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 whether 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 privacy. 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.
【小题1】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 |
| 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 |
| A．wonderful | B．stupid |
| C．practical | D．strange |
| 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. |
【小题1】B
【小题2】A
【小题3】D
【小题4】C
解析【文章大意】人们总是预测未来, 那么他们的预测一定会实现吗? 作者列举了很久以前人们对未来的预测的例子来证明并不是所有的预测都能完全实现。
【小题1】选B。主旨大意题。作者列举了很久以前人们对未来的预测的例子来证明并不是所有的预测都能完全实现。故选B项。
【小题2】选A。推理判断题。根据第二段中的Many of these predictions didn’t consider how people would want to use the technology, or whether people really needed it in their lives or not. 可知作者认为很多的预测之所以不能实现是因为它们不考虑人们在生活中是否真的需要这种科技, 故A项是作者不赞成的。
【小题3】选D。词义猜测题。根据上文知道机器人太昂贵、太笨拙, 所以机器人帮人们洗衣做饭的想法现在看来仍是不可思议的事情, 故选D项。
【小题4】选C。细节理解题。根据最后一段中的It’s not so crazy anymore! 可知会飞的汽车的想法有可能会实现。故选C项。
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蓝天教育暑假优化学习系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
A rainforest is an area covered by tall trees with the total high rainfall spreading quite equally through the year and the temperature rarely falling below 16℃. Rainforests have a great effect on the world environment because they can take in heat from the sun and adjust the climate. Without the forest cover, these areas would reflect more heat into the atmosphere，warming the rest of the world. Losing the rainforests may also influence wind and rainfall patterns, potentially causing certain natural disasters all over the world.
In the past hundred years, humans have begun destroying rainforests in search of three major resources : land for crops, wood for paper and other products, land for raising farm animals. This action affects the environment as a whole. For example，a lot of carbon dioxide in the air comes from burning the rainforests. People obviously have a need for the resources we gain from cutting trees but we will suffer much more than we will benefit. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, when people cut down trees, generally they can only use the land for a year or two. Secondly, cutting large sections of rainforests may provide a good supply of wood right now, but in the long run it actually reduces the world’ s wood supply.Rainforests are often called the world’s drug store. More than 25% of the medicines we use today come from plants in rainforests. However, fewer than 1% of rainforest plants have been examined for their medical value. It is extremely likely that our best chance to cure diseases lies somewhere in the world’s shrinking rainforests.
【小题1】 Rainforests can help to adjust the climate because they________.
| A．reflect more heat into the atmosphere |
| B．bring about high rainfall throughout the world |
| C．rarely cause the temperature to drop lower than 16℃ |
| D．absorb the heat from the sun, reducing the effect of heat from the sun on the earth |
| A．We will lose much more than we can gain. |
| B．Humans have begun destroying rainforests. |
| C．People have a strong desire for resources. |
| D．Much carbon dioxide comes from burning rainforests. |
| A．we can get enough resources without rainforests |
| B．there is great medicine potential in rainforests |
| C．we will grow fewer kinds of crops in the gained land |
| D．the level of annual rainfall affects wind patterns |
| A．How to Save Rainforests? |
| B．How to Protect Nature? |
| C．Rainforests and the Environment. |
| D．Rainforests and Medical Development. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Scientists today are making greater effort to study ocean currents (洋流) . Most do it using satellites and other high-tech equipment. However, ocean expert Curtis Ebbesmeyer does it in a special way -- by studying movements of random floating garbage. A scientist with many years’ experience, he started this type of research in the early 1990s when he heard about hundreds of athletic shoes washing up on the shores of the northwest coast of the United States. There were so many shoes that people were setting up swap meets to try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear.
Ebbesmeyer found out in his researches that the shoes — about 60,000 in total — fell into the ocean in a shipping accident. He phoned the shoe company and asked if they wanted the shoes back. As expected, the company told him that they didn't. Ebbesmeyer realized this could be a great experiment. If he learned when and where the shoes went into the water and tracked where they landed, he could learn a lot about the patterns of ocean currents.
The Pacific Northwest is one of the world's best areas for beachcombing(海滩搜寻) because winds and currents join here, and as a result, there is a group of serious beachcombers in the area. Ebbesmeyer got to know a lot of them and asked for their help in collecting information about where the shoes landed. In a year he collected reliable information on 1, 600 shoes. With this data, he and a colleague were able to test and improve a computer program designed to model ocean currents, and publish the findings of their study.
As the result of his work, Ebbesmeyer has become known as the scientist to call with questions about any unusual objects found floating in the ocean. He has even started an association of beachcombers and ocean experts, with 500 subscribers from West Africa to New Zealand. They have recorded all lost objects ranging from potatoes to golf gloves.
【小题1】The underlined phrase swap meets in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______________.
| A．fitting rooms |
| B．trading fairs |
| C．business talks |
| D．group meetings |
| A．what caused the shipping accident |
| B．when and where the shoes went missing |
| C．whether it was all right to use their shoes |
| D．how much they lost in the shipping accident |
| A．By collecting information from beachcombers. |
| B．By studying the shoes found by beachcomber. |
| C．By searching the web for ocean currents models. |
| D．By researching ocean currents data in the library. |
| A．traveling widely the coastal cities of the world |
| B．making records for any lost objects on the sea |
| C．running a global currents research association |
| D．phoning about any doubtful objects on the sea |
| A．To call people's attention to ocean pollution. |
| B．To warn people of shipping safety in the ocean. |
| C．To explain a unique way of studying ocean currents. |
| D．To give tips on how to search for lost objects on the beach. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
When you tidy your messy bedroom，it gets a lot easier to find things.Dreams may work the same way for a messy brain，helping you learn by organizing memories and ideas.
To test how much dreams can help learning，Robert Stickgold had some students play a shapefitting game called Tetris (俄罗斯方块) for a few hours and then go to sleep.Soon they were dreaming of falling Tetris shapes.Interestingly，the worst Tetris players had the most Tetris dreams and improved their game the most.Similar tests have shown the same results for all kinds of skills.
As we dream，many important tasks are getting done.The brain decides what to keep and what to forget.It is connecting new experiences to older learning.In fact，the brain is learning all night long.
Another important task of dreams may be to help us deal with emotions (情绪)．At night，emotions are in the driver’s seat.People who have had an upsetting experience often dream about it afterward.Often the dream event changes somehow—another way the brain tries to make the memory less upset.So if your best friend moves away，you might dream that you’re the one who’s moving.In fact，dreams have a proven power to improve mood，and people who dream about what’s bothering them usually feel better sooner than those who don’t.
Everybody dreams for a couple of hours every night—in the course of your life，you’ll spend about 25 years asleep and 6 years dreaming.There’s probably no single answer to the question why we dream，but there doesn’t have to be.One dream might help you remember your math facts，while another might lead to a new invention，or give you a fun，crazy story to tell your friends.It’s all in a night’s work for our busy，mysterious brains.
【小题1】Robert Stickgold’s test shows that________.
| A．games are useful for memory |
| B．dreams can help improve skills |
| C．players stop learning in dreams |
| D．tasks can only be settled through dreams |
| A．dreams can get rid of sufferings |
| B．only drivers can deal with emotions |
| C．one may be less upset after a dream |
| D．dreams can copy what one experienced |
| A．Dreaming does harm to one’s mood. |
| B．Dreaming affects the quality of sleep. |
| C．It’s hard to find out the secrets of dreaming. |
| D．It’s not so important to know the cause of dreaming. |
| A．Dreams and memories. | B．Dreams and emotions. |
| C．The benefits of dreams. | D．The patterns of dreams. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Tourism. |
| C．Science. | D．Advertisement. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
One might expect that the evergrowing demands of the tourist trade would bring nothing but good for the countries that receive the holidaymakers. Indeed, a rosy picture is painted for the longterm future of the holiday industry. Every month sees the building of a new hotel somewhere. And every month another rockbound Pacific island is advertised as the ‘last paradise(天堂) on earth’．
However, the scale and speed of this growth seem set to destroy the very things tourists want to enjoy. In those countries where there was a rush to make quick money out of seaside holidays, overcrowded beaches and the concrete jungles of endless hotels have begun to lose their appeal.
Those countries with little experience of tourism can suffer most. In recent years, Nepal set out to attract foreign visitors to fund developments in health and education. Its forests, full of wildlife and rare flowers, were offered to tourists as one more untouched paradise. In fact, the nature all too soon felt the effects of thousands of holidaymakers traveling through the forest land. Ancient tracks became major routes for the walkers, with the consequent exploitation of precious trees and plants.
Not only can the environment of a country suffer from the sudden growth of tourism. The people as well rapidly feel its effects. Farmland makes way for hotels, roads and airports; the old way of life goes. The onetime farmer is now the servant of some multinational organization; he is no longer his own master. Once it was his back that bore the pain; now it is his smile that is exploited. No doubt he wonders whether he wasn't happier in his village working his own land.
Thankfully, the tourist industry is waking up to the responsibilities it has towards those countries that receive its customers. The protection of wildlife and the creation of national parks go hand in hand with tourist development and in fact obtain financial support from tourist companies. At the same time, tourists are being encouraged to respect not only the countryside they visit but also its people.
The way tourism is handled in the next ten years will decide its fate and that of the countries we all want to visit. Their needs and problems are more important than those of the tourist companies. Increased understanding in planning worldwide tourism can preserve the market for these companies. If not, in a few years' time the very things that attract tourists now may well have been destroyed.
【小题1】What does the author indicate in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?
| A．The Pacific island is a paradise. |
| B．The Pacific island is worth visiting. |
| C．The advertisement is not convincing. |
| D．The advertisement is not impressive. |
| A．its natural resources are untouched |
| B．its forests are exploited for farmland |
| C．it develops well in health and education |
| D．it suffers from the heavy flow of tourists |
| A．They are happy to work their own lands. |
| B．They have to please the tourists for a living. |
| C．They have to struggle for their independence. |
| D．They are proud of working in multinational organizations. |
| A．The number of tourists. |
| B．The improvement of services. |
| C．The promotion of new products. |
| D．The management of tourism. |
| A．optimistic | B．doubtful |
| C．objective | D．negative |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
There was great excitement on the planet of Venus (金星). Venusian scientists managed to land a satellite on the planet Earth, and it has been sending back signals as well as photographs ever since.
The satellite was directed into an area known as Manhattan, named after the great Venusian astronomer Professor. Manhattan, who first discovered it with his telescope 20000 light years ago.
Because of excellent weather conditions and extremely strong signals, Venusian scientists were able to get valuable information as to feasibility (可行性) of a manned flying saucer landing on Earth. A press conference was held at the Venus Institute of Technology.
“We have come to the conclusion, based on last week's satellite landing，” Prof. Zog said, “that there is no life on Earth.”
“How do you know this？” the science reporter of the Venus Evening Star asked.
“For one thing, Earth's surface in the area of Manhattan is made up of solid concrete and nothing can grow there. For another, the atmosphere is filled with carbon monoxide (一氧化碳) and other deadly gases and nobody could possibly breathe this air and survive.”
“What does this mean as far as our flying saucer program is concerned？”
“We shall have to take our own oxygen with us, which means a much heavier flying saucer than originally planned.”
“Are there any other dangers that you discovered in your studies？”
“Take a look at this photo. You see this dark black cloud hovering (盘旋) over the surface of Earth? We don't know what it is made of, but it could give us a lot of trouble and we shall have further tests before we send a Venus Being there.”
“Over here you will notice what seems to be a river, but the satellite findings indicates it is polluted and the water is unfit to drink. This means we shall have to carry our own water, which will add even greater weight to the saucer.”
“If all you say is true, won't this set back the flying saucer program several years？”
“Yes, but we shall continue as soon as the Grubstart gives us the added funds(资金)．” Profession. Zog replied.
【小题1】According to the passage, the Venusian scientists succeeded in getting important information about ________.
| A．the feasibility of landing a satellite on Earth |
| B．the possibility of making a firstrate flying saucer |
| C．the feasibility of sending a Venus Being to Earth |
| D．the possibility of directing a flying saucer into Manhattan |
| A．they need it in their way to the planet of Earth |
| B．the Earth's atmosphere is filled with deadly gases |
| C．there is a low level of oxygen for Venusians |
| D．there is no air on the planet of Earth |
| A．landing a manned flying saucer on Earth will be carried out soon |
| B．Venusians will land on Earth to help to stop serious pollution |
| C．it's unnecessary to land a manned flying saucer on Earth at present |
| D．pollution on Earth makes it impossible for Venusians to survive there |
| A．In a popular magazine. |
| B．In a fairy tale. |
| C．In an observation journal |
| D．In science fiction |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Has been a dream for 30 years but now the world’s first flying car is set to hit the roads this year. 
Ever since the “Back to the Future” movies lit up our screens in the 1980s, designers have dreamt of cars that could take to the sky at the push of a button(按钮). And now pilots can order their own “roadable” plane for just￡127, 000.
The plane, which has fold-out wings that span 17. 5 feet, can be up to 115 mph. Back on the land, it can also travel at “highway speeds” in car mode(模式).
Fuelling(加燃料)the 19 feet long plane couldn’t be simpler—you just drive it into a petrol station and fill it up.
A spokeswoman said, “You can keep your ‘light-sport airplane’ in your garage. But because it needs a short runway to take to the air, you will have to drive to your local airport, fly up to 460 miles, land and drive directly to your destination(目的地). You will always be ready to drive or fly. ”
The spokeswoman added, “Never let bad weather change your trip. You can simply divert(使转向)and continue on the ground until the weather clears. ”
There’s no risk to you—this is only the chance for you to be the first at your home field to unfold(展开)your wings and fly into the future.
【小题1】According to the text, the “roadable” plane .
| A．can fly in the sky at “highway speeds” in car mode |
| B．is a kind of car with fold-out wings |
| C．is a little difficult to fuel |
| D．can only travel on the highway |
| A．there are some skillful pilots |
| B．pilots have no cars to drive |
| C．pilots can’t afford a “roadable” plane |
| D．cars can fly in the sky |
| A．Light-sport airplane. |
| B．Your garage. |
| C．The local airport. |
| D．A petrol station. |
| A．call for people to buy the “roadable” plane |
| B．show people the use of the “roadable” plane |
| C．tell people only the “roadable” plane can fly in the future |
| D．ask people to unfold their wings and fly into the future |
| A．land in a nearby airport until it clears |
| B．turn back home until it clears |
| C．land and drive on the ground |
| D．fly high up to 460 miles |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Did you know that there are actually people who have paid for a flight to the moon? In the future, there will be a lot more opportunities to travel to faraway places than now… perhaps even as far as the moon. As people adventure further and further away and as planes, trains, cars, and rocket ships become faster, is it safer to have these vehicles controlled by humans or by computers?
While many flights by plane are controlled automatically by machines, most people today wouldn’t let their car drive itself. That’s because currently the autopilot function on your car can only keep it on the same course you are travelling on. It won’t turn the car right or left. It won’t stop if an animal jumps in the way. However, cars today can sense when something is too close and warn the driver with flashing lights and alarms. Many cars also have GPS（global positioning systems） that tell drivers which road to take and when to turn. These systems, unlike human drivers, never get lost. In the future, it is easy to believe that your car will be better able to drive itself with the aid of computers that can determine the position of your car and the speed it should travel at.
In addition to computers being ‘smarter’ than people regarding the best way to go or knowing how close another vehicle is, computers don’t get sick, tired, or angry. This means they won’t make the same mistakes that people make when they are not having a good day. While responding with emotion is a good thing when choosing the best way to deal with a friend’s personal problem, it may not be such a good thing when deciding what to do at the wheel of a fast-moving vehicle.
So what are the disadvantages of autopilot systems? Maybe one disadvantage is that a small computer problem could cause a serious accident. It could also be argued that in unexpected situations, computers might not be able to respond appropriately; some decisions require human emotions. Another problem might be that if everything were controlled by computers or robots, people wouldn’t have any jobs.
【小题1】What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Development of Autopilot |
| B．Technology of Future Travel |
| C．A New Driving System |
| D．Computerized Cars |
| A． It won’t make the same mistakes as people do. |
| B． It can point out the best route for the driver. |
| C． It might not respond properly to unexpected situations. |
| D．It does not have human emotions to influence its function. |
| A．inform you of the danger |
| B．turn the car right or left |
| C．do nothing about it |
| D．stop the car |
| A．Approving. | B．Objective. | C．Negative. | D．Doubtful. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
There are some things humans can go without. We can lose a kidney (肾)or a lung, an arm or two and still live perfectly well. But some fish put us to shame. They can get by without stomachs. 
One such fish is the stout longtom（尖嘴魚 ）. The group it belongs to carries a more appropriate name: the needlefish. All needlefish lack stomachs. Their ancestors had them, but later they were lost.
The stout longtom can reach 1.3 meters in length, and lives near the sea surface. Like all needlefish, it can jump out of the water to escape its enemies. Tropical(热带) fishermen are sometimes injured by needlefish. In 1977, a 10-year-old Hawaiian boy was killed when a needlefish jumped through his brain. The longtom eats smaller fish. Its teeth are not good at cutting fish into pieces, so it swallows fish whole.
Ryan Day from Australia and his colleagues wanted to know how the longtom digests its meaty meals without a stomach, so they ran some chemical tests about the fish.
Day’s results show that the longtom can consume food without the help of a stomach. It uses a special material called trypsin（胰岛素） that can break down proteins without acid — although the approach is less efficient than using a stomach.
Because it’s a meat-eating animal, the longtom gets a lot of protein in its food, so it can afford this slightly less efficient system for absorbing it. Two plant-eating fish that Day studies actually had higher levels of trypsin in their body, as their food was low in protein.
Day thinks that the longtom and its stomachless relatives might actually have arrived at an energy-saving solution. He says that although the stomach is critical to many kinds of animal, the organ is “a fairly expensive organ to run”. This perhaps explains why some animals have got rid of theirs.
【小题1】What does the underlined phrase “get by” mean?
| A．Live. | B．Fight. | C．Hunt. | D．Recover. |
| A．catches smaller fish in the water |
| B．can jump so high to escape its enemies |
| C．digests the smaller fish in its body |
| D．uses acid to break down the protein |
| A．Acid | B．Trypsin. | C．The stomach. | D．Protein in its body. |
| A．the longtom often waste energy |
| B．the longtom can make acid easily |
| C．the longtom’s high-protein food helps its unique way of consuming food. |
| D．meat-eating fish have higher levels of trypsin in their bodies than plant-eating fish |
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