沪教版八年级英语下册Unit 8 Imagine that!单元同步测试卷

Can you imagine a circus（马戏团）without horses, elephants, monkeys, or lions? Recently, Circus Roncalli hit the headlines by1on shows without any animals. And the shows have attracted2 people.

Circus Roncalli is a German circus founded in 1976.3they fight against the abuse（虐待）that animals often face，they get a creative idea. One year ago, they 4hologram（全息图）animals.

Its shows still include tricks and actors,5none of the animals are real. The pictures

6 on a computer, and then people use a projector（投影仪）to show 7to the crowd. The animals are much like the animals that you usually see in a traditional circus.

8creative idea comes from increasing worldwide worries about the show animals.9, show animals live much of their lives under terrible conditions. They are trained violently and they 10follow what the trainers ask them to do, or they will be treated cruelly.

As a result, many people refuse 11 circus shows performed by animals. Now, 12 the modem technology of holograms, everyone can enjoy the exciting shows happily. Many people expressed 13 love of the technology. “Well, this is amazing!" someone said. "I even think the new Form of performances are14than the traditional one," another said.

It's a complete win-win situation: Visitors get to enjoy the sight of the animals, and the circus can live on，

15 ， The most important is that real animals can be left alone!

As time passed, Mr. Brown got tired of his own look. Last month, Mr. Brown went to a body modification shop and2 a small mouth. Small mouths were very3 among young people these days. After the operation, he looked at himself in the mirror and found that his short4 hair didn't match his new look. So he decided to change it to curly hair. When he was about to leave, the shop owner5 told him that the shop had a special discount on eyebrows. Finally, Mr. Brown left the shop with a small mouth, curly hair and new eyebrows.

In the following weeks, Mr. Brown's interest in his6 kept increasing. He bought new ears, new hands and new legs. After that, he looked much younger than his actual age and7 different from before. He felt very pleased with himself.8, the changes in his face and fingerprints brought him a lot of trouble. He was9 to enter places such as subway stations and airports. In the end, he made a decision to get his old body back! To his surprise, Mrs. Brown was not happy with his10 because she couldn't stand the smell of his old shoes.

In 2075, fifteen-year-old Alex lives in a floating (漂浮的) city on the ocean that runs on clean energy. Robots do most housework, but school is still full of learning. 

One sunny morning, Alex's teacher gives some special homework, "Design something that can make the world a better place." His classmates are quickly coming up with exciting ideas— flying gardens, river-cleaning drones (无人机) , and food printers (打印机). Alex, however, wants to make something small but meaningful. 

He imagines a "Smile drone". This small drone can cheer up lonely people by playing their favourite music, sharing a joke, or bringing them a small gift. It uses AI to learn what makes each person happy. He hopes it can bring warmth and joy to their busy and high-tech (高科技的) world. 

When Alex shares his idea, some classmates say that this is too simple. But the teacher smiles and says, "In a world of machines, the greatest invention (发明)  is one that cares for human hearts."

Months later, a technology company (公司) makes Alex's idea real. They send him a message, "Your kindness inspires us. Thank you."

That day, Alex understands— no matter how technology develops, love and care always matter most. Machines can build cities, but only people can build connections.

Have you heard of the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon)? It was held in Chengdu from October 18 to 22, 2023. Worldcon is the biggest sci-fi event in the world. It has been held since 1939. This was the first time the event had been held in China.

During the event, the winners of the year's Hugo Awards were announced (宣布). The awards are very famous in the science fiction world. They are voted on by members of Worldcon. Chinese sci-fi writers and artists enjoyed a big night on October 21.

The Space-Time Painter won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette. It was written by part-time writer Hai Ya. "I'm very lucky," he said. "It's like my dream shining into reality." He hopes that his works can make more people think about technology, time and art.

Besides that, Zhao Enzhe won the Best Professional Artist award. The artist has worked in the game industry for more than 20 years. He has been making covers for China's Science Fiction World magazine for a long time. The magazine is the best-selling one of its kind in the world.

In addition, China's Zero Gravity Newspaper won the Best Fanzine award. Four works by Chinese writers were shortlisted (入围) for the Best Short Story award.

Over the past years, a lot of Chinese science fiction works have been translated into many different languages. They have attracted (吸引) more and more readers around the world. The influence of Chinese science fiction keeps growing!

Have you ever dreamed about traveling through time to meet your future self? Thanks to creative AI, this dream is now a reality! Scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology Your Mum with home to (MIT) developed a system called Future You. To reduce（减少） worries and help make better decisions, the system lets people talk to their future selves.

According to studies, imagining your future self can greatly change long-term choices. You may realize how much money you need to save for the future. You may also change your attitude towards study at school. The system makes the simulation（模拟）so real that it shows clear details. It's better than just imagining the future without doing anything.

Here's how it works. First, users answer many questions about their lives now. They also share their important things and future plans. Then, Future You creates a digital version（电子版）of the user at age 60. This future self can answer questions about the coming future and give useful tips.

In a user study, after talking with Future You for about 30 minutes, people said they felt less worried and had a stronger sense of connection with their future selves. Pat, who finished further studies at MIT's Media Lab, said, "We don't have a real time machine, but this version helps people think about the results of their choices today. If you get advice from a future"you", it can be more helpful than receiving it from a regular AI." This meaningful experience can help people see themselves and the world differently.

Life in 20 Years

    Life will be much better in 20 years. Now let me imagine something about it.

    In 20 years, life will be different. (我们每天穿的衣服将会更多彩、更漂亮。) They will be lighter, warmer, and they don't need washing. (我们不需 要在家做饭。)We just need to make an order on the Internet and delicious food and drinks will be sent to us before dinner. (在......的帮助下)robots, we will be able to travel under the sea. There will be more funny places for people to relax. (学生们将不必在学校里学习) because they will study on computers at home. (对20年后的生活进行感叹) Don't you think so?

注意：（1）可在思维导图内容提示的基础上适当拓展信息；（2）词数80词左右（短文的开头已给出，不计入词数）；（3）不能透露学校、姓名等任何个人信息，否则不予评分。

Life in the future

With the rapid development of science and technology，life in the future will be better and better.