Someday in the future we may not need to have money in our pockets. Is life easier when people don’t need to carry any currency at all? Is money heavy to carry? Is it safe to carry money? Maybe in the future each of us will have only one small plastic credit card (信用卡). We will use it to buy all the things we now buy with money. We will not need money to pay for things.

Of course we may still have some of the same problems with cards we now have with money. Sometimes we lose money. Maybe we will lose the cards. Maybe someone will take the card. Someone may even make a card that looks like our card. Since we can’t buy anything without our cards, the credit card may be no better than currency.

Is there something easier to use than credit card? Each of us has a thumbprint (拇指纹). No two thumbprints are the same. Maybe someday the government will keep people’s thumbprints with a number. When you want to buy something you will put your thumb on a machine or a computer. Each store or business will have one. Everyone’s thumbprint will be in the computers. It will be very difficult to lose our thumbprints! It will be difficult for someone to steal it or to make one like it.

At the moment, it may be difficult to imagine, but many people believe that, by the year 2100, we will live on the planet Mars. Our own planet, Earth, is becoming more and more crowded and polluted. Luckily, we can start again and build a better world on Mars.

Here is what life could be like.

First of all, transport (交通) should be much better. At present, our spaceships are too slow to carry large numbers of people to Mars—it takes a few months. However, by 2100, spaceships can travel at half the speed of light. It might take us two or three days to get to Mars!

Secondly, humans need food, water and air to live. Scientists should be able to develop plants that can be grown on Mars. These plants will produce the food and air that we need. However, can these plants produce water for us? There is no answer now.

There is a problem for us to live on Mars. Mars suck (吸引) us much less than Earth does. This will be dangerous because we could easily jump too high and fly slowly away into space. To prevent this, humans on Mars have to wear special shoes to make themselves heavier.

There will probably be no school on Mars. Every student will have a computer at home which is connected to the Internet. They can study, do their homework and take exams in online schools. Each student will also have his own online teacher called “e-teacher”.

Life on Mars will be better than that on Earth in many ways. People will have more space. Living in a large building with only 10 bedrooms is highly possible. Many people believe that robots will do most of our work, so we have more time for our hobbies.

However, in some ways, life on Mars may not be better than that on Earth today. Food will not be the same—meals will probably be in the form of pills (片状物) and will not be as delicious as they are today. Also, space travel will make many people feel ill. The spaceship will travel fast but the journey to Mars will probably be very uncomfortable.

Imagine-you are running to catch a train, only to find that you forgot to bring your ID card! There is no way you can get on the train without it. Don’t worry. In the near future, people will just need a digital ID on their smartphones.

On March 11, 2022, at a two sessions news conference（两会记者招待会）, Premier Li Keqiang said that the government would introduce a digital version（版本）of the national ID cards this year. One aim is to better meet the basic living needs of more than 100 million people who live away from their home provinces. These people have to go to school or work at different places rather than their homes. Sometimes to show that “I am who I am”, they have to run back and rush between provinces to provide ID. It is a waste of time, money and manpower, noted The Paper.

Digital ID cards can allow relevant（相关的）information to be gotten by a simple scan（扫描）with a smartphone, said Premier Li. The government would also provide convenience for people who do not use smartphones, especially the old. The safety and privacy（隐私）of people’s information would also be taken note of, said the Premier.

In fact, China’s Ministry of Public Security started a pilot trial（初步试验）of digital IDs in 2018. It allowed people in cities including Quzhou, Hangzhou and Fuzhou to apply for digital national IDs on Alipay, reported China National Radio. The digital ID could be used to open bank accounts（账户）, check into hotels and buy high-speed railway tickets, among other things.

China gave out its first ID card in 1984. The current ID card is the second-generation（代）version, with an embedded chip（内嵌芯片）and digital encryption（加密）. The ID number is made up of 18 numbers standing for the holder’s birthplace, birth date and gender（性别）.