What will our cities be like in 2050? How much will artificial intelligence advance? Some scientists     1     (make) different predictions recently.

Joel E.Cohen from the The Rockfeller University says    2     is likely that by 2050 the majority of the people in the world will live in urban areas, and will have a    3     (significant) higher average age than people today. Cities will be     4     only realistic solution to housing a population that will expand     5     9.7 billion by 2050.

And the technology is expected    6     (advance) rapidly. According to Bill Michell, the late director of MIT Media Lab’s Smart Cities research group, cities of the future won’t look like “some sort of science-fiction fantasy’’ or “Star Trek’’, but virtual (实质上) reality will change    7     we live. Self-driving cars will make the roads more secure, driving more efficient, and provide     8     (fast) transport.

Charles Ebinger at the Brookings Institution thinks that by 2050 we will also have a so-called “smart grid” where all of our    9     (appliance) are linked directly to energy distribution (分布) systems,     10     (allow) for real-time pricing based on supply and demand. Such a technology would greatly benefit most people and reduced the consumption (消耗) of fossil fuel energy.