in the future 特指在将来,在未来的某一特定时间段；
in future指从现在往后,也就是今后,从今往后.
例：
The boy wants to become a philosopher in the future.
这个男孩想在将来成为一名哲学家.
"I hope they'll be more cautious in future," he observed.
他说："我希望他们今后能更慎重一些."
选择题：
We're hoping to move to Scotland in _____ near future.
A.a B.the C./ D.one
答案及解析：
选B.near在此处不是副词,是形容词来修饰future,意思是在不远的将来.加不加the跟有没有near没关系,要跟整个句子所要表达的意思相对应.
句子意思是：我们希望将来搬到苏格兰.不能翻译成：我们希望今后搬到苏格兰.