VOA常速英语2014--Colombian Designers Develop Landmine-defeating Shoe 哥伦比亚设计师开发地雷探测鞋垫

 

Colombian Designers Develop Landmine-defeating Shoe 哥伦比亚设计师开发地雷探测鞋垫

Landmines¹ are one of the more controversial weapons of war. Hidden from sight, they maim² and kill and remain long after conflicts end. According to the United Nations, 110 million active landmines are scattered³ over 70 countries.

For five decades, Colombia has been plagued by insurgencies and countless⁴, planted landmines.  But, one company there may have found a way to defeat the explosives our eyes can’t see.

After decades of armed conflict, landmines remain buried all over Colombia.

几十年的武装冲突过后,哥伦比亚全国各地仍然遍布地雷。

De-miners use high-tech⁵ gear to find these explosives, but that does little for civilians⁶.

排雷人员使用高科技装备寻找潜在隐患,但平民并不具备这些条件。

“What we wanted was to come up with an idea for a product that could greatly benefit the soldiers and farmers that are affected⁷ by these explosives,” said Jose Ivan Perez, creative director of Lemur Studio, an industrial design firm in Bogota.

“我们想要的是设计一种使得受这些地雷影响很深的士兵和农民们大大受益,”波哥大工业设计公司狐猴工作室创意总监何塞·伊万·佩雷斯这样说道。

哥伦比亚设计师开发地雷探测鞋垫.jpgHe's been developing an insole that alerts the wearer of nearby landmines.

他一直在开发一款提醒使用者附近有地雷的鞋垫。

“The concept is a metal detector⁸ with a planar coil made of conductive material that sends a signal to a device on the user's wrist,” he said.

“设计的概念是一块由导电材料制成的平面线圈金属探测器,它会向使用者的手腕设备发送一个信号。”他说道。

Perez says the signal will help the wearer either avoid or remove the explosive device.

佩雷斯表示这样的信号将帮助佩戴者避免或排除爆炸装置。

The Colombian government is welcoming the technology.

哥伦比亚政府对这项技术表示支持。

“If we are a country so affected by the mine problem, it is clearly justifiable⁹ and necessary that we develop our own national capabilities¹⁰:

“如果我们的国家受地雷问题影响很深,我们开发自己国家的能力显然合理而且必要:

research and technological¹¹ development that allows for the de-miners, for example, to more safely go out to the fields to do their work,” said Daniel Avila Camacho, director of Colombia's Mine Action Program.

应用于排雷人员的研究和技术开发,例如,更安全地前往雷区工作,” 哥伦比亚的排雷行动项目的主任丹尼尔·阿维拉·卡马科说道。

Camacho says much of the blame rests with what he calls “illegal, armed groups.”

卡马科称大部分责任取决于他所谓的“非法武装组织”。

“Colombia continues to be one of the countries most affected by landmines in the world," he said. "

“哥伦比亚仍是世界上受地雷影响最严重的国家之一”他说道。

To date, over the last 23 years, the country has had more than 10,600 victims.”

“到目前为止,在过去的23年,全国已经有超过10600名受害者。”

The effects are devastating¹², and not always fatal.

影响是毁灭性的,但并不总是致命的。

The landmine-detecting insole is still in the development stage, and with experts agreeing that it's impossible to estimate the number of undetonated mines in Colombia… production can't come soon enough.

 

地雷探测鞋垫还处于发展阶段,而专家同意不可能估计在哥伦比亚的地雷数量，产量肯定不够快。

1 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

2 maim   

v.使残废，使不能工作，使伤残

参考例句：

• Automobile accidents maim many people each year. 汽车车祸每年使许多人残废。
• These people kill and maim innocent civilians.这些人杀死和残害无辜平民。

3 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

4 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

5 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

9 justifiable   

adj.有理由的，无可非议的

参考例句：

• What he has done is hardly justifiable.他的所作所为说不过去。
• Justifiable defense is the act being exempted from crimes.正当防卫不属于犯罪行为。

10 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

11 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

12 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。