国外媒体:日本推出智能马桶 如厕顺便体检

Japan high-tech¹ toilet makers² flush with success

In Japan, the global leader in high-tech toilet design, the latest restroom marvel³ should come with a health warning for hypochondriacs -- it doubles as a medical lab that can really spoil your day.

Japanese toilets have long and famously dominated the world of bathroom hygiene⁴ with their array of functions, from posterior shower jets to perfume bursts and noise-masking audio effects for the easily-embarrassed.

The latest "intelligent" model, manufactured by market leader Toto, goes a step further and isn't for the faint-hearted: it offers its users an instant health check-up every time they answer the call of nature.

Designed for the housing company Daiwa House with Japan's growing army of elderly in mind, it provides urine analysis, takes the user's blood pressure and body temperature, and measures their weight with a built-in floor scale.

"Our chairman had the idea when he was at a hospital and saw people waiting for health checks. He thought it would be better if they could do the health tests at home," says Akiho Suzuki, an architect at Daiwa House.

Toto's engineers developed a receptacle inside the basin to collect the urine for sugar content and temperature checks, and an armband to monitor blood pressure. The readout is displayed on a wall-mounted computer screen.

"With the current model, your data is sent automatically to your personal computer, and then you can email it to your doctor," said Suzuki.

"In the next generation model, the data will be sent automatically to family members or doctors via the Internet," she said.

The electronic marvel, called the "Intelligence Toilet", is capable of storing the data of up to five different people and retails⁵ for 350,000 to 500,000 yen⁶ (about 4,100 to 5,850 dollars) in Japan, she said.

"For now our customers are essentially⁷ middle-aged⁸ and senior people. But we hope the young generation will also become more health-conscious."

The model is the latest advance in a string of sophisticated toilets, known as "washlets" in Japan, which have become ubiquitous in recent decades.

作为高科技马桶设计方面的全球领先者，日本最新设计的一款马桶能为那些怀疑自己生病的人敲响健康警钟，不过这款兼有身体检查功能的马桶真的会让你郁闷一整天。

长期以来，日本在卫生洁具方面一直处于世界领先地位，其所设计的马桶因功能多样化而闻名于世，这其中包括背部淋浴喷头、香水喷洒装置以及掩盖人们在上厕所时发出尴尬声音的遮音工具等。

这款最新的“智能”马桶模型由知名卫具公司东陶公司制造，其功能上又有新突破，但不适合胆小者使用：因为这款马桶每次都会对如厕者进行一次即时身体检查。

这款马桶为房产公司大和房建设计，考虑到日本日益壮大的老年人队伍，这款马桶兼有尿液分析、为使用者量血压和体温，并用其内置地秤位为使用者测量体重等多项功能。

大和房建的建筑师铃木明步说：“我们的老板在一家医院看见人们排队等待体检时产生了这一想法，他觉得如果人们能在家就做体检会更方便。”

东陶公司的工程师们在马桶上安装了一种尿液收集器，用于检测血糖和体温，以及监控血压的臂带。检查结果会在安装在墙上的电脑屏幕上显示出来。

铃木说：“目前的模型能将你的数据自动传输到你的个人电脑上，然后你可以通过电子邮件发送给你的医生。”

她说：“下一代模型则能将数据自动通过网络发送给你的家庭成员或医生。”

她说，这一被称为“智能马桶”的电子卫具能够储存五个人的数据，目前在日本的零售价格为每套35万到50万日元（合4100到5850美元）。

“目前我们的顾客主要是中老年人。不过我们希望年轻人也能更加重视自己的健康。”

这一模型是日本高科技马桶系列“卫洗丽”的一款最新产品，近几十年来，“卫洗丽”产品在日本已经相当普及。

1 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

4 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

5 retails   

n.零售( retail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This book retails at 10 dollars overseas. 这本书的海外零售价是十美元。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This radio retails for ＄ 14.95. 这种收音机的零售价是14美元95美分。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 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。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。