2021年無人車能成為現實嗎？還有什么技術奇跡或科技突破在這一年等著我們呢？

Ride-hailing startup Lyft announced recently that it's making its own self-driving car technology—a move that could help it meet an audacious goal of having autonomous vehicles chauffeur most of its passengers around by 2021.
叫車服務初創公司“來福車”日前宣布開發自動駕駛技術，該公司計劃到2021年左右實現由無人車搭載大部分乘客，而開發自動駕駛技術有助于實現這一雄心壯志。

It sounds a bit far-fetched, considering that autonomous cars are still largely in the testing stages, but Lyft is just one of many companies saying that 2021 will be the year that these vehicles finally get out on the roads en masse.
由于無人車現在很大程度上仍處于測試階段，所以聽起來有點不太靠譜。但已有多家企業表示2021年無人車將大規模駛上道路，而來福車只是其中一家。

So, sure, it could happen. And going along with that positive line of thinking—assuming that we will, in fact, have self-driving cars in 2021—we wondered what other technological marvels and milestones await us in that magical year.
因此，這一切當然有可能發生。如果順著這種樂觀的思路繼續下去，假設2021年無人車成為現實，那么還有什么技術奇跡或科技突破在這神奇的一年等著我們呢？

The answer was surprising. According to an array of predictions from tech companies and market researchers, plenty of changes are coming.
答案讓人大吃一驚。根據科技公司和市場研究人員進行的一系列預測，眾多變革即將到來。

Electric cars
電動汽車

When it comes to driving, 2021 won't just be about fancy robot cars; it's expected to be a year in which we'll have more electric vehicles, too. A report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecasts that electric vehicles will make up a little less than 4% of all car sales in the US and 5% of all car sales in Europe that year, up from 1% and 2%, respectively, this year.
談到駕駛，2021年不僅只是高級無人車的一年，到時電動車也有望更加普及。彭博新能源財經的一份報告預測，2021年電動汽車的銷量將占美國汽車總銷量的近4%，在歐洲的占比將達到5%，和今年相比分別上升1%和2%。

Virtual reality
虛擬現實

Though virtual reality's first year with some powerful consumer headsets on the market, 2016, wasn't exactly a blockbuster, the technology is expected to be on a lot more faces come 2021. IDC forecasts that shipments of virtual and augmented reality headsets will rise to about 92 million in 2021, which would be close to 10 times as many as shipped out last year.
功能強大的虛擬現實頭盔在2016年首次面世后并沒有風靡。不過，預計2021年使用這項技術的用戶將大幅增加。據國際數據公司預測，2021年虛擬現實和增強現實頭盔的出貨量將上升到9200萬左右，這將是去年出貨量的10倍。

Male birth control
男性節育

We raise an eyebrow for this one more than most, but we'll just have to wait and see: a company called Contraline is reportedly working to bring to market a form of reversible male birth control that doesn't require surgery.
男性節育比大多數事情更讓人們感到意外，但是我們只需要等待觀望：據報道，一家名為Contraline的公司正在努力將一種無需手術即可進行的可逆式男性節育方式推向市場。

Contraline claims it has come up with a “polymer hydrogel” that is implanted in the vas deferens—in just a few minutes with the help of an ultrasound—and is meant to block the passage of sperm for years. In April Contraline announced that it had raised $2.2 million toward its goal and that it aimed to have a product on the market in 2021.
Contraline稱，他們研發出一種植入到輸精管的“高分子水凝膠”，它可以將精子運輸的通道堵塞數年，只需要利用超聲波花幾分鐘即可完成。今年4月，Contraline宣布打算在2021年銷售這款產品，并為實現目標籌資220萬美元。

Getting online
上網

In 2021, many more of us will be able to weigh in on these amazing new technologies (whether or not they actually came to fruition).
2021年，更多人將可以對以上神奇的新技術發表評論了（不管它們是否真的實現了）。

Networking-equipment maker Cisco forecasts in its Visual Networking Index that the number of people using the Internet will climb from 3.3 billion today to 4.6 billion within four years. That would be more than half the world's population, using the United Nations' estimate of 7.8 billion by 2021.
網絡設備制造商思科公司的視覺網絡指數預測，4年內互聯網用戶將從現在的33億人攀升至46億人。聯合國預估2021年全球人口為78億，基于這一數字，屆時互聯網用戶將占世界人口的一半以上。

Cheap solar power
廉價太陽能

Clean energy has been getting cheaper for a while now, and in the not-so-distant future of 2021, it is expected to finally become cheaper to use renewable power sources like solar and wind rather than coal in a number of key countries.
現在，清潔能源的價格已經越來越便宜，而在不久之后的2021年，在一些主要國家，太陽能和風能等可再生能源的價格有望低于煤炭。

While solar power—which is pricier than the other big renewable source, wind—is already comparable price-wise to coal in countries such as the US, Italy, and Germany, a recent report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that by 2021, solar power will be cheaper than coal in China, India, Mexico, Brazil, and the UK.
太陽能比風能等其他大型可再生能源要昂貴，雖然在美國、意大利、德國等國家，太陽能的價格已經比煤礦更合理，但彭博新能源財經近日的一份報告預測，到2021年，中國、印度、墨西哥、巴西和英國的太陽能將比煤礦更便宜。

Lab-grown chicken
實驗室培養雞肉

Chicken grown in a laboratory, rather than on a farm, sounds far out, but it may be here in a few years.
雞肉在實驗室培育出來，這聽起來遙遠，但是幾年后可能就成為現實了。

And since it doesn't involve killing any fowl, it may lead to chicken nuggets that even the staunchest animal lover will nibble on.
這樣的養殖方式不會殺死任何家禽，生產出的雞塊連最堅定的動物愛好者可能也會食用。

That's the hope of a company called Memphis Meats, which is planning to sell its lab-raised, animal-free chicken by 2021 - an achievement it's already on the way to meeting since it says it has grown pieces of chicken and duck sans animals in its lab.
這一想法來自孟菲斯肉品公司，該公司正在計劃于2021年前銷售實驗室培養的“無雞雞肉”，孟菲斯肉品公司已經快要實現這一目標，他們稱已經在實驗室里培育出沒有長成家禽的雞肉塊和鴨肉塊。

英文來源：商業內幕網
翻譯&編輯：董靜
審校：丹妮