荷兰上世纪50年代因为发现沿海地区蕴藏巨量天然气而迅速成为以出口天然气为主的国家。伴随巨大财富而来的,是创新动力的逐步萎缩、其他工业部门的衰落,以及国际竞争力的降低。到上世纪80年代初,荷兰终于经历了一场前所未有的经济危机。发展经济学把这种因自然资源的丰富反而拖累经济发展的经济现象,称为“荷兰病”。

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    Many scientists think that life may be very different by 2050.

    First of all, TV might not be used by 2050. People will choose music, films, programs and newspapers on the computer. And they can smell(闻) and touch things on the Internet. That sounds really interesting.

    Water pollution(污染) will become the most serious problem by 2050. Human beings will need more water than today. There will be less fresh water on the earth.

    Cars will not only run on the land but also fly in the air by 2050. That can help to alleviate the heavy traffic. There won't be any accidents, because computers will control the traffic. What's more, the speed of the plane will be much faster. It'll take only 2 hours for people to fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo.

    Robots will become very popular by 2050, because they don't ask for money and can work 24 hours a day. We'll see robots everywhere — factories, schools, hospitals, shops and homes.

    By 2050, medicine will be improved a lot. Cancer and AIDs won't be serious diseases.