Unit 3 Life in the future
Ⅰ.阅读理解
A
(2017·河南郑州模拟)I log onto a computer at the doctor's office to say I have arrived and then wait until a voice calls me into the examination room.
There, a robotic nurse directs me onto a device and then takes my blood pressure. Some time later, in steps the doctor, who is also a robot. He notes down my symptoms and gives me a prescription (处方). I pay for my visit using a credit card machine and return home without having met another human being.
When I call my dentist's office and actually get a human being on the line, I am thrilled. And when I see the introduction of yet more self-service checkout stations at the grocery store, I feel like shouting，“When it comes to cashiers, make mine human, please！”
After all, human cashiers sometimes give you a store coupon(优惠券) for items you are buying. Even more than that, real-life cashiers often take an interest in particularly cute children, which can brighten a young mother's day. A cashier may also show compassion (同情) for an elderly person struggling to get that last penny out of her purse.
What technological device would do, any of this? I don't want to go back to the Stone Age, but I'm also worried about a world run by machines. Sometimes when you're chatting with someone, you discover things you need to know. Maybe a receptionist needs prayers said for a sick child. Maybe a salesperson can offer a bit of encouragement to a customer who is feeling tired.
Machines can be efficient and cost-effective and they often get the job done just fine. But they lack an element so important to everyday life.
Call it the spirit, the soul or the heart. It is something no machine will ever have. It is being human that prompts us to smile at others, which may be what they need at that moment.
1．What's the author's purpose in writing the first two paragraphs? A．To indicate high technology can make our future life very easy.
B．To describe a possible future scene where robots take control of our life. C．To warn readers of the possible dangers of robotic nurses and doctors. D．To predict how technology can affect the way we see a doctor in the future. 2．Why does the author prefer being served by humans rather than by robots?
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A．Robots are indifferent and emotionless. B．Robots can't provide efficient services. C．Robots don't offer to give store coupons. D．Robots are unable to do a job as well as humans. 3．What's the author's attitude toward machines? A．He wishes one day they would come to life.
B．He is absolutely against their existence in his life. C．He doesn't like they get involved in his life too much. D．He is afraid they would take the place of human beings.
【语篇导读】 本文作者通过描述一个全部由机器人负责的诊病场景来引起话题，并提出自己的观点：虽然机器人极大地方便了我们的生活，但是我们不能过分地依赖机器，人与人之间的交流绝对不能被机器替代。
1．解析：选B。推理判断题。开篇的那个情景就是作者描述的未来全部由机器人负责的诊病场景。故选B项。
2．解析：选A。推理判断题。根据第六段以及第七段的第一、二句Call it the spirit，the soul or the heart.It is something no machine will ever have.可知，机器虽然高效，成本低，能胜任工作，但它们没有精神和心灵，是冷酷无情的。故选A项。
3．解析：选C。推理判断题。综合全文，特别是根据第六段Machines can be efficient and cost-effective and they often get the job done just fine.But they lack an element so important to everyday life.可知，机器方便了人们的工作和生活，但是机器缺少了一些日常生活的重要元素。D项陈述过于概括，作者并非害怕机器取代全人类，而是不喜欢机器的冷漠无情。综合四个选项可知C项正确。
B
(2017·辽宁大连双基测试)There are so many great places to visit in North Lincolnshire. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.
Go green
Take the family on a voyage of discovery at Waters' Edge Country Park & Visitor Centre, one of the greenest buildings in the UK. You'll get great tips on how to become more environmentally friendly and the activities are educational too. Take time to explore the 86-acre Country Park and then walk along the Waterfront to the nearby Far Ings National Nature Reserve.
Get arty
Have you ever wanted to learn to draw, make prints or paint? There are regular courses at the Ropewalk where you can learn a new skill and make new friends too.
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Or why not take the children to 20－21 Visual Arts Centre where there are activities in the gallery to keep them amused while you look through the well-decorated gift shop?
Strawberry tea
Discover the ruins of Thornton Abbey with one of the finest gatehouses in Europe and then pick delicious strawberries from the Abbots Garden for your own strawberry tea.
The finest views
Take an exciting walk across the Humber Bridge, one of the world's longest suspension bridges. It is free to walk or cycle across the bridge and the views of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are very impressive.
Get on your bike
Buy the Cycle Routes(路线) Pack from the Tourist Information Centre or Waters' Edge Country Park & Visitor Centre and begin your voyage of discovery around the area. The routes vary from a gentle 7-mile ride to a more adventurous 50-mile ride.
4．If you want to get some ideas about environmental protection, which place should you go?
A．Ropewalk. B．Thornton Abbey.
C．Waters' Edge Country Park & Visitor Centre. D．Waterfront.
5．Which place is the most suitable for a family with some children? A．Humber Bridge.
B．Far Ings National Nature Reserve. C．Abbots Garden.
D．20-21 Visual Arts Centre.
6．How can we describe the Cycle Routes Pack? A．Flexible. B．Expensive. C．Tiring.
D．Adventurous.
【语篇导读】 本文是一篇旅游指南，介绍了英国北林肯郡的一些旅游胜地。 4．解析：选C。考查细节理解。根据第二段的“You'll get great tips on how to become more environmentally friendly”可知，如果你想要了解环境保护，你应该去Waters' Edge Country Park & Visitor Centre。故选C。
5．解析：选D。考查细节理解。根据文章第三段中的“Or why not take the children
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to 20－21 Visual Arts Centre where ...”可知，带孩子去的最合适的地方是20－21 Visual Arts Centre。故选D。
6．解析：选A。考查细节理解。根据文章最后一段的最后一句可知，骑程在7英里到50英里之间不等，由此可知the Cycle Routes Pack是“灵活的，多变的”。故选A。
C
(2017·广西五市联考)The ancient Mayan civilization collapsed due to a century-long drought, a new research suggests.
Minerals taken from Belize's famous underwater cave, known as the Blue Hole, as well as lagoons(环礁湖)nearby, show that an extreme drought occurred between A. D. 800 and A．D. 1000, right when the Mayan civilization ended. After the rains returned, the Mayans moved north—but they disappeared again a few centuries later, and that disappearance occurred at the same time as another dry period, the sediments(沉积物) reveal.
Although the findings aren't the first to tie a drought to the end of the Mayan culture, the new results strengthen the case that dry periods were indeed the cause. That's because the data came from several spots in a region central to the Mayan heartland，said study co-author Andre Droxler, an Earth scientist at Rice University.
From A. D. 300 to A. D. 700, the Mayan civilization flourished in the Yucatan Peninsula. These ancient Mesoamericans built great pyramids, mastered astronomy, and developed both a writing system and a calendar system, which is famous for predicting that the world would end in 2012.
But in the centuries after A．D. 700, the civilization's building activities slowed and the culture fell into war and unrest.
The evidence for a drought has been growing in recent years. A 2012 study in the journal Science analyzed a 2,000-year-old stalagmite(石笋)from a cave in southern Belize and found that sharp decreases in rainfall coincided with periods of decline in the culture. But the data came from just one cave, which meant it was difficult to make predictions for the area as a whole, Droxler said.
To look for signs of a drought, the team drilled the sediments in the Blue Hole of Lighthouse Lagoon. The lagoons are surrounded on all sides by thick walls of coral reefs. During storms or wetter periods, excess water runs off from rivers and streams, overtops the retaining walls, and is deposited in a thin layer at the top of the lagoon. From there, all the sediments from these streams settle to the bottom of the lagoon, piling on top of each other and leaving a record of the historical
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climate.
The team found that during the period between A．D. 800 and A．D. 1000, when the Mayan civilization collapsed, there were just one or two tropical cyclones (气旋) every two decades, as opposed to the usual five or six. After that, the Mayans moved north, building at sites such as Chichen Itza, in what is now Mexico.
7．What happened after an extreme drought between A．D. 800 and A．D. 1000? A．The Mayans were suffering a heavy flood. B．The Mayans suddenly disappeared from the Earth. C．The Mayans were often attacked by tropical cyclones. D．The Mayans moved to places that is now called Mexico. 8．What is the main idea of Paragraph 4? A．The achievements of the Mayan civilization. B．The prediction the Mayan civilization made. C．The effects the Mayan civilization had on humans. D．The background where the Mayan civilization began.
9．Why did the team drill the sediments in the Blue Hole of Lighthouse Lagoon? A．To learn how the Blue Hole came into being. B．To know what lies on the bottom of the lagoon. C．To study the record of the historical climate.
D．To see how excess water runs off from rivers and streams.
10．What did Andre Droxler think of the analysis of the 2,000-year-old stalagmite?
A．Amazing. C．Reasonable.
B．Ridiculous. D．Unreliable.
【语篇导读】 本文是篇说明文。一项新的研究表明玛雅文明的消失是由当时干旱的环境造成的。
7．解析：选D。考查细节理解。根据文章最后一段的最后一句话“After that，the Mayans moved north，building at sites such as Chichen Itza，in what is now Mexico”可知，答案为D项。
8．解析：选A。考查段落大意。从文章第四段的主旨句即第一句话可以得出，本段主要是讲玛雅文明在这一时期的成就。故答案为A项。
9．解析：选C。考查细节理解。根据文章第七段的第一句话“To look for signs of a drought，the team drilled the sediments in the Blue Hole of Lighthouse Lagoon.”和最后一句中的“leaving a record of the historical climate”可知，这个团队这样做
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