最新版冀教七年级上册英语Unit 6背景素材背景文字Growing earth's electronic skin

Growing earth's electronic skin
By Lee Dye
What the whole world will be like 50 years later? The following reading will give you a clear picture of that time:
You're in your easy chair and your granddaughter climbs on your lap to ask a few questions about the history. She looks at the telephone on her wrist that can reach her mother anywhere in the world every time she says ''Mom'' and asks with incredulity, “Couldn't you see the person you were talking to? You mean you actually went to your office to work, and sometimes you even had to travel to talk with your partners?'' The sound of her voice turns on thousands of cameras and microphones surrounding a concert by the Rolling Stones (yes, they're still around). Instantly, the living room becomes a virtual-reality(虚拟现实) experience almost as good as the real event. Her father comes in and commands the volume of the Stones concert to drop so he and his partners around the world can continue their videoconference(视频会议). As the girl tugs you out of that chair for a trip to the playground, there are no worries about traffic. The computer in your vehicle will show pictures from cameras suspended over every possible route, instantly showing which would be the fastest.
That's the world of 2055, as seen by researchers at Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs .The world of the future will be embraced by a ''mega-network that will cover the entire planet like a skin. Just as our skin sends information to our brains, and the global skin will use millions of cameras, sensors, microphones, and various devices to collect and transmit data. Gone will be such things as waiting by the phone, surfing the Net, and traveling to business meetings.
All of that could have a negative side, of course. Sociologists worry we will retreat into our electronic caves like so many hermits(隐士). And how many remote cameras do we really need? Every time you scratch an itch, will a million people see it? What about privacy? And the toughest question is: Once we get all that information, what will we do with it? Technology alone won't solve all of our problems. But it will certainly change the way we live.。