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Living: Pushbutton Power
日常生活：按鈕的神通
It is 7: 30 a. m. As the alarm clock burrs, the bedroom curtains swing silently apart, the Venetian blinds snap up and the thermostat boosts the heat to a cozy 70. The percolator in the kitchen starts burbling; the back door opens to let out the dog. The TV set blinks on with the day's first newscast: a selective rundown (ordered up the night before) of all the latest worldwide events affecting the economy-legislative, political, monetary. After the news on TV comes the morning mail, from correspondents who have dictated their messages into the computer network. The latter-day Aladdin, still snugly abed, then presses a button on a bedside box and issues a string of business and personal memos, which appear instantly on the genie screen. After his shower, which has turned itself on at exactly the right temperature at the right minute, Mr.A. is alerted by a buzzer and a blue light on the screen. His boss, the company president, is on his way to the office. A. dresses and saunters out to the car. The engine, of course, is running...
早晨七點半鐘，鬧鐘鈴聲一響，臥室的窗簾輕輕地自動往兩邊分開，百葉遮陽簾啪地一聲向上卷起，恒溫器將室溫上調到令人愜意的華氏七十度。廚房里的咖啡壺開始咕咕作響;后門自動打開放狗子出去。電視機熒光屏閃亮，開始播放當天的第一套新聞節目，這是(頭天晚上預設好的)選擇性新聞提要，內容包括世界上最近發生的一切對經濟有影響的，涉及立法、政治以及金融方面的重大事件。新聞播完后，屏幕上便接著顯示出早晨收到的信函，來函者都是通過將信息輸入計算機網絡而將信函傳遞過來的。此時仍舒舒服服躺在床上的那位現代阿拉丁緊接著便按下床頭柜上的一個按鈕，發出一連串公私事務上的備忘錄信息，這些信息立刻便出現在那魔幻似的屏幕上。浴室里淋浴器準時地自動打開，水溫也調控得恰到好處。阿先生洗完淋浴后，即得到一陣蜂鳴器的響聲和熒光屏上一道藍光的提示。他的上司--公司總經理已經出發上班了。阿先生這才穿好衣服，步態從容地走到汽車邊，他的汽車自然已經發動好了…
After her husband has kissed her goodbye, Alice A. concentrates on the screen for a read-out of comparative prices at the local merchants' and markets.
在丈夫與她吻別之后，艾麗斯o阿拉丁便全神貫注地審讀著屏幕上顯示出來的當地各家商店和市場的物價對照表。
