Olaf Stapledon wrote a book called First and Last Men, in which he looked millions of years ahead. He told of different men and of strange civilisations（文明）, broken up by long 'dark ages' in between. In his view, what is called the present time is no more than a moment in human history and we are just the First Men. In 2,000 million years from now there will be the Eighteenth or Last Men.
　　However, most of our ideas about the future are really very short-sighted. Perhaps we can see some possibilities for the next fifty years. But the next hundred ? The next thousand? The next million? That's much more difficult.
　　When men and women lived by hunting 50,000 years ago, how could they even begin to picture modern life? Yet to men of 50,000 years from now, we may seem as primitive（原始的）in our ideas as the Stone-Age hunters do to us. Perhaps through the spundels and ballalators, these words, which I have just made up, have to stand for things and ideas that we simply can't think of .
　　So why bother even to try imagining life far in the future ? Here are two reasons. First unless we remember how short our own lives are compared with the whole human history, we are likely to think our own interests are much more important than they really are. If we make the earth a poor place to live because. we are careless or greedy（贪婪） or quarrelsome,our grand-children will not bother to think of excuses for us.
　　Second, by trying to escape from present interests and imagine life far in the future, we may arrive at quite fresh ideas that we can use ourselves. For example, if we imagine that in the future men may give up farming, we can think of trying it now. So set your imagination free when you think about the future .
53．A particular mention made of Stapledon's book in the opening paragraph ____________
　　A．serves as a description of human history
　　B．serves an introduction to the discussion
　　C．shows a disagreement of views
　　D． Shows the popularity of the book
54．The text discusses men and women 50,000 years ago and 50,000 years from now in order to show that _________.
　　A．human history is extremely long    B．life has changed a great deal
　　C．it is useless to plan for the next 50 years
　　D．it is difficult to tell what will happen in the future
55．Spundels and ballalators are used in the text to refer to _________.
　　A．tools used in farming                   B．ideas about modern life
　　C．unknown things in the future         D．hunting skills in the Stone Age
56．According to the writer of the text, imagining the future will _________.
　　A．serve the interests of the present and future generations
　　B．enable us to better understand human history
　　C．help us to improve farming
　　D．make life worth living

Riding a London subway, a person from other countries will notice one major difference: in London, people do not look at each other．In fact, eye contact is avoided at all times. That’s not rudeness ― people are just too busy to bother looking．

　　Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they’re certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet thinking．Nor are they reading a book．New technology has replaced quiet habits．Today the only acceptable form of book on the London underground is an e-book．

　　Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters（使用月票上下班者）. Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40, 000 ― yes, 40, 000 “apps” have been designed．

　　Commuters love them because they are the perfect time - fillers. One “app”, called iShoot, is a game that features tanks．Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination. iSteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone. You can then write in the “steam” on your phone screen．

　　For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be the distraction (消遣) of choice. It’s not just teenagers who “plug in” to their music － iPods are a popular way to pass the time for all ages．

　　And if games, e-books and music aren’t enough to keep you occupied, then perhaps you would prefer a film? The development of palm DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV shows or films on the way to work．With all these distractions, it’s amazing that people still remember to get off the train．

1.Those who want to save time to reach where they go can download ________ to their iPhones

A. iShoot                         B. Tube Exits         C. iSteam               D. iPod

2.People in London do not make eye contact on the subway because ________．

A. they are going to work and have no time to communicate with each other

B. they love reading books and do not want to be disturbed

C. they feel sleepy because of getting up early

D. they’re busy playing games, reading e-books, listening to music or watching films

3.The underlined word “apps” in the third paragraph means ________．

A. computers

B. programs downloaded for the iPhone

C. computer companies

D. fortune from London commuters

4.The main idea of the passage is that ________．

A. London commuters are unfriendly to strangers

B. Apple has earned a lot of money from selling 40, 000 apps

C. technology is changing how London commuters spend their traveling time

D. riding a London subway is a must when visiting London

Riding a London subway, a person from other countries will notice one major difference: in London, people do not look at each other．In fact, eye contact is avoided at all times. That’s not rudeness ― people are just too busy to bother looking．

　　Busy doing what, you ask? Well, they’re certainly not using the time for a moment of quiet thinking．Nor are they reading a book．New technology has replaced quiet habits．Today the only acceptable form of book on the London underground is an e-book．

　　Apple must earn a fortune from London commuters（使用月票上下班者）. Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, over 40, 000 ― yes, 40, 000 “apps” have been designed．

　　Commuters love them because they are the perfect time - fillers. One “app”, called iShoot, is a game that features tanks．Another one, Tube Exits, tells passengers where to sit on the train to be closest to the exit of their destination. iSteam clouds the iPhone screen when you breathe into the microphone. You can then write in the “steam” on your phone screen．

　　For those without an iPhone, another Apple product, the iPod, may be the distraction (消遣) of choice. It’s not just teenagers who “plug in” to their music － iPods are a popular way to pass the time for all ages．

　　And if games, e-books and music aren’t enough to keep you occupied, then perhaps you would prefer a film? The development of palm DVD technology means many commuters watch their favorite TV shows or films on the way to work．With all these distractions, it’s amazing that people still remember to get off the train．

64. Those who want to save time to reach where they go can download ________ to their

   iPhones．

A. iShoot                 B. Tube Exits           C. iSteam          D. iPod

65. People in London do not make eye contact on the subway because ________．

A. they are going to work and have no time to communicate with each other   

B. they love reading books and do not want to be disturbed

C. they feel sleepy because of getting up early

D. they’re busy playing games, reading e-books, listening to music or watching films

66. The underlined word “apps” in the third paragraph means ________．

A. computers

B. programs downloaded for the iPhone

C. computer companies

D. fortune from London commuters

67．The main idea of the passage is that ________．

A. London commuters are unfriendly to strangers

B. Apple has earned a lot of money from selling 40, 000 apps

C. technology is changing how London commuters spend their traveling time

D. riding a London subway is a must when visiting London