新奇事件簿 利用3D打印技术为穷人建造房屋

Having a roof over your head is a basic human need, but there are 1.2 billion people in the world without adequate housing. This may change thanks to a revolutionary, low-cost use of 3D printers to construct houses. With 3D printing, materials are joined together or reinforced by using a computer-controlled device to create a three-dimensional object. Two companies have joined forces to try and ease homelessness around the world by building affordable¹ homes using 3D printing. Tech company ICON² has developed a method for printing a one-floor, 60-square-meter house out of cement in a day for just $10,000. This is a fraction of both the time and cost needed to build a similar construction using conventional methods.

有一个栖身之所是人类基本需求，但全球有12亿人没有适当居所。3D打印技术的变革和低使用成本为建造房屋做出改变。3D打印技术，通过使用电控设备将材料相结合或加固，创造出一个三维物体。两家公司通过3D打印技术建造价格合适的房屋，尝试缓解全球无家可归者的境况。科技公司ICON开发了一种3D打印方法，能够在一天中打印出60平米的一层水泥房屋，价格仅为一万美元。其所需的时间和成本仅占用传统建造房屋法的一小部分。

ICON has teamed up with the non-profit, international housing organization New Story. Together, they will start building homes in developing countries. Their joint³ venture will see 100 new homes constructed in El Salvador next year. New Story's co-founder Alexandria Lafci acknowledged that the 100 homes were just a drop in the ocean. She said: "There are over 100 million people living in slum conditions, in what we call survival mode." She also saw possibilities for 3D-printed houses to become common in richer countries in years to come. However, she said that for the moment: "The tech is ready now to print very high-quality, safe homes in the places we're building."

ICON与非盈利国际住房组织New Story合作。他们将在发展中国家共同建造房屋。他们的合资公司将于明年在萨尔瓦多建造100座房屋。New Story联合创始人Alexandria Lafci认为100座房子仅仅是海洋中的一滴水而已。她说道：“超过一亿人居住在贫民窟环境中，我们称之为生存模式。”她也预见了未来3D打印房屋技术为富裕国家建造房屋的可能性。但是现在她表示：“这项技术已经能够在我们建造房屋的地方打印出非常高质量且安全的房子了。”

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。