In the future your automobile will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a supercomputer that fits in your pocket!

These predictions are some of today's best guesses about what technology might bring tomorrow．Whether past technology predictions will show the future ins't always easy to guess．Many of the high-tech things our parents thought we'd be using by now simply never appeared．A few of them have been surprisingly accurate．Some great thinkers predicted the arrival of the credit card，the fax machine and even the internet-years before they happened．Let's look at some predictions from the not-too-distant past．

Robot Helpers

Where's the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere，of course．And he's probably not coming anytime soon．Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other manufacturing environments．

Back in the 1950s，however，people said that by now personal robots would be in most people's home．

So why hasn't it happened? Probably because robots are still too expensive and clumsy．And maybe the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too weird．At home we seem to be doing fine without them．

Telephones of tomorrow

In 1 964 an American company introduced the video telephone．They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes．But of course the idea hasn't caught on yet．

Why? The technology worked fine，but it overlooked something obvious：people's desire for privacy．Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just stepped out of the shower?

Probably not-it could be embarrassing! Just because a technology that is available doesn't always mean people will want to use it．

46．The whole passage is mainly about       ．

    A．predictions that have come true

    B．what will technology bring about

    C．why predictions don't come true easily

    D．predictions that haven't come true

47．Which of the following is probably NOT the author's belief?

    A．The future isn't always easy to guess．

    B．Not all predictions have come true．

    C．Predictions needn't consider people's practical use of technology．

    D．Many of the high-tech things our parents thought we'd be using by now simply never appeared．

48．The underlined word“weird”probably means        ．

    A．strange    B．stupid    C．practical   D．wonderful

49．Which of the following is right according to the passage?

    A．With modem technology it's now easier to predict what new inventions will be used in the future．

    B．Most people wouldn't have a video phone in their home because of their privacy．

    C．People don't like the idea of robots cooking because it's easy work．

    D．The passage tells us some predictions of the future．

50．The predictions mentioned in the passage          ．

    A．will surely come true     B．might become true

    C．all are practical             D．are made by the author

Everyone takes drugs．Sometimes a drug might be called a herb but the effect is the same．Drugs and herbs can make life better for they are used to improve health．From the simplest headache to a cure for cancer, people believe that certain drugs can help them．But there is danger if the drugs are not used in a proper way．

American teenagers sometimes use certain drugs to feel good．They call this “getting high”．The problem is that once a young man or a young woman has the feeling of“getting high”，they want to do it often．If school is boring or too hard，students might get depressed and a drug or herb might help them feel better．If the student takes too much of a drug，the body may change in a wrong way such as a confused mind，poor sight，a headache，and an uncomfortable stomach．

Schools now have D．A．R．E．program which means Drug Abuse Resistance Education．This program was started so that young students from age 10 to 18 might understand how a drug affects their bodies．The main point of the program is education．Once a student understands certain drugs can cause ill health，he will know he should not use them．

Education is the key to good nutrition as well．If a student eats correctly，he or she will be full of energy which leads to good study habits and good grades．Poor nutrition may cause the need for more sleep and poor concentration．Proper food is similar to the proper use of drugs．Both allow a healthy body to grow while misuse of them prevents a person from developing normally．

41．Drugs can make life better and improve health when people        ．

    A．use them in a proper way．

    B．take too much of them in a special way．

    C．have a little of them in any way．

    D．use them every now and then．

42．What does the underlined phrase“getting high”in Paragraph 2 mean?

    A．Flying high．           B．Feeling comfortable．

    C．Getting confused．  D．Falling asleep．

43．We can infer from the passage that        ．

    A．drug abuse is a common phenomenon in America

    B．poor grades is the main reason for drug abuse．

    C．good eating habit may help students keep away from drugs

    D．teenagers al ways need to seek for excitement

44．The main aim of D．A．R．E．program is to           ．

    A．manage and control drugs

    B．explain to teenagers what drug is

    C．stop teenagers from taking drugs

    D．help teenagers know about the harm of drugs

45．Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

    A．Use Drug Properly

    B．The Harm of Getting High

    C．Common Drug Abuse in America

    D．Why do Students Take drugs?

If you're among the millions of Americans packing their vacation bags for summer trips，don't forget，however, that as soon as you step off the plane，you're expected to follow that country's laws．We took a look at one of the top countries Americans are most likely to visit and what might happen if you got caught．

Mexico

Smoking marijuana：If police find you smoking a cigarette which contains marijuana，they will most likely detain you overnight and you will get a fine．

Carrying a firearm：You might be able to walk around with a gun in Texas，but that isn't so in Mexico，so leave your gun behind．If you wish to go hunting in Mexico．you can apply for a gun permit but expect to be charged $5,000．If you are caught bringing a firearm，Mexican policeman may take away your car and arrest you．An arrested American may spend months in prison while his or her case is being looked into．

Driving 70 mph on the highway：Speed limits are on the lower side．Depending on what type of highway you're driving on，you shouldn't go faster than 62 mph．The police enforce the speed limit，but most local police don't have radars．The maximum fine for speeding is about $40．To scare tourists into paying the fine “on the spot”，sometimes police will threaten to keep your driver's license．This is illegal, so call them on it．

36．When the travelers are in Mexico，they should NOT          ．

    A．smoke the cigarettes

    B．hunt the animals without the permit

    C．carry a gun even if you have permit

    D．drive more than 50 mph on the highway

37．The word“detain”in the second paragraph means：       ．

    A．arrest    B．deny    C．punish   D．destroy

38．Which of the following statements is NOT true?

    A．The laws in America are different from the ones in Mexico．

    B．People will be fined if they smoke marijuana．

    C．People will be arrested if they are caught bringing a gun．

    D．The police in Mexico have right to keep the drivers' license

39．If the travelers want to drive in Mexico, they should          ．

    A．drive on the lower side of the street

    B．keep an eye out on the radars

    C．limit their car speed

    D．pay the fine on the spot

40．What can we know from the passage?

    A．Different countries have different regulations．

    B．Different countries have the same regulations．

    C．Americans like to visit other countries．

    D．Mexico police aren't friendly．

“Sesame Street”has been called the longest street in the world．That is  16  the television program by that name can now be seen in so many parts of the  17  ．The program became one of  18  biggest exports soon after it went on the  19  in New York in 1968．In the United States more than six million children watch the program  20  ．The viewers include more than half the nation's preschool children，21   every kind of economic，racial and geographical  22  ．

“Sesame Street” uses songs，stories，jokes and pictures to give children a basic  23  of numbers, work and human relations．Although some educators object to certain elements in the program，parents  24  it highly．Many teachers also consider it a great help，though some  25  found that problems arise when first graders who have  26  with“Sesame Street”are in the same class with children who haven't watched the program．

Why has“Sesame Street” been much more    27   than any other children's show? Many reasons have been  28  ．People mention the  29  theories of its creators，the support by both government and private business，and the  30 use of a variety of TV tricks．  31  an equally important reason is that mothers watch“Sesame Street”  32  their children．This is partly because  33   adult stars often appear on it．But the 34  reason may be that it  35  every child watching it feel able to learn，and he wants to learn more．

American Indians        about five percent of the U．S．population．

A．fill up．    B．bring up．     C．make up    D．set up

―My grandmother's taken ill and I've got to go down to the hospital．

―           ．

    A．We're going to the same place

    B．Very sorry to hear it．I hope it's nothing serious

    C．Really?

    D．Let me go with you

In order to make our city green,        ．

    A．it is necessary to have planted more trees

    B．many more tress need to plant

    C．we must plant more trees

    D．our city needs more trees

Never in my wildest dreams       these people are living in such poor condition．

    A．I could imagine         B．could I imagine

    C．I couldn't imagine     D．couldn't I imagine

When young Tom cried，Father often told him that tears were signs of being  weak      a man wasn't supposed to be．

    A．that    B．which    C．where   D．whom

Many Chinese universities provide scholarships for students       financial aid．

    A．in favour of    B．in honour of    C．in face of   D．in need of