英语杂谈：11 New laptop with no keyboard

The tech world is buzzing over Apple's latest must-have gadget¹, the MacBook Wheel, a revolutionary new laptop that does away with the keyboard. Tech Trends reporter, Jeff Tate has more.

 

Thanks, Andrea. Say goodbye to the keyboard and hello to the future of laptop computers. With the MacBook Wheel, Apple has replaced the traditional keyboard with a sleek², touch sensitive click wheel. Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the product yesterday at the annual Mac Expo.

 

Senior product innovator³, Brian Gilman, says the MacBook Wheel will make typing a thing of the past. At Apple, our philosophy is create products that are simple to use. And nothing's more simple than a single giant button.

 

Gilman showed me how the revolutionary new computer works.

 

“Just open the IntuiType Alphabet menu here. Scroll⁴ to the letter you need, see? And center click to select it. Then click again to capitalize and repeat this process for each new letter. It couldn't be simpler. (Hum.) You can also let the predictive sentence technology complete the sentence for you. ”

 

Gilman says the MacBook Wheel has also simplified the organization of files, so searching your hard drive will be a snap. Just press both sides of the wheel concurrently⁵, and center click, and there, you have an alphabetical⁶ listing of every file on your hard drive.

 

“Everything is just a few hundred clicks away. Apple is calling the MacBook Wheel the most intuitive product ever designed. Here at Apple, we like to think that we're giving customers features they don't even realize they want yet. ”

 

While the MacBook Wheel won't hit the shelves for another 3 to 15 months, many Apple users already have it on their wish list.

 

“I'll buy almost anything if it's shiny and made by Apple.”

 

Alex Zalban was one of the lucky few to get to try out a MacWheel and spent 45 minutes typing an email to his friend.

 

“I never really realized how much I hated keyboards until I saw this thing. I like how the Email automatically says, sent from a MacBook Wheel--that way people know you have one.”

 

With a price tag of just under $2,600 for the lowest-end MacBook Wheel, it is an investment. But, the super thin laptop features numerous innovations like the new ultra-thin Hummingbird⁷ Battery, which can power the MacBook Wheel for a full 19 minutes, before needing to be recharged. And the computer is virtually unbreakable unless dropped or hit. But Apple isn't resting on its laurels⁸. Brian Gilman said they are already hard at work on the next generation of the MacBook Wheel, which will be 4 ounces lighter⁹, due to its lack of screen hard driver wheel.

 

For the Onion News Network, I'm Jeff Tate.

 

Thank you for that, Jeff. It remains¹⁰ to be seen if the wheel will catch on in the business world, where people use computers for actual work, and not just sticking around.

 

Moving on, police warn that the Sudoku killer¹¹ will kill either 1,4 or 9 victims next.

1 gadget   

n.小巧的机械，精巧的装置，小玩意儿

参考例句：

• This gadget isn't much good.这小机械没什么用处。
• She has invented a nifty little gadget for undoing stubborn nuts and bolts.她发明了一种灵巧的小工具用来松开紧固的螺母和螺栓。

2 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

3 innovator   

n.改革者；创新者

参考例句：

• The young technical innovator didn't lose heart though the new system was not yet brought into a workable condition. 尽管这种新方法尚未达到切实可行的状况，这位青年技术革新者也没有泄气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Caesar planned vast projects and emerged as a great innovator. 恺撒制定了庞大的革新计划。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

4 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

5 concurrently   

adv.同时地

参考例句：

• He was given two twelve month sentences to run concurrently. 他两罪均判12个月监禁，同期执行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was given two prison sentences, to run concurrently. 他两罪均判监禁，同期执行。 来自辞典例句

6 alphabetical   

adj.字母（表）的，依字母顺序的

参考例句：

• Please arrange these books in alphabetical order.请把这些书按字母顺序整理一下。
• There is no need to maintain a strict alphabetical sequence.不必保持严格的字顺。

7 hummingbird   

n.蜂鸟

参考例句：

• The hummingbird perches on a twig of the hawthorn.小蜂鸟栖在山楂树枝上。
• The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backward.蜂鸟是唯一能倒退向后飞的鸟。

8 laurels   

n.桂冠，荣誉

参考例句：

• The path was lined with laurels.小路两旁都种有月桂树。
• He reaped the laurels in the finals.他在决赛中荣膺冠军。

9 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。