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 8:

Choose the answer that is nearest in meaning to the printed before it.  'Sorry madam, looking after the garden is not my duty.'

A. He apologized for not looking after the garden

B. He promised to look after the garden

C. He said that he was not responsible for looking after the garden

D. He asked me if looking after the garden was his duty

Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase.

Silicon Valley is (1) _______ to hundreds of technology companies, so it comes as no surprise that San Jose has partnered with technological giant Intel to transform itself (2) _______ a smart city. San Jose and Intel will work (3) _______ to further the city's Green Vision initiative - a 15-year plan for economic growth, and improve (4) _______ which it launched in 2007. Intel expects to help San Jose create 25,000 clean-tech jobs, drive economic growth, and improve the city's environmental (5) _______. To achieve this (6) _______, Intel will work with the city to track real-time data on air quality, noise pollution, traffic flow, and other environmental and (7) _______concerns which it will then use to encourage (8) _______to reduce emissions by using public transportation or bicycles to get to work or school. Smart cities may sound like something of the distant future (9)_______ many people thought the same thing about smartphones and smart homes. Up to now, over 70 percent of American adults have owned a smartphone and 1.9 billion smart home devices have been installed.   If smart cities are (10) _______like these other smart innovations, we will see them appear in our communities sooner rather than later.

Question 9:

A. because

B. when

C. so

D. as

Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase.

Silicon Valley is (1) _______ to hundreds of technology companies, so it comes as no surprise that San Jose has partnered with technological giant Intel to transform itself (2) _______ a smart city. San Jose and Intel will work (3) _______ to further the city's Green Vision initiative - a 15-year plan for economic growth, and improve (4) _______ which it launched in 2007. Intel expects to help San Jose create 25,000 clean-tech jobs, drive economic growth, and improve the city's environmental (5) _______. To achieve this (6) _______, Intel will work with the city to track real-time data on air quality, noise pollution, traffic flow, and other environmental and (7) _______concerns which it will then use to encourage (8) _______to reduce emissions by using public transportation or bicycles to get to work or school. Smart cities may sound like something of the distant future (9)_______ many people thought the same thing about smartphones and smart homes. Up to now, over 70 percent of American adults have owned a smartphone and 1.9 billion smart home devices have been installed.   If smart cities are (10) _______like these other smart innovations, we will see them appear in our communities sooner rather than later.

Question 6:

A. score

B. goal

C. point

D. target