Google’s Project Loon Uses Balloons for Internet Service 谷歌以热气球打造「天空之网」
- 详细资料
- 创建于 2013年9月07日
- 最后更新于 2023年12月18日
- 发布于 2013年9月07日
- 作者：Mike Lee
- 点击数：221
课文朗读
Google is testing a new experiment called Project Loon that floats giant balloons high in the air to send out wireless Internet signals to remote areas. The California-based company first tested the project in New Zealand with 30 balloons. Each balloon has a solar-powered box that contains a 3G network system and sends out an Internet signal. Users or companies on the ground must then use a special antenna to receive the signal.
谷歌正在进行一项名为「Loon项目」的实验，利用飘浮在高空的大型气球，传送无线网络讯号至偏远地区。这家位于加州的公司已先于纽西兰以30颗气球展开此计划的测试工作。每颗气球上都安装具3G数据通讯系统的太阳能盒，以传送网络讯号，而地面上的使用者或公司则必须使用特殊天线来接受讯号。
Google’s balloons won’t run into anything either as they float 20 kilometers (km) above the Earth’s surface. By comparison, commercial planes only go 10 km high. An onboard computer uses a complex algorithm to determine which winds the balloons might catch in order to float safely.
这些气球并不会撞上任何物品，因为它们在高于地表20公里处飘行；对比之下，一般客机是在地面上10公里处飞行。为了能安全飘行，每颗气球上都有配置的计算机，它经由复杂的运算法则决定气球该随何风而行。
If Project Loon does continue to expand, the balloons could help fill gaps in Internet coverage for the two-thirds of the world’s population that currently have no Internet access.
如果「Loon项目」确实继续扩展，这些气球能填补网络使用范围的缺口，使世界上尚无法使用网络的三分之二人口受惠。
－by Bryan Shettig
Vocabulary
wireless [ˋwaɪrlɪs] adj. 无线的
remote [rɪˋmot] adj. 遥远的；偏僻的
solar-powered 太阳能的
antenna [ænˋtɛnə] n.【无】【美】天线
by comparison [kəmˋpærəsn] 相比之下
onboard [ˋɑnˋbord] adj. 装载于(如车、船、飞机等)之上的
algorithm [ˋælgə͵rɪðm] n. 算法
expand [ɪkˋspænd] v. 扩充；发展
coverage [ˋkʌvərɪdʒ] n. 覆盖范围
access [ˋæksɛs] n. 接近的机会；使用
Ask Away: How do the balloons last for so long?
Reading Comprehension
1. What is this article mainly about?
(A) How people will communicate in the future.
(B) A new way of receiving the Internet.
(C) Why balloons will replace airplanes.
(D) A method for staying in touch with friends.
2. Why do Google's balloons float so high?
(A) To stay 10 km above the Earth.
(B) To be closer to the sun.
(C) So that no one can see them.
(D) So they don't become a danger.
3. Which of the following is NOT discussed in the article?
(A) How many balloons went up.
(B) How the balloons get power.
(C) How much the project will cost.
(D) Where Google started its testing.
Answer
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1. ( B ) |
2. ( D ) |
3. ( C ) |
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