What Will Life in the Future Be like?

周旋

What will we be able to do 10， 20 or 30 years later？ Will it be much better than it is now？Lets just close our eyes and think！

Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering will help us create the perfect human. Babies will grow up to do slam dunks like Yao Ming. Also， we will be able to mix① plants and animals！ But do you want your dog to be a tree？

The Dead

In the future， we will be able to bring the dead back to life. Then each family can meet and talk with its dead family members. It will be like living with ghosts.

On television people will see Albert Einstein， Marilyn Monroe， Confucius， Elvis Presley， and Shakespeare talking with each other！

Long-Iiving People

Over the next 20 to 50 years， it will become harder to tell the difference between human and machine. All body parts will be replaceable. We will then be able to make fake② people.

We will make a copy of ourselves， so we will appear to be alive long after we are dead. A few decades later， people will find ways to transfer③ their spirit④ to the new body.

Nanobots⑤

We will be able to build nanobots to travel through our body. Also， nanobots will be used when we are sick.

For example， when we have a stomachache， we will swallow a very small robot and it will travel through our stomach， taking video of whats happening there. Then we can show the video to help the doctor diagnose⑥ our problem.

Computers

Computers help us remember， calculate， and enjoy ourselves. In the future， computers will be able to show their feelings. They will be able to think better than the human mind.

After television became popular， many people soon became couch potatoes. It is not surprising that many people have become overweight; and things will get worse in the future！

We will be more and more interested in computers and the Internet， spending more and more time in front of computers and forget what our real needs are. Many of us will become super couch potatoes and weight 250kg！

Notes： ① mix v. 雜交 ② fake adj. 假的 ③ transfer v. 转移 ④ spirit n. 精神 ⑤ nanobot n. 纳米机器人 ⑥ diagnose v. 诊断

【难句解析】

1. Will it be much better than it is now？

释义：它将比现在好得多吗？

点拨：much， far， by far， still， even， no， any， a lot， a little， a bit等经常用来修饰形容词或副词的比较级形式，以示加强语气。例如：

She drives still more carefully than her husband. 她开车比她丈夫更认真。

2. In the future， we will be able to bring the dead back to life.

释义：在未来，我们将能够把死去的人复活。

点拨：the与形容词连用，表示一类具有某种特征或特性的人时，通常表示复数意义。若用作主语，谓语要用复数。例如：

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. 富者愈富，贫者愈贫。

The injured were carried away on stretchers. 用担架把受伤的人抬走了。

3. It is not surprising that many people have become overweight.

释义：许多人超重并不令人奇怪。

点拨：在此句中，it作形式主语，that many people have become overweight作真正的主语，还可以用不定式作真正的主语。例如：

It takes a lot of effort to recover the system. 恢复系统不是一件容易的事情。

4. ...forget what our real needs are.

释义：……忘记我们真正的需求是什么。

点拨：在此句中，what引导宾语从句作forget的宾语。在宾语从句中，our real needs作主语，are是系动词，what作表语。what引导名词性从句时，在从句中作主语、宾语或表语。例如：

People are waiting to see what he will do. 人们正等着看他将做什么。（what作宾语）

I. Choose the right answer.

1. Which of the following dream can Genetic Engineering make come true？

A. Plants can be mixed with animals.            B. The dead can come back to life.

C. All body parts will be replaceable.            D. Computers can think.

2. People in the future will live longer because of the following reasons EXCEPT ____.

A. we can replace our broken parts by good ones

B. we can make a copy of ourselves

C. we can create perfect human

D. we can find ways to transfer our spirit

3. “Couch potatoes” refer to ____.

A. special potatoes

B. people who like eating potatoes

C. people who like sitting in couch

D. people who spend much time watching TV

4. What cause（s） peoples overweight in the future？

A. Genetic Engineering.        B. Nanobots.          C. Computers.        D. Potatoes.

II. Fill in the blanks.

1. This dictionary is even ____ ____ ____ （更有用） that one.

2. ____ ____ （老年人） are more likely to catch cold than the young.

3. Growing pains are necessary for us to ____ ____ （成長）.

4. ____ ____ （例如）， London is the United Kingdoms capital.

5. ____ ____ ____ ____ （它是重要的） treat people with respect and understanding.

6. I dont remember ____ ____ ____ （他所说的）.