-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
[00:05.30]Reading LIFE IN THE FUTURE
[00:10.27]What life will be like in the future is difficult to predict.
[00:15.33]It is,however,possible to use models to make forecasts about future developments.
[00:23.20]One way to catch a glimpse1 of the future
[00:27.56]is to examine some of the major trends in contemporary society.
[00:34.12]TRANSPORTATION
[00:37.04]Current trends indicate that transportation is becoming cleaner,faster and safer.
[00:44.70]Public transportation is already well developed in most urban areas of China.
[00:51.77]New technology is being used to make sure that the cars,
[00:57.34]taxis,buses and trains we use do not pollute the air.
[01:04.60]A good example of how transportation is changing is the new maglev2 train,
[01:11.86]which is environ mentally friendly,
[01:15.81]energy-saving and travels at an amazing 430 km/h.
[01:23.75]To ensure safety,the train is controlled by an advanced computer system.
[01:30.28]Scientists are also developing new fuels
[01:35.24]and engines that will let us travel
[01:38.69]without worrying about whether we are polluting the environment.
[01:44.57]BUS INESS
[01:47.62]It will not be business as usual in the future.
[01:53.79]Many companies and consumers have already begun reforming the way they do business
[02:01.05]E-commerce,or business done on the Internet,is becoming more and more popular
[02:08.71]as people discover the advantages of online shopping.
[02:14.56]The Internet also makes it easier for companies to keep in touch with customers
[02:21.69]and companies in other countries.
[02:25.76]For people who do go out to shops,shopping is no longer just a necessity4.
[02:33.31]It has become a form of entertainment.
[02:37.68]Instead of searching a crowded store for basic goods,such as food and clothes,
[02:45.04]people want to go to a pleasant mall and combine shopping with fun.
[02:51.28]The malls of the future will be like small cities where you can shop,eat,
[02:58.44]see a film and even dance.
[03:02.70]To pay for their purchases,people will use smart cards,
[03:09.26]which contain a tiny chip,instead of cash.
[03:14.30]People in the future will be able to enjoy a longer and healthier life
[03:22.97]and remain active even in old age.
[03:28.01]People now are paying more attention to the importance of a healthy diet
[03:34.67]and an active life.
[03:38.44]They are careful about what they eat and exercise regularly.
[03:44.60]Advances in medical science also allow us to deal with new diseases5,such as SARS.
[03:53.38]Some diseases,for example smallpox,have already been successfully defeated.
[04:01.03]With a better understanding of the human body,
[04:05.68]scientists and physicians will be able to cure more diseases.
[04:13.05]Perhaps more importantly,new discoveries in genetics and biochemistry
[04:20.91]may lead to changes in the way diseases are cured and medicines are made.
[04:28.49]Education and Knowledge
[04:32.64]Homework will always be homework,but the schools of the future
[04:39.30]will probably be quite different from what they are today
[04:44.87]We can study at home by watching educators on TV or on a computer screen.
[04:52.62]In the future,there may be more "schools on the air" and "e-schools".
[04:59.76]Real classrooms will always be popular,
[05:04.90]but distance education will help people study
[05:10.05]whenever they have time and wherever they may be.
[05:15.48]The way we view learning6 and knowledge is also changing.
[05:21.04]Instead of being students only when we are young,we will become lifelong learners.
[05:28.10]It is certain that things will change.
[05:32.07]We cannot be sure whether our dreams will come true,
[05:36.61]but we can at least be hopeful that our efforts to improve the world will be successful.
[05:43.28]If we learn to accept change and appreciate what is new and different,
[05:49.34]we will be well-prepared for whatever the future may have in store.
[05:55.50]Integrating7 skills reading Greeting From the Future
[06:05.45]Dear...
[06:08.51]Life in the year 3044 is very different from life in the 21st century
[06:17.29]We still do many of the thins you did,but we do them differently.
[06:23.82]For example,we now have e-friends to help us and keep us company.
[06:32.46]An e-friend is a machine that looks just like a human being.
[06:39.12]It can walk and talk and can do almost everything we human beings do.
[06:46.18]My e-friend is a lot like me and we have lots of fun together.
[06:53.13]She helps me with my homework and we often go swimming.
[06:59.19]She is programmed to take care of me if anything happens,
[07:04.83]so I always feel safe when we are together.
[07:09.19]She can also send me messages,just like old-fashioned8 e-mail,
[07:15.96]and I can download information from her memory.
[07:20.92]It's great to have an e-friend.
[07:25.07]I am never lonely and I always have someone to talk to.
[07:30.53]We don't think about the world and reality in the same way you did either.
[07:37.06]You used computer programmes to imitate the real world
[07:42.92]and called it "virtual9 reality".
[07:47.49]In the year 3044,we use computer programmes that can imitate the world
[07:55.53]and people so well that we can see them,hear them,touch them,talk to them,
[08:03.68]and feel them they are just like the real world and real people.
[08:10.74]This may sound absurd10 to you,but if you think about it a little,
[08:17.11]it may not seem so strange after all.
[08:21.76]For example,
[08:24.92]if you use a telephone that changes a person's voice into ones and zeroes,
[08:32.65]as a digital phone does,
[08:36.31]you still think that the voice you hear is "real",don't you?
[08:42.27]you can recognise a person's voice on the phone
[08:47.44]and you can hear if the person is happy,sad,interested,etc.
[08:55.17]If you use a cellphone that shows a picture of the person you are speaking to,
[09:02.12]that image is "real" too.
[09:06.19]In the year 3044,we can see more than just a picture;
[09:12.96]we see a lifelike model of the person.
[09:18.24]Sometimes it is difficult to tell what is "real" and what is an image.
[09:25.29]I would like to tell you about life in the year 3044,
[09:32.06]but I have to send my e-friend to clean up my room.
[09:37.62]Maybe some day I will be able to travel back in time and visit you.
[09:44.46]Sincerely,Mekanika
[09:49.22]Work book
[09:55.98]Unit 6 Integrating skills
[10:01.63]Reading WHERE IS THE FUTURE GOING?
[10:06.90]Our work habits have changed a lot over the past thirty years.
[10:13.25]While our parents may have expected to stay in one job,
[10:18.68]with one company,for their whole life,
[10:23.33]we are faced with the possibility of changing jobs and even careers several times.
[10:30.31]Our understanding of education,
[10:34.44]work and society is different from that of earlier generations.
[10:40.47]It is not only the way we work and view the job market that has changed;
[10:46.64]many of today's jobs will either disappear or change in the next ten years or so.
[10:54.50]People in the future will still need food,of course,
[10:59.64]but the way we produce food will not be the same.
[11:04.61]Small farms that use old methods
[11:09.47]will be replaced by large farms with high efficiency11.
[11:14.64]The good news for small farmers
[11:19.50]is that there will also be opportunities for new kinds of farming,
[11:24.96]for example farms that grow organic12 food and environ men tally3 friendly food.
[11:32.61]As people become more educated and care more about what they eat,
[11:39.06]the need for specialised products will grow
[11:43.74]and a new market will open up for farmers.
[11:48.28]Marketing13 people for large companies will find that the need for their services
[11:55.05]is not as strong as it once was.
[11:59.18]Companies can now take care of most of their business through the Internet
[12:05.34]and other communication channels.
[12:09.47]Fortunately,buyers and sellers14 have skills that will be useful in the future.
[12:17.44]Because they know how to predict what consumers want to buy,
[12:23.08]they can find new jobs in areas such as marketing and product design.
[12:28.96]There are others who may be able to use the skills they have today
[12:34.42]in new jobs tomorrow.
[12:37.76]People who used to decide who should get money for government programmes
[12:44.42]can find new opportunities to work as interviewers
[12:49.78]in areas like marketing and research.
[12:54.63]What about people who work with computers?
[12:59.31]Well,things will change for them,too.
[13:03.67]More advanced computer programmes and new technologies
[13:09.73]will remove the need for computer operators15 who perform simple actions.
[13:16.08]The Internet makes it possible for consumers to enter information online.
[13:23.34]Modern search engines
[13:27.60]can do many of the things that yesterday's computer operators did.
[13:33.56]Word processing and simple information handling can be done automatically16.
[13:38.68]For people with these skills,there will be new jobs as database17 managers.
[13:45.76]A rapidly changing job market al so creates new challenges for students,
[13:53.49]teachers and parents.
[13:56.94]The so-called18 "generation gap19" the difference in values,skills,
[14:03.91]education and desires between two generations is growing
[14:10.36]and it is becoming more difficult for parents
[14:14.83]to under stand the kind of world their children are entering.
[14:20.29]Schools and teachers are also facing difficulties
[14:25.44]as they try to adapt to the new needs of their students,
[14:30.90]and the students themselves have to try to deal with all the changes
[14:37.27]and many questions.
[14:40.93]Where is the future going and what can we do to find a place for ourselves in it?
[14:48.48]There are no easy answers,but we can try to turn challenges into opportunities.
[14:55.32]As the job market changes, new areas of growth appear.
[15:01.49]If we become good learners,
[15:05.25]and if we work together with our parents,friends and teachers,
[15:10.71]we can find ways to create a future
[15:15.15]where there is room for all of us to do what we are good at and enjoy
收听单词发音 |
1
glimpse
|
|
| vt.瞥见；n.一瞥，一看 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
maglev
|
|
| n.磁力悬浮列车；adj.磁力悬浮列车的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
tally
|
|
| n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
necessity
|
|
| n.必要性，需要；必需品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
diseases
|
|
| n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
learning
|
|
| n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
integrating
|
|
| 使一体化( integrate的现在分词 )； 使整合； 使完整； 使结合成为整体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
old-fashioned
|
|
| adj.旧式的，保守的，挑剔的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
virtual
|
|
| adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
absurd
|
|
| adj.荒谬的，荒诞的，荒唐可笑的，不合理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
efficiency
|
|
| n.效率，效能，功效 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
organic
|
|
| adj.有机的，有机物的；有组织的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
marketing
|
|
| n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
sellers
|
|
| n.卖者( seller的名词复数 )；卖方；销售者；销售商 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
operators
|
|
| n.（某企业的）经营者( operator的名词复数 )；（机器、设备等的）操作员；电话接线员；投机取巧者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
automatically
|
|
| adv.不加思索地，无意识地，自动地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
database
|
|
| n.数据库 （=databank） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
so-called
|
|
| adj.所谓的，号称的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
gap
|
|
| n.缺口；间隔；差距；不足，缺陷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
购买
在百度中搜索