Name: 【聽Podcast學英文】拒絕消失的科技 (Tech that refuses to die ⏲️ 6 Minute English)
Uploaded: 2024-10-18T15:00:12.000Z
Duration: 6 min 19 s

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Phil.

您好。這裡是 BBC Learning English 頻道的 6 分鐘英語。我是菲爾 I'm Phil.

The exciting thing about technology is that it's always changing. Can you remember when computer floppy disks, handheld Game Boys and fax machines were in fashion? Do you still have a Walkman cassette player from the 1980s?

技術的精彩之處在於它總是在不斷變化。你還記得電腦軟盤、掌上游戲機和傳真機流行的年代嗎？你還有上世紀 80 年代的隨身聽錄音帶播放器嗎？

Today, technology progresses so quickly that old tech soon becomes obsolete, no longer in use having been replaced by something better or more fashionable.

如今，技術進步如此之快，舊技術很快就會過時，被更好或更時髦的技術取代，不再使用。

So you might be surprised to hear that until recently the government of Japan still used 3.5-inch floppy disks to store official documents, that around the world music cassettes and

是以，你可能會驚訝地發現，直到最近，日本政府仍在使用 3.5 英寸軟盤來存儲官方文件。

Walkmans are making a comeback, and that even the world-famous Swiss CERN physics laboratory uses old-fashioned magnetic tape reels to record its data.

隨身聽捲土重來，就連世界著名的瑞士歐洲核子研究中心（CERN）物理實驗室也使用老式錄音帶記錄數據。

Yes, it seems that some old technology just refuses to die. Maybe because people still love it, or maybe because of the old English proverb, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, meaning that things should only be changed if they don't work. So in this programme, we'll be hearing about old tech which continues to be used today. And as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

是的，有些老技術似乎就是不死心。也許是因為人們仍然喜愛它，也許是因為一句古老的英國諺語："如果它沒壞，就不要去修它。"意思是說，只有在不適用的情況下才應該改變。是以，在本節目中，我們將瞭解到那些沿用至今的老技術。和往常一樣，我們還將學習一些有用的新詞彙。

But first, I have a question for you, Georgie. Computers have seen some of the biggest advances in technology. But what was the name of the first computer developed for home use in the

但首先，我有個問題要問你，喬吉。計算機見證了科技的巨大進步。但是，第一臺家用電腦的名字是什麼呢？

UK? Was it… a. The Commodore 64 b. The Sinclair ZX80 c. The BBC Micro

英國？是...... a. Commodore 64 b. Sinclair ZX80 c. BBC Micro

OK Georgie, we'll find out if that's the correct answer later in the programme. One reason for not updating tech is if the original design still works well. NASA engineer Jonathan

好的，喬吉，我們稍後在節目中就會知道答案是否正確。不更新技術的一個原因是原設計是否仍然有效。美國宇航局工程師喬納森

Souda designed Harvey, a mechanical rover able to survive the inhospitable conditions on Venus where temperatures reach 460 degrees Celsius. Here's Jonathan talking to BBC

蘇達設計的機械漫遊車 "哈維"（Harvey）能夠在金星上惡劣的環境中生存，那裡的溫度高達 460 攝氏度。以下是喬納森與英國廣播公司（BBC）的對話

Venus has a very long night. It's actually about 60 days long that you're in total darkness.

金星的夜晚非常漫長。實際上，金星有 60 天是完全黑暗的。

So that's where we came up with a concept for Harvey, a mechanical clockwork rover that could be powered by Venus's winds in order to allow it to survive Venus's long, hot nights.

是以，我們提出了 "哈維 "的概念，這是一個機械發條漫遊車，可以由金星的風提供動力，以便在金星漫長而炎熱的夜晚生存。

Conditions on Venus mean that ordinary electronics simply won't work. That's why Jonathan built a clockwork rover – a machine with springs and wheels inside which works when it's wound up with a key. Clockwork technology from the first century being used in 2024 by NASA.

金星上的條件意味著普通電子設備根本無法工作。是以，喬納森建造了一個發條漫遊車--一個內部裝有彈簧和輪子的機器，只要用鑰匙上發條，它就能工作。2024 年，NASA 將使用一世紀的發條技術。

Other tech which refuses to die is just too much trouble to change. For example, countries around the world use different electrical plugs which would be better to standardise but imagine the work involved. Here, Chris Fallance, presenter of BBC World Service's

其他一些永不過時的技術，改變起來也太麻煩。例如，世界各國使用不同的電源插頭，如果能實現標準化就更好了，但所涉及的工作量可想而知。在這裡，BBC 世界服務頻道的主持人克里斯-法蘭斯（Chris Fallance

Tech Life, discusses a similar example with Dr Tacey Philipson, science curator at the

科技生活》雜誌與科學館館長 Tacey Philipson 博士討論了一個類似的例子。

Another piece of tech that people say has sort of refused to die is the QWERTY keyboard, the layout of keyboards that we all have and it's perhaps not the most efficient layout in terms of the speed of typing.

QWERTY 鍵盤是另一種被人們稱為 "不死之身 "的技術，我們都擁有這種鍵盤佈局，但就打字速度而言，它可能並不是最有效的佈局。

It's the layout we're all really, really used to though and if you see court reporters, stenographers, they have special keyboards and can type so fast to take down verbatim but they also look very complicated and I don't actually want to learn to use one of those so I'll stick with QWERTY for the moment.

如果你看到法庭記錄員、速記員，他們有特殊的鍵盤，可以飛快地打字，逐字記錄，但他們看起來也非常複雜，而我實際上並不想學習使用那種鍵盤，所以我暫時還是使用 QWERTY 鍵盤。

Chris and Tacey discussed QWERTY, the traditional typewriter arrangement of keys on a computer keyboard in which the top line begins with the letters Q, W, E, R, T and Y. In terms of being able to type quickly, QWERTY isn't the best. In fact, court reporters type much faster with alternative keyboards. Court reporters need to type fast to record cases verbatim, using exactly the same words that were originally spoken.

Chris 和 Tacey 討論了 QWERTY，即傳統打字機鍵盤上的按鍵排列，其中最上面一行以字母 Q、W、E、R、T 和 Y 開頭。事實上，法庭記錄員使用其他鍵盤輸入要快得多。法庭記錄員需要快速打字才能逐字記錄案件，使用與原話完全相同的詞語。

But because everyone is used to QWERTY keyboards, the tech lives on. That's why Tacey says she'll stick with QWERTY, she'll continue using it and not change to something else.

但由於每個人都習慣使用 QWERTY 鍵盤，是以這項技術仍在繼續。這就是為什麼 Tacey 說她會堅持使用 QWERTY 鍵盤的原因，她會繼續使用，而不會改用其他鍵盤。

And speaking of QWERTY keyboards has reminded me of my question, Georgie.

說到 QWERTY 鍵盤，我又想起了我的問題，喬吉。

Yes, you asked me the name of the first home computer released in the UK and I guessed it was the Commodore 64.

是的，你問我英國第一臺家用電腦的名字，我猜是 Commodore 64。

Which was the wrong answer, I'm afraid. In fact, the UK's first home computer was the

恐怕這是個錯誤的答案。事實上，英國的第一臺家用電腦是

Sinclair ZX80, which was released in 1980 and used a whopping 4 kilobyte memory. That's about half an email. OK, it's time to recap the vocabulary we've learnt in this programme, starting with obsolete, meaning no longer in use, having been replaced by something newer or better.

辛克萊 ZX80，1980 年發佈，內存高達 4 千字節。大約相當於半封電子郵件的容量。好了，是時候回顧一下我們在本課程中學到的詞彙了，首先是過時（obsolete），意思是不再使用，被更新或更好的東西取代了。

The idiom, if it ain't or isn't broke, don't fix it, is used to say that if something is working, there's no reason to try to change it.

成語 "如果沒壞，就不要修 "是說，如果某樣東西行之有效，就沒有理由去改變它。

Quick machinery uses metal springs and wheels which move when they're wound up with a key.

快速機械使用金屬彈簧和輪子，當它們被鑰匙捲起時就會移動。

QWERTY refers to the traditional typewriter arrangement of keys in which the top line begins with the letters Q, W, E, R, T and Y.

QWERTY 是指傳統打字機的按鍵排列方式，其中頂行以字母 Q、W、E、R、T 和 Y 開頭。

If you say something verbatim, you use exactly the same words that were originally used.

如果你逐字逐句地說某一句話，那麼你使用的詞語就與最初使用的一模一樣。

And finally, to stick with something means to continue using or doing it. Once again, our 6 minutes are up, but remember to join us again next time for more trending topics and useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English. Goodbye for now!

最後，"堅持 "的意思是繼續使用或做某事。我們的 6 分鐘時間又到了，但記得下次再來 6 Minute English 閱讀更多熱門話題和實用詞彙。再見