正文Robotised insects may search collapsed buildings for survivors 機(jī)械昆蟲(chóng)或能用于建筑坍塌現(xiàn)場(chǎng)，搜尋幸存者Some researchers are working on turning flying critters like beetles into cyborgs — perhaps for use in military reconnaissance or espionage. Others prefer to concentrate on the creepy-crawly side of entomology, by taking electronic control of cockroaches. 許多研究人員正致力于將甲蟲(chóng)等飛行生物改造為“半機(jī)械生物”，它們可能將用于軍事偵察或間諜行動(dòng)。而其他研究者則更專注于昆蟲(chóng)學(xué)中那些令人毛骨悚然的存在——他們對(duì)蟑螂進(jìn)行了電子操控。 One such is Sato Hirotaka of Nanyang Technological University, in Singapore. He has been working on cyber-insects for 15 years. Now, he has added another twist to cyber-roaches. Instead of having their movements dictated by remote control, his are run by algorithms that respond directly to sensors in their backpacks. 新加坡南洋理工大學(xué)的佐藤浩隆就是其中一位研究者；他已從事“機(jī)械昆蟲(chóng)”研究 15 年。如今，他又給機(jī)械蟑螂帶來(lái)了新的變化。他的“機(jī)械蟑螂”不是通過(guò)遠(yuǎn)程操控行動(dòng)的，而是通過(guò)算法；算法會(huì)直接對(duì)它們“背包”中的傳感器作出回應(yīng)。The insects thus fitted out by Dr Sato are Madagascar hissing cockroaches, which are about 6cm long. The backpacks contain a communications chip, a carbon-dioxide sensor, a motion sensor, an infrared camera and a tiny battery. 被佐藤博士安上裝備的是馬達(dá)加斯加發(fā)聲蟑螂，身長(zhǎng)約 6 厘米。它們的“背包”裝配有一個(gè)通信芯片、一個(gè)二氧化碳傳感器、一個(gè)運(yùn)動(dòng)傳感器、一個(gè)紅外攝像頭和一塊微型電池。 For search-and-rescue operations in collapsed buildings, fleets of these roaches would be released into the rubble, to crawl their way through while searching for signs of life. The artificial intelligence that decides whether a set of signals actually indicate the presence of a human being is programmed directly into the camera. If it thinks it has spotted someone, it alerts a rescuer. 在坍塌現(xiàn)場(chǎng)的搜救行動(dòng)中，這批蟑螂會(huì)被派進(jìn)碎石瓦礫中，邊爬行前進(jìn)邊搜尋生命跡象。其紅外攝像頭里直接編入了人工智能算法，由它來(lái)決定一系列信號(hào)是否真的表明生還者的存在。如果它覺(jué)得發(fā)現(xiàn)了某個(gè)人，就會(huì)向救援者發(fā)出警報(bào)。 To test this arrangement, Dr Sato and his team ran trials in a simulated disaster zone. The software proved able to recognise humans correctly 87% of the time. 為了測(cè)試這一裝置，佐藤博士和其團(tuán)隊(duì)在模擬災(zāi)區(qū)進(jìn)行了多次試驗(yàn)。結(jié)果證明，該軟件識(shí)別人類的正確率達(dá)到 87%。The next phase of the project is to refine the system for use out of doors. That done, the manufacture of the backpacks and the automation of their attachment to the insects will need to be commercialised. 該項(xiàng)目的下一個(gè)階段是完善其戶外使用系統(tǒng)。待其完成后，人們將會(huì)對(duì)“背包”裝置的批量化生產(chǎn)、以及“背包”與昆蟲(chóng)的自動(dòng)化裝配進(jìn)行商業(yè)化。主編：思瑤、Jack 品控：思瑤 審核：Jack 重點(diǎn)詞匯 work on 從事……，努力改善、實(shí)現(xiàn)…… 英文釋義：to try hard to improve or achieve something 例句：His jokes are good, but he needs to work on his delivery. critter /?kr?t?.?/ n. 生物，動(dòng)物；可憐人 搭配短語(yǔ)：little furry critters（動(dòng)物） 例句：The old critter used to live in a shabby hut.（可憐人） cyborg /?sa?.b??rɡ/ n. 賽博格，半機(jī)械人（生物） 相關(guān)詞匯：cybernetic（adj. 控制論的，神經(jīng)機(jī)械學(xué)的） 相關(guān)詞匯：cybernetics（n. 控制論，神經(jīng)機(jī)械學(xué)） 相關(guān)詞匯：organism（n. 生命體） 英文釋義：a creature that is part human, part machine 相關(guān)詞匯：cyber-insect（n. 機(jī)械昆蟲(chóng)） 文化補(bǔ)充：漫威宇宙里的“冬日戰(zhàn)士、冬兵”（Winter Soldier）、巴基（Bucky）在九頭蛇組織的改造下，擁有了一只機(jī)械手臂，可以算一個(gè)“賽博格”。電影《阿麗塔·戰(zhàn)斗天使》里的阿麗塔（Alita）也是一個(gè)“賽博格”，她除了大腦，身體基本都由機(jī)械構(gòu)成。 reconnaissance /r??kɑ?.n?.s?ns/ n.（軍事）偵察，勘測(cè) 相關(guān)詞匯：recognize（v. 識(shí)別，辨別） 搭配短語(yǔ)：a reconnaissance aircraft（偵察機(jī)） espionage /?es.pi.?.nɑ??/ n. 間諜行動(dòng) 相關(guān)詞匯：spy（n. 間諜） 詞性拓展：spy（v. 從事間諜活動(dòng)，當(dāng)間諜） 例句：He was accused of spying for a foreign government. 反義詞：counter-espionage（n. 反間諜行動(dòng)） 詞根詞綴：counter-（表示“相反，對(duì)立”） 相關(guān)詞匯：counter-attack（n. / v. 反擊，反攻 ） creepy-crawly /?kri?.pi?krɑ?.li/ n. 令人毛骨悚然的、令人生厭的昆蟲(chóng) 相關(guān)詞匯：creepy（adj. 令人毛骨悚然的，令人不寒而栗的） 相關(guān)詞匯：creep（v.（動(dòng)物的）蠕動(dòng)，爬行；躡手躡腳地移動(dòng)） 例句：The spider crept up the wall.（蠕動(dòng)，爬行） 例句：He crept downstairs, hardly making any noise.（躡手躡腳地移動(dòng)） 例句：This place feels creepy. 近義詞：spooky（adj. 陰森恐怖的，怪異嚇人的） 相關(guān)詞匯：crawl（v. 爬行，爬動(dòng)；緩慢行進(jìn)，艱難前行） 例句：The traffic was crawling along. 例句：I crawled out of bed at 8:00 this morning. 英文釋義：a small insect that gives you a feeling of fear and dislike 補(bǔ)充：文中的 the creepy-crawly side of… 是名詞修飾名詞的用法。 entomology /?en.t???mɑ?.l?.d?i/ n. 昆蟲(chóng)學(xué) 相關(guān)詞匯：entomologist（n. 昆蟲(chóng)學(xué)家） cockroach /?kɑ?k.ro?t?/ n. 蟑螂 同義詞：roach（n. 蟑螂（常見(jiàn)于美式英語(yǔ)）） 相關(guān)詞匯：cyber-roach（n. 機(jī)械蟑螂） dictate /?d?k.te?t/ v. 決定，支配，擺布 英文釋義：to control or decisively affect 例句：The rise in fuel prices was dictated by the market. algorithm /??l.ɡ?.r?.e?m/ n. 算法 infrared /??n.fr??red/ adj. 紅外線的 詞根詞綴：infra-（表示“低于或超出某一限度”） a fleet of 一隊(duì)、一批…… 英文釋義：a group of something 相關(guān)詞匯：fleet（n. 艦隊(duì)，船隊(duì)） 搭配短語(yǔ)：a fleet of fire trucks rubble /?r?b.?l/ n. 碎石，瓦礫 搭配短語(yǔ)：to reduce sth. to rubble（將某地夷為平地、化為一片廢墟） 近義詞組：to destroy sth. completely 例句：The bomb has reduced the village into rubble. run a trial 進(jìn)行試驗(yàn) 相關(guān)詞匯：trial（測(cè)試，試驗(yàn)；審訊，審理） 搭配短語(yǔ)：clinical trials（臨床試驗(yàn)） 搭配短語(yǔ)：a trial period（試用期） 近義詞：probation；a probation period（試用期） simulated /?s?m.j?.le?.t??d/ adj. 模擬的，模仿的 相關(guān)詞匯：simulate（v. 模擬，模仿；（情感上的）偽裝） 例句：It was hard to force a smile and to simulate pleasure. attachment /??t?t?.m?nt/ n. 連接，裝配；附件，附屬物 相關(guān)詞匯：attach（v. 連接，系牢） 英文釋義：to fasten, join or connect something 搭配短語(yǔ)：to attach A to B（將 A 固定在 B 上） 例句：I attach a photo to my application form. 搭配短語(yǔ)：to attach a printer to the computer 詞根詞綴：-ment（名詞后綴） 例句：I'll send you the full document as an attachment. 加