5. Imagine you’re at a party full of strangers. You’re nervous. Who are these people? How do you start a conversation? Fortunately, you’ve got a thing that sends out energy at tiny chips in everyone’s name tag (标签). The chips send back name, job, hobbies, and the time available for meeting-whatever. Making new friends becomes simple.
This hasn’t quite happened in real life. But the world is already experiencing a revolution using RFID technology.
An RFID tag with a tiny chip can be fixed in a product, under your pet’s skin, even under your own skin. Passive RFID tags have no energy source-batteries because they do not need it. The energy comes from the reader, a scanning device(装置),that sends out energy (for example, radio waves)that starts up the tag immediately.
Such a tag carries information specific to that object, and the data can be updated. Already, RFID technology is used for recognizing each car or truck on the road and it might appear in your passport. Doctors can put a tiny chip under the skin that will help locate and obtain a patient’s medical records. At a nightclub in Paris or in New York the same chip gets you into the VIP (very important person) section and pays for the bill with the wave of an arm.
Take a step back: 10 or 12 years ago, you would have heard about the coming age of computing. One example always seemed to surface: Your refrigerator would know when you needed to buy more milk. The concept was that computer chips could be put everywhere and send information in a smart network that would make ordinary life simpler.
RFID tags are a small part of this phenomenon. “The world is going to be a loosely coupled set of individual small devices, connected wirelessly,” predicts Dr.J.Reich. Human right supporters are nervous about the possibilities of such technology. It goes too far tracking school kids through RFID tags, they say. We imagine a world in which a beer company could find out not only when you bought a beer but also when you drank it. And how many beers accompanied by how many biscuits.
When Marconi invented radio, he thought it would be used for ship-to-shore communication. Not for pop music. Who knows how RFID and related technologies will be used in the future. Here’s a wild guess: Not for buying milk.
【小题1】The article is intended to
.
| A．warn people of the possible risks in adopting RFID technology |
| B．explain the benefits brought about by RFID technology |
| C．convince people of the uses of RFID technology |
| D．predict the applications of RFID technology |
【小题2】 We know from the passage that with the help of RFID tags, people
.
| A．will have no trouble getting data about others |
| B．will have more energy for conversation |
| C．will have more time to make friends |
| D．won’t feel shy at parties any longer |
【小题3】 Passive RFID tags chiefly consist of
.
| A．scanning devices | B．radio waves |
| C．batteries | D．chips |
【小题4】Why are some people worried about RFID technology?
| A．Because children will be tracked by strangers. |
| B．Because market competition will become fiercer. |
| C．Because their private lives will be greatly affected. |
| D．Because customers will be forced to buy more products. |