What will our world be like in 2020 We aren't quite sure, but it's interesting to make some predictions.

    Languages

    English should still be the most popular language, but Chinese should be the second. Now, many foreign people are studying Chinese as their second language.

    Water

    Water will become as expensive as oil because many rivers will disappear. We will have to save water and pay more for clean water.

     Education

     More students will study online. Students from all over the world may study together on the Internet.

C

    Google and Toyota have worked together to create a new smart car. It can run on the road without a driver. It drives itself. The self-driving car hasn't been on sale to the public, so we don't know how much it costs. Another thing most people want to know is whether it will be safe enough to run on the road.

The self-driving car uses electricity (电) as its power, and it can't drive very quickly—the top speed would be 25 miles per hour. It is actually controlled by a computer system on the car. The system keeps on collecting information by some video cameras inside the car and a LIDAR sensor(激光达传器) on top of it. A computer processes the information and decides what to do. "The self'-driving car has only buttons (按钮) for go and stop, so it's very easy to use," an engineer of Google says. "And what's more, it will make car accidents fewer and make the world a safer place." The self-driving car has driven hundreds of thousands of miles in California, and it has only gotten into two accidents by human mistake.

    According to CNN, self-driving cars will also help to reduce the number of cars in big cities. "Self'-driving cars would be able to send you to the workplace and then pick up another person instead of stopping in a parking lot."

The Vine That Ate the South

    Kudzu is a fast-growing vine (蔓生植物) that covers a large area in the southern United States. It is so common that one might think it is a native plant, but it is not. Kudzu was brought to the United States from Japan in 1876. Many Americans thought it was beautiful, and they began to plant it. They didn't know it could grow up to a foot a day during the summer months. Nor did they know it would grow up and over anything in its path (路径).

    In Japan, kudzu experienced cold winters and a short growing season. But in the United States, it has a very long growing season with warm and wet southern weather. It is fine weather for the vine to grow fast.

    In the 1920s, people used the vine to feed farm animals. Ten years later, the government supported to plant kudzu because it kept soil (土壤) from washing away. However, by the 1950s, the government no longer wanted people to plant the vine. Twenty years after that, the government said it was a harmful plant.

    The vine grows up trees and buildings, making some beautiful shapes. However, trees die after kudzu covers them because they cannot get enough light. Scientists are looking for ways to kill the vine. They used poisons (毒药)to kill the vine. However, some of the poisons made it grow even better. Scientists also find it difficult to dig up Kudzu. The plant is really tough.

    Because kudzu is so hard to kill, some people are making the best of it. So they try to find different uses for the vine. They find the vine can be used to make paper and baskets, it can be used to feed the goats, and it can even be eaten by people. Scientists are studying it in the hope that the vine can be used as a medicine. At the very least, kudzu serves as an example of the unexpected results that can come from non-native plants.

    A long time ago, people thought that the Sun went round the Earth. In some countries people even said that the Sun was a god (神). They thought the god drove across the sky each day on a golden horse. Now we know the Earth goes round the Sun. It takes the Earth a year to go all way round the Sun. Today men even know how far it is for the Earth to go round the Sun. They tell us that the Earth travels over a thousand miles a minute on its journey round the Sun.

    The Sun is really a star. It is much bigger than the Earth and it is very hot. Some people have been to the Moon but we know that no one can ever go to the Sun. It is far too hot for people to live anywhere near it. The Sun is about three hundred thousand times heavier than the Earth and more than a million times larger.

Car pool(拼车)

    "Beep, beep," goes the car horn(喇叭).You've got dressed，but you've not had time to eat breakfast. You run out of the front door with your schoolbag, and jump into the waiting car. Inside, your Friends say "hey" as one of their parents drives you to school. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} 

    Car pools are a common way of transportation for many students in the US. You, along with many of your friends, can sit in one car.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} And your parents may take turns to drive you all to school {#blank#}3{#/blank#}  If you're late, you can eat that breakfast you don't have time for at home. If you're behind on your homework. this is your last chance to finish it before class. Some simply add to their sleep time before classes begin.

    Besides walking or cycling to class, car pools are green if you can't take the school bus. Instead of four cars taking four students to school each day, they can all squeeze (挤) into one. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

More importantly, car pooling teaches students valuable life lessons not taught in class. It can teach students about being on time. It can also teach them the bad influence of being late. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}