时间:2018-12-08 作者:英语课 分类:2016年VOA慢速英语(八)月


英语课

AS IT IS 2016-08-30 Young Programmer’s App Helps War Veteran Father Sleep Better 年轻程序员的APP帮助退伍军人更快更好入睡


Tyler Skluzacek’s father, Patrick, could not sleep through the night.


It was 2007, and Patrick had just returned from a year in Iraq, where he was a convoy 1 commander in the U.S. Army.


Patrick Skluzacek was energetic and happy when he left for Iraq, Tyler says. But when he returned, he was unhappy and drinking alcohol too much.


“I didn’t like it,” Tyler says. “I really did not know what was going on.”


It turned out Patrick Skluzacek was suffering from sleep panic attacks. The nighttime panic attacks are a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 2.


Patrick would wake up every night around 3 a.m. as if someone had shocked him with a jolt 3 of electricity. His heart would beat too fast. He would sweat. He would be so awake that it would be hard to get back to sleep.


The nighttime panic attacks prevented Patrick from feeling good the next day. He did not do well at work, because he was so tired.


“It was a bad, bad phase in my life. Really bad,” Patrick said.


Almost 10 years later, Tyler was in a position to help his father.


He was about to graduate from a college in Minnesota. Tyler was studying math and computer science. He thought he could make a computer program that might help his father.


So he entered a competition in Washington, D.C.


He and three other students worked together to solve the problem Tyler’s father, and other U.S. war veterans, were having. People called them “night terrors.”


The students had 36 hours to come up with a program. They called it myBivy. That name comes from bivouac, a military term for a safe place to sleep.


The application uses a smart watch and a smart phone together.


The watch tracks the wearer’s heartbeat. It sends the data to the program on the smart phone.


Research shows that a person’s heart rate will increase right before a night terror. So if the wearer’s heartbeat started to rise, myBivy would respond. The smart watch would vibrate and gently wake up the sleeping person. That was enough to prevent a night terror from happening.


Patrick did not know that he was his son’s test subject.


He wore the watch for two weeks to get used to it. Then, without telling his father, Tyler turned on the application.


On the first night, the vibrations 4 from the watch prevented 10 nightmares 6.


Patrick said he had not slept that well in many years, but he did not know why. It turned out that it was because of the app.


Tyler and his team won the contest in Washington, D.C. The prize was $1,500. Then the group tried to raise more money from investors 7, and they were surprised when they took in over $25,000 using the online site Kickstarter.


They entered another competition and won that one, too.


By the spring of 2016, Tyler and his team were testing the app with volunteers, and hoped to make it available to the public soon.


Words in This Story


convoy – n. a group of vehicles or ships that are traveling together usually for protection


commander – n. a person who is in charge of a group of people


panic – n. a state or feeling of extreme fear that makes someone unable to act or think normally


Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - n. a mental condition that can affect a person who has had a very shocking or difficult experience (such as fighting in a war) and that is usually characterized 8 by depression or anxiety


phase – n. a short period of time during which a person behaves in a particular way or likes a particular thing


veteran – n. someone who fought in a war as a soldier, sailor, etc.


vibrate – v. to move back and forth 9 or from side to side with very short, quick movements


nightmare 5 – n. a dream that frightens a sleeping person : a very bad dream



1 convoy
vt.护送,护卫,护航;n.护送;护送队
  • The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
  • Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。
2 disorder
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调
  • When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后,他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
  • It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。
3 jolt
v.(使)摇动,(使)震动,(使)颠簸
  • We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
  • They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着,担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。
4 vibrations
n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 );震动;感受;(偏离平衡位置的)一次性往复振动
  • We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
  • I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了,她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 nightmare
n.恶梦,可怕的事物,无法摆脱的恐惧
  • I was glad to awake from such a nightmare.我庆幸终于从噩梦中醒来了。
  • I had a nightmare last nightand,lost sleep.昨夜我作了个恶梦,失眠了。
6 nightmares
n.噩梦( nightmare的名词复数 );可怕的事情,无法摆脱的恐惧
  • He still has nightmares about the accident. 他仍然做噩梦梦见这场事故。
  • Art thou not afraid of nightmares and hideous dreams?\" 你难道不怕睡魇和凶梦吗?” 来自英汉文学 - 红字
7 investors
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 )
  • a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
  • a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会
8 characterized
adj.[医]具有特征的v.是…的特征( characterize的过去式和过去分词 );以…为特征;描述(人或物)的特性;使…具有特点(或最引人注目的特征)
  • Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity. 莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The world situation is characterized by turbulence and intranquility. 世界局势动荡不安。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
9 forth
adv.向前;向外,往外
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
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