How will the Internet change the world? Will we enjoy a smarter life in the future? Recently, many of the world’s biggest Internet companies took part in an important meeting. They talked about how to build a future for our online world. The Internet can make our lives easier in many ways. The companies at the meeting showed us some of their latest technology. Here are some examples. Let’s take a look.
Lip reading machines
They can not only read faces. They can also read your lip movements. The Chinese Internet company Sogou has made lip reading technology. You don’t need to speak aloud. The machine turns your lip movements into voice or text. This could be very useful if you are in a noisy place and people cannot hear you on your phone. Police can also use this technology. Sometimes they see criminals on city-monitoring cameras, but they don’t know what they say. The lip reading technology can help people with this.
Smart shoes
Your feet might hurt if your shoes don’t fit you. This won’t happen if you wear “smart” custom-made shoes. The Xiemofang company brought a machine to the meeting. The machine scans your feet. It records 39 parts of your feet. It also has a database (数据库). The database has more than 10,000 kinds of shoes. You can choose the colour and style. It also gives you suggestions for your choices. The suggestions are based on records of other people’s feet. You can get your new shoes after 10 days.
Unmanned supermarkets
You walk into a supermarket, pick out your goods and go to check out. But there is no worker. There is just a tablet (牌子) that says “Please smile”. When you smile, it gives you a discount (打折). Your money goes from your Alipay account to the supermarket. You don’t need to do anything. The Alibaba company has made this supermarket. When you go into the supermarket, it knows your face and your Alipay account. It also knows your facial expressions. So it knows how much you like your goods. The supermarket not only makes shopping easier, but also comprehends you.
【小题1】Many Internet companies took part in an important meeting to show us ________.| A．how powerful the online world is | B．how to use technology on the Internet |
| C．how to enjoy a life in the future | D．how technology makes life better |
| A．There are no workers in the unmanned supermarkets. |
| B．If you smile, you can get a discount in the unmanned supermarkets. |
| C．The machine can recognize not only your face but also your Alipay account. |
| D．You needn’t pay anything if you are satisfied with your goods. |
| A．a book review | B．a science fiction |
| C．a technology magazine | D．a news report |
