万花筒 2011-10-18&10-20 日本企业家发明海啸救生舱

 It's not quite the yellow submarine,it's designed for travel on the water rather than under it. But this, rather cramped¹, bright yellow pod could be the difference between life and death.

 

The pod, appropriately named "Noah" after the biblical captain of the ark--is the creation of Japanese inventor Shoji Tanaka.

 

After last spring's killer² tsunami³, which claimed as many as 20,000 lives, Tanaka decided⁴ to build a personal flotation device that could survive both an earthquake and the tsunami that might follow.

 

"At the beginning, I made it as a hemisphere which I thought to be the perfect shape to survive earthquakes, but it was vulnerable to tsunami because it capsizes. So I changed it to a perfect sphere and made it also easy to be carried by men and easily accessible."

 

Roomy, it's not. "Noah" is about 4 feet- or 1.2 meters- in diameter, with one hatch, one glass window and two holes for drainage and ventilation. But it's inventor says it does the trick-- which is to keep water out, to keep its occupants afloat, and protect them from runaway⁵ debris⁶. And it's small enough to fit inside an average Japanese house.

 

"Kids will love playing inside it, and those who're anxious about earthquakes will find peace in their minds by just keeping it in your house." 

 

Tanaka knew he had to build something that was both strong and easily accessible. At a workshop southwest of Tokyo, Tanaka uses Fiber⁷ Reinforced Plastic to create the pod, which he says is stronger but lighter⁸ than steel. He also made it yellow, so it would attract the attention of rescuers.

 

"At least, people sheltered inside this ark will have some time to take a breath and get ready for the worst to come." 

 

There appears to be demand already for "Noah". The company says it has orders for 700 of the four-seater pods, largely from families, waterfront businesses and fishermen who see the ark as a lifeboat. The ark sells for between 3,800 and 4,500 U.S. dollars. one piece of household furniture that Tanaka says, could save lives.

 

Andrew Schmertz ,Reuters.

1 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

2 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

3 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

6 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

7 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

8 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。