VOA慢速英语2020 机器人帮助美国学生参加毕业典礼

Robots Help US Students Take Part in Graduation Ceremony

Juili Kale was looking forward to receiving her masters degree at Arizona State University.She planned to invite her family living in India, to the United States for her graduation ceremony.

朱莉·凯尔正在期待着在亚利桑那州立大学获得硕士学位。她计划邀请住在印度的家人到美国参加她的毕业典礼。

But then, in March, the coronavirus pandemic ended those plans as schools nationwide closed to stop the spread.Kale s dream of spending time with family members on her big day came crashing down.Yet the graduation ceremony is taking place -- just not as she expected.

但是，在3月份，由于全国学校停课以阻止新冠病毒大流行的蔓延，这些计划也随之搁置。凯尔想跟家人一起迎接这一意义重大的日子的愿望破灭了。然而，毕业典礼如期进行，只是不是她期望的那样。

University officials have turned to robots so Arizona State graduates and their families can take part in the event online.

大学官员利用机器人筹备活动，这样亚利桑那州立大学的毕业生和他们的家人就能在线参与毕业典礼。

Cameras recorded images of Kale and about 140 other graduates online this month.They were wearing robes¹ and mortar² board caps.They took turns moving a robot at the university that held an eye-level display showing their face.With the help of the robot, they stepped forward to receive their diplomas and take pictures.

本月，相机在线拍下了凯尔以及其他约140名毕业生的照片。他们身着学位袍，头戴学位帽。他们轮流操纵移动学校的机器人，机器人举着一个视线水平高度的显示器，里面显示了学生的面孔。在机器人的帮助下，他们上前领取了毕业证书并合影留念。

The robots are from Double Robotics, a company based in Burlingame, California.Before the health crisis³, they had been used to help people attend funerals and even marriage ceremonies without traveling.

这些机器人是加州伯灵盖姆的Double Robotics公司提供的。在这次健康危机前，这些机器人曾被用来帮助参加葬礼、甚至婚礼而无需本人到场。

Sanjeev Khagram is dean⁴ of Arizona States Thunderbird School of Global Management.He told the Reuters news agency⁵ the video – a "bittersweet" experience – was recorded and produced over two days.It may not have been ideal⁶ for the students, Khagram admitted.But, "we want to show that we did everything that we could to celebrate them."

桑吉夫·哈格拉姆是亚利桑那州立大学雷鸟全球管理学院的院长。他告诉路透社，这段“苦乐参半”的视频体验用了两天时间进行拍摄和制作。哈格拉姆承认，这对学生们来说可能不是最理想的毕业典礼。但是，“我们想要表明，我们在尽全力庆祝他们毕业。”

Kale planned to throw a ‘watch party with her husband at home and her family in India.

凯尔计划与家里的老公以及印度的家人举行一次‘观赏派对’。 

Getting used to the online experience was easy for Nancy Sierras Morales.

对南希·塞拉斯·莫拉莱斯来说，适应这种线上毕业十分容易。 

"We have been able to adapt very quickly because we are used to being on a computer and on the phone almost like 24/7," the 22-year-old said.She said that, while it is not the best, it is "cool...to be like the first class ever to do this."

这位22岁的年轻人说:“我们之所以能快速适应，是因为我们几乎每天24小时都在使用电脑和电话。”她说，虽然这不是最好的毕业典礼，但是作为有史以来第一批这样做的毕业生也挺酷。”

When the crisis is over, the class of 2020 can do a real-life walk at any future graduation ceremony they choose.

当这场危机结束后，2020年这届毕业生可以选择在将来任何一场毕业典礼上真实地走一圈。 

"Im disappointed...," said 41-year-old Douglas Northcott.He is graduating with a masters degree in applied⁷ leadership and management.He called the online event with robots "creative."But he looked forward to the real thing.

“我很失望…”41岁的道格拉斯·诺斯科特说。他即将获得应用领导力和管理硕士学位。他称这场机器人参与的“云毕业”活动很有创意”。但是他还是期望举行真实的线下毕业典礼。

"And if anything, that makes it better, in that it is spread over two times rather than one."

“如果有的话就更好了，那样就是两场毕业典礼，而不是一场。” 

Im Mario Ritter, Jr.

小马里奥·里特为您播报。 

1 robes   

礼服( robe的名词复数 )； 法衣； 睡袍； 长袍

参考例句：

• cardinals in scarlet robes 身披红袍的枢机主教
• His Indian robes contrasted oddly with his fluent English. 他的印度长袍与他流利的英语形成奇特的对照。

2 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

3 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

4 Dean   

n.(大学)院长，系主任，教务长

参考例句：

• The students much like the new dean.学生们很喜欢这位新系主任。
• Who is the dean of the Foreign Languages Department?外语系主任是谁？

5 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

6 ideal   

adj.理想的，完美的；空想的，观念的；n.理想

参考例句：

• The weather at the seaside was ideal—bright and breezy.海边的天气最宜人，风和日丽的。
• They promised to be faithful to their ideal for ever. 他们保证永远忠于自己的理想。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。