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SonaarLuthra_2011G-_水质金丝雀_

Cholera was reported in Haiti for the first time in over 50 years last October. 去年十月(2010年10月) 海地出现了50年以来的 首次霍乱
Cholera:n.[内科]霍乱; Haiti:n.海地;
There was no way to predict how far it would spread through water supplies and how bad the situation would get. 当时没有任何方法能够预测 霍乱将通过水源传播多远 以及灾情会恶化到什么程度
predict:v.预报;预言;预告;
And not knowing where help was needed always ensured that help was in short supply in the areas that needed it most. 不知道哪里需要帮助 就意味着不能向最需要的地区 提供足够的帮助
ensured:v.保证;担保;确保(ensure的过去分词和过去式)
We've gotten good at predicting and preparing for storms before they take innocent lives and cause irreversible damage, but we still can't do that with water, and here's why. 我们虽然很擅长预报和防御暴风雨 避免造成人员伤亡 或不可挽回的损失 但是在水质监测方面我们还达不到这种程度 我来解释一下原因
predicting:v.预言;预告;预报;(predict的现在分词) innocent:adj.无辜的;无罪的;无知的;n.天真的人;笨蛋; irreversible:adj.不可逆的;不能取消的;不能翻转的;
Right now, if you want to test water in the field, you need a trained technician , expensive equipment like this, and you have to wait about a day for chemical reactions to take place and provide results. 目前,如果你想检测一个地区的水质 需要一名接受过专业训练的人员 像这样昂贵的设备 然后再等将近一天的时间 等那些化学反应结束之后才能得到最后的结果
technician:n.技术员;技师;(艺术、体育等的)技巧精湛者; chemical:n.化学制品,化学药品;adj.化学的; reactions:n.反应;回应;抗拒;生理反应;副作用(reaction的复数) take place:发生;举行;
It's too slow to get a picture of conditions on the ground before they change, too expensive to implement in all the places that require testing. 这过程太慢了 因为在拿到水质检测报告之前 当地水质可能就发生变化了 同时在所有需要进行水质检测的地区进行这种检测 成本太高了
implement:v.实施;执行;贯彻;使生效;n.工具;
And it ignores the fact that, in the meanwhile , people still need to drink water. 而且这还忽略了一个事实: 进行水质检测的时候,人们还是需要饮水
ignores:v.忽视;对…不予理会;不予理睬;(ignore的第三人称单数) meanwhile:adv.同时,其间;n.其间,其时;
Most of the information that we collected on the cholera outbreak didn't come from testing water; it came from forms like this, which documented all the people we failed to help. 我们收集到的大多数关于霍乱爆发的信息 并不来自水质检测 而是来自这样的表格 它显示了有多少人 我们没有来得及帮助到的人
outbreak:n.(战争的)爆发;(疾病的)发作;vi.爆发;
Countless lives have been saved by canaries in coalmines -- a simple and invaluable way for miners to know whether they're safe. 煤矿里无数生命都 被矿里的金丝雀挽救了 这是一种简单但有效的方法 矿工们可以通过金丝雀得知他们是否处于安全地带
Countless:adj.无数的;数不尽的; canaries:n.[鸟]金丝雀(canary的复数);特高频噪声; coalmines:n.煤矿; invaluable:adj.无价的;非常贵重的; miners:n.[矿业]矿工(miner的复数);煤矿工人;
I've been inspired by that simplicity as I've been working on this problem with some of the most hardworking and brilliant people I've ever known. 这个简单的理念启发了我 当时我正和一些特别勤奋、聪明的同事一起想办法解决水质检测问题
inspired:adj.受到启发的; v.鼓舞; (inspire的过去分词和过去式) simplicity:n.朴素;简易;天真;愚蠢;
We think there's a simpler solution to this problem -- one that can be used by people who face conditions like this everyday. 我们认为这个问题有一种更为简单的解决方案– 一种可以随时随地 由受灾居民操作的水质检测工具
solution:n.解决方案;溶液;溶解;解答;
It's in its early stages, but this is what it looks like right now. 这个产品还处于研制阶段 目前它看上去是这个样子的
We call it the Water Canary . 我们叫它“水质金丝雀”
Canary:n.[鸟]金丝雀;淡黄色;
It's a fast, cheap device that answers an important question: 它是一个快速见效而且便宜的设备 同时能解决一个重要问题:
device:n.装置;策略;图案;
Is this water contaminated ? 这里的水是否受到了污染?
contaminated:v.污染;玷污,毒害(人的思想或品德);(contaminate的过去分词和过去式)
It doesn't require any special training. 它不需要操作者受过任何特别培训
And instead of waiting for chemical reactions to take place, it uses light. 也不需要等任何化学反应的结果 它使用光来进行检测
That means there's no waiting for chemical reactions to take place, no need to use reagents that can run out and no need to be an expert to get actionable information. 这意味着不需要等待 任何化学反应的结果 也不需要使用那些总会被耗尽的化学试剂 不需要操作者是水质检测专家 就能获得很有价值的信息
reagents:n.[试剂]试剂(reagent的复数); actionable:adj.可控告的;可提起诉讼的;
To test water, you simply insert a sample and, within seconds, it either displays a red light, indicating contaminated water, or a green light, indicating the sample is safe. 要检测水质,你只需要把水样放进去 等待几秒钟 如果红灯亮,代表水样受到污染 如果绿灯亮,代表这里的水是安全的
displays:v.陈列; n.陈列; indicating:v.表明;显示;象征;暗示;(indicate的现在分词)
This will make it possible for anyone to collect life-saving information and to monitor water quality conditions as they unfold . 这一发明将使每个人 都能获得可以挽救自己生命的信息 并且可以监测水质的变化
life-saving:n.救生;adj.救生的; unfold:v.(使)展开;打开;展示;透露;
We're also, on top of that, integrating wireless networking into an affordable device with GPS and GSM. 除此之外, 我们还在它顶部安装了无线网络 这样这个并不贵的设备就有了 GPS和GSM功能
integrating:v.(使)合并,成为一体;(使)加入,融入群体;(integrate的现在分词) wireless:adj.无线的;无线电的;n.无线电;v.用无线电发送; affordable:adj.负担得起的;
What that means is that each reading can be automatically transmitted to servers to be mapped in real time . 这意味着所有的检测数据都会被自动发送到总服务器 并形成一幅实时监测地图
automatically:adv.自动地;机械地;无意识地;adj.不经思索的; transmitted:v.传送;输送;发射;播送;传播;传染;(transmit的过去分词和过去式) real time:adj.实时的;接到指示立即执行的;
With enough users, maps like this will make it possible to take preventive action, containing hazards before they turn into emergencies that take years to recover from. 只要有足够多的使用者 这样的监测地图就可以被用来 指导水质污染防治工作 在疫情发展到紧急情况之前就控制住它 否则可能需要许多年才能恢复该地的水质
preventive:n.预防药;预防法;adj.预防的,防止的; hazards:n.危害;[安全]危险;障碍(hazard的复数);v.使冒危险;赌(hazard的三单形式); emergencies:n.突发事件;紧急情况;(emergency的复数)
And then, instead of taking days to disseminate this information to the people who need it most, it can happen automatically. 现在,不用再等好多天的时间 才能把这些信息告诉最需要它的人们 人们自动就会得到这些信息
disseminate:vt.宣传,传播;散布;vi.散布;广为传播;
We've seen how distributed networks, big data and information can transform society. 我们已经见识过广泛分布的网络 以及海量的数据和信息 是如何改变我们这个社会的
distributed:adj.分布的;分散的;v.分发;分配;使分布(distribute的过去分词和过去式) transform:v.使改变;使改观;使转换;n.[数]变换式;[化]反式;
I think it's time for us to apply them to water. 我想是时候将这些技术运用到水质检测了
apply:v.申请;涂,敷;应用;适用;请求;
Our goal over the next year is to get Water Canary ready for the field and to open-source the hardware so that anyone can contribute to the development and the evaluation , so we can tackle this problem together. 我们明年的目标是将“水质金丝雀”应用于实地检测 并对硬件进行开源 这样任何人都可以为设备开发和升级做出贡献 从而一起来解决水质监控这一问题
open-source:adj.(计算机)开放源代码; hardware:n.计算机硬件;五金器具; contribute to:有助于;捐献; evaluation:n.评价;[审计]评估;估价;求值; tackle:v.处理; n.用具;
Thank you. 谢谢大家
(Applause) (掌声)