A. A large (1) … of science fiction novels are published every year and (2) … have been innumerable films set in the future. Those that take (3) … on imaginary planets are pure fantasy and have (4) … to do with what (5) … likely to happen on the Earth, but some deserve to be taken seriously. The curious thing about these (6) … serious books or films, is that (7) … any of them are optimistic. In (8) … cases, they suggest that a hundred years from now the Earth (9) … have been destroyed by war or the machines people (10) … invented will have proved (11) … dangerous for them to control; in others, the earth will be invaded (12) … beings from outer space, which, with a (13) … exceptions, are superhuman monsters. One of the (14) … was Stephen Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in (15) … a benevolent species from another planet communicated with human beings to promote peace.
Of course writers and film directors (16) … really believe that our future will be depressing but there is a simpler reason (17) … their pessimism. It is (18) … easier to interest people (19) … an adventure story if there is conflict and people must overcome difficulties. If the future were one of universal harmony and good will, there (20) … be nothing exciting to write about.
B. Around the world, governments and their citizens are becoming increasingly worried (1) … the motor car and what it does to the air we breathe. In many European cities pollution levels already exceed recommended limits. It is difficult to calculate the number of people (2) … suffer health problems as a (3) … of diesel fumes. However, recent studies suggest that health risks may be (4) … serious than previously thought. Numerous proposals have been put (5) … to help solve this problem. One of these is the electric car. Many environmentalists argue that the car industry should (6) … made to produce (7) … cars. However, there are some disadvantages. For (8) …, you have to recharge the car’s battery (9) … 100 miles. In (10) …, the car is only truly environmentally friendly if the power (11) … used to charge the battery is “clean”. For example, if the power was originally generated (12) … a power station using coal, oil or gas it has already polluted the atmosphere.
