Life in the 2050s will be different from it is now, because many changes will take place. What will the changes be?

The population     1     (grow) fast now. There will be too many people     2     (live) in the world by 2050. Some people will go to the moon and other planets. They can travel to Mars and back     3     just three days.

Computers will be much smaller and     4     (use) more widely, and there will be at least one in every home. And computer study will be one of the popular     5     (subject) in schools. People will work fewer hours than we do now     6     they will have more free time for sports, TV and traveling. Traveling will be much cheaper and     7     (easy). And many people will go to other countries for holiday.

There will be changes in our food, too. Because more and more people know the     8     (important) of healthy diet. Maybe no one will eat meat. They will eat more vegetables and fruit. So people will be healthier.

Work in the future will be different, too.     9     (danger) and hard work will be done by robots. We will have robots to help clean, cook and do our home shopping, because of     10     many people won’t have enough work to do. This will be a problem.

Have you ever imagined    1     (live) in 2120, 100 years from now? Latest research describes robots, underwater cities and holidays in space. City planners and experts on space and architecture    2     (ask) to give their opinions on life in 2120. According to them, the way people live, work and play will be totally different     3     how we do these things today. They also said that over twenty years ago, people couldn’t imagine how the Internet     4    the smartphone would change our lives. But today, both have changed the way we communicate, learn and do daily things, and the changes in the next century will probably be even     5    (great).

Those     6     (question) in the research said that people may not go to the office in the future but will work at home instead. People will have advanced 3D printers which will let     7    download a design for furniture or a food recipe and then “print” the sofa, table or pizza at home.     8     will also be less need for visits to the doctor. People will have a home health capsule that will “diagnose” what the problem is and provide    9    (treat). They will also be going into space for holidays, and     10    (hopeful), to get resources that have been used up on earth.

The past thirty years     1    (see) the rapid growth of the Internet. Compared to the 1980s, there are now many more computers     2    (connect) to the Internet.

People hold different views about the future of cyberspace. Some pessimistic experts have a lot of worries, one of     3     is crime in cyberspace. In the future, terrorists may attack the world’s computers, thus causing chaos for     4    (we) human beings.

Many other people, on     5     other hand, are full of optimism about the future of the Internet. “In the future,” says Angela Rossetto of Cyberia magazine, “it is clear that we are going to see a huge development in shopping on the Internet. We will have     6    (entertain) from the Net and televisions will probably     7    (appear).”

Some experts say virtual reality, the use of computers with sounds and pictures that makes us feel as if we are     8     a real situation, will become a part of future life. “    9    (person), I believe we will work in virtual offices, shop in virtual supermarkets,     10     even study in virtual schools,” says Australian expert Peter Anderson.

In the near future, we will be living in smart homes, which will ensure our     1     (secure), save us energy and provide a more comfortable environment to live in. 

In the smart homes,     2     (use) advanced technology daily for automatic control of everything will be common. Our future home will use integrated sensors to tell when we leave home and then go into an energy⁃efficient mode all by     3     (it). We don’t have to think about turning     4     (switch) on and off ourselves. Our future home will prepare everything for us when we get home every evening. It is also amazing that all controls will respond     5     voice commands. 

Smart homes can help monitor our health. They will give us suggestions on a healthier diet and how     6     (sleep) better. They can also warn us early on if we have a critical illness and     7     (potential) save our lives. In addition, they can help to prevent serious damage from accidents. For instance, if a water pipe     8     (start) leaking, our smart home will detect it. 

This smart technology isn’t     9     daydream or fantasy any longer. Many new innovations have become a reality. Nevertheless, it will take a few years     10     most new homes start to use this new technology.

Science fiction     1    (regard) by many people as a mirror through which our future can be     2    (free) imagined and explored. The Three-Body Problem     3    (write) by Chinese writer Liu Cixin is one of those astonishing     4    (predict) about the future. The work was first published in a Chinese sci-fi magazine in 2006 and printed as a three-volume book in 2008. When the first volume was translated into English by Chinese-American author Ken Liu, it attracted attention around the world,     5    (become) the first Asian winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel. The book     6    (represent) many themes such as space exploration, alien contact, AI, and the future of humans.

The Three-Body Problem begins with the stories of two unrelated people, Ye Wenjie and Wang Miao. Ye is recruited to join     7     secret project in a remote area of China,     8     has been set up to contact alien life forms. In the other story, set 20 years later, Wang Miao gets caught up in a popular online game called “Three Body”, in which people live on an unknown planet     9     three suns. But Wang discovers it is more than a game — it uncovers a great danger threatening human existence. How are these two people’s stories connected? And how will their behaviour change Earth’s future and the civilisations of other planets? Answers to all these questions are waiting to     10    (discover) when you go on reading.

Everyone     1     (complain) about being stuck in traffic. It is quite possible that the future city will have no traffic at all. H.G Wells, in his book The Sleeper Awakes, tells something about the traffic. In the streets of that future London there will be no vehicles. The city     2     (provide) with moving roads. One side of the road travels     3     one direction; the other side moves the opposite way. Anyone who wants to go to another part of the city steps on     4     moving “way” and sits on one of the seats until he arrives. He has none of the troubles,     5     a private car brings with it: whether there is enough petrol, whether the tires are all right, where to park it. The moving way is always at his service, always moving     6     (silent) along, always ready     7     (take) him to his destination. That city of the future has no traffic jams.

To link up the     8     (vary) cities, vehicles driven by atomic power will pass along highways     9     (divide) into two main groups of lanes. Each group will consist of several lanes, some for slow traffic, some for fast. Crossroads will not exist on these highways, but will be replaced by bridges and junctions (交叉口). Where these highways enter     10     (city), ports and other built-up areas, they will pass through underground tunnels.

In the near future, we will be living in smart homes,     1     will provide us with a more comfortable environment. For example, AI controls will respond     2     voice commands, so you just say what you want and the home system     3    (obey). This smart technology is not a fantasy. Nevertheless, it will take some years before most new homes begin to use it.

In the not too distant future, we will control just about everything     1    (automatic) in our smart homes. Your lights will come on     2    (instant) you enter the door along with your favourite music or TV programmes. These smart homes will provide us with a sense of     3    (secure) and provide a more comfortable environment to live in. They can warn you early on if there is something abnormal or if you have a critical illness and potentially save your life. This smart technology is not a fantasy and many innovations will be available.