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1、Smart CarsMichio Kaku1 Even the automobile industry, which has remained largely unchanged for the last seventy years, is about to feel the effects of the computer revolution. 智能汽車 米其奧卡庫 即便是過去 70年間基本上沒有多少變化的汽車工業(yè)，也將感受到計算機革命的影響。2 The automobile industry ranks as among the most lucrative and powerful in

2、dustries of the twentieth century. There are presently 500 million cars on earth, or one car for every ten people. Sales of the automobile industry stand at about a trillion dollars, making it the world's biggest manufacturing industry.汽車工業(yè)是 20世紀最賺錢、最有影響力的產(chǎn)業(yè)之一。目前世界上有5億輛車，或者說每 10人就有1輛車。汽車工業(yè)的銷售額達一

3、萬億美元左右，從而成為世界上最大的制造業(yè)。3 The car, and the roads it travels on, will be revolutionized in the twenty-first century. The key to tomorrow's "smart cars" will be sensors. "We'll see vehicles and roads that see and hear and feel and smell and talk and act," predicts Bill Spreitz

4、er, technical director of General Motors Corporation's ITS program, which is designing the smart car and road of the future.汽車及其行駛的道路， 將在21世紀發(fā)生重大變革。未來“智能汽車”的關(guān)鍵在于傳感器。 們會見到能看、能聽、有知覺、具嗅覺、會說話并能采取行動的車輛與道路，”正在設計未 來智能汽車和智能道路的通用汽車公司ITS項目的技術(shù)主任比爾斯普雷扎預言道。4 Approximately 40,000 people are killed each year i

5、n the United States in traffic accidents. The number of people that are killed or badly injured in car accidentsis so vast that we don't even bother to mention them in the newspapers anymore. Fully half of these fatalities comefrom drunk drivers, and manyothers from carelessness. A smart car cou

6、ld eliminate most of these car accidents. It can sense if a driver is drunk via electronic sensors that can pick up alcohol vapor in the air, and refuse to start up the engine. The car could also alert the police and provide its precise location if it is stolen.美國每年有大約 4萬人死于交通事故。在汽車事故中死亡或嚴重受傷的人數(shù)太多，我

7、們已經(jīng) 不屑在報紙上提及。 這些死亡的人中至少有半數(shù)是酒后開車者造成的， 另有許多死亡事故是 駕駛員不小心所導致。 智能汽車能消除絕大多數(shù)這類汽車事故。 它能通過會感測空氣中的酒 精霧氣的電子傳感器檢測開車者是否喝醉酒， 并拒絕啟動引擎。 這種車還能在遇竊后通報警 方，告知車輛的確切地點。5 Smart cars have already been built which can monitor one's driving and the driving conditions nearby. Small radars hidden in the bumpers can scan for

8、 nearbycars. Should you make a serious driving mistake ., change lanes when there is a car in your "blind spot"） the computer would sound an immediate warning.能監(jiān)控行車過程以及周圍行車狀況的智能汽車已經(jīng)建造出來。 藏在保險杠里的微型雷達能對周圍 的汽車作掃描。如果你發(fā)生重大行車失誤（如變道時有車輛你“盲點”內(nèi)） ，計算機立即會 發(fā)出警報。6 At the MIT Media Lab, a prototype is a

9、lready being built which will determine how sleepy you are as you drive, which is especially important for long-distancetruck drivers. The monotonous, almost hypnotic process of staring at the center divider for long hours is a grossly underestimated, life-threatening hazard. To eliminate this, a ti

10、ny camera hidden in the dashboard can be trained on a driver's face and eyes. If the driver's eyelids close for a certain length of time and his or her driving becomeserratic, a computer in the dashboard could alert the driver. 在麻省理工學院媒介實驗室， 業(yè)已制造出能測知你行車時有多少睡意的樣車， 這對長途卡車 司機意義尤其重要。 一連數(shù)小時注視著中夾分

11、道線這樣一個單調(diào)、 幾乎能催眠的過程是被嚴 重低估的威脅生命的重大隱患。 為消除這一隱患， 藏在儀表板里的一架微型相機可對準開車 者的臉部及眼睛。如果司機的眼簾合上一定時間，行車變得不穩(wěn)，儀表板里的計算機就會向 司機發(fā)出警報。7 Two of the most frustrating things about driving a car are getting lost and getting stuck in traffic. While the computer revolution is unlikely to cure these problems, it will have a po

12、sitive impact. Sensors in your car tuned to radio signals from orbiting satellites can locate your car precisely at any moment and warn of traffic jams. We already have twenty-four Navstar satellites orbiting the earth, making up what is called the Global Positioning System. They make it possible to

13、 determine your location on the earth to within about a hundred feet. At any given time, there are several GPS satellites orbiting overhead at a distance of about 11,000 miles. Each satellite contains four "atomic clocks," which vibrate at a precise frequency, according to the laws of the

14、quantum theory. 開車最頭疼的兩大麻煩是迷路和交通堵塞。 雖然計算機革命不可能徹底解決這兩個問題， 但 卻會帶來積極的影響。 你汽車上與繞軌道運行的衛(wèi)星發(fā)出的無線電信號調(diào)諧的傳感器能隨時 精確地確定你汽車的方位， 并告知交通阻塞情況。我們已經(jīng)有 24顆環(huán)繞地球運行的導航衛(wèi)星， 組成了人們所說的全球衛(wèi)星定位系統(tǒng)。通過這些衛(wèi)星我們有可能以小于100英尺的誤差確定你在地球上的方位。在任何一個特定時間，總有若干顆全球定位系統(tǒng)的衛(wèi)星在11000英里的高空繞地球運行。每顆衛(wèi)星都裝有 4個“原子鐘”，它們根據(jù)量子理論法則，以精確的頻率 振動。8 As a satellite passes ov

15、erhead, it sends out a radio signal that can be detected by a receiver in a car's computer. The car's computer can then calculate how far the satellite is by measuring how long it took for the signal to arrive. Since the speed of light is well known, any delay in receiving the satellite'

16、s signal can be converted into a distance. 衛(wèi)星從高空經(jīng)過時發(fā)出能被汽車上計算機里的接收器辨認的無線電信號。 汽車上的計算機就 會根據(jù)信號傳來所花的時間計算出衛(wèi)星有多遠。 由于光速為人熟知， 接收衛(wèi)星信號時的任何 時間遲緩都能折算出距離的遠近。9 In Japan there are already over a million cars with some type of navigational capability. (Some of them locate a car's position by correlating the rota

17、tions in the steering wheel to its position on a map.) 在日本，具有某種導航能力的汽車已有一百萬輛之多。 (有些導航裝置通過將方向盤的轉(zhuǎn)動 與汽車在地圖上的位置并置來測定汽車的方位。 )10 With the price of microchips dropping so drastically, future applications of GPS are virtually limitless. "The commercial industry is poised to explode," says Randy Ho

18、ffman of Magellan Systems Corp. , which manufactures navigational systems. Blind individuals could use GPS sensors in walking sticks, airplanes could land by remote control, hikers will be able to locate their position in the woods - the list of potential uses is endless.隨著微芯片價格的大幅度下降，未來對全球衛(wèi)星定位系統(tǒng)的應用

19、幾乎是無限的?！爸圃爝@一商品的工業(yè)定會飛速發(fā)展，”生產(chǎn)導航系統(tǒng)的麥哲倫航儀公司的蘭迪霍夫曼說。 盲人可以 在手杖里裝配全球衛(wèi)星定位系統(tǒng)傳感器， 飛機可以通過遙控著陸，徒步旅行者可以測定自己 在林中的方位一其潛在的應用范圍是無止境的。11 GPS is actually but part of a larger movement, called "telematics," which will eventually attempt to put smart cars on smart highways. Prototypes of such highways already

20、exist in Europe, and exp erime nts are being made in California to mountcomputer chips, sensors, and radio transmitters on highways to alert cars to traffic jams and obstruct ions.全球衛(wèi)星定位系統(tǒng)其實只是叫做“遠程信息學”的這一更大行動的一部分， 這一行動最終將 把智能汽車送上智能高速公路。這種高速公路的樣品已經(jīng)在歐洲問世，加州也在進行試驗， 在高速公路上安裝計算機芯片、傳感器和無線電發(fā)射機，以便向汽車報告交通擁擠堵

21、塞情況。12 On an eight-mile stretch of In terstate 15 ten miles north of Sa n Diego, traffic engineers are installing an MIT-designed system which will introduce the "automated driver." The plan calls for compu ters, aided by thousa nds of three-i nch mag neticsp ikes buried in the highway, to

22、 take comp lete con trol of the driv ing of cars on heavily trafficked roads. Cars will be bunched into groups of ten to twelve vehicles, only six feet ap art, traveli ng in unison, and con trolled by compu ter.在圣迭戈以北10英里的15號州際公路一段8英里長的路面上，交通工程師正在安裝一個由麻 省理工學院設計的引進“自動司機”的系統(tǒng)。這一計劃要求計算機在公路上埋設的數(shù)千個3英寸長的磁釘

23、的協(xié)助下，在車輛極多的路段完全控制車輛的運行。車輛會編成10輛或12輛一 組，車距僅6英尺，在計算機的控制下一齊行駛。13 P romoters of this compu terized highway have great hopes for its future. By2010, telematics maywell be incorporated into one of the major highways in the United States. If successful, by 2020, as the p rice of microchi ps drops to below

24、a penny a piece, telematics could be adopted in thousands of miles of highways in the United States. This could prove to be an environmental boon as well, saving fuel,reducingtraffic jams, decreas ing air p olluti on, and serv ing as an alter native to highway expansion.這種計算機化的公路的倡導者對其未來的應用充滿希望。到201

25、0年,遠程信息技術(shù)很可能應用于美國的一條主要公路。如果成功的話，到2020年，當微芯片的價格降到一片一美分以下時，遠程信息技術(shù)就會應用在美國成千上萬英里的公路上。這對環(huán)保也會很有利，能節(jié)省燃 油，減輕交通阻塞，減少空氣污染，還可用作公路擴建的替代辦法。Vocabulary1) ?Before?Anglo-American?westward? expansion ,?North?America?had?been?shaped?by?m an y?other? cultures.?automated assembly line will2) ?We are con fide nt that the

26、 in troducti on of a(n) eliminate most of today ' s human errors.3) ?Warmer?air?is?able?to?hold?more?water?vapor?tha n?cold?air?a nd?so?has?a?higher? humidity.?4) ?l n? most?commu nities?i n?the?U ni ted?States,?the?local?America n?Red?Cross?cha pt er?has?been?authorized?to ?take?control?of ?cer

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29、 the floor.8) ?Radio?telesc op es?have ?pro vided?valuable? in formati on? about?other?stars?a nd?about?the?magnetic ?fields?of?other? pla nets?i n? our?solar?system,?es pecially?Ju piter's.?9) ?At?the?begi nnin g?of?the?race,?the?ru nn ers?were?bunched?together?o n?the?track,?but? later?some?of?them?got?ahead?a nd?left?the?others?beh in d.?10) ?From?the?c on trol?tower,?air?traffic?c on trollers?coordi nate?aircraft?moveme n t?both ? in?the?air ?and?on?the?ground.?11) ?Further?troubles?develo ped?i n? Oct