Prediction(预言) has always been a serious business .In the old days ,astrologers(星占学家) were employed(从事于) to predict the future .Today futurologists(未来学家) make scientificall based predictions which are taken seriously .Basically ,the methods used in the past and those used today are similar.You look at what is happening in the present and then project(设想) into the future.

Take something like the motor-car ,for example .It's obviously wasteful , noisy ,dangerous , etc. So perhaps in the future it will have been replaced by something better. Projecting in the same way we can say that the common cold will have been cured; pollution will be got rid of; Antarctica will have been developed; money will have been replaced by credit cards; floating cities will have been built; the Jupiter(木星) will have been visited ;a cure for cancer will have been discovered .The world's mineral supplies will have been used up ,and so on .But only one thing is really certain:most of us will have been completely forgotten!?

1.What do astrologers and futurologists have in common??

A.They use scientific methods.?

B.They make predictions.?

C.They tell us something about the past.?

D.They tell us something about the present.?

2.Forecasts(预测)about the future are _______.?

A.based on the present

B.made by astrologers?

C.taken seriously

D.scientifically based?

3.As far as human beings are concerned,the only really certain thing is that_______.

A.pollution will be got rid of?

B.money will be replaced?

C.we will disappear from the world?

D.we will visit Jupiter?

4.Which is the best title for the passage??

A.The Past,the Present and the Future?

B.Astrologers and Futurologists?

C.The Changing World?

D.Tomorrow's World

 

Some years ago industries had more freedom than they have now,and they did not need to be as careful as they must today. They did not need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed. They did not have to pay much attention to the health and safety of the people who worked for them. Often new products were dangerous for the people who used them,often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers.

  Of course sometimes there were real disasters which attracted the attention of governments and which showed the need for changes. Also scientists who were doing research into the health of workers sometimes produced information which governments could not ignore. At such times,there were inquiries(调查)into the causes of the disasters or the problems. New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries,however,the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill.

  Today many governments have special departments which protect customers and workers. In the U.S., for example, there is a department which examines new planes and gives warnings about possible problems. It also makes the rules that aircraft producers must follow. Another department controls the foods and drugs that companies sell. A third department looks at the places where people work , and then reports any companies that are breaking the laws which protect the health and safety of workers. Of course, new government departments and new laws cannot prevent every accident or illness,but they are having some good results. Our work places are safer and cleaner than before. The planes and cars which we use for travel are better. Producers are thinking more about the safety and health of the people who buy and use their products.

1.The main topic of the passage is ________________.

A.conditions in the work place.     B.the freedom of industries in the past.

C.changes in industrial production. D.the safety and health of workers and customers.

2. We can infer(推断)from the passage that in the past _____________.

A. workers often got ill because of the poor working conditions.

B. Companies were free to put out any products they wanted to.

C. many people were killed by dangerous products.

D. industries were as careful in management as they are today.

3. It is said indirectly in the passage that _______________.

A. governments and companies had different opinions about the safety of products.

B. governments paid little attention to the safety of products.

C. government officials often did not listen to scientists

D. in the past no safety 1aws were introduced by governments.

4. Some years ago safety rules _______________.

A. were put forward due to scientists’advice

B. came into being as a result of the workers’demands

C. were introduced because quite a number of people were killed or seriously injured.

D. were effective enough to protect workers and customers.

5. The special departments protect customers and workers in many ways EXCEPT by _____.

A. testing new products.       B.controlling the sale of products.

C. developing new products.      D.examining work places

 

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