Imagine turning on the GPS and seeing an image of your car from above. As the car drives, the map follows along in real time, alerting you to any traffic, walkers, animals, or other things nearby. Routes and names of roads appear over the livestream. It’s like the map has come to life. The special map is called the live map.
This type of map isn’t available yet. But it could be soon. In 2014, the Worldview-3 satellite was sent into space. Even though it moves around Earth at more than 370 miles (600 km) away, it can catch images of objects on Earth that are just 10 inches (25 cm) across. For example, it can recognize a smartphone held in your hand. It can tell what types of cars are traveling down a road. But it can’t identify your face or read the cars’ license plate numbers... at least not openly.
According to some reports, some other US spy satellites can take even sharper images, with a resolution of up to around 4 inches (10 cm). But US law doesn’t allow making these super-sharp pictures public. But the idea that anybody might be able to spy on the entire Earth in such detail may seem uneasy. Ray Purdy of University College London told CNN that he was worried about what this could mean for privacy. “Most satellites are commercially owned, so if you have money you can buy that image. It means anyone can spy on anyone,” he said.
However, live and detailed maps of Earth’s surface could aid humanity in amazing ways. Satellite images can help professors follow storms as they form and record their paths. At high detail, live maps of a disaster area could quickly show the people in need of help as well as the safest routes in or out. Higher detail may make it possible to catch people who are fishing or hunting illegally. The images could also make it easier for farmers to watch over their crops.
Do you wish everyone could make use of high-detail live maps of Earth’s surface?
| A．take control of your cars | B．get animals out of the way |
| C．warn you of walkers nearby | D．come to life when turned on |
| A．It flies around Earth 600 km every hour. | B．It can take pictures of things about 25 cm wide. |
| C．It can read plate numbers of the cars on the road. | D．It began to work in space more than 10 years ago. |
| A．clearer | B．longer | C．quicker | D．simpler |
| A．By comparing the new live map with the old map. |
| B．By introducing its advantages and people’s worries. |
| C．By showing different experiences of using the live map. |
| D．By interviewing a professor in University College London. |
