日本将推出一款可以自动叠衣的机器人

 　　Hate doing laundry? Shin Sakane has a solution.

　　不喜欢洗衣服？Shin Sakane会为你提供一个解决方案。

　　The Japanese inventor received 6 billion yen¹ ($53 million) from partners, including Panasonic Corp., last month to advance "the Laundroid" – a robot Sakane is developing to not only wash and dry garments, but also sort, fold and neatly² arrange them.

　　最近，这位日本发明家从包括松下电器在内的一批合作伙伴那里获得了60亿日元(约合5300万美元)投资，旨在开发一款名为“Laundroid”的机器人--它不仅可以洗衣服、熨衣服，还能把衣服叠好，并按顺序放好每件衣服。

　　The device could fill the roles of washing machine, dryer³ and clothes drawer in people's homes.

　　这款设备可以放置在家中，同时扮演洗衣机、烘干机和衣橱的角色。

　　Sakane, whose earlier inventions include an anti-snoring device and golf clubs made of space materials, said the funding will bring closer his dream.

　　Sakane之前曾发明过一款防鼾器和一个使用太空材料制作的高尔夫球杆，他表示这些投资使他距离自己的梦想又近了一步。

　　日本将推出一款可以自动叠衣的机器人

　　Among his inspirations for the project is the 1968 Stanley Kubrick sci-fi classic "2001: A Space Odyssey⁴."

　　他的灵感来源于1968年斯坦利·库布里克拍摄的著名科幻电影《2001：太空漫步》。

　　While the full product is slated⁵ for release in 2019, an early version that can only sort and fold clothing goes on sale worldwide in March.

　　全功能版产品将会在2019年发布，但该公司将会在明年三月上市销售一款早期版产品，但预计只能折叠并整理排序衣服。

　　The goal is to eventually get the price of the full version to less than about 300,000 yen ($2,700). The model going on sale in March will probably cost significantly more due to higher initial production costs.

　　Sakane的目标是最后能生产出一台售价不高于30万日元（2700 美元）的完整版产品。明年三月份上市的产品售价可能很高，因为初始的生产成本较高。

　　"We decided⁶ that by combining Panasonic's washing and drying machine technology and 7D's folding technology, it is possible to bring an all-in-one product to the market," said Kyoko Ishii, a spokeswoman for Panasonic.

　　松下公司的发言人Kyoko Ishii表示："我们决定将松下的洗衣机和烘干机技术与7D公司的衣服折叠技术结合在一起，可能向市场推出一款一体化的产品。"

　　Users will still have to do some tasks, such as partially⁷ buttoning shirts, ensuring clothes aren't inside out.

　　不过即便如此，用户可能还是需要手工处理一些作业，比如将待洗衬衫的纽扣解开、确保衣服不会拧在一起等。

1 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

2 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

3 dryer   

n.干衣机，干燥剂

参考例句：

• He bought a dryer yesterday.他昨天买了一台干燥机。
• There is a washer and a dryer in the basement.地下室里有洗衣机和烘干机。

4 odyssey   

n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险

参考例句：

• The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
• His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程，到此结束了。

5 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。