(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.
African militaries want drones to help them guard their borders and large open spaces, but makers of these drones, which are also call unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs, say they could do much more than military work. They could deliver medicines, protect endangered species, and move goods quickly and cheaply. But some experts warn that letting drones operate even for "good" uses could create problems.
Kenyan engineer James Munyoki has built several drones. One of them can carry a load of upto 6 kilograms. He is trying to increase that to 10 kilograms.
"When I started building them, I was thinking the payload would be something like a camera for surveillance purposes. We need that in Kenya. That would enhance security. Apart from that, it can also monitor traffic. These are drones that can be used for journalism or photography, so the application is not just going to be for military purpose or security purpose," said Munyoki.
Park rangers in South Africa are flying small drones to watch over endangered rhinos. Some experts say drones could also be use to document the flow of refugees trying to escape conflict from their country, or to record governmental abuses of human rights. They could help in search and rescue operations, and transport aid to hard-to-reach or dangerous areas.
Africa's strong economic growth and bad road conditions are seeing as a great business opportunity for drone makers. They believe battery-powered drones could move from one charging center to another, carry items to villages far from cities.
Kristin Sandvik is the director of the Norwegian Centre for Humanitarian Studies. She says drones may solve some problems but create others.
"Across Africa, very few countries have comprehensive domestic legislation on privacy and data protection and information storage....A drone cannot only see or listen. It can also sense and hear and read. So in a couple of years time when you have the smaller drones also outfitted with facial recognition technology. A smaller drones that could potentially hack into wireless systems," said Sandvik.
Ms Sandvik says drones carrying cameras maybe use to deliver aid to a refugee camp, but she asks, what happens to the information it may gather.
"Is the drone going to then give [over] all of this humanitarian crisis mapping information? Is that going to be handed over the International Criminal Court for example?" Sandvik questioned.
Drones are not get ready for widespread use. The sensor technology needed to prevent drones from crashing into things needs to be improved. They are also costly, and in most countries, drones or other aircraft can not be flown without special laws governing their use.
Opponents and supporters of drones do not agree on much, but they do agree that the technology is coming likely within the next 10 years. And they say Africa needs to be ready.
And that is the Technology Report from VOA Learning English.
文本来自51voa，译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
词汇解释
1.aerial adj. 空中的，航空的；空气的；空想的 n. [电讯] 天线
The birds perched upon the television aerial.
那些鸟栖在电视天线上.
2.surveillance n. 监督；监视
He was arrested after being kept under constant surveillance.
他在被连续监视之后给逮捕了。
3.outfit n. 机构；用具；全套装备 vi. 得到装备 vt. 配备；供应
They outfitted for the long journey.
他们为远途旅行准备装束。
4.sensor n. 传感器
The latest Japanese vacuum cleaners contain sensors that detect the amount of dust and type of floor.
日本最新款吸尘器装有传感器，能测出灰尘量和地板类型。
内容解析
1.Is that going to be handed over the International Criminal Court for example?
hand over 交出；移交
I wouldn't dare hand this project over to anyone else.
我可不敢将这个项目交给其他任何人负责。
The present leaders have to decide whether to hand over to a younger generation.
现任领导者们必须决定是否把工作移交给较年轻的一代负责。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
非洲军方希望使用无人机来帮助他们守卫边疆和大片空地，但无人机的制造商称这些无人机不仅可以做军事工作，还能运送药物、保护濒危物种、快速廉价地运输货物。但有的专家警告称，让无人机做“好事”也会造成问题。
肯尼亚工程师James Munyoki已经制造了几架无人机，其中一架可以装载6公斤的东西，他在努力将载重达到10公斤。
“在我刚开始制造无人机时，我想的是装载摄像机或用于侦察目的，我们肯尼亚需要这个，这会增加安全性。除此之外，还能监控交通。这些无人机能用于新闻和摄影，所以其应用已经超出了军事核安全目的。”
南非的护林员使用小的无人机来监控濒危犀牛，有的专家称还可用无人机来记录因战乱试图逃离本国难民的流动，或者记载政府的人权侵犯行为。还能帮助进行搜救工作，将援助运到难以抵达或危险的地区。
非洲强劲的经济发展和糟糕的路况被无人机制造商视为巨大的商机，他们认为电池驱动的无人机能在充电站之间飞行，将物品从城市带到乡村。
Kristin Sandvik是挪威人道主义研究中心主任，她说尽管无人机能解决一些问题，也也会制造新问题。
“整个非洲只有少数国家有针对隐私、数据保护和信息储存的全面国内立法，无人机不仅能看能听，但能感知、听到和读取，因此几年后小型无人机还配备了面部识别技术，这样就可以入侵无线系统。”
Sandvik说携带摄像头的无人机可被用来向难民营运送援助，但她质疑无人机收集到的信息将如何处理。
“无人机会清除这些人道主义危机地图信息，还是将之交给国际刑事法庭呢？”
无人机尚不能推广使用，用于预防无人机撞到物体上的感应技术有待提高，而且成本很高，在很多国家，如果没有专门的法律来监管其使用，无人机等飞机就不能飞行。
无人机的反对者和支持者在很多问题上意见不一，但他们都认为这项技术将在10年内得到应用，称非洲需要做好准备。
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
