时间:2019-01-03 作者:英语课 分类:2018年VOA慢速英语(五)月


英语课

Top 10 New Google Features Announced at I/O 2018


Google announced new features to make devices smarter and more useful to open its yearly developers’ conference. The announcements came at Google’s I/O 2018 conference in Mountain View, California.


We put together a list of 10 of the top new features. Most will be released soon or throughout the summer. All are powered by Google’s ever-developing artificial intelligence or AI technology.


Google Duplex


One of the most talked about events was when Google chief Sundar Pichai demonstrated how the company’s digital assistant had set a haircut appointment for someone all by itself.


“So what you're going to hear is the Google Assistant actually calling a real salon 1 to schedule the appointment for you.


Hello, how can I help you?


Hi, I’m calling to book a women’s haircut for a client. I’m looking for something on May 3rd.


Sure, give me one second.


Mm-hmmm.


That was a real call you just heard.”


Pichai said the demonstration 2 was the result of the company’s research and development over many years in the areas of natural language, deep learning and text-to-speech. Google calls the technology Duplex. The idea is to create machines that sound and act more human-like in interactions with people.


New Voices


Pichai announced that six new voices are being added to Google Assistant, including one based on singing star John Legend.


“John Legend’s voice will be coming later this year, so that you can get responses like this. ‘At 10 a.m. you have an event called Google I/O keynote. Then at 1 p.m. you have margaritas. Have a wonderful day.’ I'm looking forward to 1 p.m.”


The company also announced that by the end of 2018, Assistant will support 30 languages in 80 countries.?


Pretty Please


Google says it had received some reports that parents did not like the way their children sometimes spoke 3 differently to the Assistant than they would to them. So engineers designed a way for children to receive digital praise when they act politely.


“Tell me a story please.


Thanks for asking so nicely. You’re very polite.


I know.”


Continued Conversation


Another new feature related to Assistant is called Continued Conversation. Until now, users have had to say “Hey Google” each time they asked a question or wanted help. But now, a user can issue more than one command – such as a follow-up question – for up to eight seconds, and Assistant will answer.


Google Maps - Augmented 4 Reality


Google will now include augmented reality to help guide users. In Google Maps, people can look through the device camera and get turn-by-turn directions while viewing the actual street. The feature will also use local landmarks 5 and buildings captured by the camera to help guide the trip.


Gmail Smart Compose


The latest new tool for Gmail is an autocomplete feature called Smart Compose. It uses AI to suggest ways to finish sentences as they are written. For example, “I haven’t seen you” might be autocompleted to “I haven’t seen you in a while and I hope you’re doing well.”


Digital Wellbeing


Google says it recognizes many users are trying to find the right balance in life with technology. Sometimes they would like to break away from their devices to be able to spend time “on better things.” New features with this in mind can help users prevent overuse of technology.


A Dashboard will provide users detailed 6 information about how much time they are spending on which parts of their device. When the device is placed face down, a new feature will put the device on hold and silence it so the user can center on other things. A Wind Down Mode feature can let users enter the time they want to go to bed. At that time, the device will again go silent and the front of the device will dim to help users disconnect before bed.


Google Photos


There are several new changes to Google Photos. When one feature recognizes a photo of someone in a user’s contact list, it can suggest sending the photo to that person. It can also change photos to PDF files, and automatically add color to black-and-white photos, or make part of a color photo black and white.


Google News


Google is redesigning its news presentation in a way it says will make it easier for users to keep up with the news they are most interested in. The Google News app will present five top stories, plus others it thinks will be of most interest to the user.


A new feature is called Full Coverage 8, which Google says provides a complete picture of a single story, from various sources and formats 9. Another is called Newscasts. This gives users a preview of a story, and lets them decide where to go from there.


Google engineer Trystan Upstill introduced the new tools.


“Our AI constantly reads the firehose of the web for you, for millions of articles, videos, podcasts and comments being published every minute."


Android P


The Android P version of Google’s Android operating system will include more powerful AI tools. One will let the battery learn over time how people use their apps and then adapt in an effort to save power. Adaptive Brightness will learn and make changes in a similar way. It will learn from the level of brightness in the environment, as well as settings changed by users over time.


I’m Bryan Lynn.


And I'm Ashley Thompson.


Words in This Story


feature – n. an interesting or important part, quality, ability, etc.


artificial intelligence – n. the ability of a machine to reproduce human behavior


digital – adj. using or involving computer technology


salon – n. a shop where people go to have their hair cut or appearance improved


polite – adj. behaving in a way that is not rude and shows a person is not only thinking about themselves


augmented reality – n. an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to add digital information on an image of something


dim – v. make less bright


format 7 – n. the form, design, or arrangement of something


hose – n. long, usually rubber tube through which liquids or gases can flow



n.[法]沙龙;客厅;营业性的高级服务室
  • Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗?
  • You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。
n.表明,示范,论证,示威
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 );目标;(标志重要阶段的)里程碑 ~ (in sth);有历史意义的建筑物(或遗址)
  • The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
  • 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。
n.设计,版式;[计算机]格式,DOS命令:格式化(磁盘),用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据;v.使格式化,设计,安排
  • Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
  • The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。
n.报导,保险范围,保险额,范围,覆盖
  • There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
  • This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。
n.(出版物的)版式( format的名词复数 );[电视]电视节目的总安排(或计划)
  • They are producing books in all kinds of different formats. 他们出版各种不同开本的书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A true GUI includes standard formats for representing text and graphics. 真正的图形用户界面包括表示文字和图形的标准格式。 来自互联网
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