What will our future look like? People have always been wondering about this question. Go on reading this text and you will know what will happen in the next fifty years.

    How can we know what the future will look like? To be able to understand the future, you must know the past. What has taken us to where we are today and what has changed along the way? The world has changed a lot in the last 150 years, but we humans are driven by the same basic needs as we were 150 years ago. Will this change in the next 150 years? No.

    What inventions have really made a difference in the last 150 years? In the past years, the inventions that have affected most people around the world for everyday living are the telephone, electricity, radio, television, computer, the car and the ability to communicate through the Internet. Then we of course have a lot of inventions that have made life easier, like new medicine, faster transports etc. In general, human beings have been working hard in the last 150 years to make the inventions so that they will be able to get control of the time and the world. Since there is still much to do in this area, this will be the focus at least for the next 150 years.

    Why do we need to predict the future? Predicting the future is important for two reasons: first we need to start to think about what kind of what kind of future we would like for ourselves and to pass on to the next generation, and then we need to know what decisions we need to make today that will give the best result in the future.

    Honey from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees nest(巢）and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange unexpected helper—a little bird called a honey guide.

    The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax（蜂蜡） in the beehives (蜂房).

    The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees' nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them to the nest.

    When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get at the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey and the wax，always falls to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.

    Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.

    Do you remember those times when your mother told you to avoid talking to strangers? But now you're not a child any more. In fact, there are advantages of talking to strangers.

    1: You can meet a really great person.

    Talking to a stranger is a good habit because you never know whom you may meet. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} You can also meet someone who'll give you a chance to get your dream job.

    2: {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    You have some opinions about different subjects and you know your friends' and relatives' points of view about them too. But there are millions of other people who think differently and can give you unpredictable yet smart ideas that'll broaden your horizons.

    3: You can improve your social skills.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Asking appropriate questions and attentive listening are two skills that many of us don't have. You can better these skills when talking to a stranger.

    4: You will feel a boost of confidence.

    If you belong to that shy type of people, talking to a stranger may seem to be a real challenge for you. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}You can overcome your fear of being judged by others by talking to strangers and become more confident.

    5: You can cheer someone up.

    The thing you will definitely like about talking to strangers is that you can make someone's day better. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Compliment people and they will think something pleasant about you. Having a sweet short dialogue is one of those perfect chances to make people cheerful.

A. Smile and people will smile in return.

B. It can expand your world view.

C. Why not speak to someone until your turn comes?

D. I'm also extremely shy but I realize it's not an issue at all.

E. You can meet a person who'll become your best friend in future.

F. It may show you the solutions you didn't know about.

G. Whatever social skills you have, you can make them better when talking to strangers.

    The fiddler crab (蟹) is a living clock. It indicates the time of day by the colour of its skin, which is dark by day and pale by night. The crabs changing colour follows a regular twenty-four hour plan that exactly matches the daily rhythm (节奏) of the sun.

    Does the crab actually keep time, or does its skin simply answer to the sun's rays, changing colour according to the amount of light strikes it? To find out, biologists kept crabs in a dark room for two months. Even without daylight, the crab's skin colour continued to change exactly on time.

    This characteristic(特性) probably developed gradually in answer to the daily rising and setting of the sun, to help protect the crab from sunlight and enemies. After millions of years it has become completely regulated (受控制) inside the living body of the crab.

    The biologists noticed that once each day the colour of the fiddler crab is especially dark, and that each day this happens fifty minutes later than on the day before. From this they discovered that each crab follows not only the rhythm of the sun but also that of the tides (潮水). The crabs period of greatest darkening is exactly the time of low tide on the beach where it was cought!

    Next time your plane lands, listen to the sound of the tyres hitting the ground. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} The tyres of cars, motorbikes and trucks are also often made of the same stuff.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Workers cut the trunks of the trees and collect a white liquid called latex（乳胶）. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, huge numbers of rubber trees were planted in countries including Malaysia, Burma and Brazil. Nearly half the rubber which is produced each year is natural rubber and there is always a need for more.

    Rubber trees are not easy to grow. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Some trees survive while others die and it is all decided by their genes. British scientists have been working together to look at rubber trees. They have now discovered the "genome" (基因组) of the rubber tree. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} The genome contains all the information the plant or animal needs to grow. The genome for a plant such as a rubber tree is smaller than a human genome but it is still very long, which is why it has been so difficult to find. Scientists say the work has been like putting a picture puzzle together where all the pieces show blue sea and blue sky.

    Now scientists can use the rubber tree genome to produce stronger trees. By understanding the genome, they can change the DNA in rubber trees in useful ways. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Natural rubber comes from trees.

B. Regretfully, many forests are being severely destroyed.

C. This is the way genes fit together in very long chains of DNA

D. Stronger trees have played a more important role in producing tyres.

E. They are affected by changes in temperature, rainfalls, winds and diseases.

F. The reason why the tyres don't explode is that they are made of natural rubber.
G. In the future, it will be possible to grow trees which survive climate change and disease.

Specialties

Welcome to LoveMama! We are a NY-based Malay, Vietnamese and Thai influenced Southeast Asian Restaurant and Caterer providing you tasty dinner in our Manhattan dining area. We also provide takeout, and catering for individuals and groups or for private events.

History

Established in 2013. With humble beginnings as a food cart, the popularity of Love Mama's Malaysian street food boosted to opening a Manhattan restaurant in 2014.

Popular Items

The most commonly ordered items and dishes from this restaurant are as follows: Edamame Dumpling, Korean popcorn chicken, Lucky Noodle, Steak and Bread Pudding.

Reviews

I love this place. The food, customer service and prices were all great. We ordered the RotiCanai Planta, Rendang Nasilemak with chicken, Vegetable Salad Vietnamese Style, and Uncle Plump's Dumplings. The Rendano Nasi Lemak was the highlight of the meal.

My boyfriend forgot to tell them about allergies and told them halfway as they were preparing our order. They responded really well. In the end, we even got to have a nice conversation with the owner of the restaurant. Super great guy! We were pleasantly surprised with the low price at the end of the meal too. If you are in New York, you have to check out LoveMama. Best meal I have had in a while.

——Mary Brooklin

Stopped by here for Valentine's Day and we were not disappointed. We got 3 different dishes all from the Malaysian portion of the menu as none of us had ever had Malaysian food. While the service was not good, we didn't mind at all. For $20 each with tip and feeling full and happy, this is a spot I'd definitely recommend!

—Peter Anderson