VOA标准英语2014--美国创客空间TechShop让科技梦触手可及

 

TechShop Puts High-tech¹ Dreams Within Reach 美国创客空间TechShop让科技梦触手可及

Retired² lawyer Maurice Mountain uses a CNC Router to produce a prototype of his Presto³ Emergency Boat Ladder.  He's planning to mass produce his invention, a small folding ladder that can be clipped on the side of a boat to assist people who fall into the water.

“I think it encourages innovation," he said. "I think people who probably have had ideas rolling around in the back of their minds for years but have never had the opportunity to actually put them into production or even experiment with them would find this place wonderful."

The place that Mountain is referring to is TechShop, a studio that makes high-tech equipment available to its members.

“TechShop is a do-it-yourself maker⁴ space and fabrication studio," said TechShop's General Manager Isabella Musachio. "When you come in we have all these different areas of the shop, and we have a metal shop, wood shop, plastic slab⁵, lasers, 3-D printers, electronics, textiles.  I mean we have so many different areas and we have all this equipment that is available to anybody above the age of 12 and up."

At TechShop, with membership fees starting at just over $100 per month, members have access to million-dollar equipment, 3-D modeling, laser cutters, and water jets - all at their fingertips.

“Our motto is 'build your dreams here' because you can really come in with just an idea, and then with the help of TechShop take that from an idea to building your project or your prototype or even your business," said Musachio.

One example is Square, which came out of the TechShop facility in San Francisco. Now Square is used to charge about $8.8 billion in transactions every year.

The consumers of products that were created at TechShop even include President Obama, who thinks innovation is the first step to the future and that TechShop is giving ordinary people the tools they need to turn their ideas into reality.

“Because of advances of technology, the opportunity now is to make the tools that are needed for production and prototypes are now democratized. They are in the hands of anybody who’s got good idea," Obama said.

Jim Newton, the founder⁶ of TechShop, first introduced the idea at Maker Faire in San Mateo, California, in 2006. This idea attracted hundreds of members the first day. Now, there are eight U.S. TechShop facilities with more than 6,000 members.

In addition to TechShop, Fab Lab and GE Garages are also helping⁷ inventors and entrepreneurs to discover modern manufacturing processes.

1 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

2 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

4 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

5 slab   

n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上

参考例句：

• This heavy slab of oak now stood between the bomb and Hitler.这时笨重的橡木厚板就横在炸弹和希特勒之间了。
• The monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab.这座纪念碑由两根垂直的柱体构成，它们共同支撑着一块平板。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。