新奇事件簿 象牙海岸采用新的通讯系统

Ivory Coast has adopted a revolutionary new system of postal¹ addresses that contain just three words. It means that for the first time ever, everyone in the country will be able to receive mail to their house or office. Up until now, people had to rely on post office boxes. There were only 150,000 of these nationwide and people had to rent them, which meant poorer people found it difficult to receive mail. The head of Ivory Coast's post office told the BBC: "We have 150,000 PO boxes for a population of nearly 24 million. That means a postal address is a luxury in Ivory Coast. We have to make postal access available to everyone." He said the three-word addresses would move Ivory Coast into the digital age.

象牙海岸采用了新的革命性的通讯地址，只有三个词语。这意味着这个国家的人有史以来首次在家里或办公室接收邮件。目前为止，人们必须使用邮政信箱来收发信件。全国仅有15万个信箱，人们必须租用，这意味着穷人很难接收邮件。象牙海岸邮局局长告诉BBC：“我们全国有近2400万人口，而只有15万个邮箱。这意味着在象牙海岸一个通讯地址非常难得。我们必须让每个人都有通讯地址。”他表示，三个词语的通讯地址将使象牙海岸进入数字化时代。

The Ivory Coast's new postal system is based on the what3words.com geo-mapping system. Its software has divided the world into a grid² of 57 trillion 3m x 3m squares, each assigned a unique 3-word address. The software uses latitude³ and longitude⁴ coordinates⁵ to precisely⁶ pinpoint⁷ a location on a global address network. The 22 numbers from these coordinates are converted into three easy to remember words that replace house numbers, street and city names and zip codes. A what3words.com spokesperson said: "Poor addressing might seem no more than annoying in some countries, but around the world, it hampers⁸ the growth and development of nations, ultimately costing lives."

象牙海岸新的通讯系统基于what3words.com geo-mapping系统。其软件将全世界分成57兆个3m x 3m的网格，每个网格指定三个数字的地址。该软件使用维度和经度坐标来精确指定全球地址网络上的位置。代表这些坐标的22个数字被转化为三个容易记忆的词语来代替邮政编码，城市名称，街道和门牌号。what3words.com发言人表示：“通讯地址不详在某些国家或许只是令人烦恼，但是在全世界许多地方这种困境妨碍了国家的然荣发展，最终导致生命的损失。”

1 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

2 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

3 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

4 longitude   

n.经线，经度

参考例句：

• The city is at longitude 21°east.这个城市位于东经21度。
• He noted the latitude and longitude,then made a mark on the admiralty chart.他记下纬度和经度，然后在航海图上做了个标记。

5 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

7 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

8 hampers   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Prejudice sometimes hampers a person from doing the right thing. 有时候，偏见会妨碍人正确行事。
• This behavior is the opposite of modeless feedback, and it hampers flow. 这个行为有悖于非模态的反馈，它阻碍了流。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓