TED演讲:便宜、高效的救灾避难所(3)

 　　Now, this quickly, my day job sent me to work out of our Milan office for a few months, 很快，因为日常工作的缘故，我会有几个月不在米兰，

　　so I was like, what will I do? 有时候会迷惘，我要去做些啥啊？

　　So I actually scheduled sleep on my calendar,  而实际上我忙着调整我的睡眠时间呢

　　and spent the 8-hour time difference on conference calls  把多出来的8个小时时差用在联系

　　with material suppliers, manufacturers and potential customers.  那些供应商，制造商和潜在客源的电话会议上

　　And we found through this whole process, we found this great little manufacturer in Virginia, 在这过程中，我们找到了位于弗吉尼亚的这个伟大的小制造商，

　　and if his body language is any indication,  如果说他的肢体语言是想说明什么的话

　　that's the owner of what it's like  就是老板，那他的样子就形象的再现了

　　for a manufacturer to work directly with a designer,  当制造商和设计师共事的时候，会是一副怎样的场景

　　you've got to see what happens here. 正如你们现在所看到的这样。

　　But G.S. Industries was fantastic.  不过G.S.工业公司实在是太棒了

　　They actually built three prototypes for us by hand.  他们为我们做出了3个手工的模版

　　So now we have prototypes that can show that four people  我们现在有了模版，能容纳四个人

　　can actually sleep securely and much more comfortably than a tent could ever provide. 还提升了睡觉的安全度和舒适度，这比帐篷可好多了

　　And they actually shipped them here to Texas for us.  他们还为我们把模版装运到了德克萨斯州

　　Now, a funny thing started happening.  接着，有趣的情形出现了

　　Other people started to believe in what we were doing,  其他人开始认同我们的所作所为

　　and actually offered us hangar space, donated hangar space to us. 给我们提供或捐赠机库以便工作

　　And then the Georgetown Airport Authority was bent¹ over backwards² to help us with anything we needed. 乔治敦机场官方还愿意帮忙，竭尽所能满足我们的任何需要。

　　So now we had a hangar space to work in, and prototypes to demo with. 现在我们有了工作的地方，还有了制造的样本

　　So in one year, we've negotiated manufacturing agreements,  接下来的一年内，我们又和制造商商议了生产协议

　　been awarded one patent, filed our second patent,  申请到了我们的一个专利，接着又申请了第二个

　　talked to multiple people, demoed this to FEMA  和很多人交流，向联邦应急管理局和他们的顾问展示产品样本

　　and its consultants³ to rave⁴ reviews,  联邦应急管理局的咨询师给了很高的评价

　　and then started talking to some other people who requested information, 之后又开始答复一些前来咨询的人

　　this little group called the United Nations.  联合国的这群家伙

　　And on top of that, 正是在名单的最上端

　　now we have a whole plethora⁵ of other individuals that have come up  联系我们的人实在是太多了

　　and started to talk to us from doing it for mining camps,  从矿区营地到移动青年旅舍

　　mobile youth hostels⁶, right down to the World Cup and the Olympics. 甚至还有世界杯和奥运会

　　So, in closing, on this whole thing here  那么，在结束之前，我要说的是

　　is hopefully very soon we will not have to respond to these painful phone calls that we get after disasters 所幸我们很快就将不用再像原来一样，在灾难发生后，接到的令人痛心的电话

　　where we don't really have anything to sell or give you yet. 却只能告诉他们我们现在还没有现成的东西帮助你。

　　Hopefully very soon we will be there,  所幸我们很快就会达成目标

　　because we are destined⁷, obsessed⁸ with making it real. 因为我们命中注定，而且执着于把它变成实现

　　Thank you.  谢谢大家。

1 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

2 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

3 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

4 rave   

vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬

参考例句：

• The drunkard began to rave again.这酒鬼又开始胡言乱语了。
• Now I understand why readers rave about this book.我现明白读者为何对这本书赞不绝口了。

5 plethora   

n.过量，过剩

参考例句：

• Java comes with a plethora of ready-made types.Java配套提供了数量众多的现成类型。
• A plethora of new operators will be allowed to enter the market.大批新的运营商将获准进入该市场。

6 hostels   

n.旅舍，招待所( hostel的名词复数 )；青年宿舍

参考例句：

• The students were protesting at overcrowding in the university hostels. 学生们在抗议大学宿舍过于拥挤。 来自辞典例句
• Are there any cheap hostels in Nanjing for one person? 南京有没有便宜的旅店可以一个人住？ 来自互联网

7 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

8 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。