What would the world be like if cars could drive themselves? Imagine seeing an empty car passing by on its way to pick up its owner, or a car full of passengers who are reading, listening to music or even sleeping, but none of them are worried about the road ahead.

Well, all of this could be the future of driving. There are several companies, including Google, working on driverless (无人驾驶的) cars, which are currently in the testing stages. If the tests are successful, these electric, self-driven cars could be available very soon. But, how is it possible for a car to drive itself?

    Cars already have many features allowing them to take over for drivers in certain situations. Some features include cars being able to park themselves, or slow down when they detect objects (物体) close by. They can also control the speed if there are dangerous conditions, such as snow or slippery (滑的) roads.

    Other features have also changed the way drivers react to some situations. Scientists and engineers believe, with the help of wireless signals, cameras and GPS, we are now at a stage where creatinga safe self-driving car might be possible.

    The self-driven car may be the answer to lowering the number of deadly (致命的) accidents caused by careless drivers or dangerous conditions. However, there are still some people who do not like the idea. American lawyer Whit Drake, for example, doesn't believe these cars are safe. He thinks the possibility of the technology making a mistake will be too high.

    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.

    Is human blood all the same? "Sure," you may say. "It's all red." Well, it's not as simple as you might know. Blood is made up of different pans, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets (血小板). Two chemical molecules (分子) on the red blood cells make people's blood different. Scientists mark one molecule "A" and the other molecule "B".

    According to which and how many molecules are on the red blood cell, scientists divide blood into four types: A, B, AB and O. Your blood type will stay the same through your whole life. Scientists have been wondering if there are some links between people's blood type and their personalities (个性), but they don't know for sure. Some say that people with the same blood type may have things in common.

    What's your blood type? Does your friend have the same blood type as you? Read the following.

    People with type A: They look peaceful from the outside. But they ask so much of themselves that they may be very agitated inside. They become happy or sad easily. Sometimes they are shy but always very careful. They can easily win people's trust.

    People with type B: They have strong minds. Once they begin a task and make up their minds to do it, they will not give up easily. They'll try their best to finish it and do it well. They always try to make themselves different from others. They want to do things in their own way.

    People with type AB: Maybe they are the strangest among all blood types. They can be both open and shy, noisy and quiet at the same time! They are responsible and always ready to help others.

    People with type O: They're open and good at making friends. They always begin tasks but don't always finish them in the end. They have lots of new ideas and love to be the centre of attention. They always strongly believe in themselves.

    Skin-diving (自由潜水) is a new sport today. This sport takes you into a wonderful new world. It is like a visit to the moon! When you are under water, it is easy for you to climb big rocks because you are no longer heavy. Here, under water, everything is blue and green. During the day, there is enough light. When fish swim nearby (附近), you can catch them with your hands. When you have a tank (罐) of air on your back, you can stay in deep water for a long time. But you must be careful. To catch the fish is one of the most interesting parts of this sport. On the other hand, you can clean the ships without taking them out of the water. You can get many things from the deep sea. Now you can see that skin-diving is both useful and interesting.

    "Mirror (镜子) mirror on the wall, what film is on in the cinema?"

Now with this kind of new mirror, you can brush your teeth and read news at the same time in your bathroom. Now not many people have this kind of mirror, but it will be popular very soon.

    The mirror works with new software(软件). You can use it to get news. You can also make your time table on it. It can also tell you what to wear because it knows the weather. The mirror is very clever. You can write notes on it for family members.

    There's another kind of new mirror, too. It can get much information from the user's clothes. It tells the users what clothes make him or her look good. Going shopping or eating out? Wait a minute! The mirror can give you some coupons(优惠券), too.

    The world uses about a thousand million (百万) tons of water a day. Water is a human right and everyone should have their share. Yet more than 700 million people around the world have trouble getting clean, safe water.

    Treating wastewater is a good way to provide fresh water for us. And it also helps the environment by keeping waste out of rivers and oceans. 80% of wastewater around the world is not treated at all, and it is running into oceans. But now we have got the technology to treat and reuse the wastewater.

    While 75% of our planet is covered with water, only about 2% is fresh water—that comes from rivers, lakes, ice and snow. The rest, 98% of the water, is in seas and oceans. It is too salty to drink. Then desalination businesses come in. More than 19,000 factories have been built around the world, mostly in coastal countries. They process (加工) more than 92 million tons of water every day. But the technology they use requires a lot of energy.

    Scientists are working to create a less costly technology. They want to produce 20 times more clean water and make sure everyone has enough. But for now, the world still faces each day with not having enough water for everyone.