美国国家公共电台 NPR--50 years ago, the first cellphone call was made

50 years ago, the first cellphone call was made

Transcript¹

Motorola engineer Martin Cooper made the first cellphone call 50 years ago this week. Who did he call? His competitor at Bell Laboratories to gloat.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Fifty years ago this week, the first-ever cellphone call was made.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HOTLINE BLING")

DRAKE: (Singing) You used to call me on my cellphone.

MART?NEZ: No, not that. Engineer Martin Cooper made that call from a New York City sidewalk and says it went something like this.

MARTIN COOPER: I called my counterpart at Bell Laboratories, a guy named Dr. Joel Engel. And I told him, Joel, I'm calling you from a real cellular² telephone - a handheld unit. And I thought I could hear gnashing of teeth at the other end, but Joel was polite. And then I went on to other phone calls.

MART?NEZ: That's right. The first-ever cellphone call was a troll. Cooper and his team at Motorola began designing the cellphone in November of 1972. At the time, car phones were the most mobile device on the market, and only about a hundred thousand people had them.

COOPER: For years, my colleagues and I at Motorola had a dream that everyone someday would be free to talk wherever they were, would be unleashed³ from the copper⁴ wires that tied them to the network.

MART?NEZ: Thing is, their prototype was the size of a brick and weighed about 2 1/2 pounds.

COOPER: The battery life was only 20 minutes, but that was not a problem 'cause you couldn't hold that heavy thing up for more than 20 minutes.

MART?NEZ: Today, there are more cellphones than there are people. As of 2021, there were approximately 8.6 billion subscriptions⁵ for mobile devices. And calls from these mobile devices are being used to connect with family, friends, colleagues and, yes, the occasional troll.

(SOUNDBITE OF SLUG, SOREN SOSTROM AND YASPER'S "JUMP SHIP")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

3 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

5 subscriptions   

n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助

参考例句：

• Subscriptions to these magazines can be paid in at the post office. 这些杂志的订阅费可以在邮局缴纳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Payment of subscriptions should be made to the club secretary. 会费应交给俱乐部秘书。 来自《简明英汉词典》