首款"偷不走的自行车"问世

 　　A trio of Chilean engineers say they have found a way to thwart determined thieves with what they claim is the world's first 'unstealable bike.'

　　三名智利工程师宣称发明了世界上首款“偷不走的自行车”，他们表示，这下那些信誓旦旦的偷车贼肯定没辙了。

　　The design, called the Yerka, looks like an average bike, but the bottom tube of the frame can be split into two parts and wrapped around a pole. According its creators, the frame can be dismantled and reconnected to make a lock in just 10 seconds. Once the bike's seat tube forms a lock, the only way to steal the bike would be to cut through it, destroying it in the process.

　　这款自行车名为“尤科”，看上去跟普通自行车没什么两样，但车身底杆可以分成两部分，环绕在一根柱子上。发明者称，拆开车身主架、重新组装成一把锁，这一过程仅需10秒。一旦自行车车座杆形成一把锁，偷车的唯一办法就是把车切开，这样做的话自行车也就毁了。

　　偷不走的自行车

　　The Yerka is the creation of Cristóbal Cabello, 22, Andrés Roi Eggers, 23 and Juan José Monsalve, 24. The design was first announced in November, but last week, the team said they had put in their first order to produce 300 Yerkas.

　　“尤科”自行车是由22岁的克里斯托波尔?卡贝略、23岁的安德烈斯?罗伊和24岁的胡安?乔斯?蒙萨尔维共同发明的。这个设计在去年11月份首次公布。上周，这个团队表示，他们接到了第一份订单，首批300辆“尤科”自行车已投入生产。

　　While an investment of $100,000 from a state enterprise fund helped the project along, they raised most of their funds on crowdfunding site Indiegogo. The start-up sold the first 100 bikes for $400 then increased the price to $500. In future it will rise to $600, according to a CNN report.

　　一家国有企业已投资10万美元来赞助这个项目，但是他们大部分的资金是在众筹网站Indiegogo上筹集到的。这个初创公司以400美元单价销售了首批100辆自行车，之后提价至500美元。据CNN报道，未来该品牌自行车价格将升至600美元。

　　While they call it the world's first unstealable bike, critics have previously said the lock could be picked or the bike easily destroyed. Thieves might also be happy simply to get the handlebars or front wheel.

　　他们宣称“尤科”为世界上首辆“偷不走的自行车”，然而曾有人批评称，车锁是可以被撬开的，而且自行车也很容易毁坏。只拿到车把或前轮，小偷们也照样很开心。

　　But the team say that if they weren't working on something as revolutionary as this, they would have their critics. They also add that the wheels have anti-theft nuts that can only be opened with a special key.

　　不过，这个团队表示，如果研制的产品不够革新，他们也会遭受质疑的，他们还说车轮有防盗螺母，只有专用钥匙才能打开它。

　　The designers are now working on an app that will let users open up their bike using the smartphone.

　　设计者们目前正在开发应用程序，如此一来，用户可以用智能手机给自行车开锁。

　　Vocabulary

　　a trio of: 三名，三人组

　　crowdfunding: 众筹

　　nut: 螺母