The Speaker That Argues Back
A free A2-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Elio and Camila's smart speaker starts giving strange answers, and the reason turns out to be their neighbor's identical speaker next door.
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Elio and Camila have a smart speaker in their kitchen. They use it to play music and set timers.
This week, the speaker starts acting strange. Camila asks it to play jazz music, but it plays rock instead.
"That's not what I asked for," Camila says. She tries again, but the same thing happens.
Elio asks the speaker to set a timer for ten minutes. A voice answers, "Timer set for thirty minutes."
"This speaker doesn't listen well today," Elio says.
They check the speaker's settings on their phone app. Everything looks normal.
That evening, their neighbor knocks on the door. "Sorry to bother you," she says. "Does your speaker also say strange things?"
Camila laughs. "Yes! It plays the wrong music and sets the wrong timers."
"I think our speakers hear each other," the neighbor says. "Our kitchens share a wall, and the sound travels through it."
Elio checks the wall between the apartments. It's thin, just like the neighbor says.
"That explains it," Elio says. "Your speaker probably hears our commands too."
They agree to use different wake words for their speakers. The next morning, the music finally plays correctly.
