英語沙龍十年合集珍藏版第三輯The Time of Smart Homes Is Coming

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The Time of Smart Homes Is Coming

The year is ２００５．Imagine this scenario：B．J．Rogers is woken up in the morning as usual by his computer which has been preprogrammed¹⁾．In front of him is a to－do list supplied by the computer emphasizing the important events for the day．In response to Rogers’ request，the nearest video display is filled with a list of possible dishes．Rogers notices that all dishes are meatless．At this time，Rex，the computer，might respond to his inquiry about ingredients²⁾ by checking the home inventory³⁾ and ordering as needed．Rex is then required to order the dishes electronically and ask the retailer⁴⁾ to hold them for pickup．

By ２００５，high－speed data communications links will connect you，your computer，the supermarket，and the rest of the country．

As Rogers eats breakfast，Rex prompts him again to respond to Lucy’s request．Before Rogers finishes his next bite，Lucy’s computer receives the message．Then Rogers goes to the supermarket．The store’s system identifies his car as he drives to the pickup area and greets him by name．“Good morning，Mr．Rogers，your order is in Bin ４．Thank you for shopping．”When Rogers removes his order from Bin４，all monetary⁵⁾ transactions⁶⁾are completed automatically over the information superhighway．That is，funds are electronically transferred from his account to a bank account．Soon after arriving at the office，Rogers reads another message from Lucy telling him that she will go to dinner with him．

Much of this futuristic story is within the grasp of today’s technology．Even today，millions of people carry computers with them much of the day．Many of these people routinely use speech recognition technology to communicate．Electronic smart homes are now deemed an economically sound investment．Few will argue that we are rapidly approaching the age of automation，an era when computers participate in or help us with all we do．

智能家居的時代正在到來

這一年是２００５年。想像一下這種情景：B．J．羅杰斯早上像往常一樣被他那預(yù)編好程序的計算機喚醒。在他面前出現(xiàn)的是一份計算機提供的一日所有要做的重要事務(wù)清單。按羅杰斯的要求，離他最近的顯示器列出了備選菜單。羅杰斯注意到所有的菜肴都是無肉的。這時，電腦雷克斯或許通過檢查家中存貨和所需的訂單的方式向主人報告他所想了解的各菜的成分。然后雷克斯受命通過電子方式將菜預(yù)定，并請零售商把菜留下待取。

到２００５年，高速數(shù)據(jù)通訊將把你、你的電腦、超市和全國各地連為一體。

當羅杰斯吃早飯的時候，雷克斯再一次催促他給露西回話。羅杰斯還沒有咽完下一口飯，他的信息已經(jīng)傳到了露西的計算機中。然后羅杰斯前往超市。當他開車來到提取處時，超市的系統(tǒng)識別出了他的汽車，并向他問候道：“早晨好，羅杰斯先生，您的訂貨在４號箱中。謝謝您的惠顧。”羅杰斯從４號箱中提走他的訂貨。這功夫，貨幣交易已全部自動通過信息高速公路處理完畢。換句話說，資金已從他的賬戶中轉(zhuǎn)到了另一銀行的賬戶上。到達辦公室后不久，羅杰斯又收到了露西發(fā)來的另一條信息，告訴他今天她將和他共進晚餐。

上面這個未來故事中的許多方面已經(jīng)能夠用今日的技術(shù)實現(xiàn)了。即使是現(xiàn)在，已有數(shù)百萬的人整天都與電腦形影相隨了。其中很多人每日通過聲音識別系統(tǒng)進行交流。電子智能家居注定要成為一項經(jīng)濟合理的投資。幾乎沒有人會反對這種說法，即我們正向自動化時代迅速邁進，這是一個計算機全方位參與或者協(xié)助人類的時代。

NOTE 注釋：

preprogrammed [pri5prEu^rAmd] adj. 預(yù)編程序的

ingredient [in5^ri:diEnt] n. 成分, 因素

inventory [5invEntri] n. 詳細目錄, 存貨, 財產(chǎn)清冊

retailer [ri:5teilE] n. 零售商人

monetary [5mQnitEri] adj. 貨幣的, 金錢的

transaction [trAn5zAkFEn] n. 交易