Weird Butterfly Ceremony

課文：

The Internet of Things (IoT) aims to get everything and everyone talking. Attaching sensors to “things,” such as cows, cars, and refrigerators, and then assigning them unique IP addresses allow them to “talk” to the Internet. Of course the IoT will involve much more than a handful of sensors. Networking company Cisco estimates that 50 billion Internet-connected devices and objects will be transmitting data by 2020.

aim to：致力、意欲、旨在
aim：目標、目的
attach to：裝上、貼上
sensor：感應器、感測器
refrigerator：冰箱
assign：分配、分派
IP address：網際網路協定位址
handful：難以控制的人、麻煩事、少量、少數
estimate：估計、估量
transmit：傳送、傳遞

But getting back to those cows, cars and refrigerators, what types of data might they actually send? Cows might transmit their locations or physical conditions. Cars might communicate low oil levels and automatically schedule their own maintenance. And refrigerators might send owners text messages reminding them it’s time to buy milk and eggs.

condition：狀態、情況
automatically：自動地
maintenance：維修、保養

Specific Benefits

The IoT will allow people to track things and processes like never before. Airplane manufacturers will be able to continuously track the condition of airplane parts, allowing them to do preventive maintenance and avoid costly downtime. Consumers could install smart meters in their homes to monitor energy usage and observe energy price changes in real time. That would allow people to adjust their habits and use electrical appliances during lower-priced hours.

track：追蹤、跟蹤
continuously：連續不斷地
preventive：預防的、防止的
downtime：故障修理的停工期間
meter：計量器、儀表
observe：注意到、看到、監視
real time：即時的
electrical：用電的、電的
appliance：器具、用具、設備（= tool、instrument）

文法：
getting back to = returning to a subject that was mentioned earlier（回過頭來再提到…）

特別補充：
clipped word：截短詞
sen-：感受
maintain：維持
prevent：預防
real-time：立即的、即時的
app：application
gas：gasoline
exam：examination
phone：telephone
plane：airplane
fridge：refrigerator
flu：influenza