英闻天下——68 Robots to Boost Chinese Economy

 　　Market demand for robots is growing in China as the country faces an increasing aging society and greater demand for skilled labor¹.

 

　　Company managers say they are optimistic the robot business will grow by at least 10 percent next year.

 

　　Gu Chunyuan, president of ABB Engineering Shanghai, says his company is adapting to the need.

 

　　"We see a continuous demand in the Chinese market. We will continue, of course, to ramp² up our production capability³, introduce new models and develop new applications, for example, for house cleaning and industrial assembly."

 

　　China has become the fastest growing robotics market in the world. Many of the country's large corporations use robots in large numbers to replace manual labor.

 

　　But according to the Automation Department of Shanghai Electric, China still lags behind the rest of the world in robotic technology.

 

　　Business insiders say one of the biggest challenges is that key robot parts almost completely rely on imports.

 

　　Figures from the International Federation⁴ of Robotics indicate that the installation of multi-role robots in China rose by 136 percent between 2008 and 2011 and continues to grow at a double-digit rate.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

3 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

4 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。