Transportation

　　Will we float over highways or drive on the road surface as we do now? Will the cost of a gallon of fuel still be our concern? What will our vehicles look like? Will the profile of our automobiles look like the shape of space age aircraft? Will the notion of using paint to protect the car’s exterior be obsolete? Perhaps the coating on the car will give a durable shine and we will never to wax or polish it. What kind of battery will we use to power our car? Will we still have a mechanic repair our car at a service garage or will robots that are computerized(用计算机处理) do it? Will the motor be powered by a new kind of petroleum product or by hydrogen? Will the cars still be equipped with horns as a warning signal or will a new device be available? Will there be a gauge(测量仪表) to warn us if our speed is too fast or will radar be used to guide the car so that driver error is no longer a concern?

　　Electronics

　　Will we be able to play any musical instrument such as a guitar easily with a process the machine teaches us? Will other media, such as movies, be interactive? Will we have access to optical discs that can be played by laser? Digital images will more closely imitate reality. They will be so realistic that it will be virtually impossible to tell them from the real thing. Our enjoyment of watching a video will be enhanced by the quality of the images. Will we have equipment capable of manipulating ideas, eliminating the need for journalists to write and edit the news? Will computer software be available to modify what we type so that our errors are corrected automatically? Will computer hardware include massive amounts of memory that will allow us to file an enormous amount of material?

　　Will we be in the habit of carrying a small device with us that can be used as a cell phone, a fax, a microphone and an internet connection?

　　Summary

　　Look at the world around you and consider some of the concepts discussed in this document. Careful observation will lead you to the conclusion that many of these things have already happened. I urge you to reread each paragraph of this article to see if perhaps they are all things that are available somewhere in the world currently. If that is the case, then you will agree that the future is now!

[交通]

　　我们会漂浮在公路上，还是像现在一样在路面上驾驶?燃油的价格还是我们所要关心的吗?我们的交通工具会是什么样?我们汽车的外形看起来像太空时代的飞行器吗?使用油漆保护车子外表的观点会过时吗?也许，车的涂层会保持持久的光泽，永远不需要为车上蜡或进行擦拭。我们会使用什么样的电池作为汽车的动力?我们会在维修车库请机械师修理汽车，还是让电脑控制的机器人来做?发动机是用一种新的石油产品还是用氢气来驱动?汽车仍然配备喇叭作为警告信号还是使用一种新的装置?如果车速太快，会有一种装置警示我们，还是使用雷达引导汽车使得驾驶失误不再是一个问题?

　　[电子器件]

　　我们可能借用机器教学程序使学习吉他等乐器更为容易吗?其他媒体，比如电影，可以是互动的吗?我们可以拥有由激光播放的光盘吗?数字影像会更真实地模拟现实。事实上，他们是如此逼真，你不可能将他们从真实的东西中区分出来。图像质量高会增加我们观看视频的乐趣。我们会有能够处理思想而不再需要记者去编写新闻的设备吗?电脑软件能够对我们的输入进行优化从而自动改正我们的错误吗?电脑硬件是否会有更大的存储量，使我们能处理非常多的资料?

　　我们会习惯于随身携带一件小装置，能够用作移动电话、传真、麦克风和上网吗?

　　[总结]

　　看看你周围的世界，考虑一下本文中讨论的某些概念。仔细观察，你就会得出结论，上述的很多理想已经实现了。我劝你把本文中的每一段再读一遍，看看是否都能在世界上的某个地方遇到。如果事实的确如此，那么你就会同意未来就是现在!