By 2050
Futurologists predict that life will probably be very different in 2050.
TV channels will have disappeared. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programs, newspapers, and books will come to us by computer.
Cars will run on new, clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Space planes will take people halfway around the world in 2 hours. Today, the United States Space Shuttle can go into space and land on Earth again. By 2050, space planes will fly all over the world and people will fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just 2 hours.
Robots will have replaced people in factories. Many factories already use robots. Big companies prefer robots—they don’t ask for pay rises or go on strike, and they work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere—in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.
Medical technology will have conquered many diseases. Today, there is equipment that connects directly to the brain to help people hear. By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people to see and hear again.
Scientist will have discovered how to control genes（基因）. Scientists have already produced clones(克隆) of animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people, and decide how they look, how they behave and how clever they are. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?
【小题1】
According to the passage, the following can be realized today EXCEPT __________.

A．reading newspapers on a computer

B．making a space shuttle go into space and land on Earth again

C．creating cloned animals

D．choosing TV programs freely from a “menu”

【小题2】
We can learn from the passage that some big companies prefer robots to human workers, because human workers __________.

A．can work 24 hours a day	B．often ask for more pay
C．are not clever enough	D．are often late for work

【小题3】
From Paragraph 5 we can infer that __________.

A．there will be no blind and deaf people by 2050

B．few diseases will attack people by 2050

C．equipment is connected directly to the brain to help people hear today

D．medical technology will be more effective by 2050

【小题4】
What is the author’s attitude towards the cloning technology?

A．The author does not support the use of cloning technology.

B．The author thinks human cloning is impossible.

C．The author does not really support the idea of human cloning.

D．The author is quite excited about human cloning.

Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it looks as though TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programmers, newspapers and books will come to us in this way.

In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists (未来学家) predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.

In future, cars will run on new，clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are．By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

A number of large companies now use robots instead of people who ask for pay rises, or go on strike, and can not work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere—in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people see and hear again. In the last few years, scientists have discovered how to control genes and have already produced clones of animals. By 2050，scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they? 

1.By 2050, people will get information mainly by _______.

A．watching TV	B．reading newspapers
C．listening to the radio	D．turning to a website

2.From the second paragraph, we learn that _______.

A．the demand for water will increase a lot in the future

B．future wars will lead to an increasing need for water

C．there can be no agriculture without enough water

D．the population will decrease for lack of water

3.Which of the following is NOT a reality at the present time?

A．Scientists have found out how to control some genes.

B．Cars have computers which tell drivers their positions.

C．People can learn about what has happened anywhere on the Internet.

D．Robots have completely replaced humans in some factories.

4.What will play the biggest part in the quality of life in the future?

A．Medicine.

B．Technology.

C．Education.

D．Agriculture

 

San Francisco is a big city which lies in the west of the United States very near the Pacific, where two earth's plates often meet and jump. So earthquake is a  1  word to hear there. It is recorded that at least  2  big earthquakes have happened in San Francisco since the beginning of the  _3  century. One happened in 1906, the other in 1989.

The second worst earthquake _4_ San Francisco on the evening of October 17, 1989, when people were travelling to their   5 . A wide and busy overhead road fell onto the one  _6_.  Many people were killed in their cars. A few  7  ones were not hurt, but many thousands became   8 . A large number of weak buildings didn't  _9  in the quake and the  10 electricity was cut off for several days, too.                 

1. A. terrible     B. sad                   C. usual            D. funny

2. A. two          B. three                C. four             D. five

3. A. 17^th          B.18th                  C. 19th             D 20th

4. A. shook        B. felt                 C. discovered       D. moved

5. A. offices      B. homes                C. factories        D. schools

6. A. above        B. nearby               C. below            D. round

7. A. young        B. tall                 C. strong           D. lucky

8. A. homeless     B. jobless              C. friendless       D. childless

9. A. put up       B. go up                C. stay up          D. turn up

10. A. company's   B. school's             C. country's        D. city's

第一节：完形填空

San Francisco is a big city which lies in the west of the United States very near the Pacific, where two earth's plates often meet and jump. So earthquake is a  1       word to hear there. It is recorded that at least  2        big earthquakes have happened in San Francisco since the beginning of the  _3        century. One happened in 1906, the other in 1989.

The second worst earthquake _4       San Francisco on the evening of October 17, 1989, when people were traveling to their  5     . A wide and busy overhead road fell onto the one    6     _.  Many people were killed in their cars. A few  7       ones were not hurt, but many thousands became   8     . A large number of weak buildings didn't _9        in the quake and the     10      electricity was cut off for several days, too. 

(    ) 1. A. terrible      B. sad     C. usual D. funny

(    ) 2. A. two    B. three   C. four    D. five   

(    ) 3. A. 17th   B.18th     C. 19th    D 20th

(    ) 4. A. shook        B. felt    C. discovered  D. moved

(    ) 5. A. offices       B. homes C. factories     D. schools

(    ) 6. A. above        B. nearby       C. below D. round

(    ) 7. A. young       B. tall     C. strong D. lucky

(    ) 8. A. homeless    B. jobless       C. friendless   D. childless

(    ) 9. A. put up B. go up        C. stay up       D. turn up

(    ) 10. A. company's       B. school's      C. country's    D. city's