VOA慢速英语2016 美国无人机向卢旺达运送药品

AS IT IS 2016-05-13 US Drone Maker¹ to Fly Medicine in Rwanda 美国无人机向卢旺达运送药品

An American drone maker is teaming up with United Parcel Service to transport blood and medical supplies in Rwanda.

美国一家无人机制造商与联合包裹服务公司合作，向卢旺达运输血液和医疗物资。

The California-based company, Zipline International, manufactures drone aircraft. The company says its drones will fly to remote Rwandan medical centers 20 times faster than any truck or motorcycle.

位于加拿大的Zipline International公司制造无人驾驶飞机。这家公司表示，其无人机将飞往卢旺达偏远的医疗中心，速度比卡车或摩托车快20倍。

United Parcel Service is providing a grant of $800,000 - plus logistical support – for the project through a donation from the UPS Foundation.

联合包裹服务公司通过UPS基金捐赠设立的项目提供价值80万美元的补助和后勤物资。

Another partner is GAVI, the Vaccine² Alliance, an international organization set up to provide vaccines³ to the world’s poorest countries.

另外一位合作者是GAVI，疫苗联盟，这是一家国际组织，旨在为世界上最贫困的国家提供疫苗。

Zipline recently announced plans to launch its drone delivery service in July. The company plans to fly the blood and medical supplies to 20 hospitals and health centers across Rwanda, a country of more than 11 million people.

Zipline最近宣布了于7月份开展无人机运输服务的计划。该公司计划向卢旺达20家医院和医疗中心运送血液和医疗物资。卢旺达人口超过1100万。

The World Health Organization (WHO) says Africa has the world’s highest rate of pregnancy⁴ deaths resulting from excessive bleeding. This makes the availability of blood and transfusions⁶ very important for women across the continent.

世界卫生组织表示，非洲由于失血过多导致的妊娠死亡率是全世界最高的。这导致血液和输血对非洲大陆的女性来说非常重要。

The Rwandan government signed a deal to cooperate with Zipline. The government is promising⁷ to pay part of the delivery costs.

卢旺达政府签署了与Zipline合作的协议。政府承诺支付部分运输费用。

The Zipline drone is different from other pilotless aircraft because it does not operate with four propellers⁹ on top. The drone is similar to a small robotic airplane with a “fixed-wing” design, similar to commercial airliners¹⁰.

Zipline无人机与其他无人驾驶的飞机有所不同，因为不是通过顶部的四个螺旋桨来运转。他们的无人机类似有着固定翼的小型机器人飞机，类似商务飞机。

The drones, weighing about 10 kilograms, are launched into the sky with compressed air. They can travel at speeds of 100 kilometers an hour. Their movement can be followed with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment.

这种无人机只有10千克重，通过压缩空气发射升空，可以以每小时100千米的速度飞行。他们的运动轨迹可以在全球定位系统的帮助下进行追踪。

Each plane can carry up to 1.5 kilograms of materials, usually kept inside a box. The supplies are then dropped from the bottom of the drone and float down to the ground in a parachute.

每一架飞机可以搭载1.5千克的物资，通常装在箱子内。然后物资从无人机底部投放，通过降落伞降落至地面。

Each aircraft can travel up to 120 kilometers on a single flight.

每一架无人机单次飞行距离可达120千米。

The head of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Seth Berkley, said the method is a totally new way of delivering vaccines to children in remote areas.

疫苗联盟负责人Seth Berkley表示，这是向偏远地区儿童运送疫苗的全新方法。

If successful in Rwanda, Zipline and its partners plan to expand the drone deliveries to other countries.

如果在卢旺达获得成功，Zipline及其合作伙伴计划将无人机运输拓展至其他国家。

Operating the drones in Rwanda will result in tens of thousands of flight hours. This kind of testing is currently not possible in the United States because of restrictions¹¹ on drone flights.

在卢旺达使用无人机将带来成千上万个小时的飞行。这种试验目前在美国是不可能的，因为美国禁止无人机飞行。

Words in This Story

delivery – n. the act of taking something to a person or place

grant – n. an amount of money given by an organization or government

logistical – adj. relating to or involving organization and planning

excessive – adj. more than necessary or normal

transfusion⁵ – n. the act of transferring donated blood or other fluid into a person

propeller⁸ – n. a mechanical device for powering a plane or boat

compressed – adj. to flatten¹² by pressure into a small space

parachute – n. a piece of equipment usually made of cloth attached to people or things to allow them to fall safely to the ground

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

3 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

4 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

5 transfusion   

n.输血，输液

参考例句：

• She soon came to her senses after a blood transfusion.输血后不久她就苏醒了。
• The doctor kept him alive by a blood transfusion.医生靠输血使他仍然活着。

6 transfusions   

n.输血( transfusion的名词复数 )；输液；倾注；渗透

参考例句：

• Still, transfusions have apparently never spread the disease, even among hemophiliacs. 还有，输血很明显从未传播过这种病，即使在血友病人之间也是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 口蹄疫疯牛病
• Blood transfusions are a special, limited example of tissue transplantation. 输血是一个特殊的、有限制的组织移植的例子。 来自辞典例句

7 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

8 propeller   

n.螺旋桨，推进器

参考例句：

• The propeller started to spin around.螺旋桨开始飞快地旋转起来。
• A rope jammed the boat's propeller.一根绳子卡住了船的螺旋桨。

9 propellers   

n.螺旋桨，推进器( propeller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The water was thrashing and churning about under the propellers. 水在螺旋桨下面打旋、翻滚。 来自辞典例句
• The ship's propellers churned the waves to foam. 轮船的推进器将海浪搅出泡沫。 来自辞典例句

10 airliners   

n.客机，班机( airliner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fog grounded the airliners. 大雾迫使班机停飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They placed very stable and accurate atomic clocks on regularly scheduled jet airliners. 他们将非常稳定、准确的原子钟装在定期飞行的喷气式班机上。 来自辞典例句

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 flatten   

v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽

参考例句：

• We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
• The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。