全新主题大学英语2 U1 S.doc

Unit One Discovering the Future Section APre-reading Questions1. If you can make a prediction of life in 2050, what would that be?2. Will humans continue to be the most intelligent creature on earth in 2050?3. Describe some changes you would like to see happen in the far future.Human beings are fascinated with their future because it is mysterious and unpredictable. In this text, the author sheds some lights on the unimaginable changes that would happen by 2050 with respect to cars, medicine, clothing as well as the house well live in. Future Shock1 A week earlier, Bill Mitchell, from MITs famously forward-thinking Media Lab, told me that in this Cambridge neighborhood, the Technology Square, innovation is sparking and the next chapter in Greater Bostons evolution is unfolding. That knowledge will reshape everything in our city, from the way it looks at ground level to the skyline we see above, and from the clothes we wear to the cars we drive and the homes in which we live. Car2 On the third floor of the Media Lab in the Technology Square, the center of whats supposed to be the New Boston, Ryan Chin, a 30-year-old doctoral student, is leading a team of young astronautical engineers, urban planners, architects, and neuroscientists developing a concept car under the direction of Mitchell and with the help of architect Frank Gehry. Chin says that its only a matter of time before the parking dilemma is largely eliminated. In a few years, he says, when the whole area is wireless, cars will communicate with buildings, other cars, and the urban infrastructure including parking meters. The meters will tell drivers when and where a spot is open. No more blind searching, and potentially less cursing. “It will cut the inefficiency of driving around block after block looking for a space,” he says.Medicine3 Physicians predict that the medicine chest might remind patients to take a pill. And Bostonians of the future may not have to worry about cavities. Martin Taubman, head of the department of immunology at Bostons Forsyth Institute, a nonprofit biomedical research organization, has been working on a vaccine that targets bacteria that cause tooth decay. He says he hopes it will be available by 2015. “It will be a vaccine for children 12 to 24 months,” Taubman says. “We think it will have the potential to prevent all cavities.” 4 What doctors will be doing more of is cosmetics. A typical 60-year-old today looks as healthy as a 40-year-old did at the beginning of the last century, says William Adams, a plastic surgeon in the Back Bay. “I think in another 20 years, youre going to be seeing 80-year-olds who look like theyre 60.” Not because more people will get plastic surgery, he says, but because rejuvenating ones appearance will become integrated with the prevention and treatment of the aging processes that usually concern primary-care physicians and specialists.Clothing5 In 2050, Newbury Street will still be the center of the citys haute couture, but designers wont be limited to needles and thread. Textile companies are getting closer and closer to seamless fashions that can be heated and formed out of a single piece of cloth. And fashions made to order on the spot with the help of body-scan software will increasingly help designers customize clothes for people, predicts Sondra Grace, head of the fashion department at the Massachusetts College of Art.6 But the biggest changes in what we wear will come from the technology we expect our clothes to contain. The technology we now carry we will eventually be wearing, says Ned Thomas, director of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies at MIT. Clothes designed to protect, connect, and monitor the military will start emerging on the backs of special-forces soldiers in a decade and will filter down to police officers, extreme athletes, business executives, and finally, everybody else.7 The challenge for the military is obvious: Clothing that can communicate vital signs would be invaluable on the battlefield. The next logical step would be future clothing that could possibly while monitoring blood-sugar levels, heart rate, and respiration deliver medicine, act as a tourniquet, or even perform CPR. And clothing that can give soldiers additional strength is being developed by creating “exomuscles,” using fibers that can contract or expand when stimulated by electricity. Eventually, such clothing could be used for more everyday situations, such as protecting the elderly during falls.The Home of the Future8 Remember Biosphere 2? It was a sealed complex designed to be the first completely self-sufficient environment for people. It made headlines in the early 1990s and then faded out of the news. But the concepts it launched are still mentioned in architecture circles, and theyre increasingly being incorporated into buildings erected in high-density cities. You see them in places like Tokyo and Seoul. Closer to home, theres Genzymes world headquarters in Kendall Square in Cambridge.9 Genzyme Center incorporates 18 indoor gardens, and within a few years, the building will be integrated with residences, a hotel, and an arts center. The approach transcends traditional zoning and aspires to build communities where residents live, work, dine, and shop under one roof, says John Hong, a Cambridge architect.10 Not far from the Genzyme headquarters, Kent Larson, an MIT research scientist, is helping to shape that future by tracking volunteers who live in an experimental condominium in Central Square called PlaceLab. The people who live there for 10 days at a time are monitored by hundreds of sensors similar to those that keep track of your heart rate on a treadmill. But these sensors are literally built into the woodwork.11 At PlaceLab, breakfast can be broken down into a series of discrete actions detected by the sensors. At 8 a.m., the refrigerator door opens, the coffee maker is switched on, chairs are moved and occupied. Do it day after day, and the pattern can be put to work. Perhaps a resident needs to take medication after breakfast but forgets a smart home might remind him that its time to take his pills. 12 After sensor information is processed, instruments will begin to share it, says Kenan Sahin, the president of a firm thats cooperating with MIT on PlaceLab. Ubiquitous person-to-person communication is fairly advanced. Object-to-object communication is the next challenge. Think of a carpet with sensors in it to keep an eye on dust-mite levels a project Sahin is now monitoring. When the levels exceed a certain point, the sensors will send a signal to a robotic vacuum to get to work13 Future life in 2050 seems to be so fantastic that I can hardly wait. I am really looking forward to it. (1025 words)New Words（黑正体表示一般要求，黑正体后加符号置于生词右上角表示较高要求，黑正体后加符号置于生词右上角表示更高要求，黑斜体表示纲外词汇。）9forward-thinking /;fXwEdTINkIN/ a. thinking in a manner that takes the future into account; progressive 前瞻性的，有远见的innovation /;InEUveISn/ n. U introduction of new ideas, methods, or inventions 革新，创新spark /spA:k/ vi. produce small flashes of fire or electricity 产生火花；迸出火花 v. stir into activity; initiate引起，导致；激励 n. C very small piece of burning material 火花evolution /;i:vElu:Sn/ n. U 1 way in which something gradually changes and develops 发展；演化；演变 2 development of species from earlier forms, as an explanation of their origins 生物进化；进化论reshape /;ri:SeIp/ vt. form again or differently 使再成形；再塑造；改组skyline /skaI;laIn/ n. C outline of hills, buildings, etc. against the sky （山、建筑物等在填空映衬下的）空中轮廓线doctoral /dXkt(E)rEl/ a. of or for the degree of doctor 博士的，博士学位的astronautical /;QstrEnXtIk(E)l/ a. of astronautics 航天学的 urban /C:bEn/ a. of, living in, or situated in a town or city 城市的；居住在城市的planner /plQnE/ n. C 1 person who plans new towns etc. （新城镇等的）设计者 2 person who makes plans 计划制定者neuroscientist /;njUErEusaIntIst/ n. C person who studies nerves and their diseases 神经科学家largely /lA:dZli/ ad. to a great extent 在很大程度上wireless /waIElEs/ a. not using wires 不用电线的；无线的 n. C/U radio; radio receiving set 无线电；无线电收音机infrastructure /InfrE;strVktSE/ n. C/U roads, bridges, sewers, etc., regarded as a countrys economic foundation （国家经济的）基础设施（如道路、桥梁、下水道等）potentially /pEtenSEli/ ad. possibly true in the future, but not true now 可能地；潜在地efficient /IfISnt/ a. productive with minimum waste or effort 效率高的，有效力的inefficiency /;InIfISnsi/ n. C/U inefficient way in which someone does something 无效率；低效率；不称职predict /prIdIkt/ vt. foretell, prophesy 预言，预告chest /tSest/ n. C 1 small cabinet for medicines etc.药箱 2 part of a body enclosed by the ribs （人体的）胸，胸腔 3 large strong box 大箱子，柜子pill /pIl/ n. C ball or flat disc of solid medicine for swallowing whole 药丸，药片cavity /kQvEti/ 1 decayed part of a tooth （牙齿的）龋洞 2 hollow within a solid body（固体内的）洞，穴immunology /;ImjUnXlEdZi/ n. U scientific study of protection against disease 免疫学nonprofit /;nXnprXfIt/ a. not for profit but to help people in some way（组织）非盈利性的biomedical /;baIEUmedIkl/ a. of, relating to, or involving biological, medical and physical science 生物医学的vaccine /vQksi:n/ n. C/U substance put into the body, usu. by injection, in order to provide protection against a disease 疫苗bacterium /bQKtIEriEm/ n. C (pl. bacteria) unicellular micro-organism lacking an organized nucleus, esp. of a kind causing disease 细菌decay /dIkeI/ n. U gradual destruction of something as a result of a natural process of change 腐烂；腐败 v. be gradually destroyed as a result of a natural process of change, or to destroy something in this way (使）腐烂；（使）腐败cosmetics /kXzmetIks/ n. (pl.) substances that you use on your hair or skin to make yourself look more attractive 化妆品typical /tIpIkl/ a. 1 serving as a characteristic example; representative 典型的，具有代表性的 2 characteristic of a particular person, thing, or type 特有的，独特的surgeon /sC:dZ(E)n/ n. C doctor who is trained to perform operations involving cutting, usu. in a hospital 外科医生 bay /beI/ n. C part of the sea enclosed by a wide curve of the shore 海湾surgery /sC:dZEri/ n. C/U medical treatment in which a doctor cuts open someones body 外科手术rejuvenate /RIdZu:vE;neIt/ vt. make someone feel or look younger or have more energy 使变得年轻；使恢复活力integrate /IntI;GReIt/ vt. connect or combine two or more things so that together they form an effective unit or system 使结合；使成为一体 v. make someone become a full member of a group or society and be involved completely in its activities （使）融入；（使）打成一片prevention /prIvenSn/ n. U act of stopping something bad from happening 预防；防止；防范 aging /eIdZIN/ n. U process of becoming old 变老；老化；变旧primary-care /praImEri ;KeE/ n. U medical treatment and advice that you get in your local community from a doctor or nurse, rather than treatment from specialist 基础护理，最初保健护理（指从当地社区的医生或护士处得到的治疗或建议，而非专科医生的治疗）haute couture /;EUt ku:tjUE/ n. U (fml.) expensive and fashionable clothes, or business of designing and making them 高级时装；高级时装业designer /dIzaInE/ n. C person who designs e.g. clothing, machines, theatre sets （如衣服、机器、舞台布景的）设计师textile /tekstaIl/ a. in weaving or making cloth 纺织的n. C (usu. pl.) fabric, cloth, or fibrous material, esp. woven 纺织品（尤指纺织的纤维材料）seamless /si:mlEs/ a. made without seams 无缝的fashion /fQSn/ n. 1 C piece of clothing that is in the current mode 时装 2 C style of dress that is popular at a particular time （衣服的）时新样式，流行款式 3 U popular style of clothes, hair, behavior, etc. at a particular time, that is likely to change （衣服、头发等）流行样式；（行为等的）时髦；时尚heat /hi:t/ v. make or become hot or warm 使热，使暖；变热，变暖scan /skQn/ vt. obtain an image of (part of the body) using a scanner 扫描body-scan /bXdi;skQn/ n. C process to read someones measurements by using a piece of special equipment 身体扫描increasingly /Inkri:sINli/ ad. more and more 越来越customize /kVstE;maIz/ vt. make or modify to order 定做，定制；按顾客要求改制eventually /IventSuEli/ ad. at the end of a process or period of time in which many things happen 终于；最终nanotechnology /nQnEUtek;nXlEdZi/ n. U skill of building very small machines by using computer technology 纳米技术monitor /mXnItE/ vt. regularly check some- thing or watch someone in order to find out what is happening 监测；监控；监督military /MILIt(E)ri/ n. (the ) countrys armed forces （一国的）军事力量，军队 a. 1 relating to armies or armed forces and way they are organized 军队的；武装力量的2 using armed forces to achieve something 军事的emerge /ImC:dZ/ vi. 1 come up or out into view 浮现，露出；出现 2 (of facts etc.) become known, be revealed （事实等）暴露，被知晓special-forces /speSl fO:sis/ n. (pl.) soldiers who have been specially trained to fight against guerrilla or terrorist groups （接受特殊训练对付游击队和恐怖组织的）特种部队filter /fIltE/ vi. make way gradually慢慢传开；漏过；渗入 vt. pass liquid, light, etc. through a special device 滤过；过滤vital /vaItl/ a. very important, or essential 至关重要的；必不可少的sign /saIn/ n. C thing indicating a quality, state, future event, etc. （表明性质、状态、未来事件等的）迹象，征兆 v. write (ones name) on a document etc. （在文件等上）签名；署名invaluable /InvQljuEbl/ a. extremely useful 极为有用的battlefield /bQtl;fi:ld/ n. C scene of a battle 战场logical /lXdZIkl/ a. 1 correctly reasoned 合情合理的 2 of or according to logic 逻辑（学）的；合乎逻辑的blood-sugar /blVd SUgE/ n. U sugar such as glucose that are present in healthy blood 血糖respiration /;respEReISn/ n. U (fml.) process of breathing air in and out 呼吸 deliver /dIlIvE/ vt. 1 give, direct, or aim 提供，给 2 distribute (letters, goods, etc.) to their destination （信件、物品等）投递；分送；送交；递送 3 hand over 移交；把交付tourniquet /tO:nI;KeI/ n. C piece of cloth that is tied very tight around someones leg or arm in order to stop blood from flowing out of a cut 止血带exomuscle /;eKsEmVsl/ n. C external muscle 体外肌肉fiber /faIbE/ n. C very thin piece of a natural or artificial substance （天然或人造的）纤维contract /kEntrQkt/ v. make or become smaller （使）缩小，（使）收缩 vt. become infected with a disease 感染（疾病） /kXntrQkt/ n. C written or spoken agreement, esp. one enforceable by law合同；契约elderly /eldEli/ a. rather old 年岁大的biosphere /baIEU;sfIE/ n. (sing.) part of the Earths surface and atmosphere where plant and animal life can exist 生物圈（地球表面和大气中植物和动物可以生存的区域）sealed /si:ld/ a. closed with a lid, cover, etc. so that nothing can get in or out 密封的，封闭的completely /kEmpli:tli/ ad. in every way possible 彻底地；完全地；完整地self-sufficient /;selfsEfISnt/ a. able to provide for yourself everything that you need, without help from other people 自给自足的headline /hed;laIn/ n. C 1 (pl.) most important stories in the news 头版头条新闻；头版要闻 2 heading at the top of an article or page, esp. in a newspaper （尤指报刊的）标题fade /FeId/ vi. disappear gradually 逐渐消失 v. (cause to) lose color, light, or sound （使）失去颜色（或光泽、声音）architecture /A:kI;tektSE/ n. U 1 design and construction of buildings 建筑设计，建造 2 style of a building 建筑风格incorporate /InkO:PE;ReIt/ vt. include something so that it forms a part of something 将作为部分（或成分）；包含erect /IRekt/ vt. 1 set up; build 建立；建造 2 put something in position and make it stand upright 安装；竖立；搭起 a. in an upright position 垂直的；竖直的density /densEti/ n. U amount of something in a place （某地某物的数量）密度headquarters /;hedkwO:tEz/ n. administrative centre of an organization 指挥部，司令部indoor /;IndO:/ a. of, done, or for use in a building or under cover 室内（或有遮盖）的；在室内（或遮盖下）进行的；在室内（或遮盖下）用的residence /rezId(E)ns/ n. 1 C place where a person lives 住所，居所 2 U state of living in a particular place 居住；定居 transcend /trQnsend/ vt. be beyond the range or grasp of (human experience, reason, belief, etc.) 超出，超越（经验、理性、信念等）zone /zEUn/ vt. officially make land available for a particular use 分区zoning /zEUnIN/ n. U process of officially making land available for a particular use分区aspire/EspaIE/ vi. have ambition or a strong desire 渴望；有志于dine /daIn/ vi. eat dinner 吃饭，用饭experimental /Ik;sperImentl/ a. 1 used on or making use of experiment 以实验为基础的；用实验的 2 used in experiments 用于实验的condominium /;kXndEMIniEM/ n. C AmE building containing individually owned flats （公寓产权为居住者私有的）公寓大楼sensor /sensE/ n. C piece of equipment that reacts to physical changes 传感器；探测装置 treadmill /tred;mIL/ n. C piece of exercise equipment with a flat moving surface that you walk or run on while staying in the same place 跑步机literally /lIt(E)rEli/ ad. used for showing that what you are saying is really true and not just an impressive way of describing something 确实地；真正地；不加夸张地woodwork /wUd;wC:k/ n. U 1 things made of wood 木制品 2 making of thing in wood 木工活；木工手艺discrete /dIskri:t/ a. individually distinct; separate, discontinuous 个别的；分离的；不连续的detect /dItekt/ vt. discover or perceive 觉察，发现medication /;medIkeISn/ n. C/U drugs that you take to treat or cure an illness 药；药物cooperate /kEUXpE;reIt/ vi. 1 work or act together 合作，协作 2 be helpful and do as one is asked 配合，协助ubiquitous /ju:bIkwItEs/ a. (seemingly) present everywhere simultaneously （似乎）普通存在的，无所不在的dust-mite /dVst;maIt/ n. C type of very small insect that lives in houses and causes allergies in some people 尘螨exceed /Iksi:d/ vt. be more or greater than （数量）超过；大于robotic /rEUbXtIk/ a. of or relating to a robot机器人的 vacuum /vQkjUEm/ n. C piece of electrical equipment that cleans floors by sucking up dirt 吸尘器Phrases and Expressionswork on build intobreak downkeep an eye onlook forward tospend time producing or improving something从事；致力于make something a part of a larger structure 嵌入，并入，插入divide something such as a total amount into separate parts 对分类；把分成不同部分(infml.) watch carefully 密切注视feel happy and excited about something that is going to happen 盼望；