How Do They Do It? 生活科技大解密
- 详细资料
- 创建于 2006年5月03日
- 最后更新于 2023年12月18日
- 发布于 2011年10月19日
- 作者：Mike Lee
- 点击数：297
課文朗讀
課文中英文講解
At her office in Taipei 101, Mae is watching a promotion clip on a plasma TV. Meanwhile, a brightly-colored copy of the company’s advertisement comes out of her inkjet printer. She then casts a glance at her watch. Thanks to all this technology, she will be on time for the fireworks. Welcome to our world of high-tech devices. All of this would not be possible were it not for the sophisticated engineering that lies behind these items. This month, The Discovery’s How Do They Do It? takes you to the labs where 21st century is being created.
在台北101大楼的办公室，梅正在观赏电浆电视上的广告。同时，她的喷墨打印机印出一张色彩鲜艳的公司广告，然后她瞄了一下手表。幸亏这一切的科技，她可以赶上看烟火的时间。欢迎来到高科技产品的世界！要不是这些产品背后精密的设计，这一切不可能存在。本月探索频道《生活科技大解密》将带您进入创造廿一世纪的实验室。
The plasma TV that Mae uses is filled with two gases, neon and xenon. In a chain of events similar to the creation of the Northern Lights, the gases are transformed by an electrical current into plasma. Each little pixel on the screen is coated with red, green, and blue chemicals. The chemical reaction that follows creates the colors that you see. Without those gases, plasma TVs would never be so thin.
梅所用的电浆电视里充斥两种气体：氖和氙。透过类似形成北极光的连锁效应，这些气体被电流转变为电浆。屏幕上每个小画素都被包覆着红、绿、蓝色的化学物质。接着发生化学变化，产生你所看见的颜色。若没有这些气体，电浆电视绝不可能这么薄。
Inkjet printer cartridges are amazing products of precision. Each cartridge has a stamp-sized plate with about 400 tiny ink nozzles. Inside the cartridge, the ink is vaporized by a burst of energy whose temperature is seven times that of the sun. Every second, 36,000 droplets of ink are ejected through the nozzles. To prevent clogging, the ink itself is manufactured in one of the cleanest environments on earth.
喷墨打印机的墨盒是令人惊讶的精密产品。每个墨盒都有一个像邮票般大小的薄片，上面约有四百个微小喷嘴。墨盒的能量可产生比太阳高七倍的温度，瞬间将墨水化为蒸汽。每秒钟有三万六千滴墨水从喷嘴喷射出来。为了避免喷嘴被墨水塞住，墨盒内制造墨水的环境是世上最洁净的地方。
Vocabulary
sophisticated [səˋfɪstɪ͵ketɪd] adj. 复杂的，精密的
precision [prɪˋsɪʒən] n. 精确（性）
eject [ɪˋdʒɛkt] v. 喷射，吐出
manufacture [͵mænjəˋfæktʃɚ] v.（大量）制造
More Information
cast a glance at: 看一眼,扫一眼,瞥一眼 look atsomeone or something quickly
neon [ˋni͵ɑn] n.氖
xenon [ˋzinɑn] n. 氙
pixel [ˋpɪksəl] n.【术语】像素﹐像点〔计算机屏幕上图像最小的单元〕
cartridge [ˋkɑrtrɪdʒ] n. 墨水筒
nozzle [ˋnɑz!] n. 喷嘴
droplet [ˋdrɑplɪt] n. 小滴
clog [klɑg] v. 堵塞
課文中英文講解
Mae’s watch is an incredible piece of engineering, but it would not exist without a material that is found almost everywhere: quartz. This material has a secret. Under pressure, it vibrates exactly 32,000 times a second. A tiny piece of quartz is therefore placed in an ant-sized metal vacuum inside each watch. A small computer counts the 32,000 beats and translated them into electronic pulses, each precisely one second in length.
梅的手表一样是惊人的工程！但要是没有几乎随处可见的矿物－石英－它就不可能存在。这种矿物有个秘密。它承受压力时，每秒钟会振动整整三万两千次。因此一块极小的石英，被安置在手表内如蚂蚁般微小的真空金属容器内。一台微小计算机数三万两千下，然后将之转变成电子脉冲，每个脉冲刚好一秒钟长。
Before she leaves her office, Mae puts running shoes on. Modern running shoes are the result of years of study on how the body moves. Each step we take consists of five pressure phases. By hooking up the shoes to a computer, designers are able to analyze the stresses that occur when we walk or run. Various materials, including rubber and gels, are used to absorb, disperse, and reduce the stresses.
在离开办公室前，梅穿上慢跑鞋。现代的慢跑鞋，是多年研究人体工学的成果。我们所踏的每一步，都包含了五个阶段的压力。设计师将鞋子连上计算机，就能解析我们行走或跑步时产生的压力。他们利用不同的材料，包括橡胶和凝胶，来吸收、分散、减低压力。
Mae is looking up at the night sky. All of a sudden, the night explodes into bright colors. Fireworks are made with a blend of chemicals. When ignited, these chemicals create an explosive force. Special effects are achieved by adding small pellets known as “pearls.” Add mineral salts and aluminum flakes, and you get colors and sparkles.
梅抬头仰望夜空。突然间，夜空迸发出炫丽的色彩。烟火是由化学物质混合而成。这些化学物质被点燃时会产生特效。如果加上矿物盐和铝薄片，就会发出色彩和火花。
From plasma TV to fireworks, our modern world feeds on the ingenuity of the human mind. What is amazing is that even highly complex things are made to look so ……… simple.
从电浆电视到烟火，现代世界依赖人脑的灵巧创意维生。令人惊奇的是，即使非常复杂的东西，也可以被做成看起来那么……简单。
−By J. Michael Cole
Vocabulary
vibrate [ˋvaɪbret] v. 振动；震动
phase [fez] n. 阶段，时期
hook up ... to: 连接﹐ 接通上... to connect a mechanism and a source of power
disperse [dɪˋspɝs] v. 驱散; 使散布
ingenuity [͵ɪndʒəˋnuətɪ] n. 心灵手巧；独创性
More Information
quartz [kwɔrts] n. 石英
vacuum [ˋvækjʊəm] n. 真空
pellet [ˋpɛlɪt] n. 颗粒状物；小球
flake [flek] n. 小薄片
sparkle [ˋspɑrk!] n. 火花；闪耀，闪光
feed on: 从…得到满足或供养 be sustained by
Reading Questions
1. What is NOT true about modern technology?
A. It has made life much easier and more convenient.
B. It has allowed certain things, like televisions, to become thinner and smaller.
C. It has been depending on elementary engineering.
D. It has come from the ingenuity of the human mind.
2. What can we infer from the article?
A. Many complex things do not look simple at all.
B. Modern technology has affected many different aspects of our lives.
C. Modern technology makes many things we have more expensive.
D. People who live without modern technology are much more satisfied.
3. According to the article, which of the following statement is true?
A. Quartz vibrates inside plasma televisions to produce a picture.
B. Neon and xenon are two gases that inkjet printers need to work.
C. Various materials like mineral salts and aluminum flakes are in running shoes.
D. Inside an inkjet printer cartridge, ink is used into vapor at an incredibly high temperature.
Answer
|
1. ( C ) |
2. ( B) |
3. ( D ) |