Episode 194B

EPISODE 194
LEVEL B1/B2

READING COMPREHENSION

Smart Homes
The Internet of Things is set to disrupt the way we live and work, but for now let’s focus on the „live” portion of that statement. Smart homes filled with connected products are loaded with possibilities to make our lives easier, more convenient. Imagine that you’re driving home on a hot summer day. But rather than turn the air conditioner on when you get home and wait for your house to cool, you simply use your smartphone when you leave your office to tell your smart thermostat to lower the temperature. Or imagine that you’re cooking dinner, and you ask Alexa, the voice assistant on the Amazon Echo, to read you today’s biggest news stories so that you can focus on chopping those vegetables. There isno shortage of possibilities for smart home IoT devices, and home automation seems to be the wave of the future. Below, we’ve compiled a list of ways in which the IoT and house automation will change our way of life.
Smart Buildings and Smart Homes
BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, expects the number of smart home devices shipped will grow from 83 million in 2015 to 193 million in 2020. This includes all smart appliances (washers, dryers, refrigerators, etc.), smart home safety and security systems (sensors, monitors, cameras, and alarm systems), and smart home energy equipment, like smart thermostats and smart lighting. The first and most obvious benefit to smart homes is convenience, as more connected devices can handle more operations (lighting, temperature, etc.) and frees up the resident to perform other tasks. But beyond this, smart home IoT devices can help reduce costs and conserve energy. In our example above, you’d have a comfortable and cool apartment when you get home, but you could also leave your air conditioner off when you’re not home, which would lower your electric bill and reduce energy consumption. Smart lights would function in a similar way. Of course, there are disadvantages, as well. Smart home devices are typically more expensive than their non-connected counterparts, so consumers would certainly feel the hit in their wallets at first. Consider that connected LED bulbs cost $15 on average, compared to $8 for non connected LED bulbs. However, the cost of these connected bulbs has dropped in the last two years, so the prices of smart home IoT devices could decline even further and make them more affordable to the average consumer.
Smart House IoT Devices
Several smart home IoT devices have already hit the market and made their way into thousands of houses around the world. First we have the Amazon Echo, arguably the first and most recognizable name in this space. The device functions as a central hub for your other smart home gadgets, and its voice-activated assistant, Alexa, provides convenience that few other products can match. Amazon also offers two sister products, the Tap and the Dot. Nest, one of the more famous smart home device manufacturers, has created a Learning Thermostat that can automatically adjust temperature based on your location and uses a far-field sensor to determine the time and temperature from a distance. And thanks to a recent update, it now works with Alexa, too. The August Smart Lock provides enhanced security for the home, is easy to install, and works with Siri through the Apple HomeKit. And for smart bulbs, there’s the Lifx Color 1000, which can change color as necessary, and the Philips Hue Wireless Dimming Kit for your white-light needs.
Adapted from www.businessinsider.com

 

Ex. 1 Find the words or expressions in the text which mean the following:
1) comfortable: __________
2) to create sth in your head: __________
3) to transport sth: __________
4) usually: __________
5) cheap: __________
6) about which people could disagree: __________
7) a central element: __________
8) to make corrections: __________
9) to decide about sth: ___________
10)which happened not so long ago: __________
11)improved: __________
12)a producer: _________

Ex. 2 Match the expressions from the two columns into logical collocations:

1. the internet automation
2. loaded assistant
3. a voice equipment
4. a shortage market
5. home of things
6. a smart of sth
7. home energy operations
8. to handle energy
9. to conserve appliance
10. to hit with possibilities

 

Ex. 3 Provide English equivalents of these expressions:

1) zakłócić coś
2) wypełnione czymś
3) skupić się na czymś
4) stworzyć listę
5) odciążyć kogoś
6) zużycie energii
7) odpowiednik
8) zmniejszyć się
9) przeciętny
10)urządzenie
11)rozpoznawalny
12)dorównać czemuś

 

Grammar corner …

Using modal verbs, i.e. may, might, can, could, can’t, must, should, shouldn’t, this way serves the purpose of making assumptions about the past or talking about possible past scenarios. If you say that something possibly happened you say that it may / might / could have happened. If you say that it must or can’t have happened you mean that you’re 100% sure that it did or didn’t happen. When something should have happened you mean that it didn’t, but was necessary.

 

Ex. 4 Choose the best option.

1. She can’t / must have stolen the money, because she wasn’t even at the office.
2. I must / may have lost the report on my way here – I’m not entirely sure.
3. You should / can’t have helped me when I needed you, but you decided to go out with your friends!
4. This must / might have been an accident, but we need to wait for the official in vestigation report to be 100% sure.
5. You shouldn’t / can’t have sold your shares package then, because now they would be worth millions.

 

GLOSSARY

convenient – wygodny
to imagine sth – wyobrazić sobie coś
to ship sth – transportować coś
typically – zwykle
affordable –  w rozsądnej cenie
arguably – zapewne
a hub – centrala
to adjust sth  – dostosować coś
to determine sth  – ustalić coś
recent – niedawny
enhanced – ulepszony
a manufacturer – producent
the internet of things – internet rzeczy
loaded with possibilities  – dający mnóstwo możliwości
a voice assistant – asystent głosowy
a shortage of sth – niedobór czegoś
home automation  – automatyzacja gospodarstw domowych
a smart appliance – inteligentne urządzenie
home energy equipment – wyposażenie energetyczne domu
to handle operations  – przeprowadzać czynności
to conserve energy  – oszczędzać energię
to hit the market  – wejść na rynek
to disturb sth  – zakłócić coś
filled with sth  – wypełnione czymś
to focus on sth  – skupić się na czymś
to compile a list  – stworzyć listę
to free sb up  – odciążyć kogoś
energy consumption  – zużycie energii
a counterpart  – odpowiednik
to drop  – zmniejszyć się
average  – przeciętny
a device  – urządzenie
recognizeable  – rozpoznawalny
to match sth  – dorównać czemuś

 

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