Unit 2 Looking into the Future 作业
一、阅读理解
Your morning coffee could be used to make a pair of sneakers, a Finnish startup says. Rens can make new shoes from old coffee, cutting back on waste in terms of space in landfills and methane (甲烷) emissions.
5, 000 supporters promised to invest over $500, 000 to see the sneakers come to life. Up to 21 cups of coffee and 6 recycled plastic bottles are used in each pair of shoes. The sneakers come in 9 different colors and are waterproof and super comfortable. In addition, the sneakers can absorb a peculiar smell, and they are designed to be taken off and put on easily.
Jesse Tran, the co-founder of Rens, wanted to do something to help reduce people’s carbon “footprint”, while offering a pair of everyday shoes that is functional and fashion-forward. “With the improvement of environmental awareness, the knowledge of the circular economy is also increasing. Shoes made from recycled coffee pieces may seem novel to some people, but we wholeheartedly believe that this is just the beginning of a revolution in the clothing technology and manufacturing industry,” said Tran.
So far, 250, 000 water bottles and 750, 000 cups of coffee have been turned into these shoes. The small coffee solid pieces are combined in a low-heat environment with recycled plastic to create a coffee yarn in the upper section of the shoes, while recycled plastic is made into the other parts, and the tree sap (液) that biodegrades (降解) creates the outer sole (鞋底).
While the price is as high as $119 on Amazon, they offer free delivery everywhere, a l-year guarantee on the waterproofing technology, and a 30-day money-back guarantee as well.
1．What is the advantage of the sneakers made from coffee
A．Easy to wash.
B．Able to afford.
C．Comfortable to wear.
D．Hard to damage.
2．What can we infer according to Jesse Tran
A．Action must be taken for environmental protection.
B．Manufacturing industries are promising in recycling.
C．Shoes made from recycled coffee is out of date.
D．The circular economy is unfamiliar lo the public.
3．What can be made into the outer sole of the sneaker
A．The small coffee pieces.
B．The combined coffee yarn.
C．The recycled water bottles.
D．The biodegraded tree sap.
4．What is the suitable title of the passage
A．Shoes Made in a Green Way
B．Coffee Recycled in a Creative Way
C．The Revolution of Manufacturing Industry
D．The Improvement of Environmental Awareness
Cultivated (培育) meat, also known as lab-grown meat, has been cleared for sale in the US.
Upside Foods and Good Meat, two companies that make “cultivated chicken”, said that they have gotten approval from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to start producing their cell-based proteins. Good Meat said that production is starting immediately. Cultivated meat is grown in a giant vat (缸), much like what you’d find at a beer factory.
Last week, both companies revealed that the USDA approved labels for their products. In March, Good Meat received a“no questions”letter from the FDA, confirming the product’s safety for sale in the US. Upside Foods also received one in November. Both the USDA and the FDA are overseeing the growing cultivated meat market. CEO of Good Meat, Josh Tetrick, described the approval as a major milestone for the company, the industry, and the food system. Upside founder Uma Valeti called the approval “a giant step forward towards a more sustainable future”.
Good Meat, which has been selling its products in Singapore, advertises its product as “meat without slaughter (屠宰)”, a more humane approach to eating meat. Supporters hope that cultivated meat will help fight climate change by reducing the need for traditional animal agriculture, which emits greenhouse gases. The company previously announced a partnership with chef José Andrés to introduce the product to a Washington DC restaurant, although the launch time remains uncertain. As production increases, Good Meat may explore cooperation with other restaurants or supermarkets.
Upside is planning to introduce its product at Bar Crenn, a San Francisco restaurant, but did not share a launch date yet. Selling at Bar Crenn should help Upside learn more about how chefs and diners feel about the product. Eventually, the company plans to work with other restaurants and make its products available in supermarkets. For now, it is holding a contest to allow curious customers to be among the first to try the product.
5．What is the potential benefit of cultivated meat
A．Higher safety for eating.
B．Lower costs for restaurants.
C．Positive impacts on climate change.
D．Improvements in traditional animal agriculture.
6．What do Upside Foods and Good Meat have in common
A．Both have partnerships with international chefs.
B．Both are involved in producing lab-grown meat.
C．Both declared a launch date of their cultivated meat.
D．Both received FDA approval for worldwide distribution.
7．What can be inferred from the last paragraph
A．Diners have access to free products from Upside.
B．Curious customers will become the main force of buying.
C．Upside will evaluate the responses of chefs and diners to its product.
D．Upside will conduct a survey among diners about their paying ability.
8．What is the text mainly about
A．The benefits of cultivated meat.
B．The research on cultivated meat.
C．The approval and prospect of cultivated meat.
D．The history and processing of cultivated meat.
It takes a lot of energy to keep buildings comfortably cool in hot parts of the world. As it comes through windows, sunshine is a big source of heat in buildings, explains Tengfei Luo, an engineer at the University of Notre Dame.
Sunlight contains both the visible(可见的) light that we can see and the light our eyes can’t see. Both types can pass through glass. Luo and his team set out to design a clear coating that blocked the invisible light, which has a warming effect. Extra-thin layers of materials like silicon dioxide and titanium dioxide can interact with light in ways that help. But none could do it all. So his team decided to layer such materials, like a pile of pancakes. Knowing how to perfect the layer and ordering of layers can get really complicated as the number of layers increases. Unless, that is, you have a quantum(量子) computer.
The team chose four promising materials. They pile up those materials in very thin layers, and in any order. There can be up to 24 layers. Among all possible arrangements, they record which worked best at keeping heat out but letting in visible light.
It turns out that there were hundreds of billions of possible arrangements. A traditional computer would take millions of years to evaluate them, but a quantum computer can evaluate them in less than a second. It can take thousands of cycles of measuring and improving the program to get to an answer. The result was a surprisingly clear coating highly transparent(透明的) to visible light.
The coating uses common, inexpensive materials. It requires no foreign techniques. A sample test shows after a day and a half in hot climate, it kept a test room 6 degrees Celsius cooler than an untreated window, cutting the energy used to cool buildings by close to one-third.
Luo sees potential for widespread use of this glass coating in hot climates. To seriously address climate change, energy-efficient buildings are a must.
9．How does the coating Luo’s team designed work
A．By trapping visible light inside the house.
B．By controlling the amount of light entering the room.
C．By stopping invisible light from entering through the window.
D．By allowing both visible and invisible light to pass through glass.
10．What is the quantum computer used to do in the development of the coating
A．Combine different layers. B．Choose suitable materials.
C．Improve coating functions. D．Assess layer arrangements.
11．What can be inferred about the final design of the coating
A．It’s widely used. B．It works effectively.
C．It comes in several varieties. D．Its cost remains to be reduced.
12．What’s the best title for the text
A．Think of This New Tech as Sunglasses for Our Windows
B．Apply This Coating to Your Windows to Heat Your House
C．Develop New Energy to Keep Buildings Comfortably Cool
D．Build Energy-Efficient Buildings to Address Climate Change
Chinese scientists say they have found a solution to help the CR450 bullet train run smoothly at 400 km/h by 2025.
China’s fastest trains currently reach a top speed of around 350km/h and passengers usually have an extremely smooth experience, but that doesn’t make it get complacent. The country planned to launch a new bullet train model by 2025 that can run 400 km/h — a speed that only some commercial super cars like the Bugatti Veyron can run.
At such high speed, even a small collision (碰撞) can cause the whole train to shake. Continuous vibrations (振动) can make passengers seasick. The team led by Professor Shi Jin from Beijing Jiaotong University said the problem could be solved by adjusting the height of the rails by just a few millimeters at some sensitive points. Shi’s team ran tests on a test line, and the results showed that their method really worked.
“As trains go faster, the interaction between wheels and tracks increases, making existing measures to reduce ride vibrations less effective,” Shi said. According to the team’s calculations, the vibration felt by passengers during a400 km/h trip will be 5% higher than at present. That might seem like a small difference, but it can increase the wavelength of the vibrations felt along the train by 15%. If not effectively controlled, this can make passengers uncomfortable during the journey, even unsafe. Research shows that lifting sleepers by just a few millimeters can resist this impact.
Trains with different speeds can operate on the same track, but each speed setting requires different sleepers. Existing Chinese safety standards allow only an error of one millimeter when adjusting the sleepers. China has more than 40,000 km of high-speed railways in operation. To make them all suitable for 400 km/h trains will be a difficult task. However, it’s necessary to find a solution soon because according to the government’s 5-year plan, the new generation of high-speed train, the CR450, will be completed and put into operation in less than 3years.
13．What does the underlined phrase “get complacent” mean in paragraph 2
A．Convenient. B．Successful. C．Respected. D．Satisfied.
14．What is paragraph 4 mainly talking about
A．The way wheels and tracks interact.
B．The effect of vibration on passengers.
C．The difficulty in adjusting the sleepers.
D．The reason why existing sleepers should be lifted.
15．What can we know about China’s existing high-speed railways
A．Their sleepers need adjusting all the time.
B．The more these railways are built, the better.
C．Enough of them will be in use in three years.
D．It’s hard to make 400 km/h trains run on all of them.
16．What’s the best title for the text
A．China Develops 400 km/h Bullet Train
B．China’s Trains Care More for Passengers
C．China’s CR450s Replace Other Trains
D．China Focuses on Railway Technology
Fastbrick Robotics, a company that specializes in (专攻) robotics, is responding to the increased demand for housing and a shortage of skilled construction labour with a bricklaying (砌砖) robot. The huge robot Hadrian X can lay a residential (住宅的) house from the ground up on site in a safer, faster and cheaper way.
Hadrian X is not the first large-scale outdoor construction robot. The trouble is that nothing’s happening outdoors. That’s because some weather conditions like wind, rain and temperature variations can make life difficult for robots outdoors. Most robots can’t adjust to small, quick changes in wind or temperature, which may lead to bricks being laid way out of position and get very dangerous. So now, any robot building has to be indoors in minutely controlled environments.
Hadrian X has overcome this problem using the precision (精确) technology Dynamic Stabilisation Technology (DST). The computer program measures environmental factors at a surprising rate of 2000 times per second, and then accounts for them in real bine that with a 3-D printer style building process based on CAD modelling, and you’ll get a robot that can lay bricks with a margin of error of just 1 millimetre and is much more precise than a human worker.
Hadrian X has got other things going for it than just precise, though. It’s also 15 to 20 times faster than human builders, and the use of CAD modelling reduces waste because every brick is planned and calculated. Plus, it removes the need for humans working at heights and in intensive labour. These aspects should lead to vastly reduced housing costs. Mike, CEO of Fastbrick Robotics, calls it a “social housing solution”.
Fastbrick’s technological innovations (创新) may be pioneering. but that doesn’t mean it’ll all be smooth sailing. Bricklaying is an old industry as old as the oldest cities we know of. In terms of technique, there will not be a lot to change. After 5,000 years of doing the same thing, such a big change is sure to meet with some resistance and challenges. “All the concerns can be removed by the potential rewards because everybody wants this to work... It’s an amazing thing to work in an organization where you have global support to be successful,” Mike said.
17．What was the disadvantage of previous outdoor construction robots
A．They failed to work well due to environmental factors.
B．They were restricted to building small structures.
C．They were unable to avoid the dangers of construction.
D．They would break down easily in rainy weather.
18．How can DST ensure Hadrian X’s working accurately
A．By connecting it with a 3-D printer.
B．By creating CAD models with human workers.
C．By operating it with a responsible and experienced worker.
D．By reminding it to adjust the bricks’ positions in time.
19．What do Mike’s words in the last paragraph imply
A．He is going to improve old bricklaying skills.
B．The new technology challenges traditional beliefs.
C．He is positive about Fastbrick Robotics’ future.
D．Fastbrick Robotics has removed the doubts of others.
20．What’s probably the best title for the text
A．New robotics technology will change the construction industry.
B．A major breakthrough in handling natural disasters.
C．Approaches to guaranteeing construction workers’ safety.
D．Hadrian X is threatening human workers.
Plant-based leathers have the potential to revolutionize the fashion industry. Now, MycoWorks, a California-based biotech company, has created a new eco-friendly leather coming from fungi (真菌). The company turns mycelium-threads from the root structure of mushrooms into a material that imitates the look and feel of animal-based leather.
“It’s the first time that a company has been able to produce a plant product which is matching or even going beyond the quality and durability (经久耐用) of a natural one. It’s a super achievement,” said Patrick Thomas, former Hermés CEO and a MycoWorks board of directors member.
While the material is mushroom-based, MycoWorks creates its rigid, patented material using engineered mycelium cells. As the cells grow into 3-D structures, they become closely connected, eventually forming a tough material, named Fine Mycelium, which has the strength, durability, and performance of traditional leather, according to the MycoWorks website.
Fine Mycelium is carbon-neutral (碳中和的), can be grown to order and provides a sustainable option for producers seeking durable products made from long-lasting material. It can be grown in trays in a short amount of time. These trays can be designed to fit a designer’s exact specifications, getting rid of any waste. After the Fine Mycelium is harvested, it is processed to look and feel like animal leather’s unique grain.
The vegan leather has already made a high fashion debut (首次亮相). In March 2021, luxury fashion brand Hermés debuted their Victoria bag, which featured MycoWork’s Fine Mycelium material. Other companies, including Adidas with their Stan Smith Mylo shoes and Lululemon with their mushroom-based yoga products, have also jumped on the bandwagon.
The use of plant-based leather comes during a time when scientists are trying to come up with solutions for the climate crisis and animal agriculture. Producing animal leather causes greater damage to the environment than any other type of fabric. Livestock (家畜) alone make up nearly 15 percent of the globe’s greenhouse gas emissions.
“We have been trained as consumers to think in terms of a straight line whereby we buy something, use it, and throw it away. Fungi can affect thinking about fashion on lots of levels. This is about material innovation, but it’s also about the culture of making endless new things, and what we can learn from thinking in terms of nature instead,” says biologist Merlin Sheldrake.
21．What’s Patrick Thomas’ attitude to plant-based leathers
A．Worried. B．Satisfied. C．Ambiguous. D．Negative.
22．What can we know about Fine Mycelium
A．It isn’t tough enough. B．It isn’t put into use.
C．It can be customerized. D．It’s stronger than traditional leather.
23．What does paragraph 6 explain
A．The quality of plant-based leather.
B．The application of plant-based leather.
C．How scientists develop plant-based leather.
D．Why scientists develop plant-based leather.
24．What can we conclude from Merlin Sheldrake’s words
A．Fungi affect every aspect of our life.
B．Customers should buy leathers smartly.
C．It’s wrong to make endless new things.
D．We need to change our ways of thinking sometimes.
二、七选五
Johannes Gutenberg--the ploneer of the printing press
Johannes Gutenberg was chosen to be the most important figure of the past millennium (千年) by the media (媒体). You may not be familiar with him. 25 Gutenberg is praised for having invented the printing press and therefore preparing the way for printing books.
He was born into a wealthy family in the city of Mainz, Germany. His early training was in goldsmithing. In 1428, he moved to Strasbourg and lived there for almost 20 years. 26 Gutenberg used his skills in metalwork for the mass (大批量) production of books. 27 That means that each copy of the Catholic bible (圣经) and all of its 73 books were painstakingly handwritten by men. Gutenberg fashioned a font (字体) of over 300 characters, far larger than the fonts of today. To make this possible, he invented the variable-width mold (模具) and perfected the mixture of materials used by type factories up to the present century.
28 The between 1450 and 1455,while preparing to produce a large Latin Bible, Gutenberg is thought to have printed a number of smaller books, a calendar, and a papal Letter of Indulgence. The Bible of 42 Lines, the oldest surviving printed book in the Western world, was completed by August 15,1456.
The invention of the modem printing press changed the way information was delivered. 29 Even today in the computer age, we rely heavily on the printed word or text for instruction, information, and for the pleasure of reading literature.
A．Gutenberg made the world a much richer place
B．But he has certainly influenced your life in some ways
C．Gutenberg's idea was one of the greatest of all mankind
D．By 1450, Gutenberg was back in Mainz at work on a printing press
E．In fact, this invention contributed a lot of educating the masses (大众) worldwide
F．Before the spread of Gutenberg's idea, books were primarily handwritten
G．It was in Strasbourg that he probably made his first experiments with moveable type and printing
三、完形填空
Raynor Winn and her husband Moth became homeless due to their wrong investment. Their savings had been 30 to pay lawyers’ fees. To make matters worse, Moth was diagnosed（诊断）with a 31 disease. There was no 32 , only pain relief.
Failing to find any other way out, they decided to make a 33 journey, as they caught sight of an old hikers’(徒步旅行者）guide.
This was a long journey of unaccustomed hardship and 34 recovery. When leaving home, Raynor and Moth had just ￡320 in the bank. They planned to keep the 35 low by living on boiled noodles, with the 36 hamburger shop treat.
Wild camping is 37 in England. To avoid being caught, the Winns had to get their tent up 38 and packed it away early in the morning. The Winns soon discovered that daily hiking in their 50s is a lot 39 than they remember it was in their 20s. Raynor 40 all over and desired a bath. Moth, meanwhile, after an initial 41 , found his symptoms were strangely 42 by their daily tiring journey.
43 , the couple found that their bodies turned for the better, with re-found strong muscles that they thought had 44 forever. "Our hair was fried and falling out, nails broken, clothes 45 to a thread, but we were alive."
During the journey, Raynor began a career as a nature writer. She writes, " 46 had taken every material thing from me and left me torn bare, an empty page at the end of a(n) 47 written book. It had also given me a 48 , either to leave that page 49 or to keep writing the story with hope. I chose hope.”
30．A．drawn up B．used up C．backed up D．kept up
31．A．mild B．common C．preventable D．serious
32．A．cure B．luck C．care D．promise
33．A．business B．walking C．bus D．rail
34．A．expected B．frightening C．disappointing D．surprising
35．A．budget B．revenue C．compensation D．allowance
36．A．frequent B．occasional C．abundant D．constant
37．A．unpopular B．lawful C．attractive D．illegal
38．A．soon B．early C．late D．slowly
39．A．harder B．easier C．cheaper D．funnier
40．A．rolled B．bled C．ached D．trembled
41．A．struggle B．progress C．excitement D．research
42．A．developed B．controlled C．reduced D．increased
43．A．Initially B．Eventually C．Temporarily D．Consequently
44．A．gained B．kept C．wounded D．lost
45．A．sewn B．washed C．worn D．ironed
46．A．Doctors B．Hiking C．Lawyers D．Homelessness
47．A．well B．partly C．neatly D．originally
48．A．choice B．reward C．promise D．break
49．A．loose B．full C．blank D．missing
四、邀请信
50．假定你是新华学校的学生会主席李华，你校将于下个月举办“青年发展论坛 (Youth Development Forum)”。请你给未来学家Naisbitt先生写一封邮件，邀请他以“未来的教育”为主题发表讲座。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：futurologist 未来学家
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五、读后续写
51．阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写一段，使之构成一个完整的故事。续写的词数应为80左右。
The Magic Birthday Candles in Space
(An excerpt from a science fiction)
My birthday was going to be extra special for two reasons. For one thing, like Commander Park said, “Nobody’s ever turned nine in space before, David.” Mom, my sister Rebekah, and I were moving to Mars for a year. We’d spent almost two weeks in the spaceship so far.
I was trying to keep the other reason secret. But the day before my birthday, Rebekah caught me with my cheeks puffed (膨胀) way out. “What are you doing Practicing to blow out all the candles this year ” She laughed. “This time I will,” I said. “Everybody on the ship will be watching, so...”
“Oh, David,” my sister interrupted.
“Your cake can’t have candles. Fire on a spaceship is too dangerous.”
When I turned away, she patted my shoulder. “At least you don’t have to worry about blowing them all out.”
Our mother has an important job, maintaining the ship’s electrical systems. Besides, I wanted to act mature about this. If I couldn’t blow out the candles like I wanted, at least I was old enough not to complain about it.
After dinner on my birthday, Mom floated into the cafeteria, carrying my birthday cake. I was amazed. “Candles!” I shouted, staring at the nine shining on top of the cake. “I thought fire wasn’t allowed on a spaceship.” “Look closer,” my mother said. The candles were really electrical lights, with tiny flame-shaped bulbs.
“Awesome,” I said. “But I wish I could blow them out.”
She laughed, then made a blow, and all nine went out. Another puff, and they lit up again.
“Everybody, sing!” ordered Commander Park. Once the passengers and crew were done, I took my deepest ever breath. I’m nine now. I can do this! I thought. Everyone watched the candles. Whoosh! I blew as hard as I could. All the ship’s lights went out! Everyone gasped (倒抽一口气).
“You didn’t have to blow that hard, David,” said Rebekah. I laughed, and so did Commander Park. Someone asked, “What’s wrong When is the backup power coming on ”
“I’ll take a look. Does anyone have a flashlight on them ” said Mom.
No one would ever think of taking a flashlight to a birthday party.
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参考答案：
1．C 2．B 3．D 4．A
5．C 6．B 7．C 8．C
9．C 10．D 11．B 12．A
13．D 14．D 15．D 16．A
17．A 18．D 19．C 20．A
21．B 22．C 23．D 24．D
25．B 26．G 27．F 28．D 29．E
30．B 31．D 32．A 33．B 34．D 35．A 36．B 37．D 38．C 39．A 40．C 41．A 42．C 43．B 44．D 45．C 46．D 47．B 48．A 49．C
50．Dear Mr. Naisbitt,
I am Li Hua, chairman of the Students’ Union of Xinhua School. The Youth Development Forum will be held in my school next month. The purpose is that we want to invite you to give a lecture.
As a futurologist, you have done a lot of research on future development, so we expect you to give a lecture on the future of education. The lecture will start at 2:00 pm on June 12 and last for about two hours. Would it be convenient for you
Looking forward to your early reply.
Yours,
Li Hua
51．One possible version:
No one would ever think of taking a flashlight to a birthday party. “Could you use the candles ” I asked and pulled one candle out. “Good idea,” said Commander Park, with an excited look on his face. Mom plucked a candle off the cake. I plucked another seven candles and gave them out so that the ship was dotted with mellow light. Watching tiny lights moving around in zero gravity was fun and somewhat cheerful. “Wow,” whispered Rebekah. “Looks like fireflies in space, David.” It wasn’t long before Mom had the spaceship’s lights working again. And that’s how I helped fix the spaceship’s lights with lights of my own. Definitely my most awesome birthday ever!