随身英语 Talking to technology 能与你聊天的“虚拟助手”
近来,一种能和人交谈的新技术变得越来越受欢迎。这种被称为“虚拟助手”的产品可以在我们的手机、电脑甚至是智能扬声器上找的到。它们可以给我们提供有用、琐碎的信息,但这些能和我们聊天的“助手”会取代并成为和我们日夜促膝长谈的挚友吗?本集《随身英语》讨论虚拟助手技术给我们日常生活带来的变化。
Vocabulary: technology 词汇: 技术
It's good to have friends that we can talk to and share our thoughts and opinions with. More importantly, they're people we can ask for help or advice. But recently it seems, many of us are developing a new relationship with a mystery person that we'll never meet!
I'm talking about virtual assistants or bots. These are pieces of software that we can talk to and it can talk back to us. Examples include Apple’s Siri, Google’s Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana. It might be on your phone or computer or even a smart speaker in your home. They are changing the way we interact with technology - instead of typing on a computer keyboard or tapping on a tablet, we can now speak and a voice will answer.
The people behind these voices are called conversation designers. Tom Hewitson is one of them. He told the BBC "this is kind of changing [computers] into like an agent. They’re an active participant in the interaction and in guiding you to make the right decision." So he's saying this cutting-edge technology has the ability to think for itself and make its own decisions.
It is a scary thought that this virtual voice can think for you – will it stop us using our own brains and will we lose the ability to write things down or type? They are certainly clever, helping you to book train tickets, give you the latest weather news or even tell you a joke. But are they really your new best friend?
One thing we can't do yet is to make chit-chat or small talk with it. We have to alter the way we speak. As Tom Hewitson says "We will develop our own kind of vernacular for speaking with machines that will be subtly different from how we speak to other people… It can be much more brusque and to the point."
But there's no doubt this technology will soon be commonplace in our lives. This year Google Duplex was revealed, described by the company as artificial intelligence "for accomplishing real-world tasks over the phone". It's a type of chatbot that will allow you to, for example, chat to your hairdresser about when they can fit you in for a cut. Other companies are working on similar things. But before they perfect this new technology, don't forget who your real friends are!
词汇表 virtual assistant 虚拟助手
bot(能自动执行搜索任务的)网上机器人程序
software 软件
smart speaker 智能扬声器
interact 交流,互动
conversation designer 对话设计师
agent (=something that causes change) 作用剂,动因
cutting-edge 最新的,尖端的
think for itself 独立思考
chit-chat 聊天,闲谈
small talk 闲聊
vernacular 方言,白话
brusque 无礼的,唐突的
commonplace 司空见惯的事情
artificial intelligence (AI) 人工智能
real-world task 现实生活中的真实任务
chatbot 聊天机器人
测验与练习 1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. How do you communicate with a virtual assistant?
2. Give an example of something, mentioned in this article, that this new technology can do for you.
3. True or false: We can talk to virtual assistants the same way we talk to our friends.
4. Why does the author fear that we may eventually stop using our brains?
5. Which verb used in the text means 'make something completely free from faults'?
2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。
1. It's hard to ______ with the teacher because I have to sit at the back of the class.
inactive interact interacted interacting
2. Making contactless payments used to be quite unusual but now it's ______.
real-world agent commonplace cutting-edge
3. The train information screens are not working today because there is a problem with the ______.
software artificial intelligence agent chatbot
4. This new driverless car really demonstrates ______ technology.
edge-cutting cutting-edges cut-edges cutting-edge
5. The local ______ was very different from what I had learnt at school so I couldn't understand what people were saying.
vernacular chatbot brusque chit-chat
答案
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. How do you communicate with a virtual assistant?
You talk to it / you use your voice.
2. Give an example of something, mentioned in this article, that this new technology can do for you.
They can book train tickets, give you the latest weather news or even tell you a joke.
3. True or false: We can talk to virtual assistants the same way we talk to our friends.
False. Tom Hewitson, conversation designer, was quoted as saying "We will develop our own kind of vernacular for speaking with machines that will be subtly different from how we speak to other people.
4. Why does the author fear that we may eventually stop using our brains?
Because the new virtual assistants are able to think for themselves and make decisions.
5. Which verb used in the text means 'make something completely free from faults'?
The word is 'perfect'. "Other companies are working on similar things but before they perfect this new technology, don't forget who your real friends are!"
2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。
1. It's hard to interact with the teacher because I have to sit at the back of the class.
2. Making contactless payments used to be quite unusual but now it's commonplace.
3. The train information screens are not working today because there is a problem with the software.
4. This new driverless car really demonstrates cutting-edge technology.
5. The local vernacular was very different from what I had learnt at school so I couldn't understand what people were saying.
英文名著精选阅读:《傲慢与偏见》第13章 第1节
英文名著精选阅读:《理智与情感》第一章 第1节
英文名著精选阅读:《傲慢与偏见》第一章 第4节
英文名著精选阅读:《小妇人》第三章:劳伦斯家的男孩 第5节
英文名著精选阅读:《傲慢与偏见》第14章 第4节
英文名著精选阅读:《小妇人》第二章:圣诞快乐 第9节
英文名著精选阅读:《小妇人》第四章:负担 第7节
十二星座巧用香水 魅力无限
英文名著精选阅读:《小妇人》第一章:朝圣 第10节
英语美文欣赏:两个人的早餐 Just Two For Breakfast
英文名著精选阅读:《傲慢与偏见》第一章 第2节
英文名著精选阅读:《小妇人》第二章:圣诞快乐 第15节
英文名著精选阅读:《小妇人》第一章:朝圣 第6节
英文名著精选阅读:《理智与情感》第六章 第3节
精选英语美文阅读:Be Still With God 与上帝同在
英文名著精选阅读:《小妇人》第一章:朝圣 第9节
英文名著精选阅读:《傲慢与偏见》第六章 第1节
英文名著精选阅读:《傲慢与偏见》第13章 第3节
英文名著精选阅读:《傲慢与偏见》第四章 第2节
英文名著精选阅读:《小妇人》第一章:朝圣 第3节
英美文化差异一
美文背诵:梦想起飞 别一飞冲天
英文名著精选阅读:《傲慢与偏见》第一章 第3节
精选英语美文阅读::母亲的遗物
【美国留学生活文化】美国用餐篇
英文名著精选阅读:《傲慢与偏见》第七章 第1节
英文名著精选阅读:《小妇人》第五章:和睦邻居 第2节
英文名著精选阅读:《小妇人》第四章:负担 第6节
英美文化差异二
英文名著精选阅读:《红字》第十四章(上)
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |