Government intelligence agencies have a plan to build computers that store information inside DNA and other organic molecules（分子）.

Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity（IARPA）announced plans to develop tabletop-sized machines that can store and retrieve（取回）data from large batches of polymers — a term that refers to a wide variety of long，string-like molecules. Polymers can store data in individual atoms or groups of atoms.

The project is an attempt to solve a basic problem of the modern era:the vast and growing costs of data storage. Datacenters around the world sucked up 416. 2 terawatt hours of electricity in 2016. That's about 3 percent of the global supply，and it accounts for 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

A 2016 paper found that DNA，in particular，could store computer information more densely，require less energy，and survive higher and lower temperatures than conventional hard drives. The authors of that paper reported on the successes of prototype（雏形）DNA computers that used the genetic molecules for both long-term storage and random access memory（RAM）.

But no one has yet figured out how to handle DNA data storage on large scales.

IARPA officials said the new effort, called Molecular Information Storage, will be broken up into three periods:a two-year program to figure out how to store data in DNA or other molecules at high speed,a two-year program to figure out how to retrieve that data at high speed, and a two-year effort to develop an operating system that can run on that DNA.

Many of the technologies IARPA wants to develop are untested at these scales, so it's unclear how far away that proposed tabletop device really is.

   Self-driving cars are so popular that the University of Michigan has even established a town called Mcity to allow car manufacturers to safely test their autonomous cars.

While Mcity can be used to simulate（模拟）many real-life road conditions，it can't help test gestures drivers use to communicate their intention（意图）to other drivers，pedestrians or cyclists. To find a solution，US car manufacturer Ford，with researchers from Virginia Tech，at the beginning considered using text as a way to communicate the car's intention，but decided it would probably not work universally. The option of using symbols was also rejected，because research shows that a majority of people do not have a good understanding of what they mean.

Finally, the researchers settled on light signals. A white light warned that there were no humans in the car. A slow blinking one indicated that the car was coming to a stop, while a rapidly flashing light cautioned passersby that the car was about to speed up.

Then came the big challenge—testing the signals on real roads. "We needed to try out this new lighting to communicate the intention of the vehicle, but if you've got a driver behind the seat, you still have natural communication between humans," said Andy Shaudt, who led the research team. "So we needed to make it look like a driverless car."

The team designed a car seat costume（戏装）that the driver would wear to cover his or her face and upper body. Of course，the drivers could see very clearly. The researchers then equipped the car with cameras to capture human reactions to a light bar，which flashed one of the three signals when appropriate. Six drivers，all keeping their hands low on the wheel so as not to be noticed，took turns to test driving the car through the busy streets.

The overall reaction to the flashing lights was very encouraging. Who knew costumes could be useful for more than Halloween？

   What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make _____, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly _____ all the time.

Let us take an obvious _____. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, man is about three inches taller. Five hundred years is a relatively short period of time, so we may _____ that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity (能力). As time goes on, _____, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and _____ we shall need larger ones! This is likely to _____ a physical change to the head, and in particular the forehead, which will grow larger.

Nowadays our eyes are in _____ use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become _____ and we have to wear a pair of glasses. But over a very long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.

On the other hand, we have a (n) ______ to make less use of our arms and legs. They, ______, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive ______ they are used a great deal in modern life.

Another we are ______ about is our hair. This will ______ from the body altogether in the course of time because it does not ______ a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald (秃顶的).

Perhaps all this gives the ______ that future man will not be a very ______ creature to look at! This may well he true. All the same, ______ all these changes, future man will still have a lot in ______ with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and ______ similar to our own.

   Perhaps you have heard a lot about the Internet, but what is it, do you know? The Internet is a network. It uses the telephone to join millions of computers together around the world.

Maybe that doesn’t sound very interesting. But when you’re connected (连接) to the Internet, there are a lot of things you can do. You can send e-mails to your friends, and they can get them in a few seconds. You can communicate with your friends through social software such as QQ, WeChat, and Facebook. You can also do with all kinds of information on the World Wide Web (WWW) .

There are many different types of computers now. They all can be linked to the Internet. Most of them are small machines sitting on people’s desks at home, but there are still many others in schools, offices or large companies. These computers are owned by people or companies, but no one really owns the Internet itself.

There are lots of places for you to surf the Internet. For example, your school may have the Internet. You can explore the Internet to search for useful information or knowledge in your classroom. However, in order to prevent yourself from playing with computer games, you should use it in limited time. Libraries often have computers joined to the Internet. You are welcome to use it at any time.

Thanks to the Internet, the world is becoming smaller and smaller. It is possible for you to work at home with a computer in front, receiving and sending the information you need. You can buy or sell whatever you want through the Internet. But do you know 98% of the information on the Internet is in English? So what will English be like tomorrow?