美国国家公共电台 NPR A Smart Home Neighborhood: Residents Find It Enjoyably Convenient Or A Bit Creepy

A Smart Home Neighborhood: Residents Find It Enjoyably Convenient Or A Bit Creepy

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

There's a new kind of community about an hour south of Amazon's headquarters in Seattle, Wash. What makes it a new kind of community is all the Amazon gear. The neighborhood in the town of Black Diamond is stuffed with so much technology you could call it a smart home laboratory. Its residents are learning what it's like to live in what may be the home of the future. They're finding smart homes offer convenience but also feed tech companies incredibly detailed¹ information about their lives. KUOW's Joshua McNichols takes us there.

JOSHUA MCNICHOLS, BYLINE²: Is one of these the Amazon house?

BRITTNEY SVACH: Yeah. So the one that has the sign in front of it that says Amazon Experience Center - that's the one that we're going to tour.

MCNICHOLS: Brittney Svach works for Lennar, one of the nation's largest home builders, and she's been making the same sales pitch over and over to potential homebuyers in this Seattle suburb - control everything from your window blinds to your door locks using just your voice.

ALEXA: The front door is locked.

MCNICHOLS: Adjust the mood lighting³ or tell Roomba to clean up.

(SOUNDBITE OF ROOMBA RUNNING)

MCNICHOLS: Call up the feed from one of the countless⁴ video cameras on the smart television.

SVACH: Alexa, show me the backyard.

ALEXA: OK.

SVACH: And now we can spy on whoever is having a drink on the back patio⁵ (laughter).

MCNICHOLS: Cameras and convenience - that's the pitch. Drew Holmes (ph) wasn't looking for a smart home when he shopped for a house here. But the technologies came with the house.

DREW HOLMES: Now I, like, would not live without them.

MCNICHOLS: His favorite feature is a Ring Doorbell that logs visitors.

HOLMES: I have a teenager. It's nice to confirm when they come home and I can - I have proof of it.

MCNICHOLS: One time, Holmes was away on a business trip, and his stepdaughter forgot her key and couldn't get in.

HOLMES: So she just texted me, hey, can you open the door? And I opened the door from Oregon, and so that was nice - problem solved.

MCNICHOLS: There are other neighborhoods like this bubbling up outside tech-savvy cities like Miami and Denver. And I should mention Amazon is an NPR sponsor. In this neighborhood, Alexa's in every room. She adjusts the thermostat⁶ and reports on people's commutes⁷ when they roll out of bed. And she's getting better at it because she's watching and learning what people need. But that data collection worries Therron Smith (ph), and he went out of his way to buy a home here that does not include smart home technology. He didn't want the cloud to know every time his kids flip⁸ a light switch.

THERRON SMITH: That data's not just sitting there just empty. Like, somebody's going to look at it and leverage⁹ it to try to turn a profit or try to create an ad or try to create some revenue.

MCNICHOLS: That might be one reason smart homes aren't more popular already. A Zillow survey found people are just far more interested in air conditioning and ample storage than smart home technology. On the other hand, Dave Garland thinks the technology will take off once people try it. He's with Second Century Ventures, an investment arm of the National Association of Realtors.

DAVE GARLAND: There is a new narrative¹⁰ when it comes to what home means.

MCNICHOLS: It means a personalized environment where technology responds to your every need. Maybe it means giving up some privacy. These families are trying out that compromise. Fifteen-year-old Macey Ferguson (ph) says she likes it. She uses Alexa alarms - one for cheerleading practice and one for homework - to help her manage her busy life.

MACEY FERGUSON: I just feel really fancy because I feel like she's my little, like, servant or butler - I don't (laughter) - butler.

MCNICHOLS: But her mom, Kelli (ph), is more cautious.

KELLI FERGUSON: If I'm walking on our street, I walk on the other side of the street...

MCNICHOLS: The side without the smart homes...

FERGUSON: Just because I don't feel like being on everyone's cameras.

MCNICHOLS: And that's something we'll all have to learn how to navigate¹¹ if this technology becomes standard in more neighborhoods.

For NPR News, I'm Joshua McNichols in Seattle.

(SOUNDBITE OF FREE THE ROBOTS' "TURKISH VOODOO")

1 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

4 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

5 patio   

n.庭院，平台

参考例句：

• Suddenly, the thought of my beautiful patio came to mind. I can be quiet out there,I thought.我又忽然想到家里漂亮的院子，我能够在这里宁静地呆会。
• They had a barbecue on their patio on Sunday.星期天他们在院子里进行烧烤。

6 thermostat   

n.恒温器

参考例句：

• The thermostat is connected by a link to the carburetor.恒温控制器是由一根连杆与汽化器相连的。
• The temperature is controlled by electronic thermostat with high accuracy.电子恒温器，准确性高。

7 commutes   

上下班路程( commute的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She commutes from Oxford to London every day. 她每天上下班往返于牛津与伦敦之间。
• Barbara lives in Oxford and commutes. 芭芭拉住在牛津，通勤往来。

8 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

9 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

10 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

11 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。