经济学人139:法兰克福车展 人工机动智能

 　　Business Frankfurt Motor Show Autoficial intelligence

　　商业 法兰克福车展 人工机动智能

　　Where does the car end and the phone begin?

　　传统汽车与智能手机交汇于何方？

　　SHARON can park herself. At a signal from a smartphone, a system of tiny computers activates¹ her engine, gearbox and steering²—and she reverses smoothly³ into a parking space. Sensors⁴ stop her from bumping into other cars or people. Pilotless cars, such as the Volkswagen Sharan (nicknamed Sharon), are no distant dream. Many people at this week's Frankfurt Motor Show were asking not only how the cars of the future will be powered, but who or what will drive them.

　　SHARON汽车可以进行无人自动停车：先是由智能手机象其发送停车信号，后通过一个小型电脑系统驱动汽车的发动机、变速器和方向盘，然后便顺畅的自动驶进了泊位，而车辆的传感器则避免其撞上行人或其他车辆。无人驾驶汽车已不再只是遥远的梦想，一如大众的一款车：Sharan（昵称Sharon）。在这周的法兰克福车展上，很多人已不只是询问将来汽车将以何为能源，还得问问谁来驾驶。

　　"Where does the car end and the phone begin?" asked Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine, at a brain-storming session organised by Audi, a carmaker. A future car will be more like a computer on wheels, networked with the surrounding infrastructure⁵ and other vehicles. Even if it comes with a steering wheel, the "driver" will have the Knight-Rider-esque option of being piloted while he video-conferences, answers e-mails or looks on a screen at an annotated⁶ view of the world whizzing by.

　　"传统汽车与智能手机将交汇于何处？"克里斯?安德森作为《连线》杂志的编辑，在参加汽车制造商奥迪公司举行的一场会议中的头脑风暴中如此发问。未来的汽车，其实更像一种带轮子的计算机，可以与周围的公共设施和交通工具紧密相连。就算方向盘依然健在，"司机"也可以选择一项有如"霹雳游侠"里的智能跑车KITT一样的模式，保证汽车正常驾驶的同时，他可以进行电话会议，回电邮，或者盯着挡风玻璃上对飞掠而过的世界的注释。

　　The threat to the taxi drivers parked outside the show is obvious. But Frankfurt's cabbies are a sceptical bunch. Driverless taxis? Not in my lifetime, says one. "It's science fiction," scoffs⁷ another.

　　而对于正泊车于展馆以外的出租车司机来说，威胁不言而喻。但法兰克福的的哥们对此集体持怀疑态度。有的说："无人驾驶的出租车？我这辈子是看不到的。" 有人揶揄道："这是科幻小说里的吧。"

　　In tough times, many carmakers are innovating⁸ like fury. Some are recasting themselves as "mobility⁹ service providers". This means hawking¹⁰ car-related software and other add-ons. For example, for those who prefer to hire or share cars—as young city-slickers increasingly do—there is software to make them feel at home in any vehicle, by instantly switching the radio and other settings to their tastes. Some carmakers are also tempting¹¹ buyers with more mundane¹² services, such as priority parking or cheap deals on fuel (whether petrol, hydrogen or electricity). Or, to help them let off steam, they might offer an annual spin with that gas-guzzling sports-utility vehicle of their dreams.

　　现在市场不景气，汽车制造商们纷纷钻研创新如痴如狂。有些把自己重新定位为"移动服务提供者"，也就是说贩卖车用软件及附加产品，例如，有些人愿意租车或者几人共用一辆汽车——特别是越来越多的年轻小市民们喜好如此，有一种软件可以根据不同人的品味迅速切换收音机频道或者其他设备的设定，令他们不管在哪辆车里都觉得像在家里一样舒服。有些汽车制造商还提供了更加实用的服务以吸引消费者，比如提供停车优先权或者提供低价的燃料（不论是汽油，氢能源还是电）。再或者，有些汽车制造商可能还会一年组织一次急速试驾活动，提供油耗巨大的越野车（SUV），让消费者们过把瘾。

　　Even in changing times, there is still plenty of the old passion for a flash motor. Thus the covetous¹³ sighs that greeted the new Ferrari 458 Spider (pictured), which was unveiled on September 13th. Alongside it was Ferrari's first four-wheel drive, four-seater. "Different Ferraris for different Ferraristi!" exclaimed Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari's boss. Even Volkswagen's new single-seater electric commuter¹⁴, with its narrow body and wide wheel-base, looks rather like a 1950s racing-car.

　　就算时光流逝，人们对飞驰的汽车的热情一如既往不曾减退。发烧友们惊叹着迎接9月13日新上市的法拉利458型硬顶敞篷跑车，它的旁边则是法拉利的第一款四驱四座跑车。"不同的法拉利，献给不同的你！"法拉利的老板卢卡?蒂?蒙特泽摩路说道。而大众公司新推出的电力单座通勤车则拥有狭窄的车身和较宽的轮胎，看起来非常像20世纪50年代的赛车。

1 activates   

使活动，起动，触发( activate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Activates the window and displays it in its current size and position. 激活窗口，保持当前的大小及位置不变。
• Pulling out the alarm switch activates alarm and pushing it deactivates it. 闹钟的开和关是通过拔出和按入闹铃开关实现的。

2 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

3 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

4 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 annotated   

v.注解，注释( annotate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thematic maps should always be annotated with the source and date of the topical information. 各类专题地图，均应注明专题资料来源和日期。 来自辞典例句
• And this is the version annotated by Umberto de Bologna. 并且这是有安博多-德-波罗格那注释的版本。 来自电影对白

7 scoffs   

嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• [ Scoffs ] Why should a young girl like that love an old fart like me? 为什么一个那样的年轻女孩应该喜欢我这样的老家伙？
• The noise of the moment scoffs at the music of the Eternal. 瞬刻的喧声，讥笑着永恒的音乐。

8 innovating   

v.改革，创新( innovate的现在分词 )；引入（新事物、思想或方法），

参考例句：

• In this new century, the company keeps innovating and developing new products. 新世纪伊始，公司全面实施形象工程及整合营销，不断改革创新，开发高新产品。 来自互联网
• Beijing is backward most prime cause is innovating at system lack. 北京落后的最根本原因在于制度缺乏创新。 来自互联网

9 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

10 hawking   

利用鹰行猎

参考例句：

• He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
• We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。

11 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

12 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

13 covetous   

adj.贪婪的，贪心的

参考例句：

• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。
• He raised his head,with a look of unrestrained greed in his covetous eyes.他抬起头来，贪婪的眼光露出馋涎欲滴的神情。

14 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。