经济学人89:法兰克福车展 自动的智慧

 　　Business Frankfurt Motor Show Autoficial intelligence

　　商业 法兰克福车展 自动的智慧

　　Where does the car end and the phone begin?

　　哪里是手动的终结，自动的开始？

　　SHARON can park herself.

　　SHARON能自己停车。

　　At a signal from a smartphone, a system of tiny computers activates¹ her engine, gearbox and steering²—and she reverses smoothly³ into a parking space. Sensors⁴ stop her from bumping into other cars or people.

　　从智能手机发出信号，一个微型电脑的系统会启动她的引擎，变速器和转向系统——她便能安安稳稳地倒到停车位。

　　Pilotless cars, such as the Volkswagen Sharan (nicknamed Sharon), are no distant dream.

　　传感系统能阻止她撞到别的车或行人。像大众Sharan（绰号Sharon）这类无人驾驶汽车，已经不是遥不可及的梦。

　　Many people at this week's Frankfurt Motor Show were asking not only how the cars of the future will be powered, but who or what will drive them.

　　在这周的Frankfurt Motor展览会上，许多顾客并不仅仅询问未来汽车的动力如何，也开始关心由什么来操纵它们。

　　"Where does the car end and the phone begin?" asked Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine, at a brain-storming session organised by Audi, a carmaker.

　　在一个由汽车制造商Audi组织的研讨会上，"哪里是人工的终结，智能的开始？"Wired杂志的主编Chris Anderson问道。

　　A future car will be more like a computer on wheels, networked with the surrounding infrastructure⁵ and other vehicles.

　　未来的汽车更像是一台带轮子的电脑，与周围的建筑物和车辆联网。

　　Even if it comes with a steering wheel, the "driver" will have the Knight-Rider-esque option of being piloted while he video-conferences, answers e-mails or looks on a screen at an annotated⁶ view of the world whizzing by.

　　就算有方向盘，汽车在呼啸而过的同时，"驾驶者"可以启动守护骑士这一选项来导航，从而方便驾驶者视频会议，回复邮件或者以透视的视角来看地图。

　　The threat to the taxi drivers parked outside the show is obvious.

　　但是对停在Frankfurt展览会外面等活的出租车司机们来说，这是不靠谱的。

　　But Frankfurt's cabbies are a sceptical bunch.

　　未来汽车对他们的威胁是显而易见的。

　　Driverless taxis? Not in my lifetime, says one.

　　无人驾驶的出租？我这辈子是看不到了，一个司机师傅说到。

　　"It's science fiction," scoffs⁷ another.

　　"科幻小说吧，"另一个讽刺道。

　　In tough times, many carmakers are innovating⁸ like fury.

　　在汽车行业不景气的时候，不少汽车制造商都在疯狂地创新。

　　Some are recasting themselves as "mobility⁹ service providers".

　　一些厂商把自己打造为"移动服务供应商"。

　　This means hawking¹⁰ car-related software and other add-ons.

　　这意味着以汽车相关软件和附加装置为卖点。

　　For example, for those who prefer to hire or share cars—as young city-slickers increasingly do—there is software to make them feel at home in any vehicle, by instantly switching the radio and other settings to their tastes.

　　举个例子，随着爱赶时髦的年轻人越来越愿意以租车或者合用方式驾车——因为可以通过迅速地调换电台和其他的设置满足自己的口味，应用软件能让他们在任何车辆里随心所欲。

　　Some carmakers are also tempting¹¹ buyers with more mundane¹² services, such as priority parking or cheap deals on fuel (whether petrol, hydrogen or electricity).

　　一些汽车制造商也用更多的普通服务来吸引买家，比如提供优先停车位和便宜的燃料方案（不管是汽油，氢还是电力）。

　　Or, to help them let off steam, they might offer an annual spin with that gas-guzzling sports-utility vehicle of their dreams.

　　要么，为了给顾客缓解压力，厂商每年举办短途游，车型都是买家梦寐以求的大排量SUV。

　　Even in changing times, there is still plenty of passion for a flash motor.

　　即使在人们观念在发生变化的今天，人们依旧对名车抱有极大热情。

　　Hence the covetous¹³ sighs that greeted the new Ferrari 458 Spider (pictured), which was unveiled on September 13th.

　　于是在9月13日，伴随着人们的渴望和欢呼声，人们迎来了新款法拉利458Spider（如图所示）。

　　Alongside it was Ferrari's first four-wheel drive four-seater.

　　同时这也是法拉利首款四轮驱动的四座跑车。

　　"Different Ferraris for different Ferraristi!" exclaimed Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari's boss.

　　"与众不同的法拉利给与与众不同的法拉利人"法拉利的总裁Luca di Montezemolo宣称。

　　Even Volkswagen's new single-seater electric commuter¹⁴, with its narrow body and wide wheelbase, looks rather like a 1950s racing-car.

　　就连大众的新款单座通勤概念车，窄窄的车身和宽宽的轴距，怎么看怎么像19世纪50年代的赛车。

1 activates   

使活动，起动，触发( activate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Activates the window and displays it in its current size and position. 激活窗口，保持当前的大小及位置不变。
• Pulling out the alarm switch activates alarm and pushing it deactivates it. 闹钟的开和关是通过拔出和按入闹铃开关实现的。

2 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

3 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

4 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 annotated   

v.注解，注释( annotate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thematic maps should always be annotated with the source and date of the topical information. 各类专题地图，均应注明专题资料来源和日期。 来自辞典例句
• And this is the version annotated by Umberto de Bologna. 并且这是有安博多-德-波罗格那注释的版本。 来自电影对白

7 scoffs   

嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• [ Scoffs ] Why should a young girl like that love an old fart like me? 为什么一个那样的年轻女孩应该喜欢我这样的老家伙？
• The noise of the moment scoffs at the music of the Eternal. 瞬刻的喧声，讥笑着永恒的音乐。

8 innovating   

v.改革，创新( innovate的现在分词 )；引入（新事物、思想或方法），

参考例句：

• In this new century, the company keeps innovating and developing new products. 新世纪伊始，公司全面实施形象工程及整合营销，不断改革创新，开发高新产品。 来自互联网
• Beijing is backward most prime cause is innovating at system lack. 北京落后的最根本原因在于制度缺乏创新。 来自互联网

9 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

10 hawking   

利用鹰行猎

参考例句：

• He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
• We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。

11 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

12 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

13 covetous   

adj.贪婪的，贪心的

参考例句：

• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。
• He raised his head,with a look of unrestrained greed in his covetous eyes.他抬起头来，贪婪的眼光露出馋涎欲滴的神情。

14 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。