Jim and Mike are talking about the year 2030.Jim asks, “What will our world be like in the year 2030?” “I don’t know,” says Mike.“What do you think?” “Well, no one knows, but it’s interesting to guess.” “In the year 2030 everyone will carry a pocket computer(便携式电脑).The computer will give people the answers to all their problems.” “A lot of people will live and work under the sea. Perhaps there will be big towns, factories and farms under the sea, too.” “Robots will do most of the work, so people will have more holidays, perhaps they’ll work only two or three days a week. They’ll be able to fly to the moon by spaceship and spend their holidays there.” “I’m looking forward to the year 2030.I hope to go to the moon!” “And I hope I’ll be able to live under the sea,” says Mike.“Won’t that be very interesting? Just like a fish!”

Waste can be seen everywhere in the school. Some students ask for more food than they can eat and others often forget to turn off the lights when they leave the classroom. They say they can afford these things. But I don’t agree with them.

Waste can bring a lot of problems. Although China is rich in some resources(资源), we are short of(缺乏) others, for example, fresh water(淡水). It is reported that we will have no coal(煤) or oil to use in 100 years. So if we go on wasting our resources, what can we use in the future and where can we move? Think about it. I think we should say no to the

students who waste things every day. Everybody should stop wasting as soon as possible.

In our everyday life, we can do many things to prevent waste from happening, for example, turn off the water taps(水龙头) when we finish washing, turn off the lights when we leave the classroom, try not to order more food than we need, and so on. Little by little, everything will be changed. Waste can be stopped one day, if we do our best.

You may see aliens(外星人) in books and movies. They look strange. They are very smart. They travel in spaceships.

   But are there really aliens in space? British scientist Stephen Hawking, 69, thinks so. He says that people should not look for aliens. He thinks they are dangerous. On a new British TV program, Hawking says, “It is quite possible that there are aliens in space.”

   “They might live in big ships... they have used up all the resources(资源) from their home planet(星球),“he says. He thinks such aliens might get resources from the earth and then go away. They may bring ________ to the earth.

Will life in the future be better, worse or the same as now? Futurologists（未来学家）predict that life will probably be very different in 2050.

First of all, it seems that TV will have disappeared by 2050. On TV screen appear holograms（全息图）, We will be able to see, smell and touch the things that we see on television.

Water has become one of our most serious problems. Agriculture is changing and people are growing more fruit and vegetables to export(出口). Some futurologists predict（预测） that water will be the cause of war if we don’t act now.

In transport, cars will run on new fuels and go very fast. A car will have computers to control its speed and there won’t be any accidents.

In the field of technology, robots will have replaced（代替） people in factories. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere. They do not ask for pay rises or go on strike(罢工), and they work 24 hours a day.

Medicine technology will have defeated many diseases by 2050; we will be able to help blind and deaf people see again and hear again. Scientists have discovered how to control genes. If you want all this to come true, you should study science and technology hard.

“Life is speeding up. Everyone is getting unwell.”This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unknown person wrote it.

   Inventions can change our lives. But have all these things really improved our lives? Imagine this. You're doing your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings and the noise from the television is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer is turned off and you lose all your work. How do you feel? Inventions have speeded up our lives, but they often leave us feeling tired.

   One family in England went“back in time”to see what life was like without these inventions. The grandparents, with their daughter and grandsons Ben 10 and Tow 7, spent nine weeks in an old house. They had no computers or mobile phones. The grandmother, Linda, said,“The more things you have, the harder life becomes.” And Ben also noticed that his grandmother had changed. She cooked delicious food for them!

根据短文内容,选择最佳答案。

American love cars .They have more than 250 million (百万) cars—about one car for every 1.2 people .But these cars cause(引起)too much air pollution. Even children know that cars need gas(汽油)to run. If there is no gas, today’s cars will become tomorrow’s junk. So when American people talk about the cars in the future, they usually think of hydrogen(氢气)cars, electric(电的)cars and flying cars .

Hydrogen cars might be the cars of the future .They can’t cause pollution and the hydrogen turns into water after it is used. The first hydrogen car was made by Honda .It was very expensive and didn’t run very far.

There are some electric cars on the market, but they can’t run very fast. In the future, there will be a lot of electric cars on the road . When the batteries (电池)are better and cheaper, electric cars will become more popular .

There will be another kind of car—flying cars. They will be able to run in the air. But now there is only one company, MDI, making this kind of car .

In the past 300 years, more than 130 kinds of animals have become extinct. One of these extinct kinds is the passenger pigeon(旅鸽).At one time there were millions of these birds in North America, but now there are none. The last one died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. Another extinct animal is the cape lion（西非狮）.The animal has been extinct since 1860. What causes animals to become extinct? Too much hunting is one cause; Pollution is another. Governments around the world have begun to protect wild animals in danger. In the United States，the US Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for（承担义务）these animals in danger. It has listed almost 200 kinds of endangered animals in North America.

The world is not hungry , but it is thirsty . It seems strange that nearly 3/4 of the earth is covered with water while we say we are short of (短缺) water. Why? Because about 97% of water on the earth is sea water which we can't drink or use for watering plants directly (直接地) . Man can only drink and use the 3% - the water that comes from rivers and lakes. And we can't even use all of that, because some of it has been polluted (污染) .

Now more water is needed. The problem is: Can we avoid (避免) a serious water shortage later on? First, we should all learn how to save water. Secondly, we should find out the ways to reuse it . Scientists have always been making studies in the field. Today, in most large cities water is used only once and then runs to the sea or rivers . But it can be used again. Even if (即使) every large city reused its water, still there would not be enough. What could people turn to next?

The sea seems to have the best answer. There is a lot of water in the sea. All that needs to be done is to get the salt out of the sea water. This is expensive, but it's already used in many parts of the world. Scientists are trying to find a cheaper way of doing it. So you see, if we can find a way out, we'll be in no danger of drying up.

Everyone needs friends. There is an old saying, “Friends are God’s way of taking care of us.” But how do you find real friendship and keep it?

The American writer Sally Seamans tells young students some smart ways to find friends. Sally says finding friendship is just like planting a tree. You plant the seed(种子) and take care of it to make it grow.

First, you should choose a friend. What makes a good friend? It is not because a person has money or good looks. A good friend should be kind and patient . For example, if you have a bad day, a good friend should listen to your complaints and do his or her best to your lives.

But things you cannot always be happy. Even the best friends have fights. What should you do when you have a fight with your friend? You have to him or her. When there is no one around, have an honest talk. If he or she doesn’t want to talk, you could write a letter.

There are three steps(步骤) to being friends again:

Tell him or how you are feeling; say what your friend has done wrong, and explain why you did this or that. Remember that friendship is the most important thing in your life.

It’s exactly the advice you may have never heard before, unless you want to be a ruler-breaker. Fear means go. This is one of the most unusual rules I have ever experienced. I was born in the ability of facing something scary and difficult. I was brave enough to solve everything special during my childhood. Thanks to my mother, she was a rule-breaker and she encouraged me to challenge myself alone.

I succeeded in working at Echoing Green as a judge (法官) after I grew up. Whenever I felt afraid, the sound of the phrase would come out. As an adult, I’d like to share my experience with all the young people, hoping it can help you.

When you’re afraid of something, instead of turning around, take these three steps:

Acknowledge(承认) you’re afraid. Instead of hiding your fear, and pretending (假装) you don’t have it, look at it. For example, if you keep avoiding (避免) something or a certain person, have the courage to ask yourself “why”.

Make sure what kind of fear it is. Ask yourself: Is this a healthy fear that I need to pay attention to? It can be difficult to tell the difference at times, but if you really want to know the answer, pay close attention to the voice from your heart.

 Regard it as a gift. If it is something uncertain, it could be one of the most powerful gifts you’ll ever receive. These fears are like a compass. They tell you where you need to go — towards what scares you.

Over the years, I’ve learned that healthy fear is a great teacher. If we pretend it isn’t there, we miss out on all of its lessons. We aren’t able to improve, become stronger, or build our self-confidence. On the other hand, if we regard it as a guide, it can help us move through life’s challenges.