【一起听英语】机器人时代
机器人无非是20世纪以来最伟大的发明之一了,他们给人们的生活带来了诸多便利,无论是在生活、工作方面,都省去了大量的人力.....
Rob: Hello, and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English and with me
in the studio is Michelle. Hi Michelle.
Michelle: Hello Rob.
Rob: Today we're talking about robots and a new exhibition at London's Science
museum which is showing some of the amazing developments in robotic
technology.
Michelle: Robots are amazing machines that can really help do a lot of the physical work
that we used to do as humans.
Rob: Of course robots are not a new invention, they've been around for quite a while,
which brings me to today's question. Are you ready?
Michelle: I think so!
Rob: OK, well I wonder if you know when the word robot was first used to describe a
machine that does the work for humans? Was it in:
a) 1880
b) 1900
c) 1920
Michelle: That's a bit of a tricky 1 one. They're all earlier than I would have expected. But
1880 seems too early for me. So I think it's between 1900 or 1920 but I'm going
to play it safe and go for 1900, the middle one.
Rob: That's the beginning of the 20th Century. Well, I'll reveal the correct answer at the
end of the programme. But let's get back to this new exhibition called the
Robotville Festival. It celebrates the most cutting-edge robot designs in the world,
and it features 20 robots from laboratories across Europe.
Michelle: By cutting edge we mean the most up-to-date or latest, and at the exhibition you
can see some of the latest inventions such as a robot that finds things in your
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 2 of 5
house, a robotic hand, and a robot designed to read and mimic 2 - or copy - human
expressions.
Rob: Robots have already proven to be useful in industry. In car factories, for example,
one-armed robots lift, weld, and spray-paint cars.
Michelle: But their domestic 3 use is still a long way off according to Katrina Nilsson from
the Science Museum, as we can hear. Listen out for the word she uses to describe
jobs around the house…
Katrina Nilsson from the Science Museum
I think everybody dreams of having a robot to help them out and doing domestic chores. I think
it's a long way off. Robotics has come on a huge amount in recent years because of the money
that research funds like the European Commission 4 have put into robotics across Europe.
Rob: So she thinks robotics – that's the science of designing and operating robots – has
developed a lot in Europe in the past few years. This is due to an increase in
funding for research.
Michelle: So there's more money available. But despite that, having robots helping 5 us
around the home to do domestic chores, like the cleaning or washing, is still a
long way off.
Rob: What a shame, I could really do with someone helping me with the ironing!
Michelle: Well you may have a bit of a wait! But let's now talk about artificial intelligence
– or A.I. for short. This technology now means robots can learn things for
themselves. They don't have to be controlled or programmed by humans.
Rob: This means robots are not only getting smaller and faster they have the
intelligence to be curious, to explore and to learn things.
Michelle: They're almost becoming human!
Rob: Well one of the common features of the robots in this exhibition is that a lot of
them have human features. The robotic hand is a close replica 6 of a human hand,
for example, and many of the robots are meant to mimic human looks and
behaviour.
Michelle: But it's actually quite strange to have these robots which are quite human, but not
exactly human.
Rob: Yes, it's a bit like that robot C-3PO in the Star Wars movies! Some people say this
makes the exhibition a bit creepy. Let's hear from the BBC's Tim Muffett
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 3 of 5
speaking to Katrina Nilsson again. She agrees that robots with human features can
be quite unsettling:
BBC's Tim Muffett speaking to Katrina Nilsson
Do we want them to look like humans? Because some of them here do look kind of, a bit humanlike.
But that gets a bit awkward 7 for some people, doesn't it? It gets a bit tricky.
Yes, some of them look quite creepy. The more human they look, the creepier they look. And
that's one of the things the roboticists are exploring; how human do you want your robot to look?
Michelle: I know what she means by creepy! If a robot looks so realistic that it seems almost
human it can be quite unnerving - and you're not sure what it's thinking!
Rob: Katrina Nilsson says that roboticists – the people who design robots – are
exploring how human we want robots to look. As long as they can help me with
the ironing, I don't mind how they look!
Michelle: Well as long as they don't become cleverer than us humans otherwise they could
be taking over the world!
Rob: It's the stuff of science fiction at the moment. Unlike today's question which is
about something in the past. Earlier I asked you if you knew when the word robot
was first used to describe a machine that does the work for humans? Was it:
a) 1880
b) 1900
c) 1920
Michelle: And my answer was 1900.
Rob: And you are wrong. The word robot was first used in a 1920 Czech play called
RUR (Rossum's Universal Robots) in which mechanical slaves rebel against their
human masters. The playwright 8, Karel Capek, borrowed the word robot from the
Slavic word robota, meaning a forced labourer. OK Michelle, we've just time for
you to remind us of some of the vocabulary that we've heard in today's programme.
Michelle: OK, we had:
exhibition
cutting-edge
laboratories
mimic
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011
Page 4 of 5
robotics
domestic chores
artifical intelligence
replica
creepy
science fiction
Rob: Thanks Michelle. It's time to go now but please join us again for another 6 Minute
English soon. Bye.
Michelle: Bye!
- I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手,你能帮我吗?
- He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题,只做了个笼统的表述。
- A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
- He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。
- This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
- She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。
- The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
- The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成,其中包括两名妇女。
- The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
- By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
- The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
- The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。
- John is so shy and awkward that everyone notices him.约翰如此害羞狼狈,以至于大家都注意到了他。
- I was the only man among the guests and felt rather awkward.作为客人中的唯一男性,我有些窘迫。
- Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
- The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。