Have you ever seen a car without a driver? It sounds crazy, but these computer-driven driverless cars will soon be filling roads near you. Companies like Google and Tesla have been designing and testing these cars, and the technology is there.

    So how? The cars have sensors（感应器）all around which can find other cars and objects in the road. Road signs are read by cameras, and satellite navigation systems（卫星导航系统）are used so the car knows how to get where you want to go. All you have to do is type in the address! Finally, a central computer system takes in all the information that it receives from the sensors and cameras and works out when to speed up, stop and turn.

    Sound like your idea of heaven（天堂）? Sitting back, looking out of the windows and even watching a film or reading a book while ‘driving' would be possible with this new technology. You wouldn't have to worry about remembering directions to where you're going. In addition, computers would also drive more safely than people — they would obey the rules and have quicker action times when in dangerous situations.

However, there are many drawbacks of driverless cars. Computers would have difficulties making ethical（道德的）decisions: if a child ran into the road, would the computer choose to hit the child or turn suddenly and potentially kill the car's passengers? Moreover, I personally find driving fun –I'd miss never driving a car myself. There would also be many other decisions to be made –should children, or drunk people, be allowed in a driverless car by themselves? Or would there need to be a person with a driving license in the car at all times?

    I'm not certain I'd want a driverless car – but it's only a matter of time before they'll become more affordable and popular on our roads.

C

    In the future, your automobile will run on water instead of gas! You will be able to buy a supercomputer that fits in your pocket! You might even drive a flying car!

    For each prediction(预言) that has come true today, several others have missed by a mile. Many of these predictions didn't consider how people want to use the technology, or if people really needed it in their lives or not. Let's look at some predictions from the not-too-distant past.

    Robot helpers

    Where's the robot in my kitchen? Nowhere, of course. And he's probably not coming any time soon. Robots do exist today, but mostly in factories and other manufacturing environments.

    Back in the 1950s, however, people said that by now personal robots would be in most people's homes.

    So why it hasn't happened? Probably because robots are still too expensive and clumsy. And maybe the idea of robots cooking our dinners and washing our clothes is just too weird. At home we seem to be doing fine without them.

    Telephones of tomorrow

    In 1964, an American company introduced the video telephone. They said by the year 2000 most people would have a video phone in their homes. But of course the idea hasn't caught on yet.

    Why? The technology worked fine, but it overlooked something obvious: People desire for privacy. Would you want to have a video phone conversation with someone after you just stepped out of the shower?

    Probably not—it could be embarrassing! Just because a technology available(可利用的) doesn't always mean people will want to use it.

    Flying cars

    And finally, how about that crazy prediction of the flying car? It's not so crazy any more! But a flying car remains one of the most fascinating technology ideas to capture our imagination. Keep watching the news or perhaps the sky outside your window to see what the future will bring.

 Falling on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, the Torch(火把) Festival is an important and traditional event for the Yi ethnic group(彝族) in Southwest China. Cheering, singing and dancing, local Yi people and the tourists usually have fun around the fire during the three- day celebration.

 The Yi ethnic group started the festival because of their natural respect of fire. The carly Yi people lived in high and cold areas in the mountains. For them, fire was an important way to light, warm, and cook. There was an old tradition— before bringing meat home, people must light a small fire outside the door and put the meat over the fire. They believed it could drive away filth(污秽). That's why they had a popular saying," Everything you eat must‘see' fire." In farming, fire was used to light leaves on the ground to make the land rich.

 Nowadays, the Yi people still celebrate the festival and it has become a social event. Every year, several thousand Chinese and foreign visitors come and join the local Yi people. In the daytime, they drink and take part in different kinds of activities, like horse racing, bullfighting and so on. When the night falls, everyone holds a torch walks around their houses and fields. Then, they put the torches together to make a big bonfire. Around the bonfires young men and women sing and dance happily.

 For thousands of years, the Yi's torch is passed from age to age. Through the festival, the Yi people not only share their joy and thanks for their good life, but also get more people to understand their traditions.

 Food safety is important, and it doesn't end at our door. The fridge may be a perfect choice for keeping food safe and fresh, but it is not a magic box to keep all kinds of food. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

 The temperature in the fresh-keeping area can be different from shelf to shelf(搁板). The higher the shelf is, the higher the temperature will be. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If you store it on the right shelf, you can get the best out of your food. Try to put ready-to-eat food like burgers, pizza or cream cakes on top shelves. The middle shelves are for cheese, yogurt and eggs. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} They can be used to store raw(生的) meat and seafood. Some fridges have a freezer for keeping these things, so use it if you have one.

 The fridge can stop the bacteria(细菌) from growing fast. Bacteria can grow quickly in temperatures between 5℃ and60℃. If you want to get the most out of your food, the temperature in your fridge needs to be between 0℃ and 5℃. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

 Fruit and vegetables can also be stored at room temperature. Try to keep them in a cool, dry and dark place, away from direct sunlight. Once they are cut, they should be put in the fridge.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} Hope you can follow them to live a healthy life.