#178. What changes the 21st century will bring?
Technology is being developed at an unprecedented speed. The 21st century is bound to be very different from the previous one, as we can expect that the speed at which new technologies are invented and expanded upon will continue to increase. I believe that the major changes that we will see in the century will be found in environmental issues, health issues and knowledge access.
The situation of the environment in today's society is precarious at best. The world is continuing to build new and more wasteful production plants, filling the atmosphere with poisonous gases. There are many environmental scientists working to create new ways of cleaning our air. I believe that these technologies will apex in the 21st century, thus solving the world's pollution problem. In addition to this, I also believe that we will come up with new, less dangerous methods of producing the goods we have come to depend on.
Many new diseases have been discovered in the last fifty years. AIDS and SARS are excellent examples of this terrible fact, and alone, these two viruses have killed a large number of people. Cancer and heart disease have also become much more widespread in the last hundred years, shortening the lifespan of millions of people. Doctors are working all over the world in hopes of eradicating these diseases. Every day they come one step closer to finding cures to all of the above-mentioned ailments, and many others.
Moreover, our ability to access knowledge will become much more advanced in this century. More and more countries are getting"plugged in" to the Internet, and are adding their information to the vast collection of knowledge already found on this medium. The sharing of knowledge will also help to increase literacy around the world. People will be more interested in having this skill if it means they can have better, more efficient means of communicating.
In conclusion, I am very optimistic about the changes that will come during this century. Environmental issues will cease to be a problem, people will be able to live longer, richer lives with the eradication of diseases, and more people will be able to share knowledge due to the advancement of the Internet. Everyone has good reason to be excited in this fast-paced, evolving time.
178. 21世纪会带来什么变化？
科技正以前所未有的速度发展着。二十一世纪必定与上一个世纪有很大的不同，因此我们可以期待新技术的开发和传播速度会继续加快。我认为这个世纪主要的变化会集中在环境问题、健康问题和对知识的获取上。
在今天的社会，环境的状况正处于最不稳定的时期。全世界正不断建造更多的产生废物的工厂，它们向大气中排放有毒气体。许多环境科学家正在努力研究新途径以净化我们的空气。我相信这些科技会成为二十一世纪的先锋，并因此解决全世界的环境污染问题。除此之外，我也相信我们会寻找到新的、危害性更小的方法来生产我们赖以生存的产品。
在过去的五十年中出现了许多种新的疾病。艾滋病和非典型性肺炎就是两个能反映这种不良情况的极好例子，而且仅仅是这两种病毒就已经造成了很多人的死亡。在过去的百余年中，癌症和心脏疾病也变得越来越普遍，它们缩短了数百万人的寿命。为了铲除这些疾病，世界各地的医生都在为之努力。每一天，他们都在寻求治疗以上提到的以及许多其他疾病的征途上一步一步地前进。
更重要的是，在这个世纪我们获取知识的途径将变得更加先进。越来越多的国家都将自己“连接”到了互联网上，并在这个已经拥有巨大知识信息储存的媒介中添加自己的信息。知识的共享将有助于在世界范围内提高人们的文化素养。只要这种技能可以提供更完善、更有效率的沟通，人们便会更有兴趣掌握它。
总得来说，我对这个世纪中即将到来的变化持非常乐观的态度。环境问题将不再成为一个问题，人们会因为疾病的消灭而活得更长久更富足，更多人会因为互联网的进步而能够共享知识。每个人都有美好的理由为高速前进的时代感到欣喜。
- unprecedented ［ʌnˈpresiˌdəntid］ adj. 前所未有的
- lifespan ［ˈlaifspæn］ n. 寿命
- eradicate ［iˈrædiˌkeit］ v. 根除
- be bound to 必然要
- ailment ［ˈeilmənt］ n. 疾病
- expand ［ikˈspænd］ v. 扩张
- advanced ［ædˈvænst］ adj. 高级的
- precarious ［priˈkεəriəs］ adj. 不稳定的
- plug in 插入
- apex ［ˈeipeks］ n. 顶点
- literacy ［ˈlitərəsi］ n. 文化教养，识字
- AIDS ［eidz］ n. 艾滋病
- medium ［ˈmi:diəm］ n. 媒介
- SARS ［sa:s］ n. 非典型性肺炎
- optimistic ［ˌa:ptəˈmistik］ adj. 乐观的
- widespread ［ˈwaidˈspred］ adj. 普遍的