万花筒:世界第一,全自动化餐馆
日期:2009-01-09 00:00

(单词翻译:单击)

听力练习

World's fully automated restaurant


Let's get a glimpse of the world's first fully-automated food ordering and delivery system

-Hello, can I have a table for one please.

-Sure, no problem.

-Thank you very much.

That was Sonia, and she's pretty much the last staff member I will be seeing at the Baggers restaurant in Nuremberg. Inside, its pots, cups and bottles on a roller-coaster ride. The owners say they've designed what they believe is the world's first fully automated food ordering and delivery system. Here's how it works.

Let's just see what we will have today, why not a steak? And we are ready to go. And that sets these guys in motion. A little sauce, some salad, then they put it into this specially-designed, well, let's just call it a food sled. And it's off to the races, straight to my table.

"This out of here, ready to eat." Easy enough, most customers tell us they came for the entertainment value.

I've never seen anything like this before, this woman says, I think it's really funny.

It makes eating an adventure, he says, certainly something totally different.

But the restaurant's creator says what looks like a cute gimmick makes pretty good business sense as well.

In a fast food restaurant, imagine customers don't have to go to the counter, Michael Mack says, you don't need an employee to take orders or for the payment process, and then the food just slides to the table. It all becomes much more efficient with less staff. Efficiency is what it's all about. No waiters, and of course, no tip.

Fred Pleitgen CNN, Nuremberg, Germany.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. roller-coaster: n-count

A roller-coaster is a small railway at a fair that goes up and down steep slopes fast and that people ride on for pleasure or excitement.

2. in motion: phrase

If a process or event is in motion, it is happening. If it is set in motion, it is happening or beginning to happen.

3. off to the races: idiom

busy doing something

4. gimmick: n-count

A gimmick is an unusual and unnecessary feature or action whose purpose is to attract attention or publicity.

文本参考中文翻译

让我们看一些世界上第一个全自动化的订餐和交付系统。

——你好,我可以订一个一人位吗?

——当然,没问题。

——非常感谢。

她是Sonia,她将是我在纽伦堡Baggers餐馆见到的最后一名员工。餐馆内部,水壶,杯子和瓶子都排在一个过山车上。该餐馆老板

表示,他们确信,他们设计了世界上第一个全自动化的订餐和交付系统。以下就是它的运作方式。

让我们看一下今天吃什么,为什么不吃牛排呢?就订牛排,这些小伙子们都快速行动起来。加点酱汁,加点色拉,然后将它放进这

个特制的,呃,就让我们称它为食物雪橇吧。然后这个雪橇直接运动到我面前。

“已经做好了,可以吃了。”非常简单,大部分顾客告诉我们他们来主要是为了娱乐。

这名女子说,我以前从来没有见过这样的餐馆,我认为非常有趣。

他说,这让用餐变成一次探险,一次完全不同的体验。

但是餐馆的创立人说,这个看上去像是骗人的小玩意其实也很商业化。

Michael Mack说,想像一下在快餐店里,顾客不需要到柜台,你也不需要专门的员工来写订单或者收钱,食物可以直接滑到顾客面

前。这样,可以用更少的员工达到更高的效率。效率是关键。没有侍应生,当然,也没有小费。

单词注解:

1. roller-coaster: 过山车

2. in motion: 开始行动

3. off to the races: 忙着做某事

4. gimmick: 骗人的东西

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重点单词
  • steepadj. 陡峭的,险峻的,(价格)过高的 n. 陡坡
  • deliveryn. 递送,交付,分娩
  • employeen. 雇员
  • adventuren. 冒险,奇遇 vt. 冒险,尝试 vi. 大胆进行,
  • sledn. 雪撬 v. 用撬搬运,乘撬
  • efficiencyn. 效率,功率
  • efficientadj. 效率高的,胜任的
  • countern. 计算器,计算者,柜台 [计算机] 计数器 adj.
  • publicityn. 公众的注意,宣传,宣扬,宣传品,广告
  • gimmickn. 暗机关,小发明,花招,噱头 vt. 用暗机关改变或