What Is Self-Tracking All About? (1)

Collecting personal data could lead to self-improvement

Have you ever monitored something about yourself? Perhaps you've tracked how many kilometers you've run, how many hours you've slept or how many calories you've eaten in a day.

If so, you've taken part in a movement called the "Quantified Self Movement." Individuals gather information about their daily activities in this widespread movement, also called self-tracking. This may sound difficult, but technology is making the process easier.

Perhaps you've wanted to change a bad habit and couldn't. Self-tracking may be your answer. The idea is to take information about your everyday activities and analyze it to help attain a healthier lifestyle.

Recently, tools such as smartphones, journals and apps, along with newly released wearable gadgets, are making self-tracking extremely easy. Today, one can use Fitbit, the Jawbone UP, Google Glass or a smart watch to record personal data including hours slept, stress levels, heart rate and mood.

So why does a person self-track? Someone may be trying to lose weight or improve their sleep patterns. Another person feels tried after eating. Self-tracking could help him to identify what foods make him sleepy and modify his diet accordingly.

Info Cloud
Teaching Topic: The 10 Most Used English Words
英國牛津大學做了一個追踪,
10個英文單子是生活中最常用的英文單字,
而這10個英文字足以用來生活中25%的英文單字,
而日常生活中最當用到的50%的單字也只不過100個

Grammar Gym
the idea: the purpose
- Self-tracking may be your answer. The idea is to take information about your everyday activities and analyze it to help attain a healthier lifestyle.
- The idea of the art gallery is to not only promote local artwork but to also allow artists to have a place to sell their crafts.
- All students are required to find an internship position. The idea is to give students a chance to learn in a real workplace.


Language Lab
quantify v.
to calculate the value of something and express it as a number or an amount:
- It's difficult to quantify one's talent.
- It's impossible to quantify the damages the typhoon caused.
quantity n.
an amount or number of something
- A large quantity of food was stored for winter.

widespread adj.
common over a wide area or among many people
- The premier received widespread support from the public.
- There's widespread discontent among the employees.
discontent adj.
not pleased or satisfied

gadget n.
a small, useful device
- Mom loves to buy kitchen gadgets and experiment with them.
- This electric can opener is our chef's favorite gadget.

modify v.
to change some parts of (something) while not changing other parts
- The proposal was modified to meet the client's needs.
- You need to modify your tone when talking to your elders.
modification n.
the act or process of changing parts of something : the act or process of modifying something
- The existing computer system needs modification.


mms://203.69.69.81/studio/20140509baabf96e06f42874e2954fe208e8edd4bc54fff6724e2333e1a364742b9f4f7b15b.wma