VOA常速英语2017--学生们聚集在美国、国外学习“通用语言”：编码

 

NEW YORK — 

As a handful of students gathered to learn a new language at the Microsoft store in New York City, a different set of students gathered a world away in Nigeria to embark¹ on a similar journey.

在纽约城的微软商店里，几名学生聚在一起学习一种新的语言。在世界的另一端，尼日利亚的拉各斯，一组不同的学生们也正在开启相同的旅程。

“Coding is a universal language.Coding is the language of solving problems.”

“编码是一种通用语言，是一种解决问题的语言。”

Every website and mobile application we interact with is coded using various programming languages,the fundamentals of which can be taught to someone as young as 4.

我们与之互动的每一个网站和移动应用程序都是使用不同的编程语言进行编码的，其基本原理甚至可以教给仅有4岁的孩子。

“It’s very rare that a new literacy comes along in our lifetime.And it absolutely can be democratized.”

“在我们这一生，出现一种新的学问是极其罕见的。并且毫无疑问，它可以被大众化。”

To that end, Microsoft has partnered with nonprofit Code.org to offer free workshops and online tutorials.

为了这个目的，微软与非赢利组织Code.org合作，提供免费的讲习班和在线教学。

The company is also building on efforts abroad, partnering with 25 aspiring² entrepreneurs in Lagos, Nigeria.

公司也在国外不断努力，与尼日利亚拉各斯的25位富有上进心的企业家进行合作。

“Many of our entrepreneurs aren’t technical.But that doesn’t mean they don’t know what problems exist in Nigeria and they don’t have a solution to fix it.”

“与我们合作的企业家，有很多都不是专业的。但这并不意味着他们不知道尼日利亚存在什么问题，也并不意味着他们不知道如何解决这些问题。”

Among those solutions are startups like OneTrack, which aims to deter³ child- kidnapping to a mobile tracking.

在这些解决措施中，有OneTrack这种新创办的小公司，旨在使用移动跟踪技术来阻止儿童绑架案的发生。

The cultural exchange was illuminating⁴, even when it wasn’t.

这种文化交流是有启发性的，即使没有启发也是好的。

“We were coding one night ... we’re working on prototypes, the lights go out, no one notices. They just keep typing, to them, it’s a way of life.”

“有一天晚上我们正在编码，我们正在进行原型方面的工作，灯突然灭了，但竟然没有人注意到。他们还在继续打字。对他们来说，这就是一种生活方式。”

A way of life that provided invaluable⁵ feedback.

一种能提供无价成果的生活方式。

“One of the things that we are actively⁶ focusing on now is, how can we have a better off-line experience for our products.For us, it’s about learning.”

“我们现在正积极关注的事情之一就是，怎样才能使我们的产品有一个更好的脱机体验。对于我们来说，这就是在学习。”

These lessons will ultimately guide the next generation of digital pioneers,whether they originate in New York or Nigeria.

这些经验教训最终将会引导下一代数字先锋们，不管他们来自纽约还是尼日利亚。

1 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

2 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

3 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

4 illuminating   

a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的

参考例句：

• We didn't find the examples he used particularly illuminating. 我们觉得他采用的那些例证启发性不是特别大。
• I found his talk most illuminating. 我觉得他的话很有启发性。

5 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

6 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。