In the future your automobile will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a supercomputer that fits in your pocket! You might even drive a flying car!
For each prediction that has come true today, several others have missed by a mile. Many of these predictions didn’t consider how people would want to use the technology, or if people really needed it in their lives or not. Let’s look at some predictions from the not-too-distant past.
Robot Helpers
Where’s the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere, of course. And he’s probably not coming anytime soon. Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other manufacturing environments.
Back in the 1950s, however, people said that by now personal robots would be in most people’s homes.
So why hasn’t it happened? Probably because robots are still too expensive and clumsy. And maybe the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too weird. At home we seem to be doing fine without them.
Telephones of Tomorrow
In 1964 an American company introduced the video telephone. They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes. But of course the idea hasn’t caught on yet.
Why? The technology worked fine, but it over—looked something obvious: people’s desire for privac
y. Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just step out of the shower? Probably not---it could be embarrassing! Just because a technology available doesn’t always mean people will want to use it.
And finally, how about that crazy prediction of the flying car? It’s not so crazy anymore! But a flying car remains one of the most fascinating technology ideas to capture our imagination. Keep watching the news, or perhaps the sky outside your window, to see what the future will bring. The whole passage is mainly about ________________.
| A．predictions that have come true. | B．predictions that haven’t come true. |
| C．why predictions don’t come true easily. | D．what technology will bring about. |
The author of this passage won’t believe that _________________.
| A．predictions needn’t consider people’s practical use of technology. |
| B．the future isn’t always easy to guess. |
| C．not all past predictions have come true. |
| D．many of the high—tech things our parents thought we’d be using by now |
simply never appeared.The underlined word “weird” probably means __________.
| A．wonderful | B．stupid | C．practical | D．strange |
What does the author think of the flying car?
| A．It is too difficult to imagine. | B．It is too crazy an idea. |
| C．It is likely to be made. | D．It is often reported in the news. |
The best way of learning a language is using it. The best way of learning English is talking in English as much as possible. Sometimes you’ll get your words mixed up(混合)and people will not understand you. Sometimes people will say things too quickly and you can’t understand them. But if you keep your sense of humor(幽默感),you can always have a good laugh at the mistakes you make. Don’t be unhappy if people seem to be laughing at your mistakes. It’s better for people to laugh at your mistakes than to be angry with you, because they don’t understand what you are saying. The most important thing for learning Englsih is：“Don’t be afraid of making mistakes because everyone makes mistakes.”The writer thinks that the best way for you to learn a language is_______.
| A．writing | B．using it | C．listening | D．learning grammar |
What should you do in learning Englsih?
| A．Be careful not to make any mistake. | B．Write as quickly as you can. |
| C．Speak English as much as you can. | D．Laugh more often. |
When people laugh at your mistakes, you should______.
| A．not care | B．be happy | C．feel worried | D．be unhappy |
When you make a mistake, you should______.
| A．keep quiet | B．get angry | C．be kind | D．keep your sense of humor |
The story tells us,“________”
| A．Only foolish people make mistakes |
| B．Few people make mistakes |
| C．People never make mistakes |
| D．There is no one who doesn’t make mistakes |
Mr. Brown worked in a factory of a small town. He had been there for twenty years before one day he was sent to the capital for important business. He was quite excited because he had never been there before. Before he set off, he asked his wife and three daughters if they wanted him to buy something for them in Lon-don. Mrs. Brown began to think it over and then she said she wished her husband would be able to buy a nice umbrella for her, and so did their three daughters. As he was afraid he would forget it, he drew an umbrella on his hand. To his regret, he lost it at the station.
On the train Mr. Brown sat opposite to an old woman. The woman’s umbrella was so nice that he carefully looked at it and said to himself not to forget to buy a few umbrellas like it. When the train arrived at the station in London, he said good-bye to the old woman, took his bag and her umbrella and was going to get off.
“Wait a minute, sir,” shouted the old woman. “That’s my umbrella!”
Now Mr. Brown noticed that he had taken her umbrella. His face turned red at once and said in a hurry,“Oh, I’m very sorry, Madam! I didn’t mean it!”
Seven days later Mr. Brown left the capital. To his surprise, he met the old woman and sat opposite to her again. Looking at the four umbrellas, the old woman was satisfied with herself. “It seems that I had a better result than the other four women.” She thought.We can learn from the passage that Mr. Brown was ______.
| A．a conductor | B．a worker | C．a thief | D．an umbrella maker |
The underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refers to ______.
| A．his ticket | B．his bag | C．his drawing | D．his umbrella |
Why did Mr. Brown take the woman’s umbrella?
| A．Because he was lost in thought. |
| B．Because it was much like his own umbrella. |
| C．Because he thought the woman would not notice it. |
| D．Because the woman misplaced it beside Mr. Brown. |
When looking at Mr. Brown with four umbrellas, the woman felt ______.
| A．surprised | B．angry | C．fortunate | D．sad |
How did Mr. Brown get the four umbrellas?
| A．He picked them on the train. |
| B．He brought them from his small town. |
| C．He bought them in London. |
| D．He stole them from four women. |
Throughout time, people have loved music for its ability to transport them into a world of rhythm and melody. Recently more and more hospitals and clinics have been tapping into the power of music –not only to comfort patients, but to help cure them as well. Welcome to the world of music therapy(疗法).
After each of the two world wars, musicians visited hospitals and played instruments for injured soldiers suffering from emotional and physical pain. Today's music therapists continue this practice, playing instruments such as guitars and harps to bring comfort to their audiences.
Therapist Eric Mammen encourages his patients at a children’s hospital to participate with him as he plays. During visits with 13-year-old cancer patient Lawrence Garcia, Mammen encourages Garcia to beat on electric drums while he plays the guitar. The therapy won’t cure his cancer, but it does, according to Garcia’s mom, take away much of the boy’s depression(沮丧).
Music therapy can put patients in better moods and ease the symptoms of depression according to the American Music Therapy Association. Other benefits include relieving pain, calming tension, aiding sleep, reducing worry or fear, and easing muscle tension.
Jose Haro personally experienced the benefits of music therapy when he was recovering from heart surgery. During his recovery, he played a piano whose keys lit up, indicating which keys to touch to play along with the background music. Soon he was playing tunes and noticing something strange. “I was searching for my pain.” He says of his experience, “but it was gone.”
While Haro's experience provides an evidence of the power of music to relieve pain, scientific research has proven music also helps patients with Alzheimer's disease and arthritis.
In addition, music therapy helps premature babies. Doctors are tapping into a powerful way to teach premature babies that haven’t yet learned how to suck. Doctors use a device that comforts the babies by playing music when they suck on a pacifier（奶嘴）. Soon the babies learn to suck in return for music, gaining weight faster and going home earlier than those who do not use the device.
Even perfectly healthy people are discovering the power of music to calm and heal. Drum circles attract people who find stress relief in beating out rhythms. While music is not a cure-all, it does make life a little easier.In the first paragraph, the underlined phrase “ tapping into “ can be replaced by “_________”
| A．discussing on | B．looking for | C．showing interest in | D．making use of |
According to the passage, Jose Haro_______________.
| A．went through an obvious effect of music on his recovery |
| B．was asked to play the piano with the background music |
| C．felt no pain in his surgery because of music therapy |
| D．recovered from heart disease completely |
From the passage, we know_________________.
| A．music can prevent people from suffering from arthritis |
| B．Garcia found much comfort in music according to his mom |
| C．musicians cured many soldiers after each of the two world wars |
| D．the more music they listen to, the faster premature babies gain weight |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Music to Patient Ears | B．Music Popular in Hospitals |
| C．Musicians Work with Doctors | D．People's life Benefits from Music |
It is said that usually people learn from their experiences and the mistakes they make throughout their lives. This is correct because life teaches us what is correct to do and what is not.
Let’s consider a mistake that one has made while trying to learn to drive. It is true that, for a beginner, it is common to make mistakes, but after doing something wrong once, twice or three times, it is quite impossible to make the same mistake a fourth time. Everyone tries their best in order to improve their skills and they will be very pleased to notice that these improvements really happen.
On the other hand, being successful in everything he does, one cannot know what failure means. He would always see only the best side of things and it would be difficult for him to face the difficulties to come in the future. Here we can mention the case of a very successful football player, who has known what fame (名声) is from the very beginning of his career. We have to admit that most of his luck originates from the great talent that he was born with. But some fellow players can also work to achieve the same thing because they make mistakes in their games and they learn from each mistake that they make.
In the end, we can say that one needs to make mistakes in life in order to better appreciate things. And at the same time, mistakes teach us how important it is to fight for something we wish for in life. Of course, moments of happiness will come in return when we see the changes or improvements. The author mentions learning driving in the second paragraph to ______________.
| A．make a comparison |
| B．explain that learning is a slow process |
| C．show that driving is a very difficult skill |
| D．prove that success results from failure |
What is the author’s attitude towards someone that is always successful at something?
| A．He thinks they are lucky. | B．He is bored with them. |
| C．He wants to learn from them. | D．He believes their success is a bad thing. |
Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
A． |
B． |
C． |
D． |
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To buy some table or chairs, you may want information about .
| A．Web ld: MLV6562988 | B．Web Id: MLV6567328 |
| C．Web Id: MLV6567730 | D．Web Id: MLV6559374 |
How much will a pair of boy shoes size 10 cost you in the Huge Yard Sale?
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Which of the following ways can help you learn more about a dog?
| A．Visiting www. Lulu.com. | B．Visiting www. eliveauctions.com. |
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What do we know from Elive Auctions?
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