Things That Make You Go “Wow” 惊叹连连的高科技
- 详细资料
- 创建于 2006年2月01日
- 最后更新于 2023年12月18日
- 发布于 2011年10月03日
- 作者：Mike Lee
- 点击数：484
課文朗讀
課文中英文講解
It has a catchy title and a laudable mission: “to see what is now within the realm of possibility….. and change the way you think about the future.” But impressive names and statements of purpose notwithstanding, the main object of the new TV program Beyond Tomorrow is to make you go “Wow!”
这节目有个响亮的名称还有值得赞赏的使命：「来看看目前已知的可能.....并改变你对未来的看法」，不过，尽管有着令人印象深刻的名称与目的的声明，《超越明日》这个电视节目的主要目的就是要你惊叹一声「哇!」
Consider, for example, the 3D printer, a product to make you go “Wow” if ever there was one. Developed by the Z Corporation, this device does not print out 3D objects on paper, but rather makes real physical copies of any object (or design) that can be scanned into a computer. Need a replica of a new running shoe design for your clients to pick up and handle? Here it is – in full color.
比方说，试想这台立体复印机如果真的存在的话，它就是一像会让你赞叹不已的产品。这项设备是由Z企业研发，它可不是在纸上印出物体的立体影像，而是造出任何能扫描进计算机的物品(或设计品)的实体复制品。需要新款跑鞋的样品，好让客户们能拿在手上触摸吗?就在这里，而且是彩色的喔!
Some of the biggest surprises on the show, however, come from innovations you’d never expect anyone to be working on such as a self-cooling, ice-less drink can. Simply put, the contraption works like a mini-refrigerator. One extremity of the can contains a gel, while the other contains a vacuum. Twisting the can releases the vacuum. The gel then evaporates and, as it is sucked to the bottom, absorbs the heat from the drink. In just over four minutes, the temperature of the drink can drop by 17 degree. Did anyone say “Wow?”
然而，这节目最大的一些惊喜是来自于那些你压根儿都没想过有人会发明的东西，例如一个会自行冷却、不含冰块的饮料罐。简单来说，这个新奇的装置如迷你冰箱单运作：罐子一端含有凝胶，另一端则是真空。扭转瓶子释放真空，凝胶便会挥发且被吸入罐子另一端的过程中吸收饮料的热能。只要短短的四分钟，饮料的温度便可下降达十七度。是不是有人「哇!」了一声呢?
Vocabulary
catchy [ˋkætʃɪ] adj. 引起注意（或兴趣）的
scan [skæn] v.（雷达光束等）扫描
extremity [ɪkˋstrɛmətɪ] n. 末端；尽头
vacuum [ˋvækjʊəm] n. 真空
evaporate [ɪˋvæpə͵ret] v. 使蒸发；使挥发
More Information
laudable [ˋlɔdəb!] adj. 值得赞赏的
realm [rɛlm] n. 界，领域；范围
notwithstanding [ˋnɑtwɪθˋstændɪŋ] prep. conj.【书】虽然，尽管
if ever: 如果有过的话 if at any time
replica [ˋrɛplɪkə] n. 复制品
handle [ˋhænd!] v. 触，摸
simply put: 简而言之 used for saying that you are explaining something in a clear and simple way
contraption [kənˋtræpʃən] n.【口】新发明物，新玩意儿
課文中英文講解
Imagine this: you’re swimming in the ocean when a shark attacks and rips your arm off. You are rushed to the hospital where, in a routine operation, a bionic arm is attached to your body. Upon waking up, you are scolded by your family for neglecting to wear your Shark Shield. “My fault,” you say, “I forgot it.”
想象一下：你在海里游泳，却遭到一只鲨鱼攻击，咬下你一只手臂。你被紧急送往医院接受一项每天都会在那儿上演的手术，然后被接上了一只生化电子手臂。醒来时，家人责怪你忘了佩带鲨鱼防护罩就下水。而你只能说：「是我不对，我忘了!」
This is the future, right? Not exactly. The Shark shield was introduced last year on Beyond Tomorrow and it hit the stores around Christmas. The device works by generating an electric field that overloads the sensitive receptors in a shark’s snout (these receptors respond to electrical pulses like those of a beating heart in the water). Tests have shown that even a hungry great white shark will avoid a swimmer protected by the shield.
这是未来世界，对吧?其实不然。《超越明日》在去年就介绍过鲨鱼防护罩了，而且它在圣诞节前后就已上架贩卖。这仪器运作时会产生电场，瘫痪鲨鱼嘴里的感官接收器(这些感官接收器对于电波的反应跟其对在水中跳动的心脏反应一样)。实验显示，即使是一只饥饿的大白鲨，也会回避受此防护罩保护的泳客。
Bionic arms already exist, too, though they are rare and hardly function like real arms yet. Still, the arms are directly attached to nerve endings and when a person thinks “Move arm,” electrical signals from the brain direct sensors to move the arm. With the power of though, a person can open and close his hand, turn his wrist, and bend his elbow.
电子生化手臂也已问世，虽然它们仍不普遍，也还无法像真手臂般运作。不过，这种手臂直接连接末梢神经，人们只要想着：「手臂，动!」，大脑的脑波便会命令传感器移动手臂。透过念力，这个人可以开掌、合掌、转动手腕及弯曲手肘。
Bionic is in its infancy, but like so many other seemingly futuristic field, we are on the cusp of what is possible. You could even say that the future is already here.
电子生化科技仍处发展初期，不过就像许多其它看似是未来的领域，我们正站在这些可能性的前端。你甚至可说，未来已经来到!
−By Robert Kelly
Vocabulary
neglect [nɪgˋlɛkt] v. 忽视，忽略
generate [ˋdʒɛnə͵ret] v. 产生，发生
overload [ˋovɚ͵lod] v. 使超载，使负荷过多
sensor [ˋsɛnsɚ] n. 传感器
infancy [ˋɪnfənsɪ] n. 初期；未发达阶段
More Information
bionic [baɪˋɑnɪk] adj. 生物功能被电子装置增强了的; 仿生学的
hit: [hɪt] v. 达到，到达 to arrive or appear at, in, or on
receptor [rɪˋsɛptɚ] n. 感觉器官；感受体
snout [snaʊt] n.（动物的）口鼻部
futuristic [͵fjutʃɚˋɪstɪk] adj. 未来的
cusp [kʌsp] n. 尖头；尖端 at the point in time that marks the beginning of something
Reading Questions
1. What is the author’s attitude toward innovation?
A. He finds it extremely dull.
B. He is quite excited by new things.
C. He is surprised there is not more of it.
D. He considers it better than saying “Wow.”
2. Why are self-cooling cans surprising to the author?
A. Self-cooling cans look like mini-refrigerators.
B. Self-cooling cans work like vacuum cleaners.
C. He doesn’t understand exactly how they work.
D. He didn’t expect anyone would invent such a thing.
3. How does a bionic arm move by the power of thought?
A. The arm’s sensors pick up signals from the brain.
B. The arm opens the hand and bends the elbow.
C. When a person thinks, nerve endings move the arm directly.
D. When a person thinks “Move,” the arm’s sensors hear this and move.
4. What does “we are on the cusp of what is possible” in the last paragraph likely mean?
A. We are close to doing something we couldn’t before.
B. We should only do things that are possible.
C. We haven’t yet done the impossible.
D. We are already doing what is possible.
3D Printer
Answer
|
1. ( B) |
2. ( D) |
3. ( A) |
4. ( A) |
|