Hannah Jones looks into① the future.
I love talking about the future—and I am not the only one. Over the centuries, people have always wondered about the future. Some like to read fantasy stories and imagine what the world will be like in 10, 50 or even 1，000 years’ time②.Others write about the future themselves. In the 18th and 19th centuries, especially the latter③， the most common theme in science fiction novels was the future. Some authors even predicted things that have since happened④， for example, landing on the moon! But for some people, thinking about the future⑤ is not just for fun. They plan the future of the world for a living. These people are called futurologists⑥.
This weekend, hundreds of futurologists are meeting at Newcastle University. The seminar⑦ starts on Friday and the experts will be discussing⑧the endless possibilities of the future. The future is now big business and many people will attend the seminar with dreams of starting new enterprises⑨based on the predictions they will hear this weekend⑩.I clicked?into the websites of a few futurologists and here’s what they’re predicting?：
①look into窥视；调查
②此处what引导宾语从句。
③latter ['læt?] n．后者
former n．前者
④此处that引导定语从句，修饰things。
⑤此处是动名词作主语。
⑥futurologist [?fju?t??'r?l?d??st] n．未来学家
⑦seminar ['sem?nɑ?] n．研讨会
⑧will be discussing是将来进行时，表示在将来某个时间正在进行的动作。
⑨enterprise ['ent?pra?z] n．事业；企业
⑩此处是过去分词短语作后置定语，修饰enterprises；they will hear this weekend是定语从句，修饰the predictions。
?click [kl?k] vi.点击
?此处的what引导表语从句。
