Unit-2-Smart-Cars课文+翻译+练习

SmartCarsMichioKaku1Eventheautomobileindustry,whichhasremainedlargelyunchangedforthelastseventyyears,isabouttofeeltheeffectsofthecomputerrevolution.智能汽车米其奥·卡库即便是过去70年间基本上没有多少变化的汽车工业，也将感受到计算机革命的影响。2Theautomobileindustryranksasamongthemostlucrativeandpowerfulindustriesofthetwentiethcentury.Therearepresently500millioncarsonearth,oronecarforeverytenpeople.Salesoftheautomobileindustrystandataboutatrilliondollars,makingittheworld'sbiggestmanufacturingindustry.汽车工业是20世纪最赚钱、最有影响力的产业之一。目前世界上有5亿辆车，或者说每10人就有1辆车。汽车工业的销售额达一万亿美元左右，从而成为世界上最大的制造业。3Thecar,andtheroadsittravelson,willberevolutionizedinthetwenty-firstcentury.Thekeytotomorrow'ssmartcarswillbesensors.We'llseevehiclesandroadsthatseeandhearandfeelandsmellandtalkandact,predictsBillSpreitzer,technicaldirectorofGeneralMotorsCorporation'sITSprogram,whichisdesigningthesmartcarandroadofthefuture.汽车及其行驶的道路，将在21世纪发生重大变革。未来“智能汽车”的关键在于传感器。“我们会见到能看、能听、有知觉、具嗅觉、会说话并能采取行动的车辆与道路，”正在设计未来智能汽车和智能道路的通用汽车公司ITS项目的技术主任比尔·斯普雷扎预言道。4Approximately40,000peoplearekilledeachyearintheUnitedStatesintrafficaccidents.Thenumberofpeoplethatarekilledorbadlyinjuredincaraccidentsissovastthatwedon'tevenbothertomentiontheminthenewspapersanymore.Fullyhalfofthesefatalitiescomefromdrunkdrivers,andmanyothersfromcarelessness.Asmartcarcouldeliminatemostofthesecaraccidents.Itcansenseifadriverisdrunkviaelectronicsensorsthatcanpickupalcoholvaporintheair,andrefusetostartuptheengine.Thecarcouldalsoalertthepoliceandprovideitspreciselocationifitisstolen.美国每年有大约4万人死于交通事故。在汽车事故中死亡或严重受伤的人数太多，我们已经不屑在报纸上提及。这些死亡的人中至少有半数是酒后开车者造成的，另有许多死亡事故是驾驶员不小心所导致。智能汽车能消除绝大多数这类汽车事故。它能通过会感测空气中的酒精雾气的电子传感器检测开车者是否喝醉酒，并拒绝启动引擎。这种车还能在遇窃后通报警方，告知车辆的确切地点。5Smartcarshavealreadybeenbuiltwhichcanmonitorone'sdrivingandthedrivingconditionsnearby.Smallradarshiddeninthebumperscanscanfornearbycars.Shouldyoumakeaseriousdrivingmistake(e.g.,changelaneswhenthereisacarinyourblindspot)thecomputerwouldsoundanimmediatewarning.能监控行车过程以及周围行车状况的智能汽车已经建造出来。藏在保险杠里的微型雷达能对周围的汽车作扫描。如果你发生重大行车失误（如变道时有车辆你“盲点”内），计算机立即会发出警报。6AttheMITMediaLab,aprototypeisalreadybeingbuiltwhichwilldeterminehowsleepyyouareasyoudrive,whichisespeciallyimportantforlong-distancetruckdrivers.Themonotonous,almosthypnoticprocessofstaringatthecenterdividerforlonghoursisagrosslyunderestimated,life-threateninghazard.Toeliminatethis,atinycamerahiddeninthedashboardcanbetrainedonadriver'sfaceandeyes.Ifthedriver'seyelidscloseforacertainlengthoftimeandhisorherdrivingbecomeserratic,acomputerinthedashboardcouldalertthedriver.在麻省理工学院媒介实验室，业已制造出能测知你行车时有多少睡意的样车，这对长途卡车司机意义尤其重要。一连数小时注视着中夹分道线这样一个单调、几乎能催眠的过程是被严重低估的威胁生命的重大隐患。为消除这一隐患，藏在仪表板里的一架微型相机可对准开车者的脸部及眼睛。如果司机的眼帘合上一定时间，行车变得不稳，仪表板里的计算机就会向司机发出警报。7Twoofthemostfrustratingthingsaboutdrivingacararegettinglostandgettingstuckintraffic.Whilethecomputerrevolutionisunlikelytocuretheseproblems,itwillhaveapositiveimpact.Sensorsinyourcartunedtoradiosignalsfromorbitingsatellitescanlocateyourcarpreciselyatanymomentandwarnoftrafficjams.Wealreadyhavetwenty-fourNavstarsatellitesorbitingtheearth,makingupwhatiscalledtheGlobalPositioningSystem.Theymakeitpossibletodetermineyourlocationontheearthtowithinaboutahundredfeet.Atanygiventime,thereareseveralGPSsatellitesorbitingoverheadatadistanceofabout11,000miles.Eachsatellitecontainsfouratomicclocks,whichvibrateataprecisefrequency,accordingtothelawsofthequantumtheory.开车最头疼的两大麻烦是迷路和交通堵塞。虽然计算机革命不可能彻底解决这两个问题，但却会带来积极的影响。你汽车上与绕轨道运行的卫星发出的无线电信号调谐的传感器能随时精确地确定你汽车的方位，并告知交通阻塞情况。我们已经有24颗环绕地球运行的导航卫星，组成了人们所说的全球卫星定位系统。通过这些卫星我们有可能以小于100英尺的误差确定你在地球上的方位。在任何一个特定时间，总有若干颗全球定位系统的卫星在11000英里的高空绕地球运行。每颗卫星都装有4个“原子钟”，它们根据量子理论法则，以精确的频率振动。8Asasatellitepassesoverhead,itsendsoutaradiosignalthatcanbedetectedbyareceiverinacar'scomputer.Thecar'scomputercanthencalculatehowfarthesatelliteisbymeasuringhowlongittookforthesignaltoarrive.Sincethespeedoflightiswellknown,anydelayinreceivingthesatellite'ssignalcanbeconvertedintoadistance.卫星从高空经过时发出能被汽车上计算机里的接收器辨认的无线电信号。汽车上的计算机就会根据信号传来所花的时间计算出卫星有多远。由于光速为人熟知，接收卫星信号时的任何时间迟缓都能折算出距离的远近。9InJapantherearealreadyoveramillioncarswithsometypeofnavigationalcapability.(Someofthemlocateacar'spositionbycorrelatingtherotationsinthesteeringwheeltoitspositiononamap.)在日本，具有某种导航能力的汽车已有一百万辆之多。（有些导航装置通过将方向盘的转动与汽车在地图上的位置并置来测定汽车的方位。）10Withthepriceofmicrochipsdroppingsodrastically,futureapplicationsofGPSarevirtuallylimitless.Thecommercialindustryispoisedtoexplode,saysRandyHoffmanofMagellanSystemsCorp.,whichmanufacturesnavigationalsystems.BlindindividualscoulduseGPSsensorsinwalkingsticks,airplanescouldlandbyremotecontrol,hikerswillbeabletolocatetheirpositioninthewoods--thelistofpotentialusesisendless.随着微芯片价格的大幅度下降，未来对全球卫星定位系统的应用几乎是无限的。“制造这一商品的工业定会飞速发展，”生产导航系统的麦哲伦航仪公司的兰迪·霍夫曼说。盲人可以在手杖里装配全球卫星定位系统传感器，飞机可以通过遥控着陆，徒步旅行者可以测定自己在林中的方位—其潜在的应用范围是无止境的。11GPSisactuallybutpartofalargermovement,calledtelematics,whichwilleventuallyattempttoputsmartcarsonsmarthighways.PrototypesofsuchhighwaysalreadyexistinEurope,andexperimentsarebeingmadeinCaliforniatomountcomputerchips,sensors,andradiotransmittersonhighwaystoalertcarstotrafficjamsandobstructions.全球卫星定位系统其实只是叫做“远程信息学”的这一更大行动的一部分，这一行