【中文版】

期货是一种金融衍生品，它的交易对象是未来的商品或资产。期货合约是期货交易的基础，它是一种标准化的合约，规定了买卖双方在未来某一时间以特定价格交割一定数量的商品或资产。期货市场是进行期货交易的场所，可以是交易所或电子交易平台。

期货交易的目的是为了对冲风险或投机。对冲风险是指通过期货交易来抵消现货市场的风险，例如在现货市场买入股票，同时在期货市场卖出相应的股票期货合约，从而锁定未来的股票价格，避免价格波动带来的风险。而投机则是指投资者根据对市场走势的预测，通过买卖期货合约来赚取差价。

期货的特点是杠杆效应、高风险高收益、交易方便等。杠杆效应是指投资者只需要缴纳一定比例的保证金就可以进行交易，例如在股指期货中，投资者只需要缴纳10%的保证金就可以买入100万元的股票指数。高风险高收益是指期货市场的波动性较大，如果投资者预测错误，可能会损失全部本金甚至更多的资金。而交易方便则是指期货市场提供了便捷的交易方式，可以在任何时间、任何地点进行交易。

总的来说，期货是一种金融衍生品，它通过标准化的期货合约来交易未来的商品或资产。期货市场是进行对冲风险和投机的重要场所，具有杠杆效应、高风险高收益和交易方便等特点。

【英文版】

Futures are a type of financial derivative whose trading object is a commodity or asset in the future. Futures contract is the basis of futures trading, which is a standardized contract that stipulates the seller and buyer to deliver a certain amount of commodities or assets at a specific price at a certain time in the future. The futures market is a place for futures trading, which can be an exchange or electronic trading platform.

The purpose of futures trading is to hedge risk or speculate. Hedge risk refers to offsetting the risk in the spot market through futures trading, for example, buying stocks in the spot market and selling the corresponding stock futures contract in the futures market to lock in the future stock price and avoid price fluctuation risks. Speculation refers to investors predicting the market trend and making profits by buying and selling futures contracts.

Futures are characterized by leverage effect, high risk and high return, and convenient trading. Leverage effect refers to investors only needing to pay a certain percentage of margin to trade, for example, in stock index futures, investors only need to pay 10% margin to buy 1 million yuan of stock index. High risk and high return refer to the high volatility of the futures market, if investors predict incorrectly, they may lose all principal and even more funds. Convenient trading means that the futures market provides convenient trading methods and can be traded anytime and anywhere.

Overall, futures are a type of financial derivative that trades standardized futures contracts for future commodities or assets. The futures market is an important place for hedging risks and speculating, with leverage effect, high risk and high return, and convenient trading characteristics.