1 . We asked Professor John Williams, a futurologist, for his expert predictions on life in the next few decades.

“Unfortunately, it looks quite likely that the climate may ________significantly (显著地), with hotter summers, colder winters and more flooding. At the same time, fuel for heating or air conditioning will probably become much more expensive. For these reasons, our houses will certainly have to become much better ________. People are already building so-called ‘passive houses’, which have little or no central heating at all, ________ the body heat of the people who live there.

“Homes probably won’t be as big, and so we will need more adaptable (可改变的) furniture, such as sofa beds, and when we are not ________ our furniture we will be able to fold it away into wall cabinets (壁橱). Houses could have moveable walls so that the same space can be ________ in different ways.”

“New technology will make us more self-sufficient (自给自足的). Kitchens may have fish tanks which, as well as providing fish to eat, also ________ fresh vegetables. The plants will ________ oxygen for the fish. These tanks will be powered by household waste and create ________, which can then be used to run the family car—________ we might not all have cars!”

“Water will be more expensive and the home of the future will probably be designed to use much ________ water. Washing machines and dishwashers might use sound waves to shake ________ off. We may even take showers using sound waves. What water we do use will be recycled and used again round the house and private swimming pools will become a thing of the ________.”

“We will also ______ ) have more robots in our houses, though they won’t look like the ones in films. There will probably be small robots ________ to clean the fridge or open the curtains. ________ fridges will tell us when food is about to go out of date and even suggest recipes, and we will be able to communicate with our homes by mobile phone wherever we are.”

2 . When people talk about the future, we like to think that we will be able to drive out of our garages and take to the ________ in our own personal flying car. The advantages are obvious. Some people ________ this technology will allow complete three-dimensional freedom of movement. We could fly at 489 kilometres per hour, ________ traffic lights, busy roads and speeding tickets. However, some people point to the disadvantages of flying cars. They claim that there are certain to be problems with traffic ________. Another big problem is mechanical ________. What will happen if they break down? ________, if they become popular, there is likely to be another big problem: air traffic congestion. So it looks like flying cars face more than a few problems if they are to get off the ground!

Most of us have printed out an electronic document on paper, but think about the ________ of printing out a three-dimensional object in plastic. 3D printers build an object using layers line-by-line like a(n) ________ printer until the object is complete. Vehicle companies like BMW and Volkswagen already use 3D printers to make life-size models of car parts. At the moment the process is slow and quality is ________, but before long it might be possible to see a product on a website and then ________ it to your printer at home. In the future we could make our own furniture, jewellery, cups, plates, shoes and toys from designs on our computers, and reduce the amount of ________ we have to do.

Imagine having your own Ironman suit. There are several companies trying to build a practical robot ‘exoskeleton’. This is a suit of robot arms and legs which follows your ________. It will allow the wearer to lift heavy objects, walk long distances and even punch through walls! There are ________ military advantages for this technology and might help people to walk again after disease or injury. However, besides cost and battery life, another problem is that a badly ________ robot suit could injure the wearer because you wouldn’t want your robot leg or arm bending the ________ way.