Introduction

About ten million people in the UK now use a smart speaker, and they're gaining popularity across the world. These convenient devices listen to our every command. But when does 'listening' become 'spying'? Rob and Dan discuss smart speakers and teach you related vocabulary.

This week's question

By what percentage has the number of smart speakers used in US households increased from December 2017 to December 2018? Is it…?

a)???around 40%

b)???around 60%

c)???around 80%?

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Transcript

Note: This is not a word for word transcript

Dan

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Dan.

Rob

And I'm Rob. So Dan what's… Oh, sorry. Oh, it's my wife. Err… hang on…

Dan

You didn't answer!

Rob

Don't take this personally, Dan, but I'm not exactly crazy about someone?eavesdroppingon my phone call. If you?eavesdrop?on something, you secretly listen to someone's conversation. Some things are private, you know?

Dan

Oh! Of course! I totally understand. One quick question for you though… do you have a smart speaker? You know, like the Google Assistant, Amazon's Alexa or Apple's Siri.

Rob

Oh sure, yes, I've got one! It's great! I can ask it all sorts of questions, it tells me about the news and weather, it plays music when I want… it does all sorts! You just give it a voice command and it does what you want!

Dan

So it can hear you, can it?

Rob

Of course! How else can you give it a voice command?

Dan

All the time?

Rob

Well, I assume so.

Dan

So how do you know it's not?eavesdropping?on you?

Rob

Well, I… oh… I see. I hadn't thought of that.

Dan

That's our topic for this 6 Minute English. How safe is your smart speaker? However, before that, here's our quiz question. By what percentage has the number of smart speakers used in US households increased from December 2017 to December 2018? Is it…

a)???around 40%

b)???around 60%, or

c)???around 80%?

Rob

Oh, well, I know they are very popular even in my household. So I'm going to go for c) around 80%.

DanWe'll find out if you're right later in the programme. So, smart speakers and privacy! Florian Schaub is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information. Here he is speaking on the BBC World Service programme The Why Factor about smart speakers. What does he say people are introducing into their homes?

Florian Schaub?

You're basically introducing... listening?bug?in your home, in your most?intimate?space. While the companies say they are only actively listening to what's going on in your home when they hear the keyword, the microphone is still on the whole time in order to be able to detect that keyword. We don't know to what extent companies are co-operating with the government or to what extent the government might try to?circumvent?company security mechanisms in order to then be able to listen to what you're doing.

Dan

So what did he say people are introducing, Rob?

Rob

He basically said we're introducing a listening?bug. Now, a?bug?is a small electronic device used for secretly listening to conversations. Much like a spy would use.

Dan

Yes, and he mentioned it was in our most?intimate?space!?Intimate?means 'private and personal'.

Rob

Well, I can't think of anywhere more?intimate?than my home.?

Dan

Indeed! He also said that the smart speaker's microphone is on the whole time – even though the companies insist that they're only actively listening when the keyword is said.?

Rob

Yes, he suggested that we can't know how far a company might be co-operating with a government to?eavesdrop?on people.?

Dan

Or whether a government might be?circumventing?a smart speaker's security and listening in anyway without the company's or owner's permission!

Rob

Circumvent?means 'cleverly bypass or go around'. So if all this eavesdropping is possible, why are smart speakers so popular??

Dan

Good question! And here's Florian Schaub again with an answer. He conducted a study on people's attitudes to privacy when it comes to smart speakers. How do people feel about having a smart speaker that could eavesdrop on them??

Florian Schaub

What we often saw is people just?being resigned to?'this is the?trade-off?they have to make' if they want to enjoy the convenience that a smart speaker provides to them.?

Rob

He said that people?are resigned to?the privacy?trade-off. If you?are resigned tosomething, you accept something unpleasant that can't be changed.?

Dan

Yes and a?trade-off?is a compromise. You accept something bad to also receive something good.?

Rob

So people accept that a smart speaker gives them advantages, even though there could be downsides??

Dan

Yes. In the grand scheme of things, the data that these devices hear is probably not that significant considering all the data companies have about us already anyway!?

Rob

So can I have the answer to the quiz then??

Dan

Of course! Earlier I asked by what percentage the number of smart speakers used in US households increased from December 2017 to December 2018? Was it…

a)???around 40%

b)???around 60%, or

c)???around 80%??

What did you say, Rob??

Rob

I said c) around 80%.?

Dan

And you are right. The answer is around 80% - from 66 million in December 2017 to 118 million in December 2018, and around ten million people in the UK now use one too! I guess they're really not worried about?eavesdropping.?

Rob

Nice slide into the vocabulary there, Dan. If someone?eavesdrops?on you, it means they secretly listen to your conversation.?

Dan

They could be eavesdropping on you through a?bug, which is a small electronic device used to secretly listen to conversations.?

Rob

Yes, they may have?bugged?your most?intimate, or private and personal, spaces.?

Dan

Next we had?circumvent. If you?circumvent?something, such as security, you cleverly or bypass it or go around it.

Rob

Then we had?resigned. If you are?resigned?to something, it means you accept something unpleasant that can't be changed.?

Dan

And lastly, we had?trade-off. A?trade-off?is a compromise. You get something good, but you also get something bad.?

Rob

Right - like 6 Minute English! A great discussion and vocabulary, but the?trade-off?is it only lasts six minutes!?

Dan

Which?is just about now, actually - time to go. So until next time, find us all over the place online and on social media. Just search for BBC Learning English. Bye for now.?

Rob

Goodbye!

Vocabulary

eavesdrop

secretly listen to someone's conversation

bug

small electronic device used for secretly listening to conversations

intimate

private and personal

circumvent

cleverly bypass or go around

be resigned to

accept an unpleasant situation which cannot change

trade-off

compromise

雙語版Transcript

Dan: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Dan.

大家好，歡迎來到六分鐘英語，我是丹。

Rob: And I'm Rob. So Dan what's... Oh, sorry. Oh, it's my wife. Err... hang on...

我是羅伯。所以丹，什么是……噢，抱歉。噢，是我太太。額，等一下……

Dan: You didn't answer!

Rob: Don't take this personally, Dan, but I'm not exactly crazy about someone eavesdropping on my phone call. If you eavesdrop on something, you secretly listen to someone's conversation. Some things are private, you know?

別往心里去，丹，我并不喜歡有人偷聽我的電話。如果你偷聽某事，你就是在偷偷地聽別人的談話。你知道的，有些事情是私密的？

Dan: Oh! Of course! I totally understand. One quick question for you though... do you have a smart speaker? You know, like the Google Assistant, Amazon's Alexa or Apple's Siri.

哦！當(dāng)然！我完全理解。然而有一個問題要問你……你有智能語音助手嗎？你知道的，就像是谷歌助手，亞馬遜的Alexa或者蘋果的Siri。

Rob: Oh sure, yes, I've got one! It's great! I can ask it all sorts of questions, it tells me about the news and weather, it plays music when I want... it does all sorts! You just give it a voice command and it does what you want!

哦，當(dāng)然，我有智能語音助手！它太棒了！我可以問它各種各樣的問題，它告訴我新聞和天氣，它可以在我想要播放音樂的時候播放音樂……它可以做各種事情！你只要給它一個語音指令，它就會做你想做的！

Dan: So it can hear you, can it?

Rob: Of course! How else can you give it a voice command?

當(dāng)然！不然你怎么能給它一個語音指令呢？

Dan: All the time?

每時每刻？

Rob: Well, I assume so.

Dan: So how do you know it's not eavesdropping on you?

那么你怎么知道它不會對你進行竊聽呢？

Rob: Well, I... oh... I see. I hadn't thought of that.

嗯，我……噢……我明白了。我沒有想到那一點。

Dan: That's our topic for this 6 Minute English. How safe is your smart speaker? However, before that, here's our quiz question. By what percentage has the number of smart speakers used in US households increased from December 2017 to December 2018? Is it... a) around 40% b) around 60%, or c) around 80%?

那就是這期六分鐘英語的主題。你的智能語音助手有多安全？然而，在那之前，這里是我們的測試問題。從2017年12月到2018年12月，使用智能語音助手的美國家庭的數(shù)量增加了多少？是a) 大約40%，b) 大約60%，還是c) 大約80%？

Rob: Oh, well, I know they are very popular even in my household. So I'm going to go for c) around 80%.

哦，好吧，我知道它們甚至在我家都很受歡迎。所以我選c) 大約80%。

Dan: We'll find out if you're right later in the programme. So, smart speakers and privacy! Florian Schaub is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information. Here he is speaking on the BBC World Service programme The Why Factor about smart speakers. What does he say people are introducing into their homes?

我們將在稍后的節(jié)目中揭曉你的答案是否正確。所以，智能語音助手和隱私！弗洛里安·紹布是密歇根大學(xué)信息學(xué)院的助理教授。這是他在BBC環(huán)球廣播節(jié)目The Why Factor中關(guān)于智能語音助手的講話。他說人們正把什么引入家里？

Florian Schaub

弗洛里安·紹布

You're basically introducing... listening bug in your home, in your most intimate space. While the companies say they are only actively listening to what's going on in your home when they hear the keyword, the microphone is still on the whole time in order to be able to detect that keyword. We don't know to what extent companies are co-operating with the government or to what extent the government might try to circumvent company security mechanisms in order to then be able to listen to what you're doing.

你本質(zhì)上正在引入……竊聽器到你家里，到你最私密的空間。然而這些公司表示，他們只是在聽到關(guān)鍵詞時才會主動去聽你家里發(fā)生的事情，但是為了能夠檢測到關(guān)鍵詞，麥克風(fēng)是一直開著的。我們不知道為了能夠聽到你在做什么，公司在多大程度上與政府合作，或者政府在多大程度上可能試圖繞過公司的安全機制。

Dan: So what did he say people are introducing, Rob?

Rob: He basically said we're introducing a listening bug. Now, a bug is a small electronic device used for secretly listening to conversations. Much like a spy would use.

他主要是說我們引入了一個竊聽器。竊聽器是一種用于秘密監(jiān)聽對話的小型電子設(shè)備。更像是間諜會使用的。

Dan: Yes, and he mentioned it was in our most intimate space! Intimate means 'private and personal'.

是的，而且他提到竊聽器是在我們最私密的空間里！Intimate指的是"秘密的，私人的"。

Rob: Well, I can't think of anywhere more intimate than my home.

是的，我想不到哪里比我家還私密。

Dan: Indeed! He also said that the smart speaker's microphone is on the whole time - even though the companies insist that they're only actively listening when the keyword is said.

確實！他還說，智能語音助手的麥克風(fēng)一直開著——盡管公司堅稱他們只是在聽到關(guān)鍵字時才會主動去聽。

Rob: Yes, he suggested that we can't know how far a company might be co-operating with a government to eavesdrop on people.

Dan: Or whether a government might be circumventing a smart speaker's security and listening in anyway without the company's or owner's permission!

或者政府是否可能繞過智能語音助手的安保，在沒有公司或公司所有者許可的情況下偷聽！

Rob: Circumvent means 'cleverly bypass or go around'. So if all this eavesdropping is possible, why are smart speakers so popular?

Circumvent指的是"巧妙地繞過"。所以如果所有這些竊聽都是可能的，那么為什么智能語音助手如此受歡迎呢？

Dan: Good question! And here's Florian Schaub again with an answer. He conducted a study on people's attitudes to privacy when it comes to smart speakers. How do people feel about having a smart speaker that could eavesdrop on them?

Florian Schaub

弗洛里安·紹布

What we often saw is people just being resigned to 'this is the trade-off they have to make' if they want to enjoy the convenience that a smart speaker provides to them.

我們經(jīng)?？吹降那闆r是，如果人們想享受智能語音助手帶給他們的便利，他們就不得不屈從于"這是他們必須做出的妥協(xié)"。

Rob: He said that people are resigned to the privacy trade-off. If you are resigned to something, you accept something unpleasant that can't be changed.

他說，人們已經(jīng)接受了隱私方面的妥協(xié)。如果你屈從于某件事，你就要接受無法改變的不愉快。

Dan: Yes and a trade-off is a compromise. You accept something bad to also receive something good.

是的，"trade-off"就是妥協(xié)。你接受了不好的事物，同時也接受了好的事物。

Rob: So people accept that a smart speaker gives them advantages, even though there could be downsides?

所以人們接受智能語音助手給他們帶來好處，即使可能會有缺點？

Dan: Yes. In the grand scheme of things, the data that these devices hear is probably not that significant considering all the data companies have about us already anyway!

是的?？紤]到不管怎樣所有的數(shù)據(jù)公司已經(jīng)有了我們的數(shù)據(jù)，整體上來看，這些設(shè)備所聽到的數(shù)據(jù)可能并沒有那么重要！

Rob: So can I have the answer to the quiz then?

Dan: Of course! Earlier I asked by what percentage the number of smart speakers used in US households increased from December 2017 to December 2018? Was it... a) around 40% b) around 60%, or c) around 80%? What did you say, Rob?

當(dāng)然！早些時候我問，從2017年12月到2018年12月，使用智能語音助手的美國家庭數(shù)量增加了百分之多少？是a) 大約40%，b) 大約60%，還是c) 大約80%？你說是什么，羅伯？

Rob: I said c) around 80%.

我說是c) 大約80%。

Dan: And you are right. The answer is around 80% - from 66 million in December 2017 to 118 million in December 2018, and around ten million people in the UK now use one too! I guess they're really not worried about eavesdropping.

你答對了。答案是大約80%——從2017年12月的6600萬到2018年12月的1.18億，而且現(xiàn)在英國大約有1000萬人也在使用智能語音助手！我猜他們真的不擔(dān)心被竊聽。

Rob: Nice slide into the vocabulary there, Dan. If someone eavesdrops on you, it means they secretly listen to your conversation.

很好地過渡到詞匯，丹。如果有人對你進行竊聽，那指的是他們偷聽了你的談話。

Dan: They could be eavesdropping on you through a bug, which is a small electronic device used to secretly listen to conversations.

他們可能通過竊聽器對你進行竊聽（eavesdropping），那是一種用于秘密監(jiān)聽談話的小型電子設(shè)備。

Rob: Yes, they may have bugged your most intimate, or private and personal, spaces.

是的，他們可能竊聽了你最私密的（intimate）或者最秘密和最私人的空間。

Dan: Next we had circumvent. If you circumvent something, such as security, you cleverly or bypass it or go around it.

接下來我們提到了"繞行"（circumvent）。如果你繞過某些事物，比如安保，那你就是巧妙地繞過它。

Rob: Then we had resigned. If you are resigned to something, it means you accept something unpleasant that can't be changed.

然后我們學(xué)了"屈從"（resigned）。如果你屈從于某事物，那就是說你接受了無法改變的不愉快之事。

Dan: And lastly, we had trade-off. A trade-off is a compromise. You get something good, but you also get something bad.

最后，我們學(xué)了"妥協(xié)"（trade-off）。Trade-off就是"妥協(xié)"。你得到一些好的事物，但也會得到一些不好的事物。

Rob: Right - like 6 Minute English! A great discussion and vocabulary, but the trade-off is it only lasts six minutes!

是的——就像六分鐘英語！有很棒的討論和詞匯，但妥協(xié)之處是它只有六分鐘！

Dan: Which is just about now, actually - time to go. So until next time, find us all over the place online and on social media. Just search for BBC Learning English. Bye for now.

差不多就是到現(xiàn)在——是時候結(jié)束了。所以在下次節(jié)目之前，在網(wǎng)上和社交媒體上查找我們啊。只需搜索BBC教學(xué)英語。再見了。

Rob: Goodbye!

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