Life in the twenty-first century

The World Future Society is a group of people from more than 80 countries who are interested in how modern technology is making our world better, and who write reports about how it will change our lives.                                                                                                                                             The things that we will be able to do in the twenty-first century (since the year 2000) should help us live better lives in many ways, at home and at work, in our own country and around the world. Here are just some of them, put into five groups.

People

People may live for up to 120 years and use new technology to help when people go blind, deaf and have other problems. The number of people over a hundred years old could go from 135,000 today to 2.2 million people by 2050. By 2015 people think that 100 million workers will be able to work from home for a company in a different country by using the Internet.

Money

Worldwide e-business will become even more successful with online shops that sell special products for each person, which will be brought to their house the next day.

Environment

The technology for making energy from wind and the Sun is growing very quickly. In the future wind and Sun energy could become much cheaper and many more countries could use it. This would be very useful in poor countries. The air in big cities would also become much cleaner and healthier as a result.

Society and culture

The Internet will help to create more worldwide friendships. Families may spend more time together as people will be able to do 24-hour online banking and shopping.

Technology      

The new science of “nanotechnology” (very small robots or machines) will make all sorts of products smaller and lighter. Very, very small machines could take away rubbish, make things in factories, and help inside the human body by taking away fat. By 2012 people will be able to wear these small machines that look like watches, which will give them lots of information about their body and keep them healthy.

1.What does the World Future Society do?

  A. Look at how technology will make people happy.

  B. Look at how technology will change the world.

  C. Make technology work better for themselves.

  D. Make small machines to make us healthier.

2. How will technology help people?

  A. Help all people live for over 120 years.

  B. Help disabled people to get jobs.

  C. Make people healthier and live longer.

  D. Help workers to use the Internet.

3.How will people go shopping?

  A. In special shops.

  B. Using the Internet at certain times.

  C. Using the Internet any time of the day.

  D. Using nanotechnology.

4. How will technology help the environment?

  A. Poor countries will have enough energy.

  B. Wind energy will be cheaper than Sun energy.

  C. We will not need wind and Sun energy.

  D. Wind and Sun energy will be cheaper.

5.The new science of “nanotechnology” will _______.

  A. drive small machines to work for people

  B. make good-quality watches

  C. allow people to eat more

  D. make very small products

Life in the twenty-first century
The World Future Society is a group of people from more than 80 countries who are interested in how modern technology is making our world better, and who write reports about how it will change our lives.                                                                                                                                            The things that we will be able to do in the twenty-first century (since the year 2000) should help us live better lives in many ways, at home and at work, in our own country and around the world. Here are just some of them, put into five groups.
People
People may live for up to 120 years and use new technology to help when people go blind, deaf and have other problems. The number of people over a hundred years old could go from 135,000 today to 2.2 million people by 2050. By 2015 people think that 100 million workers will be able to work from home for a company in a different country by using the Internet.
Money
Worldwide e-business will become even more successful with online shops that sell special products for each person, which will be brought to their house the next day.
Environment
The technology for making energy from wind and the Sun is growing very quickly. In the future wind and Sun energy could become much cheaper and many more countries could use it. This would be very useful in poor countries. The air in big cities would also become much cleaner and healthier as a result.
Society and culture
The Internet will help to create more worldwide friendships. Families may spend more time together as people will be able to do 24-hour online banking and shopping.
Technology      
The new science of “nanotechnology” (very small robots or machines) will make all sorts of products smaller and lighter. Very, very small machines could take away rubbish, make things in factories, and help inside the human body by taking away fat. By 2012 people will be able to wear these small machines that look like watches, which will give them lots of information about their body and keep them healthy.
【小题1】What does the World Future Society do?

London used to be “foggy” for the same reason that cities like Beijing or Chongqing are “foggy” today．The “fog” was in fact smog, a mixture of smoke and fog．In other words, it was made by air pollution．In London, some of this pollution came from factories, but much of it came from the coal(煤)that people burnt in their houses to keep warm during the winter．By the 1950s, London’s smog problem had become so bad that the government decided to do something to clean the air．A new law was made and nobody could burn coal in any British city．Within a few years, the air became much cleaner．There were no more “pea-soupers”．

Many Chinese cities now face the same sort of problem with air pollution that London faced 40 or 50 years ago．However, this problem is more difficult for Chinese cities to solve．One reason is that more of the pollution comes from the factories, rather than from coal burnt in people’s houses．If these factories were closed, this would harm the economy and lots of people would lose their jobs．Another reason is that changing from coal to cleaner fuel(燃料), like gas, is quite expensive．

However, the air in many Chinese cities is becoming cleaner and cleaner, as the government and people pay more and more attention to cutting down pollution．As a result, there are fewer “pea-soupers”in Beijing than there used to be．

1.What was the main reason for air pollution in London?

A．There was too much smoke in the sky．

B．There were too many factories in the city．

C．People burnt too much coal in the houses．

D．The city was too big for the cleaners to clean．

2.How did the air in London become much cleaner?

A．There was not so much fog in the winter later．

B．A law was made to keep people from burning coal in their houses．

C．Many factories in the city were closed．

D．People paid more attention to cleaning their city．

3.What does the underlined work “pea-soupers”refer to?

A．Smog????? ????????????? ????????????? B．Smoke????? ????????????? ????????????? C．Gas?????? ????????????? ????????????? D．Coal

4.The problem of air pollution is more difficult for Chinese cities to solve because of ___ reasons．

A．one????????? ????????????? B．two??????? ????????????? ????????????? C．three?????? ????????????? ????????????? D．four

5.Which sentence is Not true?

A．Air pollution is serious in Beijing and Chongqing．

B．Using coal is much more expensive than using gas．

C．Factories made much more pollution in China．

D．The reasons of air pollution in London and Beijing are different．