日本隐形列车将于2018年问世

 Japanese train-travel company Seibu Railway hopes to make a major design leap in time for their 100th anniversary; a new line of fast commuter¹ trains that “blend into the landscape.”

日本铁路公司西武铁道株式会社希望在其成立100周年之际，实现设计上的重大跨越，设计一条能“融入沿途风景”的新型快速市郊往返列车。

Seibu’s new trains won’t really be “invisible” so much as “reflective,” but a simulated disappearing act is the goal of the project.

西武新列车项目的目标不是像“反射”那样完全“隐形”，而是一种模拟的隐身术。

Kazuyo Sejima, one of Japan’s premier² architects who had apparently³ never penned a train before, has been commissioned to execute the design.

日本最好的建筑师之一妹岛和世被任命执行此次任务，而显然她以前从来没有设计过火车。

日本隐形列车将于2018年问世

Sejima’s accolades⁴ include the coveted⁵ “Pritzker Prize,” given to “architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture,” according to the outfit⁶ that bestows⁷ it.

妹岛和世的荣誉包括建筑师们梦寐以求的“普利兹克奖”，据颁发这一奖项的机构称，此奖专门授予那些“建筑作品能够体现天资、视野和努力”的建筑师，并且他们的“建筑艺术能够给人类和建筑环境带来持久重要的贡献”。

Sejima’s website suggests she favors minimalism in design, which is certainly true of the new Seibu train concept.

妹岛和世的网站显示她偏爱极简设计，而这正好符合这条新列车的理念。

“The limited express travels in a variety of different sceneries, from the mountains of Chichibu to the middle of Tokyo, and I thought it would be good if the train could gently co-exist with this variety of scenery,” Fast Company Design quotes Sejima from Seibu’s official press release. “I also would like it to be a limited express where large numbers of people can all relax in comfort, in their own way, like a living room, so that they think to themselves ‘I look forward to riding that train again,’” she added.

Fast Company Design引用妹岛和世在西武官方新闻发布会上的讲话：“特快列车将从秩父的山峦驶向东京中部，穿梭于各种风景中，我认为，如果这列火车能与各种风景和谐共存那将非常棒。”她还说道：“我也希望很多人能在这列特快火车上以各自的方式舒舒服服地休息，就像在起居室一样，这样他们就会想‘下次我还要坐这列火车。’”

The exterior’s active camouflage⁸ is only vaguely⁹ described as coated with “a semi-reflective surface” by Deezen and other outlets¹⁰. Seems like a shiny vinyl wrap would be the simplest way to pull this off, but we will have to wait until the project progresses to see what Seibu really has in mind.

列车外面的动态伪装被Deezen和其它媒体含糊地描述为仅仅一层“半反射表层”。听起来像是一层闪亮的乙烯基，这样操作起来再简单不过，但是我们还要等待项目进展才能知道西武是怎么规划的。

The company is said to operate over 111 miles of train tracks around Japan.

据说西武公司的这列火车在整个日本的运行里程将超过111英里。

The speed, power and environmental impact of the “invisible” train has not yet been discussed, but it appears that the program is projected to start with seven eight-car trains in Japan’s 2018 fiscal¹¹ year.

目前，还没有提到“隐形”列车的速度、功率和环境影响，但是此项目好像计划要在日本2018财政年度率先启用七列八节车厢的火车。

Vocabulary

accolade: 荣誉

minimalism: 极简主义

camouflage: 伪装

1 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。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 accolades   

n.（连结几行谱表的）连谱号( accolade的名词复数 )；嘉奖；（窗、门上方的）桃尖拱形线脚；册封爵士的仪式（用剑面在肩上轻拍一下）

参考例句：

• Unlike other accolades for literature which tend to value style or experimentation. 有别于其他偏重风格活实验性的文学奖项。 来自互联网
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

5 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

7 bestows   

赠给，授予( bestow的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Second, Xie Lingyun bestows on basic subject and emotion connotation. 谢灵运赋的基本主题及情感内涵。
• And the frigid climate bestows Heilongjiang rich resources of ice and snow. 寒冷的气候赋予了其得天独厚的冰雪资源。

8 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

9 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

10 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。