Life in the future（Period 6 Language Focusing）
(3)to be determined, conditioned, or contingent 決定于; 被……決定、以……為條件或視……而定a grade depends on the results of the final exam.分級(jí)由期終考試的結(jié)果而定。(4)（常與on, upon連用）視情況而定that depends.視情形而定。it all depends on how you tackle the problem.那要看你如何應(yīng)付這問題而定。14.constantn.something that is unchanging or invariable.不變的事物; 持久不變或始終如一的事物。for example: breathing and eating are unallowable and undeniable constant in our life.15.previous adj.16.swift adj.17.lag v./n.走得慢, 落后, 滯后he is lagging behind a bit—i think we’d better wait for him to catch us up.他有點(diǎn)落后了——我想我們最好等他趕上來吧。as far as prison reform is concerned, we lagged behind a lot of other countries for years.就監(jiān)獄改革而言, 我們落后于許多其他國家很多年。there is often a lag between becoming affected by this illness and its first signs.受這種疾病的感染和出現(xiàn)癥狀之間經(jīng)常會(huì)間隔一段時(shí)間。the project is suffering from (a) severe time lag.這個(gè)項(xiàng)目耽誤了很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。background informationlife in the futurethroughout the world, computers will be used more and more in the future.they are already being used in agriculture and industry.for example, many farms now use computers to control the growing conditions of vegetables and other plants.in glasshouses, computers control the watering of the plants as well as the light and the temperature.it is possible to work out whether you will save or lose money by increasing the temperature by 1℃.in their personal lives people will also use computers more and more.instead of going to the bank, they will use a computer and a telephone to change money and to pay their electricity bills and so on.houses will be controlled by a central computer.lights will go off if no one is in the room.the idea that computers can recognize human voices surprises many people.you will be able to telephone home half an hour before returning and, by speaking into the telephone, you will be able to tell the computer to turn on the heating and the hot water.the computer will recognize your voice and carry out the instructions.the possibility that the majority of the labor force will work at home is often discussed.it will be much more convenient than spending a lot of time traveling to work every day.people will be able to use the videophone for conferences.they will be able to do drawings and send them by mail or by fax.computers will be used more and more in transport.railways in japan already use them to work out the best distance between trains.trains will be operated by computer and many of them will have no drivers.