VOA慢速英语2013 Technology Report - IBM Says Computers Will See, Taste, Smell, Touch and Hear Things Better

Technology Report - IBM Says Computers Will See, Taste, Smell, Touch and Hear Things Better 

科技报道 - IBM预测5年内改变世界的五大新技术

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。

Every year, IBM Corporation chooses five new technologies it believes will change the world within the next five years. The IBM list is called “Five in Five.” The company says it considers its own research and the new directions of society and business when identifying the technologies.

每年，IBM公司会选出它认为的在未来五年内将改变世界的新技术。这份IBM名单被称为“5 in 5”。该公司表示他们是基于IBM自身的研究以及社会和行业的新趋势来确定这些技术。

This year, the list describes some future devices that will extend our five senses. Imagine looking for clothes online and touching² your computer or smartphone to feel the cloth. IBM Vice¹ President Bernie Meyerson predicts that technology could be available in the next five years.

今年，这份名单描述了一些将扩展我们五大感官的未来设备。想象一下，在网上买衣服时触碰电脑或智能手机来感觉衣服的布料。IBM副总裁伯尼·迈耶森（Bernie Meyerson）预测，该技术在未来五年将得以实现。

“You’re talking about almost reinventing the way computers operate and how you interact with them as humans.”

“这几乎重塑了电脑的工作方式，以及人类同电脑的交互方式。”

Touch is just one of the senses that computers will help to extend. IBM says smart machines will soon be able to listen to the environment and give us information about the sounds they hear. For example, Bernie Meyerson says an advanced speech recognition system will tell new parents why their baby is crying.

触摸只是电脑将帮助我们扩展的感官之一。IBM公司表示，智能手机很快就能够倾听环境中的声音，并就它们听到的声音给我们提供反馈。例如，迈耶森表示，一种先进的语音识别系统会告诉新晋父母他们的宝宝哭闹的原因。

“From the sound the baby is creating, that particular frequency in the voice of the child, you know the difference between a child for instance who is sick as opposed to a child who is just lonely. That kind of understanding would be great for parents. This kind of thing is not possible today, but with a sophisticated enough system, it actually is possible.”

他说，“从宝宝发出的声音的特定频率中，你能了解到生病的孩子相对于仅仅是感觉孤独的孩子之间的差异。这种了解对父母来说意义重大。这类事情在今天来说尚未实现，但通过一个足够尖端的系统，它实际上是可以实现的。”

Smart machines will also help identify medical conditions. If you sneeze on your computer or cell phone, the machine will study thousands of molecules³ in your breath. Then it can tell you whether you need to see a doctor.

智能机也将有助于确定病情。如果你对着计算机或手机打喷嚏，这些机器就会分析你口气中数千种分子，然后可以告知你是否需要看医生。

“It can give you an alarm and say; ‘Hey, you may not feel sick yet, but you have an infection, which you must go see your doctor immediately.’”

“它能给你报警，告诉你，‘嘿，你可能还没感到不舒服，但你感染了必须立即去看医生。’”

In the near future, built-in cameras in our personal computers will be able to examine and name colors and recognize images. Mr. Meyerson says IBM scientists are also developing a computer system that can examine and combine food molecules to create the most popular flavors and smells.

在不久的将来，个人电脑中的内置摄像头将能够研究命名颜色以及识别图像。迈耶森先生说，IBM的科学家也正在开发一种计算机系统，可以研究和结合食物分子，创造最受欢迎的味道和气味。

“It’ll start to be able to recommend to you foods you’ll love the taste of, but it can also keep track of the caloric limits, whether you have limits on fat or cholesterol⁴ that you can eat. So it strikes this almost ideal balance between the best possible taste and the best possible nutritional⁵ outcome.”

“它将开始能够向你推荐味道你一定会喜欢的食物，还能跟踪不管是脂肪还是胆固醇的热量限额。所以它在口味最佳和营养最佳之间取得了最理想的平衡。”

Mark Maloof is a computer science professor at Georgetown University. He says he hopes the progress that IBM is predicting will lead more students to create future inventions.

马克·马鲁夫(Mark Maloof)是乔治城大学的计算机科学教授。他说，他希望IBM预测的这些进步能够引领更多学生去创造未来的发明。

“It’s going to be very exciting to see what young people do with the increased availability of mobile platforms and networking and computing⁶ power.”

“看到年轻人在提高移动平台、网络和运算容量可用性上的成就将是非常令人振奋的。”

Professor Maloof says advances in computer technology will make what now seems like science fiction a part of our everyday lives.

马鲁夫教授表示，计算机技术的进步将使得现在看来像科幻小说的东西成为我们日常生活的一部分。

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

3 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

4 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

5 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

6 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。