Question

    What will man be like in the future--in 5000 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. 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 (光秃的).

Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. But 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.

1.The passage mainly tells us that ________.

A.humans needn't wear glasses in the future.

B.man's life will be different in the future.

C.future man will look quite different from us.

D.man is growing taller and uglier as time passes.

2.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A.future life is always predictable (可预测的)

B.human beings will become less attractive in the future

C.less use of a bodily organ (器官) may lead to its degeneration (退化)

D.human beings hope for a change in the future life

3.Future man will be similar to us in ________.

A.Colour and height B.size and appearance

C.thought and observation D.thought and emotion

Answer

1.C

2.C

3.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。文章对将来的人类的样子进行了猜测。如果我们对某项身体功能使用较多，那么我们就可能会进一步发展该项身体功能。如果我们较少使用某种身体功能，那么这种身体功能就有可能退化。但是，尽管发生了这些变化，未来的人类仍然是一个人，有着和我们一样的思想和情感。

1.主旨大意题。根据主题段第一段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．（当然，我们只能猜测，但我们可以肯定的是，人类将不同于今天，因为人类一直在慢慢地变化。）说明本文是关于将来的人会与现在的人有很大的差别。故选C。

2.推理判断题。根据第四段On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker（另一方面，我们的胳膊和腿用的很少。其结果是，它们可能会变得更弱）从这篇文章中可以推断，如果较少使用一个身体器官，可能会导致它的退化。故选C。

3.细节理解题。由最后一段中He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.（他仍然是一个人，有着和我们一样的思想和情感。）可知未来的人在思想和情感上与我们相似。故选D。