By Lev Grossman Thursday
Tag, You're It
By Lev Grossman Thursday
You've probably never seen an RFID tag, but chances are there's one within 10 ft. of you. An RFID tag--it stands for radio-frequency identification--is a tiny device consisting of a very small chip attached to a very small antenna. The chip is no great shakes*, but it doesn't have to be; it just stores one very large number. When the RFID tag hears a particular radio signal, it responds by broadcasting back the number in its chip. That's its entire purpose in life. Some prototype RFID tags are about the size of a grain of ground pepper.
They don't do much, but that doesn't stop RFID tags from being incredibly useful, in ways that range from the mundane* to the sinister. They're like bar codes on steroids, because you can read them at a distance. They're getting so cheap that manufacturers basically need a reason not to put them in things. Most people know RFID, if they're aware of it at all, as the technology behind cash-free highway tolls*, but it goes way* beyond that.
Retail giants like Wal-Mart use RFID tags for inventory management, to help keep track of exactly what is precisely where in their vast tentacular supply chains--Wal-Mart announced earlier this month that it had RFID-enabled* forklifts* in 975 of its North American stores. RFID tags are embedded* in tires. They're in library books and credit cards. The military uses them to track assets* in Iraq. The Venetian Casino that just opened in Macau puts an RFID tag in each one of its chips. As of Jan. 1 of this year, every U.S. passport contains an RFID tag, to make them machine-scannable and more forgery*-proof. (Helpful hint* : if you're worried about someone snooping* on your RFID passport remotely, you can wrap it in foil*.)
RFID isn't new technology--its lineage* can be traced back to World War II, when the Allies used a similar principle to tell friendly aircraft from foes. But RFID got a boost* in the late 1990s, when two MIT professors hit on* RFID tags as a way to help robots "see" the physical objects around them. That's the genius of RFID: it's a way to make the ordinary physical world of people and objects visible to the virtual world that computers inhabit. It maps* real space onto virtual space, so the two worlds can talk to each other.
Which is exciting but also a bit scary for anyone who doesn't want to be mapped. For RFID tags are just as useful for tracking living organisms as they are for tracking library books. Vets have been implanting RFID chips in pets for years, and there's a NASDAQ-traded company called VeriChip that manufactures RFID chips specifically for use in human beings, the idea being that the chips would provide a quick and reliable way to store and retrieve emergency medical information; VeriChip is also marketed in South America as a way to track kidnap victims.
But it's not hard to imagine more Orwellian scenarios, in which prison inmates* or even immigrants would be tagged with RFID implants to make it easier for the government to monitor them. Bizarre as it sounds, these ideas have been floated seriously enough that earlier this month Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger--possibly flashing back to the tracking implant he had in his nose in Total Recall--formally banned the forced implantation of RFID tags in humans in the state of California.
The cheaper RFID tags get, the more ubiquitous* they'll become. But personally I envision* a slightly more benign future, one in which the trend of human-implantable RFID tags merges with the online social-networking craze. What if all the information in your Facebook profile were tucked* snugly* into a tiny RFID-like chip embedded, say, in the ball* of your thumb? Your RFID-enabled cell phone could beep every time you walked past somebody two degrees of separation or less from you or who had the same favorite novel you do or who liked to play Scrabble*. Nightmare or utopia? You decide. And invest in RFID--or aluminium foil--accordingly.
Give synonyms
to label [ei] =
very small =
a piece of equipment =
aim =
to crush =
ground [past participle] =
manner =
ordinary =
expensive =
conscious =
motorway [UK] = [US]
stock =
sprawling =
built-in =
possession =
since =
fake =
to counterfeit =
tip =
to spy on =
metal sheet =
ancestry =
enemy =
to live in =
to speak =
frightening =
favourite =
fast =
to follow (a criminal) =
difficult =
strange =
to forbid =
lightly =
hype =
cosily =
to search =
to discover unexpectedly =
an electronic transponder =
Give antonyms
useless
costly
byway
dwarf
wholesale
late
liabilities
helpless
closely
friend
early 1990s
physical
malign
dream
Abbreviations, acronyms, portmanteau words
RFID =
ft. = =
MIT =
vet =
Prepositions
before =
behind =
below =
beside =
between =
beyond =
How do you call …
a building in which collections of books, CDs, newspapers, etc. are kept for people to read, study or borrow
=
a shop/store that sells books
= [UK] or [US]
A microchip attached to an antenna that is packaged in a way that it can be applied to an object. It picks up signals from and sends signals to a reader. It contains a unique serial number, but may have other information, such as a customers' account number. They come in many forms, such smart labels that can have a barcode printed on it, or it can simply be mounted inside a carton or embedded in plastic.
=
an adjective used to describe a political system in which a government tries to have complete control over people’s behaviour and thoughts. It comes from the name of the English writer George Orwell, whose novel Nineteen Eighty-Four describes a government that has total control over the people. =
Fill in
A ...... buys goods from a ......
whereas a client purchases ...... from a ......
Word formation 1
free = without or not necessitating
a hands-free kit=
a duty-free shop=
an ice-free harbour=
lead-freepetrol=
sugar-freechewing-gum=
tax-freegoods=
a toll-free number=
a crime-free behaviour=
additive-free food=
salt-free food=
a trouble-free journey=
a pollution-free world=
a smoke-free terminal=
a cash-free highway toll=
a cloud-free sky=
Translate
1
péage =
chaine d’approvisionnement =
élévateur =
l’actif et le passif =
jeton (casino) =
à partir de =
un roman =
feuille en aluminium =
1
Word formation 2
proof = à l'épreuve de
a waterproof watch =
acid-proof clothing=
a fraud proof system=
a fireproof door=
a rustproof blade=
idiot-proof programs=
a sound proof room=
a bulletproof vest=
a forgery-proof passport=
a moisture-proof wrapping=
Translate
1. RFID signifie identification par fréquence radio.
2. Ca ne casse rien!
3. Il est possible de lire le contenu de la puce à distance.
4. N’oubliez pas votre carte de crédit, il y a un péage sur l’autoroute.
5. Wal Mart est le géant américain de la distribution.
6. Ils n’ont pas besoin de chariot élévateur pour le moment.
7. Les badges électroniques protègent les passeports de la contrefaçon.
8. Ce système de repérage est un peu effrayant.
9. Ce logiciel permet de stocker, d’accéder et de récupérer des informations où que vous soyez.
10. Ce serait cauchemardesque de voir un régime totalitaire utiliser des implants électroniques pour suivre leurs propres citoyens à la trace.
Weights and Measures
Length
1 inch(in.)= 2,54 cm
1 foot(ft.)=30,48 cm
1 yard(yd.)=91,44 cm
1 mile=1,609 km
Area
1 sq(uare) inch(in2)
1 sq foot (ft2)
1 sq yard(yd2)
1 acre=0,40 ha
Volume
1 cu(bic) inch(in3)
1 cu foot (ft3)
1 cu yard(yd3)
1 fluid ounce(fl. oz.)=28,41 ml
1 pint (pt.)=0,56 l
1 gallon (gal.)=4,54 l
1 barrel [US petroleum] =158,98litre
Weight
1 ounce (oz.)=28,35 g
1 pound(lb.)=0,45 kg
Temperature
0 Fahrenheit (F.)=-18 Celsius
0 Celsius (C°)= 32 Fahrenheit
10 Celsius (C°)= 50 Fahrenheit
Units
K=kilo=x 1,000=one thousand=103
M=mega=x 1,000,000=one million=106
G=giga=x 1,000,000,000=one billion=109
T=tera=x 1,000,000,000,000=one trillion=1012
P=peta=x 1,000,000,000,000,000=one quadrillion=1015
Conversions
1 in=one inch=2.54 cm.
10 ft.==
5 yd.==
10 miles=
2 pt.==
15 gal.==
3oz.==
2 lb.==
17 in.==
2,20 lb.==
100 acres=
10 sq. ft.==
0 Celsius=
0 Fahrenheit=
10 Celsius=
If you need any help surf to
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