems. That’s often when drugs and alcohol take over their lives.
Helen Hunt has some other reasons why she doesn’t want her daughter to be in the entertainment business. Many child stars can never make a successful transition to meaningful adulthood. However, as with many Hollywood movies, I believe there are both good and bad scenes about how it can be played out in real life.
1. According to the passage, Ms Hunt _________.
A. started acting and modeling when she was a little girl
B. has been acting for about 30 years
C. is the daughter of a famous actor
D. started singing when she was eight
2. The underlined word “accolades” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_________”.
A. difficulties B. awards
C. salaries D. opinions
3. The author thinks Helen Hunt’s success is mainly due to _________.
A. her hard work
B. the help of a technical director
C. her experiences as a child star
D. her talent and good luck
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
This happened in a third-grade classroom. Jim sat 1. his desk and all of a sudden, there was a puddle(一滩水) between his feet and the front of his trousers was wet. He felt his heart was going to stop. He knew 2. would happen when his classmates found out. He looked up and there came the teacher with a look in her eyes that said he 3. (discover).
As the teacher was walking towards 4., a classmate named Susie was carrying 5. goldfish bowl full of water to her desk. Suddenly, Susie tripped(绊倒) and, 6. (strange), dumped the whole bowl of water in Jim's lap. He pretended to be angry, but all the while he was saying deep in his heart, “Thank you!”
Jim became the object of sympathy instead of ridicule(嘲笑). The teacher brought him gym shorts to put on. All the others crawled(爬) on their hands and knees, 7. (clean) up around his desk. But 8. life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his had been transferred(转移) to Susie. She tried to help, 9. they told her to leave the room. 10. __ school was over, Jim walked over to Susie and whispered, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Susie whispered back, “I wet my trousers once, too!”
Only after Mary read her essay the second
time the spelling mistake.
A. did she notice. B. she notice.
C. does she notice D. she has noticed
Could it be in the restaurant in_______ you had dinner with me yesterday ________ you left behind your keys and wallet?
A. which；which B. which；that
C. that；where D. where；where
