时代周刊:无人机逐渐走入大众日常生活(2)

Facebook is working with drones to beam Internet connectivity to isolated¹ corners of the world;

Facebook也已携手无人机，为与世隔绝的角落传送网络连接；

the energy giant Shell employs the technology to keep its network of offshore² rigs running smoothly³.

能源巨头壳牌集团应用该技术确保其海上钻井平台平稳运行。

Meanwhile, investors⁴ are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into drone startups with names like Skycatch (which creates aerial maps)

与此同时，投资商们也拿出了数亿美元，投资Skycatch(一家制作航拍地图的公司)

and Skydio (which makes video-recording drones that automatically track a subject).

和Skydio(一家生产自动跟踪目标的视频录制无人机的公司)等无人机初创企业。

The drone business is heavily dominated by China.

目前，中国占据了无人机行业的大半江山。

Roughly 72% of the global market is controlled by DJI,

全球约72%的市场均在大疆的掌控之中，

which is headquartered in Shenzhen, often referred to as the Silicon⁵ Valley of China.

其总部坐落于“中国硅谷”深圳。

All this investment raises both possibilities and concerns.

如此火热的无人机投资既带来了无限的希望，也引起了一些人的忧虑。

Privacy advocates are worried about the unchecked growth of aerial surveillance.

拥护隐私的人群对空中监视的无限制增长感到担忧。

Drones have been used to smuggle⁶ drugs into prisons,

无人机已经被用来向监狱走私毒品，

and the U.S. military is spending hundreds of millions of dollars

美国军方正在投资数亿美元

to develop methods to prevent them from becoming terrorists’ weapon of choice.

研究防止无人机成为恐怖分子绝佳武器的办法。

Some people, concerned about protecting their privacy from high-lying cameras, have taken matters into their own hands,

为保护自己的隐私不被高空摄像机侵犯，一些人已经自己出马，

like a Kentucky man who said he saw one flying over his property in 2015, grabbed a gun and shot it down.

肯塔基州一名男子就表示，2015年他看到一架无人机飞过他的房屋时，他直接就拿枪将其打了下来。

(He later sold T-shirts labeled DRONE SLAYER⁷.)

(后来他还设计了印有“无人机杀手”字样的T恤出去卖。)

DJI recently unveiled a way for authorities to identify aircraft in no-drone zones.

大疆最近公开了一种协助有关部门识别无人机禁飞区内的无人机的办法。

AT LEAST 122,000 PEOPLE in the U.S. are now certified⁸ to fly drones professionally, according to the FAA,

据联邦航空局（FAA）称，目前，美国至少有12.2万人通过了专业驾驶无人机的认证，

which sparked the drone explosion in 2016 when it simplified its process for allowing their commercial use.

2016年，该局简化了认证流程，允许无人机用于商业用途，大大推动了无人机持有量的上涨。

Small drones, often between the size of a soda⁹ can and that of a mini-fridge, are relatively¹⁰ cheap and easy to fly

大小通常介于汽水罐和迷你冰箱之间的小型无人机相对便宜，飞行难度也较低，

and can carry a variety of payloads, including high-resolution cameras and thermal-imaging gear.

可携带多种有效载荷，如高分辨率相机和热成像设备。

The surge in drone use presents a challenge for regulators.

无人机使用的激增也给监管机构带来了新的挑战。

The FAA rules governing drone operation, which include no flying outside a pilot’s line of sight,

联邦航空局有关无人机操作的规定，如不得让无人机飞入飞行员视线之内，

have been criticized by drone entrepreneurs for hampering¹¹ a burgeoning¹² industry.

被无人机企业家批评称阻碍了一个蓬勃发展的行业的发展。

How can Amazon deliver your toothpaste with a drone if it has to stay within eyeshot of a pilot?

如果无人机不能飞入飞行员视线之内，亚马逊还如何用无人机配送你的牙膏？

The Department of Transportation is working with drone-flying companies in 10 states as it tries to strike a balance between safety and innovation,

交通部已经联手10个州的无人机公司，试图在安全和创新之间寻求一个平衡点，

and groups like NASA are studying ways to safely integrate drones into an already crowded airspace.

NASA等组织也在研究如何将无人机安全地整合到本已拥挤的航空领域。

(U.S. commercial pilots report about 100 too-close-for-comfort encounters per month.)

(美国商业飞行员报告，每月都有100次左右与无人机距离近到令他们感到不适的遭遇。）

Developments in artificial intelligence and automation will make it possible to operate massive drone fleets simultaneously¹³,

随着人工智能和自动化的发展，有朝一日，大规模无人机编队同时飞行或将成为可能，

increasing efficiency and greatly expanding their capabilities¹⁴.

届时，无人机的工作效率将有所提高，其工作范围也将大大拓宽。

First responders envision highways lined with drones ready to zip lifesaving medicine to accident scenes.

急救人员可以展望，无人机在告诉公路上严阵以待，随时准备将救命药物快速送达事故现场。

Global transportation firms are designing helicopter-size versions that could zip people around like flying taxis, Jetsons-style, without a pilot on board.

国际运输公司也已着手设计直升机大小，能够像飞行的出租车一样，像《杰森一家》里的飞船一样，在没有飞行员的情况下载着人们飞来飞去的无人机了。

Like it or not, the sky above is about to become far busier.

无论你喜欢与否，头上的天空都将变得越来越忙碌。

1 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

2 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

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 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

6 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

7 slayer   

n. 杀人者，凶手

参考例句：

• The young man was Oedipus, who thus unknowingly became the slayer of his own father. 这位青年就是俄狄浦斯。他在不明真相的情况下杀死了自己的父亲。
• May I depend on you to stand by me and my daughters, then, deer-slayer? 如此说来，我可以指望你照料我和女儿了，杀鹿人？

8 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

9 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

10 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

11 hampering   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
• Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。

12 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

13 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

14 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓