评论
打印
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Phil. And I'm Georgie.
大家好。这是BBC六分钟英语。我是Phil。我是Georgie。
The exciting thing about technology is that it's always changing. Can you remember when computer floppy disks, hand-held Game Boys, and fax machines were in fashion? Do you still have a Walkman cassette player from the 1980s?
技术令人兴奋的地方在于它总是在变化。你还记得电脑软盘、手持Game Boy和传真机流行的时候吗？你还有20世纪80年代的随身听卡带播放器吗？
Today technology progresses so quickly that old tech soon becomes obsolete, no longer in use having been replaced by something better or more fashionable.
如今，技术进步如此之快，旧技术很快就会过时，不再使用，被更好或更时尚的东西取代。
So, you might be surprised to hear that until recently the government of Japan still used three and-a-half inch floppy disks to store official documents; that around the world, music cassettes and Walkmans are making a comeback;
因此，你可能会惊讶地听到，直到最近，日本政府仍在使用3.5英寸软盘来存储官方文件；在世界各地，音乐磁带和随身听正在卷土重来；
and that even the world-famous Swiss CERN physics laboratory uses old-fashioned magnetic tape reels to record its data.
甚至举世闻名的瑞士欧洲核子研究组织（CERN）物理实验室也使用老式磁带卷来记录数据。
Yes, it seems that some old technology just refuses to die - maybe because people still love it, or maybe because of the old English proverb,
似乎有些旧技术就是不肯消亡——也许是因为人们仍然喜欢它，或者是因为一句古老的英国谚语，
if it ain't broke, don't fix it, meaning that things should only be changed if they don't work.
if it ain't broke, don't fix it，意思是只有当它们不起作用时才应该改变它。
So, in this programme, we'll be hearing about old tech which continues to be used today. And, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.
在这个节目中，我们将听到今天仍在使用的旧技术。而且，和往常一样，我们也会学习一些有用的新词汇。
But first I have a question for you, Georgie. Computers have seen some of the biggest advances in technology.
但首先我要问你一个问题，Georgie。计算机见证了技术的一些最大进步。
But what was the name of the first computer developed for home use in the UK? Was it: a) the Commodore 64? b) the Sinclair ZX80? or, c) the BBC Micro?
但英国第一台为家庭使用而开发的计算机叫什么名字？是a)Commodore 64？b)Sinclair ZX80？还是c)BBC Micro？
Hmm, I'll guess it was the Commodore 64. OK, Georgie, we'll find out if that's the correct answer later in the programme.
我猜是Commodore 64。好的，Georgie，我们将在节目后期揭晓正确答案。
One reason for not updating tech is if the original design still works well.
不更新技术的一个原因是原始设计是否仍然运行良好。
NASA engineer, Jonathan Sauder, designed HAR-V, a mechanical rover able to survive the inhospitable conditions on Venus where temperatures reach 460C.
美国宇航局工程师乔纳森·索德(Jonathan Sauder)设计了HAR-V，这是一款能够在金星恶劣条件下生存的机械探测车，金星温度高达460摄氏度。
Here's Jonathan talking to BBC World Service programme, Tech Life:
以下是乔纳森在接受BBC世界服务节目《科技生活》采访时说的话：
Venus has a very long night. It's actually about 60 days long that you're in total darkness.
金星的夜晚非常漫长。实际上，大约有60天的时间都完全处于黑暗之中。
So that's where we came up with the concept for HAR-V: a mechanical clockwork rover that could be powered by Venus's winds in order to allow it to survive Venus's long hot nights.
因此，我们想出了HAR-V的概念：一种机械发条探测车，可以利用金星的风提供动力，以使其能够度过金星漫长炎热的夜晚。
Conditions on Venus mean that ordinary electronics simply won't work.
金星的环境意味着普通电子设备根本无法工作。
That's why Jonathan built a clockwork rover, a machine with springs and wheels inside which works when it's wound up with a key. Clockwork technology from the 1st century being used in 2024 by NASA!
因此乔纳森建造了一台发条探测车，一台内部装有弹簧和轮子的机器，只要用钥匙上紧发条，它就会工作。2024年，美国宇航局将使用1世纪的发条技术！
Other tech which refuses to die is just too much trouble to change. For example, countries around the world use different electrical plugs which would be better to standardise – but imagine the work involved!
其他永不消亡的技术实在是太麻烦了，无法改变。例如，世界各国使用的电源插头各不相同，最好统一标准——但想象一下其中涉及的工作！
Here, Chris Vallance, presenter of BBC World Service's, Tech Life, discusses a similar example with Dr Tacye Phillipson, science curator at the National Museum of Scotland:
英国广播公司世界服务部《科技生活》节目主持人克里斯·瓦兰斯(Chris Vallance)与苏格兰国家博物馆科学馆长塔西·菲利普森(Tacye Phillipson)博士讨论了类似的例子：
Another piece of tech that people say has sort of refused to die is the QWERTY keyboard, the layout of keyboards that we all have, and is perhaps not the most efficient layout in terms of the speed of typing.
人们说另一项拒绝消亡的技术是柯蒂（QWERTY）键盘，这是我们所有人都拥有的键盘布局，从打字速度来看，它可能不是最高效的布局。
It's the layout we're all really, really used to though, and if you see court reporters, stenographers, they have special keyboards and can type so fast to takedown verbatim,
不过，这是我们都非常习惯的布局，如果你看到法庭书记员、速记员，他们有特殊的键盘，可以快速打字，逐字记录，
but they also look very complicated, I don't actually want to learn to use one of those so I'll stick with QWERTY for the moment.
但它们看起来也很复杂，我其实不想学习使用其中一种，所以我暂时还是用QWERTY键盘吧。
Chris and Tacye discussed QWERTY, the traditional typewriter arrangement of keys on a computer keyboard in which the top line begins with the letters q, w, e, r, t and y.
Chris和Tacye讨论了QWERTY，这是计算机键盘上传统的打字机按键排列方式，其中顶行以字母 q、w、e、r、t和y开头。
In terms of being able to type quickly, QWERTY isn't the best - in fact, court reporters type much faster with alternative keyboards.
就快速打字而言，QWERTY并不是最好的，事实上，法庭书记员使用其他键盘打字速度要快得多。
Court reporters need to type fast to record cases verbatim, using exactly the same words that were originally spoken.
法庭书记员需要快速打字才能逐字逐句地记录案件，使用与最初所说的完全相同的单词。
But because everyone is used to QWERTY keyboards, the tech lives on. That's why Tacye says she'll stick with QWERTY, she'll continue using it and not change to something else.
但是因为每个人都习惯了QWERTY键盘，所以这项技术仍然存在。这就是为什么Tacye说她会坚持使用QWERTY，她会继续使用它，而不会换成其他键盘。
And speaking of QWERTY keyboards has reminded me of my question, Georgie.
说到QWERTY键盘，让我想起了我的问题，Georgie。
Yes, you asked me the name of the first home computer released in the UK, and I guessed it was the Commodore 64…
是的，你问我英国发布的第一台家用电脑的名字，我猜是Commodore 64……
Which was… the wrong answer, I'm afraid. In fact, the UK's first home computer was the Sinclair ZX80 which was released in 1980 and used a whopping 4 kilobyte memory, that's about half an email!
这…… 恐怕是错误的答案。事实上，英国第一台家用电脑是1980年发布的Sinclair ZX80，它使用了高达4千字节的内存，大约相当于半封电子邮件！
OK, it's time to recap the vocabulary we've learned in this programme starting with obsolete, meaning no longer in use, having been replaced by something newer or better.
现在是时候回顾一下我们在本节目中学到的词汇了，从obsolete开始，意思是不再使用，被更新或更好的东西取代。
The idiom, if it ain't (or isn't) broke, don't fix it, is used to say that if something is working, there is no reason to try to change it.
俗语“if it ain't (or isn't) broke, don't fix it”用来表示如果某样东西在工作，就没有理由去改变它。
Clockwork machinery uses metal springs and wheels which move when they are wound up with a key.
Clockwork machinery使用金属弹簧和轮子，当用钥匙上弦时，它们就会移动。
QWERTY refers to the traditional typewriter arrangement of keys in which the top line begins with the letters q,w,e,r, t and y.
QWERTY指的是传统的打字机按键排列，其中最上面的一行以字母q、w、e、r、t和y开头。
If you say something verbatim, you use exactly the same words which that originally used. And finally, to stick with something means to continue using or doing it.
如果你say something verbatim，你使用的词语和最初使用的词语完全相同。最后，to stick with something意味着继续使用某物或做某事。
Once again our six minutes are up, but remember to join us again next time for more trending topics and useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English. Goodbye for now! Bye!
六分钟时间又到了，但下次记得再次加入我们，在六分钟英语中了解更多热门话题和有用的词汇。暂时再见了！再见！
