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1 Home Tech Home Think about the technology you use at home. You probably picture a personal computer or tablet, a cell phone, and a cable TV system. Each of these devices makes life more enjoyable. However, there are many other ways home technology makes life better. Technology makes it possible to regulate the temperature inside your home. Advanced heating and cooling systems help us use energy more efficiently. Some homes even have heated flooring. This means you stay warm and cozy in winter. The same house stays cool during the hottest days of summer. Think about the things inside your home. Many of them are designed to make your life easier. Most appliances rely on some form of technology. They make it much quicker and easier to store and prepare food. A microwave heats food in a matter of seconds or minutes. A refrigerator stores food and keeps it cold. It can also dispense water and ice. Washing machines and dryers let us clean our clothes with very little effort. Not too many people enjoy cleaning their home. Now technology makes it easier and faster to get the job done. Many ovens have a selfcleaning feature. This means they do not have to be cleaned by hand as often. Some families have traded their regular vacuum for a robot vacuum. The robot vacuum moves across the floor on its own. No time or effort on your part is required. Credits: BUILT Images/Alamy 1

2 Some families use technology to protect their homes and property. Alarm systems alert families when someone breaks in. They also let homeowners lock doors and windows away from home. All this is done with the push of a button. These systems can also get help for families when there is an emergency. Can you think of some smaller, more ordinary household items that feature technology? Many families have replaced regular picture frames with digital ones. Now it is possible to display many pictures in one frame instead of just one. Do you use an electric toothbrush, a hair dryer, or a toaster? These are all things that help people get ready each morning. DID YOU KNOW? In the future, homes might be more responsive to the people who live inside them. For example, advanced systems might collect data about your temperature and body language and use this information to change the lights, music, or temperature to suit your needs or mood. You ve probably heard of smart phones, but have you heard of smart homes? Some companies are finding more ways to incorporate technology into homes. For example, smart phones can act like remote controls. They can allow people to do things such as turn on their lights while they are driving home from work. Technology makes life easier by letting us do things faster and more efficiently. We can spend less time doing work and more time enjoying favorite activities. Technology also provides products that make our lives more enjoyable. Although technology has become more affordable, some products are still too expensive for many people. Credits: left: Steven Cukrov/Dreamstime.com; top right: Val Thoermer/Dreamstime.com; bottom right: Big Cheese Photo LLC/Alamy 2

3 Letters take days to reach the recipient. Then it takes more time to receive a response. Does it seem like everywhere you go people are using their cell phones? Just ten years ago, cell phones were not nearly as common as they are today. Now they have become something that many people cannot live without. Cell phones have made it easier to connect with people and get information. However, some people think they have negative effects as well. In the past, when people wanted to communicate with another person, they could use their home phone or write a letter. Before answering machines, there was no way to leave a message. The person had no way of knowing that someone had called. Cell phones have completely changed how we communicate. They give us many more ways to quickly connect with people all over the world. We can text instant messages and get responses in a matter of minutes or seconds. Cell phones allow us to place calls from nearly any location. We don t have to be at home to call someone. Today many people are better able to stay in touch with family and friends. They can use their phone to easily send a short message, and they are likely to get a quick response. Smart phones allow us to do much more than just call or send messages. We can use them to send and receive . They can even give us directions. Smart phones also allow us to surf the Internet. Information about stores, restaurants, Credits: bottom left: Suzana Tomovska/123RF; top right: Tuan Nguyen/123RF 1

4 and other businesses is available at the touch of a finger and without having to ask a friend or neighbor. There are some who argue that this convenience comes with a cost. Some people think texting is having a negative effect on our society. They say that people are less friendly. When people communicate via text message, sometimes their words can be misinterpreted. Some adults think that younger people have forgotten how to spell and write complete sentences. Text messages need to be brief. This means that people type short sentences with little DID YOU KNOW? A survey found that 83 percent of American adults have some kind of cell phone. Almost 75 percent of cell phone owners use their phones to send text messages and take pictures. About 13 percent of those surveyed said they sometimes pretend to use their phone to avoid interacting with other people. or no punctuation. They often type words as they sound not as they are spelled. Some adults say that younger people have poor speaking skills. This makes it harder for them to interact with people face to face. Have you heard stories about people who are obsessed with their smart phones and cannot live without them? Some people feel the need to constantly check their . They are afraid they will miss an important piece of information. Sometimes people pay more attention to their phones than to the people with them. This can lead to problems in personal relationships. Some people are more comfortable communicating via text than talking face to face. Cell phones have changed how we communicate. Now we can place calls no matter where we are or what we are doing. They make it easier to reach out to people and stay connected. However, cell phones have not replaced sitting down and talking with someone in person. Credits: istockphoto.com/gpointstudio 2

5 Pros and Cons of Processed Foods Go into any grocery store, and you will see shelves lined with processed foods. Processed foods are popular in many households. However, some people say that they are not worth the convenience they provide. Processed foods are foods that have been changed in some way by people. They include frozen dinners, cereal, lunch meat, crackers, and granola bars. Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables are also processed foods. Unprocessed foods include things such as raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts. These foods are eaten in their natural state. One of the first processed foods was the frozen TV dinner. In the 1950s, many American families welcomed this new invention into their homes. One company had developed a process of quick freezing foods. During this process, foods are frozen very quickly and ice crystals form around them. Before this time, the technology to quick freeze foods was not available. In the 1950s, many families enjoyed watching television while they ate dinner. Frozen TV dinners provided a quick and inexpensive way to prepare dinner. Today, more and more people are on the go. Between work, school, sports, and other activities, many families don t have the time or energy to devote to home-cooked meals. Processed foods provide an appealing alternative. More and Credits: Burger/Phanie/SuperStock 1

6 DID YOU KNOW? A large part of what most Americans eat is ready-to-go food. A study showed that Americans eat 31 percent more packaged food than fresh food. more of the foods we eat come out of a can, a bottle, a box, or some other kind of package. Processed foods can taste good. However, sometimes they contain ingredients that are not necessarily good for us. Sugar, salt, and fat are key ingredients in many processed foods. Often, these foods contain a lot of calories as well. People with food allergies have to be careful with processed foods. Often nuts are processed using the same equipment as other foods, so people with nut allergies have to read labels. Hundreds of years ago, people ate food straight from the land. They hunted animals. They gathered or grew their own plants. There were few things in their food that were harmful. Today, most people do not have the time to grow and harvest their own food. For most people it is easier and cheaper to buy food at a grocery store. Processed foods are designed to stay on the shelf for a long time. Preservatives, such as salt, are added to foods to make them last. Some people argue that preservatives are not healthy for our bodies. Some processed foods can be good for you. Milk is a processed food that many people drink. Fruit or vegetable juice can also be somewhat healthy unless it has added sugar. Orange juice has added calcium. This makes it even more nutritious. Frozen vegetables retain their vitamins and minerals. People can enjoy eating them all year round. Processed foods provide a convenient, low-cost option for many busy families. Not all processed foods are unhealthy. Carefully read food labels. This will help you identify foods that have high amounts of sugar, salt, or fat. Credits: top left: istockphoto.com/graham Whiles; bottom right: courtesy of U.S. Food and Drug Administrations 2

7 Space program innovations Advances in technology have made it possible for America s space program to achieve some amazing things. We have sent people to the moon and helped construct the International Space Station. We have sent a robot explorer all the way to Mars. Space technology has also changed the lives of millions of people here on Earth. For the Apollo and Gemini space missions, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) needed a portable drill. A computer program was created to design the drill s motor. This program was later used to create a small, cordless vacuum cleaner. Many people use this handheld vacuum cleaner to clean small spaces in their home. Space flights can last a long time. NASA developed a way to freeze dry food. During freeze drying, foods are cooked, quickly frozen, and then heated in a vacuum chamber. The freeze-dried food still has 98 percent of its nutrition, but it only weighs 20 percent of its original weight. Freeze drying food has become a common practice outside the space program. Now it is easier to provide simple yet nutritious foods to people who might not have them otherwise. Many people today sleep on a mattress made from temper foam. You might have heard it called memory foam. This material is the result of a NASA program. NASA wanted to develop more protective padding for airplanes. Credits: Horizon International Images Limited/Alamy 1

8 The padding would help protect passengers during a crash. The foam material is soft. It provides comfort and support. It is often used in pillows and furniture. The material also absorbs impact. This makes it perfect for use in cars, safety equipment, amusement park rides, and racecars. More and more, people are looking at alternative forms of energy. Many homes now get some of their energy from solar panels. The technology behind solar power cells came from a project that was backed by NASA. The goal was to find a way to provide aircraft with solar power. This would allow planes to fly for several days at a time. They would not have to return to the ground to refuel. The silicon-based cells developed for this project led to the solar power cells used in many homes. NASA technology has also led to improvements in health and medicine. During space shuttle flights, astronauts used red light-emitting devices. They used these devices to conduct experiments in plant growth. This led to the creation of a hand-held medical device. Doctors use the device to give patients relief from arthritis and muscle and joint pain. DID YOU KNOW? Space technology has contributed to improved products families use every day, such as running shoes, light bulbs, better baby food, and sunglasses that block harmful rays from the sun. NASA also helped develop a new kind of thermometer. It measures the energy given off by the eardrum. This thermometer makes it easier to take the temperature of newborn and critically ill babies. Space program innovations have influenced every part of our lives, from what we eat and sleep on to how we heat our homes. In many ways, space technology has improved our lives. solar panels memory foam bike helmet handheld vacuum infrared ear thermometer Credits: left: smileus/123rf; center left: Elena Elisseeva/Dreamstime.com; center: Wilawan Khasawong/123RF; center right: Martin Green/Dreamstime.com; right: Cultura Creative/Alamy 2

9 LIFE WITH computers Can you imagine life today without computers? You may not realize it, but computer technology is linked to almost every part of our lives. Computers help us do many things, but they can have negative effects as well. The first computers were huge! They filled an entire room. Today s computers are much smaller, so we can easily carry them around. They are inside cell phones, laptops, and tablets. Computers can process and store large amounts of data. This allows us to keep and play movies and music on CDs, DVDs, and MP3 players and take them with us wherever we go. Computers perform complex operations and process information much faster than people can. This makes them an essential part of many businesses. The medical industry relies on computers in much of its equipment. Medical testing is easier and more accurate because of computer technology. Computers are also an important part of products we use every day. Our cars, home appliances, and smart phones all rely on computer technology. Most of us probably find it hard to imagine life without the Internet. Computers provide us with Internet access. They make it possible to share information with people all over the world. Today, it is easy to quickly find information about any topic. There is no need to drive to the library and search for just the right book. Just a few simple Connecting Passage Credits: ONOKY - Photononstop/Alamy 1

10 clicks are all we need to find facts, get directions, or plan a trip. Some people are concerned about the role computers play in our lives. They think that computers have led to a loss of privacy. Computer hackers find ways to break into and bank accounts. They can steal people s personal information. When you surf the Internet, companies collect information about the sites you visit. Some computer users have been the victims of cyber bullying or scams. It is easy to pretend to be someone you are not on the Internet. Did you know that computers use a lot of energy? Many people leave their computers on at work or home for most of the day. Power plants burn fossil fuels to generate electricity. This leads to greater use of Earth s natural resources. As more people use computers, the demand for electricity increases. Computer technology is constantly improving. This means that newer, DID YOU KNOW? A study found that almost 90 percent of Americans own some kind of computing device. This includes cell phones, computers, MP3 players, game systems, and tablets. faster computers are constantly being created. Old computers become obsolete. Everyone wants the latest, best thing. What happens to the old hardware? Much of it winds up in landfills as trash. Computers contain substances that can harm the environment. Some people think that we spend too much time using personal computers, tablets, and other devices. Instead of playing outside, more kids are staying inside to play games. This lack of physical activity can lead to health problems, such as obesity. Some people spend more time with their computers than with their families and friends. Computers have improved our lives in many ways, but we should be aware of the harm they can do as well. What will you do to lessen computers negative effects? Connecting Passage Credits: Marc Tielemans/Alamy 2

11 Student Response Sheet Individual Reading Name Key Question Does technology make life better? On Your Own 1. Read the Key Question. Then read the selection. Look for details in the text that help you answer the Key Question. Circle or underline these details. 2. Now look back at the selection. Write the details you circled or underlined in the web diagram below. Does technology make life better? 3. Think about the Key Question. Write your answer to the Key Question using the details you found in the selection you read. My First Answer 1

12 Student Response Sheet Team Discussion Name Key Question Does technology make life better? Share Your Ideas Meet with your team. Talk about each selection your team read. 1. Tell the team what you learned in the selection you read. Show your diagram. 2. Look at the diagrams your team made. Compare the details in each of your selections by looking at all the diagrams you made. Answer these questions together. How has technology made people s lives better? What negative effects can technology have on our lives? Next, write the reasons that support either a Yes or No answer to the Key Question on the Summary Chart below. Write only the details that are in every selection your team read. Yes No Answer the Key Question Review the details on your team s chart. As a team, write an answer to the Key Question. Use details from the selections to support your answer. Does technology make life better? Our Team s Answer 2