i-explore 1

passage

Technology today is a part of almost all aspects of our lives and most of the time it's a force for good. And yet the potential negative effects are spreading faster and cutting deeper than ever before – the threats to security, threats to privacy, false or made-up news, and social media that becomes antisocial. Sometimes the very technology that is meant to connect us divides us. Technology is capable of doing great things. But technology doesn't want to do great things. It doesn't want anything. Doing great things takes people – all of us. It takes our values and our commitment to our families and our neighbors and our communities. It takes our love of beauty. It takes our virtue, and our good will.

I'm not worried about artificial intelligence giving computers the ability to think like humans. I'm more concerned about people thinking like computers without values or sympathy, without concern for consequences. That is what we need you to help us guard against, because if science is a search in the darkness, then the humanities are a candle that shows us where we've been and the danger that lies ahead.

As Steve Jobs once said, technology alone is not enough. It is technology married with the liberal arts, and married with the humanities that makes our hearts sing. When you keep people at the center of what you do, it can have a huge impact. I'm positive about the future of technology because I believe in your generation, your passion, your journey to serve humanity. We are all counting on you.

1. The negative effects brought about by technology outweigh the positive effects.

A.True.

B.False.

2. Technology wants to do great things even though it is sometimes incapable of doing so.

A.True.

B.False.

3. The speaker believes that it is not worrisome that computers can think like humans.

A.True.

B.False.

4. The speaker thinks that science is like a candle showing us the potential dangers.

A.True.

B.False.

5. The speaker holds a positive attitude toward the future of technology.

A.True.

B.False.

conversation

Bill: Have you ever imagined what the city of the future will be like?

Rose: Yes. But I find it difficult to imagine when it goes into detail. Anyway, technology must be a great help.

Bill: Uh. Recently Sidewalk Labs has announced that they would spend the coming year planning a city of the future in a derelict part of Toronto's waterfront.

Rose: Really? What will they do?

Bill: They will create technologies that will "help people build smarter, greener communities that include everyone." Even the bad weather off Lake Ontario will be calmed.

Rose: Sounds cool. But I didn't hear about the company before. What specific new technologies will they adopt?

Bill: The company is a Google corporate sibling. In their design, sensing devices will be spread throughout the city and cameras will track everyone who lives, works or merely passes through there. The resulting mass of data will be used to further shape and improve the new city.

Rose: I bet this could raise privacy concerns for many citizens.

Bill: Indeed it does. But besides, pretty much everything in this area will be reimagined. Buildings will be breaking with traditional zoning rules. They will not have fixed uses. Packages will be delivered by robots, and other robots will pick up the garbage.

Rose: What about the transportation?

Bill: Good question. Private cars will be restricted in favor of self-driving cars, walking, cycling and public transportation. When it rains or the hot summer sun beats down, huge sun screens will be extended, and self-heated paths will melt the snow to make way for cyclists in winter.

Rose: What is the most significant feature of this project?

Bill: Its ability to collect data may be the greatest feature, and also the greatest source of resistance.

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Question 1: Which of the following is true about the city of the future planned by Sidewalk Labs?
A. Its weather will be cool.
B. It will be set up in Toronto.
C. Its residents will be smarter than us now.
D. It will be easy to be built with the help of technology.

Question 2: What do we learn about the new technologies adopted in the city of the future?

A. New sensing devices will be designed in the city.
B. Cameras will be mainly used to track passers-by.
C. Big data will be used to further improve the city.
D. Urbanization will be hindered by advanced technology.

Question 3: What do we learn about the transportation in the city of the future?

A. Private cars will be favored.
B. Walking on rainy days will be tough.
C. Cycling will be possible even in winter.
D. Public transportation will be restricted.

Question 4: What's the most significant feature of the project?

A. Its derelict waterfront.
B. Its ability to collect data.
C. Its use of self-driving cars.
D. Its arrangement of buildings.

news report 1

A proposed space nation called Asgardia is now accepting applications from future citizens.

Leaders of the Asgardia project discussed the proposed space nation at a news conference in Paris this Wednesday. The leaders plan to launch Asgardia's first satellite this year. They would like to eventually have a space station where some of its planned 150 million nationals would live and work. However, most of Asgardia's citizens would remain on Earth.

Asgardia will be a democracy. The emphasis of this nation is on the freedom of the individual to develop space technologies, according to the team leader and founder of the project. People can now apply to be selected as one of the first 100,000 citizens through the nation's website.

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Question 1: What is said about the future citizens of the proposed space nation?

A. They must be experts in space technology.

B. Most of them will live in the space station.

C. The number of citizens will be 150 million.

D. They will help to launch the nation's first satellite.

Question 2: According to the news report, what is valued most by the proposed space nation?

A. Democracy carried out for every citizen.

B. Freedom to work on space technologies.

C. Applicants' potential to become team leaders.

D. People's passion for application through its website.

news report 2

This week, Saudi Arabia became the first country in the world to grant citizenship to a robot.

Named Sophia, the robot was announced as a Saudi citizen at the Future Investment Initiative conference on Wednesday. "I'd like to thank very much the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Sophia said to the audience. "I am very honored and proud for this unique distinction." Sophia was created in Hong Kong, China, and first switched on in April 2015. She is a white woman robot whose human-like appearance is almost completely believable when she's wearing a wig. Since her activation, Sophia has become quite a skillful machine, appearing on the cover of ELLE and on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

However, many of Sophia's fellow Saudi citizens are less excited. Some claim that the robot has already been granted rights that actual Saudi women do not have. Others disagree with the country for granting citizenship to a robot when its citizenship laws for humans remain extremely strict. These strict laws are opposed by human rights organizations globally.

Sophia's citizenship comes at a key time in Saudi Arabia's history, as the country is aiming to position itself as a world leader in technological advancement.

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Question 1: What do we learn about Sophia?
A. She was granted Saudi citizenship in 2015.
B. She has been quite skillful since her activation.
C. She was created and switched on in Saudi Arabia.
D. She looks like a human very much even without a wig.

Question 2: Why are some Saudi citizens unhappy with Sophia's citizenship?
A. The citizenship laws for Sophia are too strict.
B. Sophia is not respectful to the Saudi women.
C. The citizenship laws for Sophia are against human rights.
D. Sophia enjoys rights that actual Saudi women don't have.

Question 3: What does the news report say about Sophia's citizenship?
A. It influences the viewpoints of world leaders.
B. It raises a controversial issue on women's rights.
C. It draws the attention of human rights organizations.
D. It helps position the country as a world leader in technological advancement.

further listening

news report 1

Would you buy a car that releases calming smells into the air when you are stuck in heavy traffic? Scientists suggest that new technology will soon enable people to use devices like this in their daily lives.

At the British Science Festival, researchers from the University of Sussex demonstrated some of the technologies that might be coming soon.

Many people know virtual reality (VR). Now these virtual worlds will not just look and sound real. Researchers are creating VR environments that will even smell like the real thing. With the new technology, users will be able to open a virtual door and step into a new environment, like a rainforest. After they enter this virtual world, special equipment will release forest-like smells into the air to make the experience seem more real.

A researcher from the University of Sussex said that the scent of smell is important in human communication and relationships. She believes it could help people trust robots more if the robots smell like humans.

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Question 1: According to the news report, what new technology will be used in a car?
A. Devices releasing calming smells.
B. Virtual doors invisible in daily life.
C. Devices used to avoid heavy traffic.
D. Equipment developed at science festivals.

Question 2: What is true about the virtual worlds created at the current stage?

A. They are just like a rainforest.
B. They look like the real world.
C. They smell like the real world.
D. They don't sound like the real world.

Question 3: What is the news report mainly about?

A. Advances in automobiles.
B. Communication with robots.
C. Developments in smell technology.
D. Applications for environmental protection.

news report 2

An American company is recently offering its employees a new convenience: a chip placed in their hands for free. Employees can volunteer for the procedure. About 50 out of 80 employees have chosen to do so, including the president of the company, his wife and their children.

The chip is about the size of a grain of rice. Placing the chip in the hand only takes about a second and is said to hurt only very briefly. The chip goes under the skin between the thumb and forefinger.

With a chip in the hand, a person can enter the office building, buy food, sign into computers and more, simply by waving that hand near a scanner. The chips also will be used to identify employees.

Employees who want convenience, but do not want to have a chip put under their skin, can wear it on a wrist band or a ring instead.

The company says that the chips protect against identity theft by being coded, similar to credit cards. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the chips back in 2004, so they should be safe for humans, according to the company.

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Question 1: What new convenience is offered to the employees in the company?
A. A scanner near their office.
B. A volunteer work opportunity.
C. A chip placed in their hands for free.
D. The right to enter the building at will.

Question 2: Which of the following is true about the chip?

A. It is linked to credit cards.
B. It will cause constant pain.
C. It can protect against identity theft.
D. It takes about one minute to place it.

Question 3: What will happen to the employees who refuse to have the chip placed under their skin?

A. They can wear it on a ring.
B. They will not be identified by scanners.
C. They will fail to enter the office building.
D. They will not be able to sign into computers.

conversation

Ben: Yesterday I tried a game in augmented reality. It's so great.

Anna: AR can go far more than that. The craze for such games is a taste of how AR can impact our lives. It has the potential to be a life-changing technology that totally reorders how we live.

Ben: Why do you say that?

Anna: Communication has evolved from text to phone calls to photographs to videos. I think the next big change will be realistic 3D images of users. It can copy expressions to create a personal and immersive experience.

Ben: You mean talking to my loved ones at another location as if they were sitting on the sofa in my living room.

Anna: Yes. And imagine the state of healthcare in the near future. AR will make it possible for healthcare professionals such as surgeons to conduct the most complex surgeries in a test environment without any risk to actual patients.

Ben: Sounds reasonable. It may enable a new wave of highly efficient healthcare.

Anna: Plus, we're already seeing the line between the digital and physical world being crossed. AR has the potential to turn our world into a single, interconnected digital machine – a world computer.

Ben: As what you said, it seems like that in the near future AR devices will replace many of the products we use today.

Anna: Sure. If we can project and view a virtual big screen TV through AR glasses, why would anyone spend the time and money setting up a physical monitor?

Ben: I'm starting to look forward to the future AR world.

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Question 1: What does the woman think of AR?
A. It is a crazy technology.
B. It has a long way to go.
C. It has a bad influence on our lives.
D. It has the potential to reorder our lives.

Question 2: What big change might happen to communication with the help of AR?

A. Text communication will disappear.
B. Photographs will be replaced by videos.
C. Images will become more and more colorful.
D. Personal and immersive experiences will be created.

Question 3: What will the future healthcare be like according to the woman?

A. Patients will hardly run risks in actual surgeries.
B. Surgeons will only need to conduct easy surgeries.
C. A more reasonable healthcare system will be set up.
D. Complex surgeries can be conducted in a test environment.

Question 4: What is the speakers' attitude toward the future of AR?

A. Optimistic.
B. Worried.
C. Neutral.
D. Opposed.

passage

The science fiction writer William Gibson had it right: "The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed." The future often feels like it is forever over the next hill, but it's easy to forget that it emerges from the present.

This is the guiding principle behind Future Now, a new addition to BBC Future. This program contains in-depth stories about the people, events and trends that are reshaping our world today. Change happens quickly these days and it can be hard to keep up. So we want to be your guide to where the future is being made. Future Now will be the place to see pictures of a world in a state of change.

That means we'll significantly expand our coverage of technology and explore how it is influencing society, business and the lives of individuals. We'll also look into new areas, such as economics and social science.

We'll seek out big ideas in energy and resources, identify the hidden industries ready to change how we live, and identify important new shifts in societies around the globe. And that's just the start.

The aim is to uncover what really matters in the world today, and share information that you can trust. We launch in a year when fake news on social networks is making it hard to tell what is true and what is not. At Future Now, we will be using our worldwide network of experienced reporters and video makers to cut through the noise.

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Question 1: What is the main content of the program?
A. Guides on how people can make the future.
B. Tips on how to take pictures of a changing world.
C. Advice on how to keep up with the quick changes.
D. Stories about what are transforming our world today.

Question 2: What new area will be covered in the program?

A. Technology.
B. Art.
C. Business.
D. Economics.

Question 3: What is the aim of this program?

A. To explore big ideas in energy and resources.
B. To reveal the important things in the world today.
C. To build a network of reporters and video makers.
D. To give advice on how to distinguish right from wrong.