VOA常速英语2018--新科技让ATM盗卡器无处遁形

Advanced credit cards have electronic chips, which are difficult to crack. But many of them also have magnetic strips, so they can be used on older card readers usually in small stores and gas pumps. And that’s where they get compromised.

高级的信用卡都自带电子芯片，因此很难破解。但很多信用卡还有磁条，可以用在小商店和加油站的老式读卡器上。磁条的存在让盗用者有了可乘之机。

Credit cards are read using something called a card reader or a read head. All, at any given time only one read head should be present in a card slot. Crooks¹ simply attach their own card readers onto the existing ones. And when a customer inserts the credit card the extra reader retrieves² all the information needed to create a perfect copy.

读取信用卡要用到一种叫读卡器或者读头的东西。任何时候，卡槽里只能有一个读头。盗窃者只需要将自己的读头放在已有的卡槽里。等消费者插入信用卡后，另一个读头就能获取必要信息，从而临摹出一模一样的伪造版。

This type of crime is widespread especially in large cities such as New York, where only four detectives are trained to spot extra readers attached to ATMs. Now their task may become easier with a device called the skim Reaper³, invented by a group of students at the University of Florida led by Professor Patrick Trainoe. We’re glad to be able to produce something that will curb⁴ the tide. The device consists of an electronic card about twice as long as the regular credit card attached to a box with a digital display. When inserted in the ATM slot the digital display immediately reveals the presence of an extra card reader.

这种犯罪行为比比皆是，尤其是在纽约这样的大城市。拿纽约来说，这里只有4位侦探受过训练，能够发现自动提款机上隐藏的读头。现在，侦探的工作可以简化许多了，因为出现了一种叫Skim Reaper的装置，这个装置是由佛罗里达大学的一群学生发明的，指导他们的是帕特里克 特莱诺教授。我们很高兴能研发出这样一种能遏制这种不良趋势的装置。这个装置自带一张电子卡，电子卡的长度是普通信用卡的两倍。电子卡附着在具备电子显示功能的盒子上。信用卡插入自动提款机的卡槽后，如果有另一个读头，显示屏上会立刻提示。

Impressed with their technology, in their wit on how to come up with this machine for the tech scheming devices. The parts for the card reader detector⁵ costs about 50 dollars. But its inventors say they’re trying to make it cheaper and smaller, so that even untrained law enforcement officers can use it on a daily basis.

他们的技术给我留下了深刻的印象，他们才智过人，能想出研制这样一种机器来应对别有用心的技术装置。这种读头检测装置的部件成本大概在50美元左右。但其发明者表示，他们正在努力降低价格，缩减大小，这样的话，没有受过训练的执法人员也能在日常工作中使用了。

1 crooks   

n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The police are getting after the crooks in the city. 警察在城里追捕小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cops got the crooks. 警察捉到了那些罪犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 retrieves   

v.取回( retrieve的第三人称单数 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• The mole comes in later, retrieves the item and packs it back in his gear. 鼹鼠随后到达，找回东西然后用他的传送装置返回。 来自电影对白
• Retrieves the pitch of the current image, in bytes. 得到代表目前图像斜度的字节数。 来自互联网

3 reaper   

n.收割者，收割机

参考例句：

• The painting is organized about a young reaper enjoying his noonday rest.这幅画的画面设计成一个年轻的割禾人在午间休息。
• A rabbit got caught in the blades of the reaper.一只兔子被卷到收割机的刀刃中去了。

4 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

5 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。