[TECHNOLOGY ★]
FARMERS USING APP TO KEEP TRACK OF SHEEP
(P1) Two sheep farmers have started using smartphones to MONITOR and record their FLOCKS.
(P2) A new mobile phone app allows them to record everything from the weight of a lamb to the medicines it is being given, all without leaving the fields.
(P3) The Welsh government-funded project also works out when sheep are ready for market.
(P4) Huw and Guto Jones, who farm at Mallwyd, Gwynedd, and Llandre, Ceredigion, said it saves them time.
(P5) The brothers now carry detailed information about their 1,300 flock of sheep in their hand while SHEPHERDING in the fields.
(P6) “This new technology is A BREATH OF FRESH AIR,” said Huw Jones. “It has made the recording of sheep and lambs’ details so much easier and quicker.
(P7) “If a problem ARISES in the field with a lame EWE or a sick lamb, we can search for an ear tag number on the phone and find their medical history.
(P8) “The other advantage we’ve seen is that we can register and read electronic identification tags for our 800 Welsh mountain sheep at Talyglannau, and do exactly the same with the flock of sheep we have on our second farm Elgar in Llandre, Bow Street, even though we have no broadband connection there.”
WORDS: 212
SOURCE: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-34211541
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- Do you use a lot of apps yourself, or not so many?
- Do you always buy the newest smartphone, or is an older model good enough for you?
- Would you allow yourself or your children to be MICROCHIPPED?
- Are apps anything more than information-organizing tools?
EXPRESSIONS TO PRACTICE:
What do the following expressions mean? Practice using each expression in a sentence; extra points if you can use it in conversation.
- A breath of fresh air
