The necktie looks set to follow the top hat in being handed over to the fashion museum by office workers within the next 50 years, according to research.
Nearly three quarters (74%) think the tie will not survive within British firms beyond the next half a century with the popularity of the open-collared shirt. Its demise is being blamed on the boom in creative businesses, such as Facebook and Google, and online trading companies where formal dress codes tend to be avoided in favour of a more casual approach.
Once considered an important part of business dress, the tie has become a victim of the spread of "casual Fridays" into other weekdays, according to researchers.
The poll, by Deal Jungle. com, which helps small and medium enterprises, found more than half (51% ) thought the tie would die out in offices within the next 20 years and almost a quarter (22%) believed it would last less than 10 years.
A spokesman for the site, which has 20, 000 registered members, said: "Ties have been around seemingly forever but increasing numbers of office workers are telling them to get away."

"The success of businesses such as Facebook and Google, where even the CEO turns up wearing jeans and a hoodie, also seems to have had a corrosive (侵蚀性) effect on the idea of dressing formally for work."
"Many of our members keep their expenses to a minimum by working from home so they feel no need to dress up to go to work. We know that when they meet with clients, they still put on a business suit, but a tie is no longer seen as an essential part of the suited-and-booted look."
"Instead, many businessmen and increasing numbers of executives choose a suit and shirt with an open collar. The tie-less suit creates an impression of a more approachable deal maker, someone who is still business-minded, yet creative and technology-sensible, too. "
【小题1】Why are ties expected to disappear in offices?

Just put your special clothes on in the morning and you could jump 3 meters into the air and even carry more than 60 kilograms without getting tired. The walk to school would be very , very easy. Such supercharged clothing is one of the products that could be created using “wearable robotics” technology.

Designed to improve a person’s senses and skills, the device could be as simple as a hearing aid. Or it could be a full-body suit that senses what you’re going to do, then helps you do it better.

“A superman suit would be the final result in wearable robotics,” said Francois Pin, head of robotics and energy systems at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory（橡树林国家实验室）, US. While these suits are at least ten years away, in some areas  the technology is already in use.

Researchers are developing artificial arms and legs that allow old, disabled or injured people to move freely. Thus US Army is interested in using wearable robot legs to help soldiers run faster, carry more equipment and be stronger in battle. Jobs that involve lifting heavy loads or saving lives from the rubble of an earthquake could also become much easier.

A robot is a device that responds to a command. You’re probably with simple robots, such as toy cars or airplanes that respond to buttons you push on a remote control.

Wearable robotics goes further. Instead of just receiving information through a wire or remote control, the robotic device can send information back to its controller.

Suppose you wore a sleeve that has sensors where your joints are. Every time you move your arm, the sleeve senses your movements and sends the information to a robot, which then moves its arm just as you did. When the robot hits or touches something, it sends a signal back to the sleeve and you sense the action.

In this way, scientists are working to wrap the robot around the person. Their goal is to make the sleeve, shoe or suit help you do what you want to do.

Which of the following can replace the underlined word “supercharged” in Paragraph one?

A．expensive                                    B．overcharged

C．advanced                                         D．full of electricity

Products resulting from this wearable robotics technology do not include ________.

A．remote controls                            B．hearing aids

C．wearable robot legs                    D．superman suits

From the passage, we can infer that_______________.

A．it will be ten years before robotic devices are in use

B．the wearable robotics technology has been employed in some areas

C．the robots in the robotic devices will do whatever you want to do

D．people must become lazier and less healthier in the future

D
We all accept that sports should stress skill over luck，and fairness over privilege(特权)．
They should be accessible to many and fun to watch．In the end，a sport,s champion should re-
present shared values and served as a role model．
But with today,s advances in technology，the power of sports equipment makers offers great
opportunity for the athletes who have access to the latest technology.
In 2008,108 world records were broken in the sport of swimming．The average number of
world records set in swimming in all past Olympic years is about 22．The average number of
world records set in a non-Olympic year is about 5．Now there are no“old”world records．
Suit technology has been the most widely recognized difference．The sharkskin suit and the
“paper”suits were all made public by suit manufactures before the Olympic．
As records continue to be broken，the Internet message boards for the swimming community
have taken a darker view of suit technology．“Time is meaningless”is one quote．I tend to agree．Some of the times I see being posted today are simply legends(传奇)．
Am I against suit technology?Not really．But 2008 marked an unbelievable change in the
sport of swimming．People are saying，“Bigger，faster，stronger at any cost!”，wanting no limits on technology，either suits or drugs．I am not one of those people．
I am a guy that recognized the sport of swimming being as simple as man vs．water．It used
to be the swimmer in the suit，not the suit on the swimmer．How times have changed．
53．According to the first paragraph，it is a common belief that________.
A．only a few people have chances to take part in sports
B．the latest suit technology should not be used in sports
C．sports should be interesting for people to watch
D．luck plays an important role in Olympic Games
54．It can be learned from the passage that_______.
A．the author is against the latest technology in sports
B．the athletes have become more skilled than before
C．some records are hard to break without technology
D．advanced suits and drugs can be used in Olympics
55．What does“Time is meaningless”mean in the swimming community?
A．Breaking records in swimming is too easy for most athelets．
B．It,s technology rather than skill that counts in some records．
C．Many athletes break records by luck and taking drugs．
D．Some rules aren,t obeyed when Olympic records are broken．
56．What,s the author,s opinion of the present sports?
A．Latest technology should be encouraged in compitition among athelets．
B．Time should be measured in a different way in modern Olympic Games．
C．All of the athletes should wear the same suits to ensure fairness．
D. Competition in skill should come first instead of that in equipment。

Just put your special clothes on in the morning and you could jump 3 meters into the air and even carry more than 60 kilograms without getting tired. The walk to school would be very, very easy. Such supercharged clothing is one of the products that could be created using "wearable robotics” technology.

Designed to improve a person's senses and skills, the device could be as simple as a hearing aid. Or it could be a full-body suit that senses what you're going to do, then helps you do it better.

“A superman suit would be the final result in wearable robot i cs ”，s a id Francois Pin, head of robot­ics and energy systems at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory(橡树林国家实验室), US. While these suits are at least ten years away, in some areas the technology is already in use.

Researchers are developing artificial- arms and legs that allow old，disabled or injured people to move freely. Thus US Army is interested in using wearable robot legs to help soldiers run faster, carry more equipment and be stronger in battle. Jobs that involve lifting heavy loads or saving lives from the rubble of an earthquake could also become much easier.

A robot is a device that responds to a command. You're probably with simple robots, such as toy cars or airplanes that respond to buttons you push on a remote control.

Wearable robotics goes further. Instead of just receiving information through a wire or remotecontrol- the robotic device can send information back to its controller.

Suppose you wore a sleeve that has sensors where your joints are. Every time you move your arm, the sleeve senses your movements and sends the information to a robot, which then moves its arm just as you did. When the robot hits or touches something, it sends a signal back to the sleeve and you sense the action.

In this way，scientists are working to wrap the robot around the person. Their goal is to make the sleeve, shoe or suit help you do what you want to do.

1.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “supercharged” in Paragraph One?

A, expensive      B. overcharged C. advanced     D. full of electricity

2.Products resulting from this wearable robotics technology do not include _______. 

A．remote controls    B．hearing aids        C．wearable robot legs  D．superman suits

3.From the passage, we can infer that        .

A．it will be ten years before robotic devices are in use

B．the wearable robotics technology has been employed in some areas

C．the robots in the robotic devices will do whatever you want to do

D．people must become lazier and less healthier in the future

D

We all accept that sports should stress skill over luck，and fairness over privilege(特权)．

They should be accessible to many and fun to watch．In the end，a sport,s champion should re-

present shared values and served as a role model．

But with today,s advances in technology，the power of sports equipment makers offers great

opportunity for the athletes who have access to the latest technology.

In 2008,108 world records were broken in the sport of swimming．The average number of

world records set in swimming in all past Olympic years is about 22．The average number of

world records set in a non-Olympic year is about 5．Now there are no“old”world records．

Suit technology has been the most widely recognized difference．The sharkskin suit and the

“paper”suits were all made public by suit manufactures before the Olympic．

As records continue to be broken，the Internet message boards for the swimming community

have taken a darker view of suit technology．“Time is meaningless”is one quote．I tend to agree．Some of the times I see being posted today are simply legends(传奇)．

Am I against suit technology?Not really．But 2008 marked an unbelievable change in the

sport of swimming．People are saying，“Bigger，faster，stronger at any cost!”，wanting no limits on technology，either suits or drugs．I am not one of those people．

I am a guy that recognized the sport of swimming being as simple as man vs．water．It used

to be the swimmer in the suit，not the suit on the swimmer．How times have changed．

53．According to the first paragraph，it is a common belief that________.

A．only a few people have chances to take part in sports

B．the latest suit technology should not be used in sports

C．sports should be interesting for people to watch

D．luck plays an important role in Olympic Games

54．It can be learned from the passage that_______.

A．the author is against the latest technology in sports

B．the athletes have become more skilled than before

C．some records are hard to break without technology

D．advanced suits and drugs can be used in Olympics

55．What does“Time is meaningless”mean in the swimming community?

A．Breaking records in swimming is too easy for most athelets．

B．It,s technology rather than skill that counts in some records．

C．Many athletes break records by luck and taking drugs．

D．Some rules aren,t obeyed when Olympic records are broken．

56．What,s the author,s opinion of the present sports?

A．Latest technology should be encouraged in compitition among athelets．

B．Time should be measured in a different way in modern Olympic Games．

C．All of the athletes should wear the same suits to ensure fairness．

D. Competition in skill should come first instead of that in equipment。