预见未来

Task 1

When your robot vacuum cleaner （真空吸尘器） does its cleaning work， mind that it could pick up private conversations. Scientists have demonstrated that it is likely to spy on （窥探） private conversations using a common robot vacuum cleaner and its built⁃in Light Detection and Ranging （Lidar） sensor.

The method， also called LidarPhone， changes the Lidar sensor a robot vacuum cleaner normally uses for guiding around a home into a laser⁃based （基于激光的） microphone to listen in on private conversations.

The research team， led by Professor Jun Han， managed to recover speech data with high accuracy. Jun Han shared， “Our method shows it is now possible to gather private data just by using household devices like a robot vacuum cleaner. Our work demonstrates the urgent need to find practical solutions to prevent that from happening.”

The key of the method is the Lidar sensor， a device sending out an invisible scanning laser and creating a map of its surroundings. By reflecting lasers off objects such as a dustbin， the attacker could obtain information about the original sound that made the objects surfaces shake. Using deep learning algorithms （计算程序）， speech could be regained.

In their experiments， the researchers used a common robot vacuum cleaner with two sources of sound. One was the voice of conversation while the other was music clips （片段）from television shows played through a sound box. After analysis through deep learning algorithms， the system was able to detect the figures being spoken aloud， which could include a victims bank account numbers. Music parts could potentially reveal the victims viewing preferences. The system achieved an accuracy rate of 91 percent.

To prevent Lidars from being misused， the researchers recommend users not to connect their robot vacuum cleaners to the Internet. “In the long term， we might have to accept that each new Internet⁃connected household sensing device poses a risk to our privacy，” said Professor Han.

The team is working on applying the LidarPhone to driverless vehicles which also use Lidar sensors. They are also examining the laser sensors found on latest smartphones， which could reveal further privacy issues.

1. What is the Lidar sensor originally intended to do？

A. To spy on personal talks.

B. To guide around the rooms.

C. To recover speech accurately.

D. To switch on the vacuum cleaner.

2. What does the underlined word “that” in paragraph 3 refer to？

A. Finding practical solutions.

B. Sending out a scanning laser.

C. Making the objects surfaces shake.

D. Listening in on private information.

3. What can we learn from the experiments？

A. There is only one source of sound.

B. Low voices can also be recovered.

C. A high accuracy rate can be obtained.

D. Peoples viewing likes are insignificant.

4. What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs？

A. Most of the smartphones have Lidar sensors.

B. The household devices should be Internet⁃accessible.

C. The LidarPhone may be used in future self⁃driving cars.

D. The Internet⁃connected household devices will be risk⁃free.

Task 2

Your options for an eco⁃friendly home may seem somewhat limited now—solar panels， rain barrels， and maybe a small garden—but as the world of green technology advances， there is a rise in the number of smart， eco⁃friendly home improvements. Some of them are available now. 1 . Read on to see how you can improve your home now.

A home thermostat （恒温器） can automatically adjust the temperature for you， making sure your house is warm when you get home and reducing energy waste during the day. For example， a thermostat called Nest Learning Thermostat learns your heating and cooling preference and automatically adjusts itself. 2 ， without ever having to remember to adjust the temperature.

Years ago， recycling paper and plastic was the most you could do to save resources. 3 . Everything from Christmas lights to wine corks （瓶塞） is recycled. And where do the post⁃recycling⁃process materials end up？ Back in your home， in the form of recycled⁃paper counter tops （台面） and recycled plastic carpets， to name a few.

4 . But if youre ready to take your heating， cooling and electricity system into the future， then youll want to start with alternative new energy sources， like solar panels or wind power. Solar panels are additions you can make to your own house， but if you dont have the time or money， you can also choose alternative energy sources through your regular supplier.

In 2009， The Wall Street Journal asked four architectural firms to imagine the future of green homes. 5 . They designed what they call the “Incredible Edible House”， covered in green in the form of plants and gardens that provide food for the home owners， absorb heat to keep the interior cool， and are watered from a rooftop that catches rain.