Unlocking Word
Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in
today’s article.
1. tweak
(v.) – to adjust or change
Example: The programmer tweaked the design of
the company’s website to make it more appealing.
2. encrypt
(v.) – to put or convert ordinary language into a coded version
Example: The teacher encrypted the answers
into riddles.
3. closed
captioning (n.) – putting a caption according to the TVs audio
Example: Closed captioning is used by people
who have poor hearing.
4. recurrent
(adj.) – happening repeatedly
Example: Storms and floods are recurrent these
past months in Asia.
5. real-time
(adj.) – pertains to programs that update or process information at the same
time they receive it
Example: Programmers devised real-time
computing programs on the internet.
Article
Read the text below.
A TV remote control that can mute unwanted news
or information was featured in an inventor’s fair in New York last September
17 and 18.
Matt Richardson, a video producer for Make
Magazine, created the invention by tweaking
the design of his remote control. He worked on it for a week, spending
$70 on the materials he needed.
The remote control is basically made up of
Arduino, a computer hardware that can be coded into any program. Richardson
fused several Arduino boards and added the infrared LED light found in remote
controls. He then encrypted instructions
that will interact with the TV’s closed
captioning system.
The do-it-yourself device can be modified to
auto-mute the TV according to a person’s preference of words. Upon
encountering such words, the TV will be silenced for 30 seconds. If the word
is recurrent, it will keep on
muting the TV.
Fed up with news about celebrities and
politicians, Richardson uses the remote to listen or watch only the
information he is interested in. Readers of Richardson’s blog suggested
coding words that become popular on Twitter or Google. Another reader
suggested using the remote control to mute all commercials.
The gadget needs a little polishing, though. Some
words are missed because the closed captions on TVs are not always in real-time.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion
A
·
Do
you think the auto-muting remote control is essential? Why or why not?
·
If
you were to invent something, what would it be?
Discussion
B
·
What
are the advantages and disadvantages of watching the TV?
·
Would
you prefer watching the TV on your free time? If not, what would you do
instead?
