VOA慢速英语2011--Students Compete to Find Tech Solutions

Technology Report - Students Compete to Find Tech Solutions for World Problems

 

科技报道 - 微软创新杯带领学生们以科技解决世界棘手问题
This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
Hundreds of students from around the world gathered in New York City last week for the Microsoft Imagine Cup finals. They came to present their ideas for using technology to solve world problems.
上周，数百名来自世界各地的学生齐聚纽约参加微软创新杯总决赛。他们带来了一些使用科技解决世界棘手问题的想法。
Microsoft education director Suzi Levine says the nine-year-old program began mainly as a competition to create technology.
微软教育总监苏茜·莱文表示，这项已经具有9年历史的大赛最初的主要目的是科技创新。
SUZI LEVINE: "When we realized that students really actually want to have a purpose for what they’re creating, we introduced the idea of inspiring them with the UN Millennium¹ Development Goals and suggesting that they use those for their muse²."
莱文：“当我们意识到学生们确实非常希望他们能有目标的创新，我们介绍了联合国千年发展目标来激励他们，并建议他们以此作为创新目标。”
New sources for ideas this year included intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations.
今年创新选题的新来源包括政府组织和非政府组织。
SUZI LEVINE: "This past year we also rolled out something called the Imagine Cup Solve This library, where IGOs, NGOs and nonprofits can submit some of the technical challenges that they would like students to consider for their solutions."
莱文：“在过去的一年里，我们还推出了创新杯求解计划知识库，政府组织和非政府组织可以将一些他们希望学生们提供解决方案的科技挑战提交到这个知识库。”
Microsoft says over three hundred fifty thousand high school and college students registered for this year's competition. Judges chose more than four hundred of them to attend the finals.
微软表示，超过35万名大中专学生报名参加了今年的比赛。考官选拔了其中四百多人参加总决赛。
Ms. Levine says several teams were inspired by current events, including floods last year in Thailand.
莱文女士说，几支参赛团队都受到了时事的启发，包括去年泰国的水灾。
SUZI LEVINE: “One from Thailand [was] called NewKrean, where they created a Windows Phone 7 application that allows you to broadcast your location to your social network of friends so that you can be more easily rescued."
莱文：“一支来自泰国的参赛团队名为NewKrean，他们开发了一种Windows Phone 7应用程序，可以将自己的当前位置广播给社交网络上的好友，这样就更容易获救。”
注：Windows Phone 7：微软最新发布的手机操作系统。
The NewKrean team from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand named their app Terra.
NewKrean团队来自泰国朱拉隆功大学，他们将这款应用程序命名为Terra。
Suzi Levine says there were also ideas from Egypt inspired by the revolution that overthrew³ president Hosni Mubarak in February.
莱文表示，还有一些来自埃及，受二月份推翻穆巴拉克革命启发的想法。
SUZI LEVINE: “One was to use Bluetooth as sort of a Twitter equivalent⁴ so that if the government shuts down the Internet, you actually can still have a massive⁵ social distribution.”
莱文：“其中一个想法是将蓝牙作为推特（Twitter）的替代物，这样如果政府关闭了互联网，还能拥有庞大的社交网络分布。
Students competed in nine categories. For example, in software design the top prize of twenty-five thousand dollars went to Team Hermes from Ireland. The students developed a device for cars to collect information on road conditions, driving behavior and traffic incidents.
学生们在九个比赛类别中展开竞逐。在软件设计类别中，来自爱尔兰的Hermes团队赢得了2.5万美元的最高奖项。该团队学生开发了一种收集路况、驾驶行为和交通事故一类信息的装置。
A team from Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University won first place in the embedded⁶ development category. They developed a network of wireless⁷ devices to help plot the safest escape routes during a fire.
一支来自台湾国立清华大学的团队在嵌入式开发类别中荣获第一名。他们开发了一种无线设备网络，能够在火灾期间帮助规划最安全的逃生路线。
Next year’s awards ceremony will take place in Australia. Registration⁸ for Imagine Cup twenty-twelve opened Friday. Also, Microsoft announced plans for a three million dollar program to help Imagine Cup winners further develop their projects.
下一届的颁奖典礼将在澳大利亚举行，2012年创新杯报名工作将于周五开始。此外，微软宣布了一项300万美元的计划，帮助创新杯获胜者进一步开发他们的项目。
And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms. You can learn English with our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

2 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

3 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

4 equivalent   

adj.（to）相等的，等价的；n.相等物，等值物

参考例句：

• Nodding your head is equivalent to saying "yes".点头就等于说“赞同”。
• You will receive the full equivalent of your money.你将收到与你的款项价值完全同等的物品。

5 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。

6 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

7 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

8 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？