VOA慢速英语:IBM Says Minds Will Control Machines Within Five Years

known as被认为是，被称为
例句：Radio, television, newspapers and magazines are known as the mass media.
广播、电视、报纸和杂志被称为大众传媒。

2. They say people will soon have a way to just think about calling or e-mailing someone in order to make it happen.

in order to为了
例句：We started early in order to arrive before dark.
为了在天黑前到达,我们很早就动身了。

3. "For instance, you can have somebody in the third world who has access to a phone or a smartphone but doesn't have access to the power grid, which is a very common thing, and literally in a shoe has something that recovers energy from walking and can charge the battery to enable that person to actually become connected with the rest of the world.

have access to接近（或进入）的方法（或权利、机会等）
例句：Students must have access to good books.
学生应该读得到好书。
connect with与…连接
例句：The village is connected by a bus service with the nearest town.
公共汽车把该村与最近的市镇联系起来。

4. Some of the most common biometrics used to identify people are fingerprints, face and voice recognition, and iris scans.

used to过去一向,过去时常;过去曾(而现在不再)做
例句：The Greeks used to worship several gods.
过去,希腊人崇奉好几种神。

5. You walk up to an ATM [automated teller machine].

walk up沿…走去
例句：If you walk up the street, you'll see many shops.
如果你沿街走去, 就能看到许多商店。

6. The device, as you act upon it, as you eliminate mail, you don't read it, you just look at it and kill it, after a while it learns your habits and works for you as as your assistant by eliminating stuff you never wanted anyway.

act upon奉行; 按照…而行动
例句：If my advice had been acted upon, the firm would not have gone bankrupt.
如果我的建议被采纳, 公司就不会破产了。