Gauri Nanda sees a wearable computer as a handbag — one that’s built out of four-inch squares and triangles of fiber, with tiny computer chips embedded (嵌入) in it. It looks, feels and weighs like your typical leather purse.
That’s where similarities end: This bag can wirelessly keep track of your belongings and remind you, just as you’re about to leave the house, to take your wallet. It can review the weather report and suggest that you grab an umbrella. This purse can even upload your favorite songs onto your scarf.
Sure, a computing purse and scarf set may seem like the stuff of science fiction. But these devices, part of next generation of wearable computers, could become commonplace within a few years. DuPont created new super strong fibers that can conduct electricity and can be woven into ordinary-looking clothes. And the chipmaker developed chip packaging allowing wearable computers to be washed, even in the heavy-duty cycle.
As a result, these new wearable devices are different from the heavy and downright silly versions of the recent past, which often required users to be wrapped in wires and type on their stomachs. Unlike their predecessors, these new wearable computers also make economic sense. When her bag becomes commercially available in two to three years, Nanda expects it will cost around $150, which is the price of an average leather purse.
Here’s how the bag works: You place a special radio-signal-transmitting chip on to your wallet. A similar radio in your purse picks up the signal and notifies you that you’ve forgotten to take your wallet. In turn, sensors on your purse’s handles will notify the computer that you’ve picked up the purse and are ready to go.
Already, these new kinds of wearable devices are being adopted for use in markets like auto repair, emergency services, medical monitoring — and even, increasingly, for consumers at large. Indeed, more people will want to cross that bridge in the coming years — making for a booming market for wearable computers that don’t like something out of science fiction.
小题1:Which of the following describes a wearable computer?
A．It can be washed in a washing machine.
B．It is much heavier than a leather purse.
C．It can download songs from the Internet.
D．It is made of clothes conducting electricity.小题2:According to the passage, these new wearable computers ________________________.
A．require users to operate on the stomach
B．pick up the signals through wires and chip
C．are being applied in some different areas now
D．are smarter but more expensive than the old ones小题3:What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
A．These new wearable computers have become fashionable.
B．People would like to learn more about these new computers.
C．These new wearable computers promise to sell well in the future.
D．The idea of these purse-like computers comes from science fiction.小题4:The purpose of the passage is ________________________________________.
A．to introduce a new kind of computer
B．to explain the function of computers
C．to compare different types of computers
D．to show how high technology affects our life
