A
What picture do you have of the future? Will life in the future be better, worse or the same as now? What do you hope about the future?
Futurologists predict that life will probably be very different in 2050 in all the fields of activity, from entertainment to technology. First of all, it seems that 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. By 2050, music, films, programs, newspapers and books will come to us by computer.
In what concerns the environment, water will have become one of our most serious problems. Demand for water will increase ten times between now and 2050 and there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists predict that water could be the cause of war if we don't act now. In transport, 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.
In the domain of technology, robots will have replaced people in factories. Many factories already use robots. Big companies prefer robots—they do not 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.
Last but not least, medicine technology will have conquered many diseases. Today scientists have discovered how to control genes. They 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?
篇章导读：本文是一篇记叙文。文章主要讲述了作者对未来生活的推测和展望。
1．What's the purpose of the first paragraph?
A．To arouse the interest of readers.
B．To tell the background of the passage.
C．To introduce the topic of the passage.
D．To describe the pictures of the future.
答案：A 推理判断题。开篇接连几个问句的出现，目的在于吸引读者的兴趣，让读者充满期待地读完文章。故选A。
2．We can know from the passage that ________.
A．computers will finally take the place of the media nowadays
B．robots will completely have replaced people in factories
C．computers will tell drivers exactly where they are in future
D．it is more convenient to choose programs sent by the computer
答案：D 细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句可知，这些新闻媒介将会通过电脑进入我们的生活，但并不是说电脑最终代替媒体，所以A错误；根据倒数第二段可知，机器人将代替人类的一些活动，但并不能说机器人就完全替代人类，所以B错误；根据第三段倒数第二句可知，车子的定位功能是人类现在的技术，所以C错误；根据第二段倒数第二句可知D正确。故选D。
3．What's the author's attitude towards the life by 2050?
A．Excited but pessimistic.
B．Optimistic but worried.
C．Eager but afraid.
D．Confident but cautious.
答案：B 推理判断题。根据全文的描述可知，作者对未来的生活进行了乐观的预测，同时对于未来的克隆技术心存担忧。故选B。
4．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ________.
A．all diseases will not be conquered by scientists
B．scientists have known the way to produce genes
C．the clones of human are understood by scientists
D．the clones of animals have a long way to go
答案：A 推理判断题。根据最后一段第一句“Last but not least, medicine technology will have conquered many diseases.”可知，现在医学技术可以攻克一些疾病，与选项A(并不是所有疾病都能被人类攻克)相吻合。
【词汇积累】 ①futurologist n. 未来学家 ②domain n. 领域 ③last but not least 最后但同样重要的是
【长难句分析】 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.
到2050年，科学家们将能够生产出人的克隆体，并决定他们的外貌、行为和智力水平。
分析：这是一个主从复合句。decide后跟3个并列的宾语从句，分别由how和how much引导。
