Life in the year 2050 will be 1 from today. Between then and now many changes will take place. But what 2 the changes be?

    The population(人口)is growing fast. There will be 3 people in the world and most of them will live 4 than people live now.

    Computers will be much 5 and more useful, and there will be at least one in every home. And computer studies will be one of the most important subjects in 6 then.

    People will work 7 hours than they do now and they will have more free time for sports, 8 TV and traveling.9will be 10 cheaper and easier. And more people will go to other countries on 11.

    12 will be changes in our food, too. More land will 13 for building new towns and houses. Then there will be less land for keeping cows and sheep, so meat will be more expensive. Maybe no one will eat it every day. Instead they will eat more fruit and vegetables. Maybe people will be healthier.

    Work in the future will be different, too. Dangerous and hard work will be done 14 robots. Because of this, many people will not have enough work to do. This will be a 15.

    Have you ever watched the dragon dance? How much do you know about the dragon dance? Today we will say something about it.

    Dragon are a (n) 1 of China and the dragon dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture. In the dance, a team of people 2 the dragon and perform wonderful dances. 3 the lion dance, this traditional dance has spread all over China and to the whole world.

    Traditionally, dragons are made of wood, bamboo and a special kind of cloth. So they are always quite4However, in modern times, dragons are much lighter5 they are made of much lighter materials. A dragon can be of different lengths. It can be from 25 to 35 metres long for quite large parades because people 6 that the longer the dragon is, the more luck it will bring. A small group cannot control a very long dragon because it7great strength and special skills.

    The dragon dance itself 8 during the Han Dynasty and it was started by the Chinese who had great respect for the dragon. The dragon dance was already a popular event by the Song Dynasty. At that time, people could 9see it during important festivals. In the Qing Dynasty, the Dragon Dance Team of Fuzhou was invited to give a 10 in Beijing.  And the emperor spoke highly of it!

    Coffee has long been one of the most popular 1 in the world. In 9^th century Arabia, it was first recorded 2 people drank coffee. Planting of coffee first 3 in Yemen, in the Middle East, in the 15^th century, and it 4 to take coffee plants out of the country. However, plants were eventually smuggled to India and 5 there to Europe. The first coffeehouse in London 6 in the 1680s, and soon they were hundreds all over the city. Coffeehouses were known as 'penny universities'7 you could buy a cup of coffee for only a penny and learn more at the coffeehouse than in class!

    In 1690, the Dutch introduced coffee farming to their colonies in Indonesia. Coffee 8 South America several decades later, when the French brought a coffee plant to the island of Martinique. When a rare plant disease destroyed the coffee plantations of Southeast Asia 9 the mid-19^th century, Brazil emerged as the world's 10 coffee producer, which it 11 is today. The first automatic coffee 12 machine was produced in France in 1822 and instant coffee was first marketed in 1909.

    To give you 13 idea of the popularity of coffee, Starbuck Coffee opened its first store in 1971 and today has over 5,000 locations in more than 20 countries. Why is coffee so popular? People believe that coffee gives you energy so it14 you concentrate on work. It also tastes15, and everyone has his or her favourite type of coffee: cappuccino, espresso, iced, mocha.

    Look at the foods around you. From grapes and wainuts (核桃)to cucumbers and spinach(菠菜), they make our diets special. But did you know that none of the foods above are native to China？They came to China through the Silk Road hundreds of years ago. Are there any foods that are native to China？Of course there are. Rice, soy beans, chestnuts (栗子), Chinese cabbage and hawthorns(山植)were all grown in China first.

    Where are these foods from？