EZCNN 易英网

Ray Kurzweil: Passionate Dreamer of the Future 未来梦想家

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

Ray Kurzweil has always been a dreamer. At five years old, he already knew he wanted to be an inventor. At school, Kurzweil was further inspired by the fictional hero Tom Swift – a boy genius whose inventions solved problems and saved lives. Reading Tom Swift, Kurzweil says, taught him to believe in “the power of ideas to change the world.”

雷科兹威尔一直以来就是个梦想家。五岁时，他就知道他要成为一位发明家。就学后，又进一步受到小说主角汤姆史威夫特—一个利用发明来解决问题及拯救生命的天才男孩所鼓舞。科兹威尔表示：「读汤姆史威夫特的故事使他相信思想的力量很大，可以改变世界。」

That belief has carried Kurzweil far in life. At the age of twelve, he programmed his first computer. At 18, he sold a company that helped high school graduates find the college best suited to their individual needs. When he was 26, Kurzweil founded Kurzweil Computer Products. Through this company, he developed the world’s first scanning and speech recognition products.

这个信念影响科兹威尔深远。十二岁的时候，他设计了他第一台计算机。十八岁的时候则卖了一家帮助高中毕业生找到最适合个人需要的大学来就读的公司。而在二十六岁时，科兹威尔创办了科兹威尔计算机产品公司。透过这个公司，他发展了世界上第一套扫描及语音识别产品。

Kurzweil later used the technology in these products to develop one of his most important devices: a computer system that reads printed text aloud for people with seeing disabilities. Steve Wonder, the blind musician, bought one of these reading machines and then challenged Kurzweil to work with him on another idea. Together, the musician and the inventor created a computerized system that could accurately simulate the sound of a grand piano and other instruments. Impressive, don’t you think? But inventions like these are only the beginning of the long list of Kurzweil’s achievements.

科兹威尔稍后利用产品中的科技发展了他最重要的仪器之一:一套可以为残障人士将书面文字大声阅读出来的计算机系统。盲人音乐家史蒂夫汪达就买了一台这样的机器并要求科兹威尔忆起进行另一项构想。他们一起发明了一套可以精确模拟平台钢琴及其他乐器声的计算机化系统。真是令人钦佩，你不觉得吗?但是像这类的发明只是科兹威尔众多成就中的起步而已。

Now 57, Ray Kurzweil is still a dreamer. He also encourages others to dream and develop their own ideas. “Find a challenge that you can be passionate about,” he says, “and you can find the ideas to overcome that challenge.”

现年五十七岁的科兹威尔依然是个梦想家。他也鼓励其他人筑梦并加以实现。他说:「找一个你会有热忱的挑战，然后就可以找到克服挑战的方法。」

Vocabulary

inspire [ɪnˋspaɪr] v. 鼓舞，激励

scan [skæn] v. 扫描

recognition [͵rɛkəgˋnɪʃən] n. 识别

impressive [ɪmˋprɛsɪv] adj. 予人深刻印象的

overcome [͵ovɚˋkʌm] v. 战胜；克服

More Information

program [ˋprogræm] v. 为（计算机）设计程序

be suited to 适合

aloud [əˋlaʊd] adv. 大声地

disability [dɪsəˋbɪlətɪ] n. 残疾，残障

computerized [kəmˋpjutə͵raɪzd] adj. 使用计算机的，计算机化了的

simulate [ˋsɪmjə͵let] v. 模仿，模拟

passionate [ˋpæʃənɪt] adj. 热情的

Reading Questions 

1. In what way did Tom Swift influence Ray Kurzweil?

A. He made Kurzweil become more interested in reading fiction.

B. He taught Kurzweil a lot about computer programming.

C. His great fiction provided the best sources for Kurzweil’s ideas.

D. His story encouraged Kurzweil to make good use of ideas to change the world.

2. What can we infer from the article?

A. Kurzweil was quite old when he made up his mind to be an inventor.

B. None of Kurzweil’s companies had anything to do with high school students.

C. Kurzweil Computer Products primarily focused on speech recognition products.

D. As Kurzweil is old now, he is no longer interested in developing new ideas.

3. What did Stevie Wonder want Kurzweil to help him with?

A. Establishing a computer company that hires people with seeing disabilities.

B. Using computers to produce sounds similar to those produced by musical instruments.

C. Helping graduates select their ideal colleges.

D. Designing reading machines for Tom Swift fans.

make good use of: 善用 to use something well.

課文中英文講解

Ray Kurzweil is not only a dreamer, but something of a prophet, too. He is known for ___1___ predictions about the future, and getting them right. Back in the early 1990s, ___2___, he predicted that there would soon be a world-wide computer network!

雷科兹威尔不仅是个梦想家，也有点像预言家。他因为预言未来而为人所熟知，而且他也真的说对了。比方说，早在九O年代初期他就预言很快就会有全球计算机网络。

Kurzweil was correct about the Internet, but could he possibly be right about his ___3___ prediction? He believes that in the next few decades, advances in biotechnology will enable us ___4___ forever. Nanobots will enter our bloodstream to repair damaged tissues, and gene therapy will allow us to grow new organs, and even redesign our bodies. Advances in artificial intelligence and virtual reality will ensure that we have enough challenging entertainments so we don’t bore ourselves to death. The trick now, at least for people of Kurzweil’s age (he’s 57), is to live long enough to benefit ___5___ these advances. Kurzweil, not surprisingly, is taking no chances. He’s on a very strict diet, exercises daily, and takes ___6___ 150 supplements a day.

关于网络，科兹威尔真的说对了，而他最新的预言也有可能是正确的吗?他相信在接下来的数十年内，生物科技的进步将会使人们长生不死。奈米机器人将会进入我们血液，修补受损的组织，而且基因疗法将使我们得以生成新器官，甚至可以重新设计人体。人工智能及虚拟现实的进步能确保我们拥有足够的挑战性环境，如此我们才不会无聊死。现在想要受惠于这些进步，至少对于科兹威尔(57岁)这样年纪的人来说，秘诀就是要能活得够久。而毫不意外地，科兹威尔也不想冒险。他现在执行严格的饮食，每天做运动而且一天服用一百五十种营养补给品。

Immortality, is truly impossible? Critics have called Kurzweil’s ideas crazy ___7___ he was young, but this has never stopped him from believing in the power of technology to create positive change for people. Even now, Kurzweil dismissed ___8___ who call his ideas about life extension unrealistic. “That’s nonsense,” he says. “What makes the human species unique is that we insist upon going beyond our limitations.”

长生不死，这真的不可能吗?从科兹威尔还小时就一直有人批评他的想法太疯狂，但这从未阻止他相信科技的力量能为人类创造有建设性的改变。即使到现在，科兹威尔也不理会那些认为延长生命是无稽之谈的人。他说:「胡说!人类之所以独一无二就是因为我们坚持突破极限。」

Ray Kurzweil is one of the most passionate dreamers of our times. If his predictions about the future are correct, he may just get a chance to keep on dreaming for a long time – maybe even forever.

雷科兹威尔是现代最有热忱的梦想家之一。如果他对于未来的预言成真了，那么他大概就有机会再做好长一段时间的梦—可能甚至是永远。

－By David Pendery & Amy Lovestrand

Vocabulary

prophet [ˋprɑfɪt] n. 预言家; 先知

prediction [prɪˋdɪkʃən] n. 预言，预示，猜测

decade [ˋdɛked] n. 十年

ensure [ɪnˋʃʊr] v. 保证；担保

dismiss [dɪsˋmɪs] v. 拒绝考虑〔某人的观点﹑意见等〕

unrealistic [͵ʌnrɪəˋlɪstɪk] adj. 不切实际的

unique [juˋnik] adj. 独一无二的；独特的

More Information

something of 有几分; 多少有点

biotechnology [baɪotɛkˋnɑlədʒɪ] n.生物技术

to death 极度,极为

trick [trɪk] n. 窍门，妙计

take no chances 谨慎行事，争取万无一失

immortality [͵ɪmɔrˋtælətɪ] n. 不死，不朽

go beyond one's limitations  突破极限

Answer