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Newsworthy Clips: Airline passengers urged to pack neatly 搭机乘客打包术

 

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Airline passengers urged to pack neatly  搭机乘客打包术

 

Airline passengers, who already must remove their shoes, take off their coats and carry only small bottles of liquids, now have a new directive at airport checkpoints: Pack neatly. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) urges travelers to eliminate clutter in carry-on bags. Pack in layers. Keep items neat.

在机场通关行李检查时，搭机乘客已经被迫脱掉鞋子和外套，而且只能带小瓶液体随行，如今他们又得遵行一项新指令了，那就是打包务必整齐不凌乱。美国「运输安全管理局」（简称TSA）呼吁旅客保持随身行李的整齐，减少凌乱，应尽量分层打包，所携带物品应保持整洁。

 

The messy traveler could spend more time in line if their carry-on is cluttered because they are much more likely to be pulled aside and hand searched, TSA spokesman Ellen Howe says. The added search could add up to three minutes to a traveler’s time in the security line, she says.

TSA发言人艾伦．霍威表示，邋遢的旅客有可能会因为随身行李太过凌乱，而必须在检查时耗费更多时间，他们可能更容易被叫出队伍之外，并进行人工检查行李。她表示，额外的检查动作可能会使旅客必须在安全检查时多耗费三分钟的时间。

 

The neat-and-tidy exhortation, dubbed SimpliFLY by the TSA, is an effort to prepare people for holiday travel, which draws record crowds into jam-packed airplanes flying through congested airspace.

规劝搭机旅客保持行李整齐的这项行动，被ＴＳＡ命名为「简易飞行」，目的是希望让民众能预先作好准备，以免遇到假日搭机人潮时来不及因应，每逢假日佳节，搭机人潮往往会把机场挤得水泄不通，而空中交通一样很壅塞。

 

As airports urge travelers to arrive extra early and the government creates new airplane routes, the TSA is pointing out that neater packing can expedite checkpoint lines.

随着各家机场纷纷呼吁旅客提早抵达机场，而美国政府也设立新的飞机航道，ＴＳＡ指出，打包更加整齐将有助于加速通关行李检查的行列。

 

“If you eliminate clutter, it helps us get a clearer look at the contents of a bag” on checkpoint X-ray machines, Howe says. The faster screeners can figure out what’s inside a bag, the quicker they can clear it.

霍威表示，在通过Ｘ光行李检查机时，「旅客行李凌乱的情形减少后，有助于检查人员能更清楚地看透行李内所装的物品。」如果行李检查人员愈快能看出行李中的物品，就能愈快核准旅客通关。

 

“You can help make your experience better if you come prepared,” Howe says.

「旅客如果能作好准备，就能让自己享有更美好的通关经验，」霍威表示。

 

Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, applauds the TSA’s effort, but says he’s not “real optimistic” it will help expedite security lines. “The message is a pretty sophisticated one, and it’s a lot for the average person who is traveling for the first time in months to remember,” Mitchell says.

「商务旅行联盟」主席凯文．米契尔对ＴＳＡ此举大表赞赏，但也表示他对这项行动能否有助于加速安全检查通关行列并不「抱持真正乐观的态度。」「这项讯息太过复杂了，因此那些好几个月才会搭机一次的一般旅客，可能会记不住。」

 

Checkpoint tips include:

行李检查通关秘诀，包括：

 

Eliminate excess clutter in carry-on bags.  随身行李应减少凌乱情形。

 

Pack clothing in one layer of your bag, electronics in another.  在行李中，应把衣物放在一起打包，而电子产品则打包在另一层。

 

Put liquids and gels in a single, one-quart, clear plastic, zip-top bag.  液体和胶状物应放在单一、一夸脱容量的透明塑料袋中，而袋口应有拉链或封口。

 

Remove shoes and coats at checkpoints.  在行李检查处，请脱掉鞋子和外套。

 

−by Thomas Frank

 

单词发音

 

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checkpoint [ˋtʃɛk͵pɔɪnt] n. 检查站；关卡

carry-on [ 'kærɪɑn ] adj. 可随身携带的; n. 小箱包

airspace [ˋɛr͵spes] n. 上空；空间；领空

screener [skrinɚ] n. 检查人员 people who examine or look at screen

coalition [͵koəˋlɪʃən] n.（政党、国家等）临时结成的联盟

applaud [əˋplɔd] v. 称赞；赞成

quart [kwɔrt] n. 夸脱（英美容量或液量单位，= 2 品脱）

 

 

 

 

 

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Tiny measurements yield big discoveries  小测量大发现

 

As scientists learn how to make more exact measurements, they’re finding some astonishing surprises:

当科学家们研发能更精确测量的方式之后，他们也开始发现一些令人感到惊讶的事实：

 

The enthusiastic stomping of soccer fans after a goal creates a “footquake” on earthquake gauges 30 or more miles away.

足球球迷们眼见自己支持的球队射门得分后，会热情地踱足，而引发「足震」，并会在三十哩或以上距离以外的地震仪显示出来。

 

Florida is getting closer to Canada by about 1 inch every 36 years.

每三十六年，佛罗里达州和加拿大之间的距离就会又缩短约一吋左右。

 

Astronomers soon will be able to measure the sideways motion of a star trillions of miles away even though it’s moving at a speed of less than 10 inches an hour.

天文学家很快就会能测量出一兆哩之外恒星的侧向运动，即使那颗星的移动速度每小时不到十吋也一样难逃天文学家的法眼。

 

It takes 61 trillions of an ounce of force to make one atom hop over another.

要让一个原子跳到另一个原子上，施以一兆分之六十一盎司的力量就能办到。

 

New technologies are enabling researchers to measure things such as time, distance, temperature, weight, force, size and motion with a precision never before achieved. Scientists say that these tools can help improve global positioning systems, space navigation, wireless communications, national security sensors, biomedical techniques and basic science in physics, chemistry, astronomy and genetics, among other uses.

新技术使研究人员得以测量时间、距离、温度、重量、力量、大小和运动等项目，而且能达到前所未有的精确度。科学家表示，这些工具有助于改善全球定位系统、太空导航、无线通信、国家安全传感器，生物医学技术，以及基础物理学、化学、天文学、遗传学和其他运用方式。

 

For instance, the ability to work with extremely minute intervals of time soon may allow scientists to freeze motion – like an ultrafast strobe light – to observe the behavior of electrons inside an atom, according to physicist Philip Bucksbaum.

据物理学家菲利普．柏克包姆指出，举例来说，科学家如果能处理极度短暂的时间，那么要不了多久他们就可望使移动状态暂时冻结──例如超快闪光──以便观察原子内电子的行为模式了。

 

Physicist Michael Roukes managed to measure the weight of a single molecule with an uncertainty of less than a billionth of a trillionth of an ounce (0.000,000,000,000,000,000,001 ounce).

物理学家麦可．路可则成功测量出单一分子的重量，而不准量不到0.000.000.000.000.000.000.001盎司。

 

Seismologist Garrett Euler detected tiny vibrations he called “footquake.” He’d installed a string of 32 seismometers across 900 miles in Cameroon, Africa, to observe volcanic activity there. One day, Euler noticed an unusual pattern of squiggles on his seismometer. His girlfriend, Katy Lofton, figured out that the tremors came whenever a goal was scored during an African Cup soccer match between Cameroon and Ivory Coast.

地震学家加瑞特．尤勒则是侦测出他称之为「足震」的微小震动。他起先在非洲喀麦隆装设了一连串共三十二个地震仪，总共跨越九百哩远，原本用意是想观测当地的火山活动。有天，尤勒注意到，地震仪上出现异常震动曲线，结果他的女友凯蒂．洛夫顿赫然发现，原来喀麦隆和科特迪瓦代表队在非洲杯足球赛中对打期间，每当有进球得分时，地震仪都会记录下震动的出现。

 

−by Robert S. Boyd

 

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stomp [stɑmp] v. & n. 跺脚；重踩，重踏

goal [gol] n. 得分

gauge [gedʒ] v.（常指用某种仪器）测量，测定，算出

sideways [ˋsaɪd͵wez] adj.（斜）向一边的；向旁边的

minute [maɪˋnjut] adj. 微小的；琐细的

strobe [strob] n. 闪光灯

uncertainty [ʌnˋsɝtntɪ] n. 不确定

seismologist [saɪzˋmɑlədʒɪst] n. 地震学家 a scientist that studies the sudden violent movements of the earth, especially those caused by earthquakes

seismometer [saɪzˋmɑmətɚ] n. 地震仪 a device used to detect and measure vibrations within the earth, especially those caused by earthquakes

squiggle [ˋskwɪg!] n. 弯曲的线

 

 

 

 

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Physicist’s vision for helping the world’s poor  物理学家为贫穷人民带来福音

 

Joshua Silver was fiddling around one day with a cheap, water-filled lens he’d built as an optics experiment when he noticed something interesting. By adding or removing water he could not only change the power of the lens, but he also could use it to very accurately correct his own nearsightedness when he looked through it.

乔舒亚．席佛有天在把玩着一副便宜的充水眼镜，那是他打造的光学实验器材，结果他突然发现相当耐人寻味之处，那就是不但可以藉由加水或减少水量来改变镜片的度数，而戴上这副眼镜后，还能精确地矫正他的近视。

 

“I was struck by the quality of the vision I could get with a device I could make for pennies and I could adjust myself,” remembers Silver, an Oxford University atomic physicist. “My immediate thought was, ‘If I can correct my own vision so easily, could other people?’”

「区区几分钱就能制成的玩意儿，矫正近视的质量却极度优异，令我印象深刻，而且我还能自行矫正度数，」席佛回忆说，这位「牛津大学」原子物理学家继续说道，「我脑中浮起的第一个念头就是，『如果我这么轻易就能矫正自己的视力，那么其他人也能依样画葫芦吗？』」

 

Yes, it turns out. Eyeglasses using Silver’s simple, self-adjusting technology are now poised to revolutionize the way the world’s poor see.

结果是，大家的确都能办到。于是席佛利用简易、自我调整的技术所打造出来的这种眼镜，俨然将为全球贫穷人口的视力带来革命性的影响。

 

“With this technology, you can make your own prescription eyewear,” said Silver, who has so far turned out about 30,000 pairs of the cheap glasses. He hopes to find funding to distribute a billion pairs to people around the world who are too poor to afford glasses.

「藉由这种技术，人们就能自行制作处方眼镜，」席佛表示，他迄今已生产了约三万副该款廉价眼镜。他希望寻求资金挹注，以便分发送出十亿副眼镜给全球各地的贫困民众，因为这些人穷到买不起眼镜。

 

In a world where just about everybody older than 45 needs reading glasses, and just 5 percent of the world’s poor get the vision correction they need, “the market is close to 3 billion people,” said the 62-year-old inventor, who took up studying optics to better view atomic structure and still considers himself a rookie at understanding vision.

全球凡是年纪在四十五岁以上的人，大都需要配副老花眼镜，而全球贫穷人口中仅百分之五能获得适当的视力矫正。「整个市场大约有将近三十亿人口左右，」这位六十二岁的发明家表示，席佛目前开始研习光学，以便更了解原子结构，他目前视自己为视力学门中的一名新手。

 

However, the revolutionary glasses do have drawbacks. Both the size and price of the glasses remain daunting: The current hefty model is going for $19 a pair. Silver is working on streamlined versions, with hopes of getting the cost down to about $2 as manufacturing volume picks up.

不过，这种革命性的眼镜仍有其缺点，那就是在大小和价格上仍令人为之却步。目前体积仍相当笨重的这款眼镜，要价一副十九美元。席佛目前正着手研发更流线型的款式，希望藉由生产数量的增加，而把成本压低到两美元左右。

 

“I’m not in this to make money,” he says. “But my motivation is to make this technology and get it to people who need it.”

「我做这个不是为了赚钱，」他表示，「我的出发点是希望能运用这项科技，并贡献给需要它的人。」

 

−by Laurie Goering

 

单词发音

 

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fiddle [ˋfɪd!] v.【口】游荡；不经意地做事[（+about/around）]

optics [ˋɑptɪks] n.（用作单数）光学; 光学设备 something that is related to the ability to see

nearsightedness [ˋnɪrˋsaɪtɪdnɪs] n. 近视；近视眼 a vision problem that prevents someone from seeing objects clearly when they are far away

atomic physicist  原子物理学家 a scientist that studies the internal structure of the action

prescription [prɪˋskrɪpʃən] n. 处方，药方

eyewear [ ˈaɪwɛr ] n. 眼镜 eyeglasses, goggles, or other objects worn over the eyes

take up 开始学, 做, 喜欢上 to develop an interest in or devotion to

rookie [ˋrʊkɪ] n.【口】新手；菜鸟；新兵 a person who is new to an activity

hefty [ˋhɛftɪ] adj. 重的 of considerable weight; heavy

streamlined [ˋstrim͵laɪnd] adj. 流线型的

in [ɪn] prep.(表示原因)由于, 为了;  (表示目的)为了 with the aim or purpose of

 

 

 

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Vocabulary Focus

directive [dəˋrɛktɪv] n. 命令，训令，指令; 方针 an official instruction

clutter [ˋklʌtɚ] n. 凌乱，杂乱 a lot of objects that are in a state of disorder

exhortation [͵ɛgzɔrˋteʃən] n. 规劝；告诫 something said in order to strongly encourage someone to do something

jam-packed [ˋdʒæmˋpækt] adj. 挤满的，塞紧的 full of people or things that are pushed closely together

expedite [ˋɛkspɪ͵daɪt] v. 迅速执行；促进 to cause to be done more quickly

precision [prɪˋsɪʒən] n. 精确（性）；精密（度）；准确（性）the quality of being exact

fiddle around 玩弄 to try different ways of doing something until you find the best way

poised [pɔɪzd] adj. 作好一切准备的；随时准备行动的 ready to do a particular thing at any moment

turn out 出产 to produce something

daunting [ˋdɔntɪŋ] adj. 令人怯步的；使人气馁的 discouraging

 

 

The Stuff Of Genius: Joshua Silver and the Self-Adjustable Glasses

 

 

Josh Silver demos adjustable liquid-filled eyeglasses