Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each question.

Predictions about the Cities of the Future

Cities are built to survive and prosper. Over the years, we have learned to transform our surroundings according to our needs. We have cut through mountains to make more land and created artificial islands to make skyscrapers. City planning, as an organized profession, has existed for less than a century. However, a considerable amount of evidence (both archaeological and historical) proves the existence of fully planned cities in ancient times. Over the years, humans have made some mistakes in terms of using an excessive amount of resources for cities. This gives rise to the question of how sustainable the cities of the future would be. We might be looking at smart cities in which street lights would only switch on when you are close by and traffic light would be eliminated by smart driving. The cities of the future would try to save our resources rather than deplete them. An example of an advanced city is Kansas. Plans are in place to make Kansas a smart futuristic city in the future. Planners are considering introducing sensors to monitor the water mains. Warning would be issued to city officials when the infrastructure requires repair or replacement. In this way, the city would never be at risk of having broken pipes. While the idea sounds fantastic, a large amount of rational critique has called this plan an oversold dream. Amy Glasmier is an urban planning professor at MIT. She is a smart city skeptic who believes that all the research and talk is great but gravely oversold.

Question: City planning is thought_______.

A. to have become a profession for about a hundred years

B. to have existed professionally since ancient times

C. to have come into existence to transform nature

D. to make more land and created artificial islands to make skyscrapers

Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each question.

Predictions about the Cities of the Future

Cities are built to survive and prosper. Over the years, we have learned to transform our surroundings according to our needs. We have cut through mountains to make more land and created artificial islands to make skyscrapers. City planning, as an organized profession, has existed for less than a century. However, a considerable amount of evidence (both archaeological and historical) proves the existence of fully planned cities in ancient times. Over the years, humans have made some mistakes in terms of using an excessive amount of resources for cities. This gives rise to the question of how sustainable the cities of the future would be. We might be looking at smart cities in which street lights would only switch on when you are close by and traffic light would be eliminated by smart driving. The cities of the future would try to save our resources rather than deplete them. An example of an advanced city is Kansas. Plans are in place to make Kansas a smart futuristic city in the future. Planners are considering introducing sensors to monitor the water mains. Warning would be issued to city officials when the infrastructure requires repair or replacement. In this way, the city would never be at risk of having broken pipes. While the idea sounds fantastic, a large amount of rational critique has called this plan an oversold dream. Amy Glasmier is an urban planning professor at MIT. She is a smart city skeptic who believes that all the research and talk is great but gravely oversold.

Question: The residents in Kansas would not be worried about water in the future because ______.

A. the infrastructure requires no repair or replacement

B. the city will never have broken water pipes

C. city officials often repair or replace the water mains

D. there may be no disruption to water supply

Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each question.

Predictions about the Cities of the Future

Cities are built to survive and prosper. Over the years, we have learned to transform our surroundings according to our needs. We have cut through mountains to make more land and created artificial islands to make skyscrapers. City planning, as an organized profession, has existed for less than a century. However, a considerable amount of evidence (both archaeological and historical) proves the existence of fully planned cities in ancient times. Over the years, humans have made some mistakes in terms of using an excessive amount of resources for cities. This gives rise to the question of how sustainable the cities of the future would be. We might be looking at smart cities in which street lights would only switch on when you are close by and traffic light would be eliminated by smart driving. The cities of the future would try to save our resources rather than deplete them. An example of an advanced city is Kansas. Plans are in place to make Kansas a smart futuristic city in the future. Planners are considering introducing sensors to monitor the water mains. Warning would be issued to city officials when the infrastructure requires repair or replacement. In this way, the city would never be at risk of having broken pipes. While the idea sounds fantastic, a large amount of rational critique has called this plan an oversold dream. Amy Glasmier is an urban planning professor at MIT. She is a smart city skeptic who believes that all the research and talk is great but gravely oversold.

Question: All of the following statements may be true about smart cities EXCEPT that ______.

A. street lights automatically switch on when necessary

B. traffic light would be controlled by smart driving

C. smart driving wouldn’t need traffic light

D. cities in the future would conserve energy

Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each question.

Predictions about the Cities of the Future

Cities are built to survive and prosper. Over the years, we have learned to transform our surroundings according to our needs. We have cut through mountains to make more land and created artificial islands to make skyscrapers. City planning, as an organized profession, has existed for less than a century. However, a considerable amount of evidence (both archaeological and historical) proves the existence of fully planned cities in ancient times. Over the years, humans have made some mistakes in terms of using an excessive amount of resources for cities. This gives rise to the question of how sustainable the cities of the future would be. We might be looking at smart cities in which street lights would only switch on when you are close by and traffic light would be eliminated by smart driving. The cities of the future would try to save our resources rather than deplete them. An example of an advanced city is Kansas. Plans are in place to make Kansas a smart futuristic city in the future. Planners are considering introducing sensors to monitor the water mains. Warning would be issued to city officials when the infrastructure requires repair or replacement. In this way, the city would never be at risk of having broken pipes. While the idea sounds fantastic, a large amount of rational critique has called this plan an oversold dream. Amy Glasmier is an urban planning professor at MIT. She is a smart city skeptic who believes that all the research and talk is great but gravely oversold.

Question: The attitude of Amy Glasmier towards smart cities is ______.

A. supportive

B. doubtful

C. indifferent

D. disgusting

Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each question.

Predictions about the Cities of the Future

Cities are built to survive and prosper. Over the years, we have learned to transform our surroundings according to our needs. We have cut through mountains to make more land and created artificial islands to make skyscrapers. City planning, as an organized profession, has existed for less than a century. However, a considerable amount of evidence (both archaeological and historical) proves the existence of fully planned cities in ancient times. Over the years, humans have made some mistakes in terms of using an excessive amount of resources for cities. This gives rise to the question of how sustainable the cities of the future would be. We might be looking at smart cities in which street lights would only switch on when you are close by and traffic light would be eliminated by smart driving. The cities of the future would try to save our resources rather than deplete them. An example of an advanced city is Kansas. Plans are in place to make Kansas a smart futuristic city in the future. Planners are considering introducing sensors to monitor the water mains. Warning would be issued to city officials when the infrastructure requires repair or replacement. In this way, the city would never be at risk of having broken pipes. While the idea sounds fantastic, a large amount of rational critique has called this plan an oversold dream. Amy Glasmier is an urban planning professor at MIT. She is a smart city skeptic who believes that all the research and talk is great but gravely oversold.

Question: The most important task in building is _______.

A. to use an excessive amount of resources for cities

B. to raise the question about the future

C. to make cities in the future sustainable

D. to make future cities more organized

Listen and read. 

Ms Hoa: Good morning, everyone. As part of our school cultural programme, we need to plan a field trip to a heritage site in Viet Nam. So, where would you like to go?

Petter: Do you have any suggestions for us, Ms Hoa?

Ms Hoa: I'd recommend Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex. It’s the only place in Southeast Asia to be recognised as a mixed heritage site by UNESCO.

Peter: What's a mixed heritage site?

Ms Hoa: It's a site that has both natural and cultural importance. For example, you can go on a boat trip there to enjoy the beautiful landscape. Or you can visit the old temples and monuments to learn about Vietnamese history.

Anna: That sounds interesting, but if we want to learn about cultural values of the past, where should we go?

Ms Hoa: You can go to Hoi An Ancient Town in central Viet Nam. You'll learn about urban lifestyles and traditions from the 15th to the 19th century and will see examples of ancient architecture. All buildings are kept in their original state. It’s a great place to explore.

Anna: Wow! That's exciting. What about southern Vietnam?

Ms Hoa: You can go to the Mekong River Delta to enjoy don ca tai tu - a form of traditional folk singing. Local artists perform don ca tai tu everywhere - at parties, in fruit gardens, even on the floating market boats.

Peter: It’s a great way to promote this kind of cultural heritage of southern Viet Nam.

Ms Hoa: Indeed. Now, please discuss in your group and let me know your field trip ideas.

Listen to a talk on predictions about our future cities and then fill in the numbered blanks with ONE word. Your browser does not support the audio element.

People have very different oppinions about the cities of the future. Those who are(1)_____think that’s our cities will become more and more polluted, so they will no longer be safe and healthy places to live in. Pessimists point out that both global warming and(2)______have increased rapidly over the past twenty years, but(3)______have no effective ways to control them. There are no signs that this(4)____will be solved in the future. In addition, more and more people are living the countryside and moving to big cities to look for work As a result, cities will become(5)____. This means there will more people, more waste and havier traffic. All these factors will lead to more pollution. On the other hand, (6)_____people believe that city dwellers will have a better life thanks to important achievement in technology and medicine. Modern(7)____and well-equipped hospitals in cities will provide better, quicker and more effective  treatment for people. How about environmental problems? Optmists also think that scientists will find ways to cut down the cost of(8)____energy sources and make them available to everybody. They hope that these energy sources will step by step replace(9)______fuels such as gas, coal and oil in the next twenty years. Then city dwellers will live in a cleaner and healthier(10)_____.

Question 3:

Listen to a talk on predictions about our future cities and then fill in the numbered blanks with ONE word. Your browser does not support the audio element.

People have very different oppinions about the cities of the future. Those who are(1)_____think that’s our cities will become more and more polluted, so they will no longer be safe and healthy places to live in. Pessimists point out that both global warming and(2)______have increased rapidly over the past twenty years, but(3)______have no effective ways to control them. There are no signs that this(4)____will be solved in the future. In addition, more and more people are living the countryside and moving to big cities to look for work As a result, cities will become(5)____. This means there will more people, more waste and havier traffic. All these factors will lead to more pollution. On the other hand, (6)_____people believe that city dwellers will have a better life thanks to important achievement in technology and medicine. Modern(7)____and well-equipped hospitals in cities will provide better, quicker and more effective  treatment for people. How about environmental problems? Optmists also think that scientists will find ways to cut down the cost of(8)____energy sources and make them available to everybody. They hope that these energy sources will step by step replace(9)______fuels such as gas, coal and oil in the next twenty years. Then city dwellers will live in a cleaner and healthier(10)_____.

Question 4:

Listen to a talk on predictions about our future cities and then fill in the numbered blanks with ONE word. Your browser does not support the audio element.

People have very different oppinions about the cities of the future. Those who are(1)_____think that’s our cities will become more and more polluted, so they will no longer be safe and healthy places to live in. Pessimists point out that both global warming and(2)______have increased rapidly over the past twenty years, but(3)______have no effective ways to control them. There are no signs that this(4)____will be solved in the future. In addition, more and more people are living the countryside and moving to big cities to look for work As a result, cities will become(5)____. This means there will more people, more waste and havier traffic. All these factors will lead to more pollution. On the other hand, (6)_____people believe that city dwellers will have a better life thanks to important achievement in technology and medicine. Modern(7)____and well-equipped hospitals in cities will provide better, quicker and more effective  treatment for people. How about environmental problems? Optmists also think that scientists will find ways to cut down the cost of(8)____energy sources and make them available to everybody. They hope that these energy sources will step by step replace(9)______fuels such as gas, coal and oil in the next twenty years. Then city dwellers will live in a cleaner and healthier(10)_____.

Question 1: