1 . 2050 seems a long way away, but it is not impossible to predict the future though. With the speed we are moving now so many amazing things are going to happen in the future.    1    ? Let’s start our predictions.

◆The Internet will be free for everyone.

The Internet is really a key driver these days. But it is not free for everyone yet. There have already been attempts like Facebook’s Free Basics.    2    , there is a very strong possibility that the Internet will be free for everyone in the future.

◆    3    

With the increasing population, it is not very hard to predict that common methods of transportation will not be enough. There will be much heavier traffic on the road. So in this case personal airplanes will be a handy method of transportation for common people.

Of course, there will be proper air traffic control for these personal airplanes.

◆Most cancers will be treated successfully.

    4    . It will be a huge achievement in the history of medical science. Many studies are already showing a trend towards this.

◆Humans will live on other planets.

There will be great achievements in space research. In the year 2050, humans will be able to live on Mars. We will receive more intelligent signals from space.    5    .

2 . With the rapid development of science and technology, we don’t know how different our life will be in the future.     1    .

At first we think about human relationships. In the year 2050, we will use computers almost every day. We will be making new friends through the Internet — even our husbands or wives will be met in this way.     2    . On the other hand, our relationship with people won’t be as important as they are today — we will feel a little lonely.

Computers will also help us in many other activities in 2050. For example, they will be used by the children at school to make their learning easier. In addition, there will be much more other machines which will play a similar role as computers, like robots which will do the housework for us.

    3     . Traveling to other planets or to the moon will also be available for everyone. Means of transport will, of course, change, too. We will be using solar-powered cars, which will be much more environmentally friendly.

We could expect that the faster technological progress would lead to a more polluted environment. But it isn’t true.     4    . And, scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases, like cancer or AIDS. Therefore, our surroundings as well as health will be in a better condition.

Although we can’t predict the exact changes which will be made in the world, we often think about them. We worry about our and our children’s future; we have expectations, hopes as well as fears. But I think we should be rather confident about our future.     5    .

4 . Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it looks as though TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. Instead, people will choose a program from a “menu” and a computer will send the program directly to the television. Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away. By 2050, music, films, programmes, newspapers and books will come to us in this way.

In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages. Some futurologists predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.

In future, cars will run on new, clean fuels and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

Some big companies now prefer to robots that do not ask for pay rises, or go on strike, and work 24 hours a day. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere—in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people see and hear again. In the last few years, scientists have discovered how to control genes and have already produced clones of animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?

I visited my aunt in a countryside near the city last week. I was surprising to see that great changes had been taken place in the countryside. Take my aunt’s family for example. We supply preciously trees and flowers to the stores in the cities and have over ten workers working for themselves. Their family’s income reached as much 100,000 yuan last year. Not only did they have a house, a car and computers, they can also afford a trip abroad every year. When asking what else they needed most, they said that they wanted to learn a few English so that they could do business with foreigners directly. To their delighted, my cousin can use that he has learned from university to help them with overseas trade.