Matt Mason has seen the future--and it's fun. Mason likes thinking about how machines can make our lives easier by doing the work we hate, such as cleaning. He shows a hard floor cleaning system（系統(tǒng)）that's built into the wall: it will blow dirt to a part of the room where it will be collected by a vacuum（吸塵器）. Then the system will drop some cleaner on the floor and an arm will mop（用拖把擦） it up. “This may trouble you,” says Kara, an expert in Mason's company. “But you can program it to come on at 3 a m, and it will just wet-mop the floor for you.”

　　When it comes to the kitchen, Bruce Beihoff, another expert at Whirlpool, is sure that in a few years, robots will be doing most of the boring work, freeing us to relax. “More than just fun, future kitchens will be environmentally friendly,” he says. “A new system will be built in the house which can recycle energy（能量）lost from your kitchen to make the whole home warm.”

　　“The fridge will be the center of the home,” says Daniel Lee, a market expert. The fridge will have a touch screen（觸摸屏幕）where you can watch TV, surf the Internet, check your e-mail, keep a shopping list and order vegetables. “Your fridge is the first place you go in the morning and the last place at night,” says Lee.

　　Ever wonder why a 1.9-meter man and a 1.6-meter woman have to cook meals on counters（工作臺）of the same height. “The height was decided over 50 years ago, according to the height of ordinary women,” says Jane Langmuir, an expert of cooking machines. “But times have changed. We have made a new counter where you press a button and it moves to whatever height you want.” At the same time, Ted Selker at MIT's Counter lab has made the dishmaker which lets you make dishes and bowls out of plastics at home. After each meal, the dishes are changed straight back into plastics.

[　　]

[　　]

A．have a recycling system built in the wall

B．get up early to start your cleaning system

C．use your fridge to give orders to a cleaner

D．leave the work to a kind of cleaning machine

[　　]

[　　]

A．We will eat something in the fridge from the morning to the evening.

B．We can surf the Internet and check our e-mails from it.

C．We can buy vegetables and watch TV from it.

D．We will have some fridges in our homes.

[　　]

A．people will have more and more time enjoying themselves

B．future kitchens can provide all the energy for our life every day

C．the fridge can be found in the center of a future house

D．people must be expert at computers to use these inventions

Cindy：Hi, Linda．1__________________?

Linda：Art, because it is relaxing．

Cindy：But I like P．E．because it's fun．Selina, 2_______________? Tell us your favorite subject．

Selina：I like math best．3__________________．

Ken：But I don't like math．4__________________, I think．I like Chinese because it's useful．

Mary：I think Chinese is fun, too．I also like it．But I think science is my favorite because it's exciting．

Jones：5__________________, too．And I also like music because it's enjoyable（令人享受的）．

A．It's difficult but very interesting

B．I like science

C．Why do you like art

D．It's boring

E．What's your favorite subject

F．What about you

G．My favorite subject is music

We may know that there are four basic periods(時期) for human beings to pass through when you enter and live in another country. This process helps you deal with culture shock（沖擊）.
Culture shock begins with the "honeymoon period". This is the time when you first arrive in a place where everything about the new cu1ture is strange and exciting. You see new things, hear new sounds and language, eat new kinds of food. This period can last for quite a long time because you feel very happy.
Unluckily, the second period can be more difficu1t.  After you have got used to your new life, you can become very tired and begin to miss your motherland, your family, your friends, your pets and so on. Al1 the little prob1ems in life seem to be much bigger and more worrying when you face them in a foreign country. This period can be very difficult and lead to moving backwards quickly.
The third period is called the "adjustment period". This is when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the new country. Your sense of humor usually becomes stronger and you realize you are becoming stronger by 1earning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor.
The fourth period can be cal1ed "at ease at last". Now you feel quite comfortable in your new place. You can deal with most problems that you have. You may still have prob1ems with language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them. At this time, you may feel a little uncomfortable if you go back to your motherland.
【小題1】According to the passage, culture shock usually happens when you ______.

Matt Mason has seen the future—and it’s fun. Mason likes thinking about how machines can make our lives easier by doing the work we hate, such as cleaning. He shows a hard floor cleaning system（系統(tǒng)）that’s built into the wall: it will blow dirt to a part of the room where it will be collected by a vacuum（吸塵器）. Then the system will drop some cleaner on the floor and an arm will mop（用拖把擦）it up. “This may trouble you,” says Kara, an expert in Mason’s company. “But you can program it to come on at 3 a. m., and it will just wet-mop the floor for you.”

When it comes to the kitchen, Bruce Beihoff, another expert at Whirlpool, is sure that in a few years, robots will be doing most of the boring work, freeing us to relax. “More than just fun, future kitchens will be environmentally friendly,” he says. “A new system will be built in the house which can recycle energy（能量）lost from your kitchen to make the whole home warm.”

“The fridge will be the center of the home,” says Daniel Lee, a market expert. The fridge will have a touch screen （觸摸屏幕）where you can watch TV, surf the Internet, check your e-mail, keep a shopping list and order vegetables. “Your fridge is the first place you go in the morning and the last place at night,” says Lee.

Ever wonder why a 1.9-meter man and a 1.6-meter woman have to cook meals on counters（工作臺）of the same height. “The height was decided over 50 years ago, according to the height of ordinary women,” says Jane Langmuir, an expert of cooking machines. “But times have changed. We have made a new counter where you press a button and it moves to whatever height you want.” At the same time, Ted Selker at MIT’s Counter lab has made the Dishmaker which lets you make dishes and bowls out of plastics at home. After each meal, the dishes are changed straight back into plastics.

1. How many inventions are mentioned in the passage?

    A. Three.               B. Four.                C. Five.          D. Six.

 2. In future, if you want to clean your house, you will _________.

A. have a recycling system built in the wall

B. get up early to start your cleaning system

C. use your fridge to give orders to a cleaner

D. leave the work to a kind of cleaning machine

  3. What is future kitchen work like?

A. Terrific and relaxing.               B. Easy and interesting.

C. Enjoyable and exciting.            D. Funny and amazing.

  4. From the passage, we know _________.

A. people will have more and more time enjoying themselves

B. future kitchens can provide all the energy for our life every day

C. the fridge can be found in the center of a future house

D. people must be expert at computers to use these inventions