2020年高考英语外刊时事命题阅读理解：人工智能让家居生活更加轻松 .pdfVIP

Stress-free with 5G 人工智能让家居生活更加轻松 After a long and busy day at school or work, all we want to do is return to a clean and comfortable home. Smart technology can turn any home into a nicer place to live. You can now turn your thermostat ( 恒温器 ) up, lock your doors and play your music with a simple voice command. In fact, smart homes have actually been around for some time. Scottish company Pico Electronics invented a communication protocol ( 协议 ) called X10 back in 1975. With radio waves, this protocol allowed users to communicate with various devices (设备 ) in their homes, such as lights and alarms, according to AVSytemsMag, a magazine dedicated to the AV and automation (自动化) industry. Of course, 4G –and now 5G –wireless technology makes smart homes much more sophisticated (复杂的 ) and powerful than X10 devices. Perhaps the most widespread smart home technology is the voice-activated (声控的 ) assistant. Google Home and Amazon ’s Alexa allow users to interact (互动 ) with nearly any device in their homes simply by speaking a few words. This is especially convenient for children and people with physical disabilities, as they can accomplish tasks that would normally be too complicated or difficult, according to How- To Geek magazine. Common household appliances can become “smart ” as well. For example, a smart trash bin can monitor the things you ’ve thrown away and place an online order for replacement items, while smart refrigerators can create dinner recipes based on the ingredients that were kept inside, according to HowStuffWorks website. 5G-powered sensors (传感器 ) and cameras can monitor almost every aspect of household life. The appeal of all of this convenience has paid off for realtors ( 房地产经纪人 ), who are seeing sales of smart homes skyrocket (猛增 ). You can ask Dave Garland, a realtor with Second Century Ventures. There“ ’s a new narrative (表述 ) when it comes to