全国I卷区（湖南、江西、安徽等地）2021届高三上学期1月优生联赛英语试题

Ray Kurzweil is an inventor and futurist with some interesting ideas on how humans will soon be able to live much longer than the average 78 years they do now. If Kurzweil is right, this is a question we'll have to ask ourselves in the near future.

The first challenge is how to stop our bodies from getting old and dying. Kurzweil doesn't see this as a problem. With gene technology we'll soon be able to "turn off" genes that cause ageing and disease. This technology is getting cheaper and advancing at an incredible rate. Kurzweil believes that from every year after 2023, we'll be adding more than a year to the average life expectancy. He also expects that within the next 20 years, we will have 'nanobots' in our blood. These tiny robots will automatically keep our bodies healthy and free from diseases by finding damaged cells and destroying them.

Of course, if we're all going to live longer, then there are going to be more of us on this already overcrowded Earth. Many people think there are likely to be problems with resources such as food and energy. Kurzweil doesn't agree. He says that the same technologies used to increase our life expectancy will also be used to help with food production and energy needs. For example, he says, sunlight can potentially give us 10,000 times more energy than we currently use. We just need to develop the technology to capture it and make it cheaper. There are also new technologies that can recycle water extremely cheaply. This means that dirty water can be made clean again at a very low cost. When you consider that 80% of disease in the developing world is because of dirty water, you can see how this technology might help change the world.

But what are we going to do with all this extra time? Won't we all get bored? Again Kurzweil says 'no'. For a start, we won't be stuck in old bodies. We'll stay young for years. This will mean we'll be able to experiment with many more things than we can now. We'll also see huge developments in virtual reality technology that will keep us entertained for years.

The future according to Ray Kurzweil looks good — and we might just be around to see it.

Don't you wish those long summer days could last forever? An island in northern Norway is campaigning to do just that.

Sommarøy — meaning "Summer Island" — wants to swap its watches for flower garlands and declare itself the world's first time-free zone.

On this island in West Tromsø, north of the Arctic Circle, the sun doesn't set from May 18 right through to July 26, a full 69 days.

The locals, having endured the long polar night from November to January, when the sun doesn't rise at all, make the most of these precious months, with no regard to conventional timekeeping.

"There's constantly daylight, and we act accordingly," says islander Kjell Ove Hveding in a statement. "In the middle of the night, which city folk might call '2 a.m.', you can spot children playing soccer, people painting their houses or mowing their lawns, and teens going for a swim. "

Now they want to make it official. Islanders gathered at a town hall meeting to sign a petition for a time-free zone and on June 13, Hveding met with a Norwegian member of parliament to hand over the locals' signatures and to discuss the practical and legal challenges of the initiative.

"To many of us, getting this in writing would simply mean formalizing something we have been practicing for generations," he says.

Islanders hope to be free of traditional opening hours and to introduce flexibility in school and working hours. Fishing and tourism are the main industries on this island with a population of little more than 300 people.

Hveding says local fishermen and women often spend days on the ocean pursuing their catch, with little regard to timetable.

It's clear they mean business. When visitors cross the bridge to the island from the mainland, they aren't greeted with padlocks (symbolizing love locks) like on similar bridges worldwide. The bridge is covered with watches, as people prepare for entry to the land time forgot.

Will the islanders succeed in their efforts? It's already paying off in a publicity boost, which could well be the primary aim of the campaign.

China now ranks first in four major areas of scientific research in terms of academic activity and influence — one than last year, according to the report “Research Fronts 2020”.

The report is published by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institutes of Science and Development and US-based Clarivate Analytics.

The 2020 report  (identify) 148 frontier research topics, including 110 prominent and 38 emerging subjects,  are divided into 11 broad research categories, clinical medicine to social sciences.

The list is compiled by analyzing data of highly  (influence) and often-cited papers published from 2014 to 2019.

This year, China leads the world in four major research categories: agricultural, plant and animal sciences; chemistry and materials science; mathematics and information science.

China also ranks second in ecology and environmental sciences; physics; social sciences including (economic) and psychology.

, China is notably behind other scientific powerhouses in clinical medicine and astronomy and astrophysics,  (rank) at 12th and 8th, respectively.

In terms of overall national performance in these research fronts, the US  (top) the world for the fourth straight year, followed by China, the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

Of the top five countries, China is the only one that is making(notice) progress in catching up with the leader, the report shows.

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1）每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2）只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。

Last Sunday, I visited my grandparents in the country. They live on a big farm, where there are lots of animals, fruit trees and freshly vegetables. When I was staying at there, the apples in their orchard was in season, and we went picking. Some of the neighbour also came. They helped us picked the apples, which was so much fun. Then in the end of the day, my grandma cooked a big meal, we sat around, eating and talking. Towards evening, I became a bit boring because they didn't have a TV set. And I really miss my friends of the city. I think the country is certain good for a visit, but it is too quiet for me!

内容包括：1）取得的成绩； 2）成功脱贫的原因。

注意:

1）词数100左右；

2）短文题目和首句已为你写好。

A Miracle in China

China, as a responsible major country, has been steadily marching towards its goal of ending extreme poverty.