B2 Reading: The Future Is Arriving Early
Read the article about the future and fill in the gaps.
Not long ago, flying taxis, robot helpers and trips around the Moon sounded like scenes from a science fiction film. In 2026, all three are starting to become real.
In April, four astronauts flew around the Moon on NASA's Artemis II mission, the first people to travel there since 1972. At their furthest point, they were more than 400,000 kilometres from Earth, further than any humans had ever been. It was a huge , and NASA now plans to land astronauts on the Moon again in 2028, with a permanent base to follow.
Back on Earth, the daily could soon change too. In Dubai, a small electric aircraft that takes off straight up like a helicopter is preparing to one of the world's first air taxi services. Passengers will book a seat in an app, and a 45-minute drive will become a 12-minute flight. Meanwhile, cars with no driver at all are already carrying passengers in several American cities and are being tested on the streets of London.
The most personal change may happen at home. A Norwegian company has started making a robot that walks, opens the fridge and folds laundry. It costs $20,000, or about $500 a month, and the first 10,000 robots in five days. For now, it still needs help from a human operator for difficult jobs, but supporters believe that robots like this will become as as a family car.
Medicine is making as well. Doctors have kept a pig kidney working inside a human body for 271 days, and brain implants are allowing people who cannot move to control computers just by thinking.
Of course, not every new idea will become . Air taxis may stay too expensive for most people, and some experts think a robot in every home is . Which of these inventions will really change our lives, and which will be forgotten? Only .
In April, four astronauts flew around the Moon on NASA's Artemis II mission, the first people to travel there since 1972. At their furthest point, they were more than 400,000 kilometres from Earth, further than any humans had ever been. It was a huge , and NASA now plans to land astronauts on the Moon again in 2028, with a permanent base to follow.
Back on Earth, the daily could soon change too. In Dubai, a small electric aircraft that takes off straight up like a helicopter is preparing to one of the world's first air taxi services. Passengers will book a seat in an app, and a 45-minute drive will become a 12-minute flight. Meanwhile, cars with no driver at all are already carrying passengers in several American cities and are being tested on the streets of London.
The most personal change may happen at home. A Norwegian company has started making a robot that walks, opens the fridge and folds laundry. It costs $20,000, or about $500 a month, and the first 10,000 robots in five days. For now, it still needs help from a human operator for difficult jobs, but supporters believe that robots like this will become as as a family car.
Medicine is making as well. Doctors have kept a pig kidney working inside a human body for 271 days, and brain implants are allowing people who cannot move to control computers just by thinking.
Of course, not every new idea will become . Air taxis may stay too expensive for most people, and some experts think a robot in every home is . Which of these inventions will really change our lives, and which will be forgotten? Only .