美国少年刷新速解魔方世界纪录

 　　The Rubik's Cube has puzzled the minds of millions for decades, with most people giving up before ever coming close to finishing the notoriously difficult game.

　　数十年来，极其难解的鲁比克魔方困扰了数以百万计的挑战者，他们中的大部分人都在破解到一定程度时放弃了。

　　But not teenager Collin Burns, who has completed a cube in just 5.25 seconds, smashing the world record.

　　但这些人中不包括男青年柯林·伯恩斯：他日前以5.25秒的成绩破解了该魔方，刷新了世界纪录。

　　The US national 'speedcubing' champion was at an official Rubik's Cube event in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, when he shaved 0.3 of a second off the record.

　　在宾夕法尼亚州多来斯镇举行的官方比赛中，他以领先上一纪录0.3秒的成绩拿下美国速解魔方冠军。

　　Other teenagers can be seen chatting in the background as they completed their own puzzles at the official World Cube Association (WCA) meeting this weekend.

　　此次世界魔方协会官方挑战赛于周末举办，我们能看到背景中还有不少青少年已完成了魔方挑战，正在互相攀谈。

　　美国少年刷新速解魔方世界纪录

　　Meanwhile Collin is focused on his cube, quickly spinning the rows of tiles round as the clock counts upward from zero.

　　与此同时，柯林则紧盯着自己的魔方，当计时器开始计时的一瞬间，他手中的魔方块就飞速旋转了起来。

　　As the 3x3 Rubik's Cube's colours align¹, he drops it down on to a pressure sensor² which stops the watch, bringing gasps³ from his fellow enthusiasts⁴ as they realise he has set a new fastest time.

　　当他将3x3魔方的所有颜色对齐后，他放下魔方，同时触发了下面的压力传感器，计时器于是被锁定。旁边的其他魔方爱好者们倒吸了一口气，因为他们意识到新纪录产生了。

　　Collin breaks into a huge smile as he sees his accomplishment⁵, which was 0.3 seconds quicker than the previous world record of 5.55 seconds, set by Dutchman Mats Valk.

　　看到自己的成绩后，柯林开怀大笑：他以领先0.3秒的成绩，打破了之前由荷兰人麦茨·沃尔克创造的5.55秒纪录。

　　The gathered teenagers suddenly break into cheers as they crowd round to get a closer look, patting Collin on the back and shaking his hand.

　　聚拢过来的少年们也突然欢呼起来，纷纷跟他拍肩、握手。

　　A WCA representative told Mashable that the teenager had officially broken the record.

　　据新闻博客Mashable报道，一位世界魔方协会的代表透露，柯林创造的新纪录正式诞生。

　　'Although this result has not been uploaded to the WCA database just yet, we can confirm that this is (or will be soon) the new official WCA world record for the 3x3x3 single solve category,' the spokesman said.

　　该发言人称，“虽然这项成绩还没有上传到世界魔方协会的数据库中，但我们可以确定这是（或即将成为）世界魔方协会3x3x3单人挑战赛新的世界纪录。”

　　'To our best knowledge, it has been performed in an official competition, with all the rules being followed, even the scramble⁶ has been checked for its correctness.'

　　“就我们所知，这属于官方比赛纪录，包括速解准确度在内的此次竞赛的所有程序都符合比赛规则。”

　　Vocabulary:

　　notoriously：众所周知地

　　align：排成一行

　　break into cheers：欢呼起来

1 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

2 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

3 gasps   

v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆，急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

5 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

6 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。