一项重大又危险的发明

By Martha/王新仓（译注）

◆语篇导读

随着科技的日新月异和人类生活的大幅改善，越来越多的便捷的高科技产品问世了，“无人驾驶汽车”就是其中的一种。虽然此项新技术还处于研发之中，但很多人对其寄予厚望，然而我们也应该清醒地意识到：凡事都有两面性，“无人驾驶汽车”给人们带来的更多的是便利还是灾难？

Have you ever seen a car without a driver？ It sounds crazy，but these computer-driven driverless cars will soon be filling roads near you.Companies like Google and Tesla have been inventing and testing these cars，and the technology is there—they just need to see if they’re worth the money，work out insurance issues（保险问题），and run final tests to check if they can run with human-driven cars on the road.

So how do they work？The cars have sensors all around which can find other cars and obstacles in the road.Sensors on the wheels also help when parking，so the car knows how far it is from the kerb or other parked cars.Road signs are read by cameras，and satellite navigation systems are used so the car knows how to get to your destination.All you have to do is type in the address！ Finally，a central computer system takes in all the infor-mation it receives from the sensors and cameras and processes this to work out when to accelerate，brake and turn.

Sound like your idea of heaven？ Sitting back，looking out of the windows and even watching a film or reading a book while ‘driving’would be possible with this new technology.You wouldn’t have to worry about remembering directions to where you’re going.In addition（此外），they would also drive more safely than people.

However，there are many shortcomings of driverless cars.If a child ran into the road，would the computer choose to hit the child or turn suddenly and possibly kill the car’s passengers？ In addition，some legal problems will need solving.Should children，or drunk people，be allowed in a driverless car by themselves？Or would there need to be a responsible adult with a driving license in the car at all times？

◆词语积淀

sensor/'sensə（r）/n.传感器；探测器

obstacle/'ɒbstəkəl/n.障碍；干扰

kerb/kзːb/n.道沿；路边石

navigation/,nævɪ'geɪʃn/n.航行；航海

destination/,destɪ'neɪʃn/n.目标；目的地

process/'prəuses/v.加工；处理

accelerate/ək'seləreɪt/v.加快；加速

responsible/rɪ'spɒnsəbl/adj.尽责的；懂道理的

◆典句赏析

1.It sounds crazy，but these computer-driven driverless cars will soon be filling roads near you.这听上去很疯狂，但是这种电脑驾驶的“无人驾驶汽车”将会遍及我们的周围。

sound这里作为连系动词，形容词crazy作其表语；在后一个分句中，these computer-driven driverless cars是句子的主语。

【即时尝试】这听上去很可笑，但这是事实。

2.All you have to do is type in the address！你所要做的就是输入地址。

句子中的you have to do是定语从句，修饰先行词all，关系代词that在从句中作宾语，已经被省略。

【即时尝试】你所要做的就是更加努力地学习。

3.Or would there need to be a responsible adult with a driving license in the car at all times？或者是否需要有驾照并有责任感的成人一直坐在这种车上？

there would need to be...是there be句型，意为“将有必要……”，其中need是实义动词；at all times是常见的介词短语，意为“一直，始终”。

【即时尝试】这将有必要让他来一趟，解释他的理由。

译文助读

你见过无人驾驶的汽车吗？这听上去很疯狂，但是这种电脑驾驶的“无人驾驶汽车”将会遍及我们的周围。像谷歌和特斯拉这样的公司一直在研发和测试这种汽车，此种技术已出现——他们只需看看是否有价值、涉及的相关保险问题，以及做最后的测试来检验这种汽车是否能与人工驾驶的车辆在公路上并行。

那么这种汽车是怎么工作的呢？车全身安装有能够探测路上每个方向的车辆或障碍物的传感器，安装在车轮上的传感器在停车时也能起作用，因此车能感知到它距离道沿或其他所停的车的距离。路标上装有摄像头，运用卫星巡航系统，所以“无人驾驶汽车”知道怎样到达目的地。乘坐人所要做的就是输入地址，最后，一台中枢电脑系统吸收传感器和摄像机传来的全部信息，加工后输出加速、刹车和转向灯等指令。

是不是听上去像是天方夜谭？坐在后排，乘坐人可以领略窗外的风景，甚至看电影或看书，而汽车在新科技的操纵下行驶，你不必担心你辨不清方向。此外，它的驾驶比人类更安全。

但“无人驾驶汽车”还有诸多不足：例如，如果行驶途中突然路上有名小孩，电脑是选择撞上小孩呢？还是急转弯呢？如果急转弯，这有可能对乘坐人造成伤害。另外还有一些法律问题需要解决——小孩子或者醉酒者是否可以独自乘坐“无人驾驶汽车”？是否需要有驾照的并有责任感的成人一直坐在这种车上？