科技动态:海关有望试用新仪器探测物品

Now from the Boston Museum of Science Sci-Tech Today on NECN.

有线新闻波士顿消息。

You've likely heard of drug-sniffing dogs. Today we learn about the next wave of cargo¹ screening. Researchers at the University of Sheffield are developing cargo screening ferrets to aid in the search of cargo for illegal substances. And joining us now from the Museum of Science Boston is Joanna Bunn. Thanks for joining us this morning, Joanna.

我们都知道缉毒犬，但现在海关检查又有了新方法。来自英国谢菲尔德大学的研究人员正在研究利用新的探测器（robotic ferrets）帮助海关检验非法进出境物品。让我们欢迎来自波士顿科学院的Joanna Bunn。你好，Joanna。

Good morning Lutoya.

早上好，Lutoya。

So what exactly are robotic ferrets?

这款探测器究竟怎么样呢？

Yes, these aren't the cute and cuddly² kinds that you wanna bring home. These robotic ferrets are being developed in the United Kingdom currently. They are gonna be about 30 centimeters to a little under a foot long and are gonna be used to search cargo containers that we have at seaports³ and airports such as in Boston, Massachusetts.

这些探测器并不是可爱的让人想要抱回家的小物件。它们正由英国相关部门研制，全长30厘米到1英尺，用于检测波士顿，马赛出塞州等地的海运空运集装箱。

Ok, how will they work exactly?

那么这些探测器效果如何呢？

Well, the standard cargo container is 48-feet long and about 8-feet tall. It is stuffed full of boxes and cargo. Oftentimes there's just a little bit of room near the top which is where our robotic ferret comes in. The robotic ferret will be attached to the top of the cargo container and there will move around, using sensors⁴ that take advantage of laser and fiber⁵ optic technologies to look for particles of contraband⁶ such as nuclear weapons, biotoxins, drugs and even carbon dioxide.

标准的集装箱长48英尺，高8英尺，里面堆满了盒子或箱子。通常只有集装箱的上面留有少量空间，这正是探测器要安置的地方。探测器附在集装箱的上方，并四处移动，利用激光和光纤技术探寻禁运物品的分子，例如核武器，生物毒素，毒品，甚至是二氧化碳。

Wow! So what exactly are the benefits of using this type of robot?

哇！那么使用这种仪器的好处是什么呢？

Well, first we wanna reduce the number of time that Security and Customs Officials need to physically⁷ go inside these cargo containers and remove the items form inside. This is time-consuming and can potentially expose them to harmful materials that are within the containers.

首先，我们希望利用这项技术能够减少海关人员进入集装箱的次数，以往，工作人员必须搬动货物并进入集装箱才能检验集装箱内的所有物品。这样做费力不讨好，还有可能使检验人员受到箱内物品的伤害。

So briefly⁸ Joanna, when will the robot ferrets be available?

那么，Joanna，这种仪器什么时候投入使用呢？

Oh well, the researchers are hoping to have a prototype in about two years with possible deployment⁹ in about five years.

研究人员计划在两年内制造出产品模型，可能的话在五年内投入使用。

Joanna Bunn, thank you so much for educating us this morning. Join us every morning every Thursday morning at this time for Sci-Tech Today or log on to Museum of Science website mos.org.

Jonna Bunn，谢谢你的介绍。观众们，欢迎您每周四早上同一时间关注我们的节目，或登录我们的网站www.mos.org。

1 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

2 cuddly   

adj.抱着很舒服的，可爱的

参考例句：

• The beautiful crib from Mom and Dad is so cuddly.爸爸妈妈送的漂亮婴儿床真舒服。
• You can't call a hedgehog cuddly.你不能说刺猬逗人喜爱。

3 seaports   

n.海港( seaport的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Airports have joined seaports as ports of entry for the visiting foreigner. 机场和海港一样成为来访的外国人的入境关口。 来自互联网
• Sanya has 16 seaports, 10 islands and 180km of coastline. 三亚有16个港口、10个海岛和180公里的海岸线。 来自互联网

4 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

5 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

6 contraband   

n.违禁品，走私品

参考例句：

• Most of the city markets were flooded with contraband goods.大多数的城市市场上都充斥着走私货。
• The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods.海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

9 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。