A
What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men
are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively a short period of time, so we may assume that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain's capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring about a physical change to the head, in particular, the forehead will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over a very long period of time it is likely that man's eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald (光秃的)．
Perhaps all these give the impression that in the future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being，with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.
语篇解读：本文对未来人会变成什么样子进行了分析和想象。
1．The passage mainly tells us that ________.
A．man's life will be different in the future
B．future man will look quite different from us
C．man is growing taller and uglier as time passes
D．man's organs' functions will be on the wane (衰退)
解析：选B 主旨大意题。由第一段可知本文主要介绍未来人类的外貌可能会出现的变化。C项只是其中的一个方面。
2．The change in man's size of forehead is probably because ________.
A．he/she makes use only 20% of the brain's capacity
B．his/her brain has grown larger over the past centuries
C．the other 80% of his/her brain will grow in due time
D．he/she will use his brain more and more as time goes on
解析：选D 细节理解题。由第二段最后两句说人类将更多地使用大脑，最终大脑变大，前额变大可知答案。
3．It is implied that ________.
A．human beings will become less attractive in the future
B．less use of a bodily organ may lead to its degeneration
C．human beings hope for a change in the future life
D．future life is always predictable
解析：选B 推理判断题。从人类身体变化可以看出，经常使用的，如大脑、手指将变得发达，而不常用的如头发、四肢会退化。
