VOA慢速英语2021 微软获得美国军方价值220亿美元合约提供增强现实头戴设备

Microsoft has announced a contract with the U.S. Army worth almost $22 billion to produce augmented¹ reality headsets.

微软公司宣布与美国陆军达成一项价值220亿美元的合约，为美国军方生产增强现实头戴设备。

Augmented reality, or AR, is a technology that uses glasses to project computer-created pictures and information that add to what users see in the real, physical world.

增强现实技术是一种利用眼镜来投影计算机创建的图片和信息的技术，可以增加用户在现实物理世界中能看到的内容。

The deal was announced Wednesday. Microsoft would supply at least 120,000 troops with the devices.

该交易于周三宣布。微软将向至少12万名士兵提供这种设备。

Military officials said the technology will improve soldiers' ability to see their surroundings and identify targets and danger. The technology is based on Microsoft's HoloLens headsets, which were first designed for video games.

军方官员表示，这项技术将提高士兵观察周围环境，识别目标和危险的能力。该技术基于微软的HoloLens头戴设备，它最初是为视频游戏所开发的。

The Army said the headsets could be used for both training and in battle. The army said the AR system could help troops gain an upper hand during battle. Soldiers first tested the gadgets² last year.

美国陆军表示，这些头戴设备可以用于训练和实战。美国陆军表示，增强现实系统可以帮助部队在战斗中占据上风。士兵们去年首次测试了这些设备。

The contract is worth up to $21.88 billion for up to 10 years, Microsoft said. The agreement goes for five years and could be extended for an additional five.

微软表示，这份长达10年时间的合约价值高达218.8亿美元。该协议为期5年，并且可以再延长5年。

Microsoft President Brad Smith spoke³ about the technology to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in February. He said soldiers could use the system to see at night and for facial recognition on the battlefield. He also described how it could help in hostage situations by creating an electronic representation of a building, what he called a "digital twin."

微软总裁布拉德·史密斯今年2月向美国参议院武装部队委员会介绍了这种技术。他说，士兵们可以使用该系统在夜间观察，并在战场上进行面部识别。他还描述了在解救人质场景中如何通过创建建筑物的电子表现形式来提供帮助，他称这种电子表现形式为“电子孪生兄弟”。

Several technology companies have sought to use augmented reality for video games. Those efforts have largely been unsuccessful. But Microsoft's Hololens 2 will be used by the Army. The company also wants the devices to be used to help doctors during medical operations, factory crews and others. Users can often control what they see on the device by using hand movements or voice commands.

有几家科技公司已经寻求将增强现实技术用于视频游戏。这些努力大多没有成功。但是微软的Hololens 2头戴设备将供美国陆军使用。该公司还希望该设备可以用于帮助医疗手术期间的医生、工厂工作人员以及其他人员。用户通常可以使用手势或语言命令来控制他们在设备上所看到的内容。

The headset deal is part of Microsoft's work as a defense⁴ contractor⁵. The military also awarded Microsoft a $10 billion cloud computing⁶ contract in September.

这项头戴设备协议是微软作为国防承包商的成果的一部分。军方去年9月还将100亿美元的云计算合同给了微软。

1 Augmented   

adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• 'scientists won't be replaced," he claims, "but they will be augmented." 他宣称：“科学家不会被取代；相反，他们会被拓展。” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The impact of the report was augmented by its timing. 由于发表的时间选得好，这篇报导的影响更大了。

2 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

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。