Question

    Bill Gates’ body might live in the present, but his brain lives in the future. He has made a career out of predicting what will happen in matters of computing, public health and the environment. He correctly predicted the rise of smartphones and social media, and his latest predictions could come true, too. Here’s what Gates predicts for the future of our world.

In his Annual Letter 2015, Gates made the prediction that Africa’s agriculture industry would increase productivity by 50% by 2030. Now the continent buys about $50 billion worth of food from other countries each year, although 70% of people in Africa are farmers. “In the next 15 years，however，creations in farming will solve the food problem in Africa,” Gates wrote. “The world has already developed crops that are more productive; with all the technologies, African farmers could possibly double their harvests.”

By 2035, there could be almost no poor countries. In his Annual Letter 2014, Gates bravely predicted that continued levels of foreign help could mean there would be almost no more poor countries by 2035. “Almost all countries will be what we now call lower-middle income or richer,” Gates explained. “Countries will learn from their most productive neighbors and benefit from things like better seeds and the digital revolution. ”

By 2030, the world will discover a clean-energy breakthrough to power our world. One of Gate’s more hopeful predictions which came in 2016 said that wind, solar, or some other renewable resources would power most of the world within 15 years. “The difficulty we face is big, perhaps bigger than many people imagine,” he wrote in his letter. “But so is the chance to make things better.” Many of the poor countries he visited had no running water or electricity. At night this meant they couldn’t light or power their homes, and keep businesses open.” If the world can find a type of cheap, clean energy, it will do more than prevent climate change,” he wrote. “It will change the lives of millions of the poorest families.”

1.What does the author think of Gates’ predictions?

A.They sound quite unreal. B.They are mainly about computers.

C.They will probably come true. D.They haven’t produced any end result.

2.How is the agriculture in Africa?

A.It is losing its workforce. B.It is in need of productivity.

C.It can satisfy the local needs. D.It is as backward as Africa’s industry.

3.What should poor countries do according to Gates?

A.Use expensive seeds. B.Expect less foreign help.

C.Rely on the digital revolution. D.Learn from the experience of other countries.

4.What’s Gates’ attitude to clean-energy development?

A.It’s no easy task. B.It’s hard to imagine.

C.It can put climate change to an end. D.It has little to do with poor families.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了Bill Gates对于未来世界的预测，他预测到2030年非洲农业生产力将提高50%，到2035年将几乎没有贫穷国家以及到2030年世界对于清洁能源的发现，会有突破，并为我们的世界提供能源。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段中He correctly predicted the rise of smartphones and social media, and his latest predictions could come true, too.可知他正确地预测了智能手机和社交媒体的崛起，他的最新预测也有可能成为现实。由此可知，作者认为Gates的预测很可能会成为现实。故选C。

2.

推理判断题。根据第二段中In his Annual Letter 2015, Gates made the prediction that Africa’s agriculture industry would increase productivity by 50% by 2030.可知Gates在2015年的年度信中预测，到2030年，非洲农业生产力将提高50%。由此可推知，非洲的农业需要生产力。故选B。

3.

细节理解题。根据第三段中Countries will learn from their most productive neighbors and benefit from things like better seeds and the digital revolution.可知各国将向生产力最高的邻国学习，并从更好的种子和数字革命等方面获益。由此可知，根据Gates的观点，贫穷国家应该学习其他国家的经验。故选D。

4.

推理判断题。根据最后一段中“The difficulty we face is big, perhaps bigger than many people imagine,” he wrote in his letter.可知“我们面临的困难很大，可能比许多人想象的还要大，”他在信中写道。由此可推知，Gates认为发展清洁能源不是一件容易的事。故选A。