(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
It used to be mostly the military that used small, unpiloted aircraft, called "drones." The little planes were very costly. But as they have dropped in price more people have begun to use them. Rescue workers and farmers are among the new users.
A company in France is using drones to help farmers examine their crops and limit the amount of fertilizer they use.
The fast rate of development of computer technology, image sensing devices, satellite navigation and smartphones has led to lower-priced drones. Researchers and developers have learned how to build smaller and less-costly drones sought by individuals, companies and governments.
Moviemakers are using drones to film from the sky. Historians use them when they explore ancient buildings. Rescue workers use them to look for people. And now farmers are using them to monitor their crops.
Romain Faroux is a French businessman who starts companies. His father was a farmer. He believed drones could help farmers. He helped create a company that developed a small drone that could be controlled by people on the ground. They called it "Agridrone." It uses a special "optical sensor" to examine crops.
He says the technology used is similar to that used by smartphones -- except it has wings. He says the industrialization of electronic parts for smartphones and tablets lets them get the technology -- including GPS -- at a very low price.
A computer program directs the drone to fly over the crops. The sensor on the drone records four different-colored "bands" of sunlight that are reflected off the crops.
Jean-Baptiste Bruggeman is a farmer. He says the drone flies over his crops at different times of the season. He says this provides a lot of information about his crops.
He says the drone pictures show him the exact amount of fertilizer the crops need. He says it also shows exactly where the fertilizer is needed. Some areas of a field may need more than others.
As a result, Mr. Bruggeman says there is reduced nitrogen from the fertilizer after the harvest. This helps nature.
Romain Faroux says farmers use information gathered by the Agridrone to place fertilizer only in areas where it was needed. This saves money and reduces pollution. Before they used the drones, farmers would put the same amount of fertilizer everywhere.
Drones also save time because farmers can examine up to three hectares in about a minute.
I'm Marsha James.
词汇解释
1.optical adj. 光学的；眼睛的，视觉的
Sloping walls on the bulk of the building create an optical illusion.
大楼主体的斜墙给人造成一种视错觉。
2.fertilizer n. [肥料] 肥料；受精媒介物；促进发展者
The tractor hauled the fertilizer away.
拖拉机把肥料拉走了。
3.navigation n. 航行；航海
Pack ice around Iceland was becoming a threat to navigation.
冰岛周围的浮冰一度成为船舶航行的威胁。
内容解析
1.He helped create a company that developed a small drone that could be controlled by people on the ground.
on the ground 在地上；当场；在决斗
Kevin was always level-headed with both feet on the ground.
凯文总是头脑冷静，脚踏实地。
My son had a tantrum and banged his fist on the ground.
我儿子大发脾气，一拳捶在了地上。
参考译文
过去通常是军方在使用小型无人机，这种小飞机非常昂贵。但随着成本的下降，越来越多人开始使用无人机。援救人员和农民也是新使用者。
法国一家公司在使用无人机来帮助农民检查作物并限制化肥的使用量。
电脑技术、图像感应设备、卫星导航和智能手机使得无人机价格越来越低，研究者和开发者开始研究制造个人、公司和政府想要的低成本无人机。
电影制作人开始使用无人机在天空拍摄，历史学家使用无人机来探索古代建筑。援救人员使用无人机来寻人，现在农民也开始使用无人机来观测作物。
罗曼·法鲁克是一位开公司的法国商人，他的父亲曾是农民。他认为无人机能帮助农民，他帮助创立了一家公司，开发地面人员能控制的无人机，他们称它为“农业无人机”，这种无人机使用特殊的光学感应器来检测作物。
他说这种无人机除了有机翼外，所使用的技术与智能手机的技术很类似。他说智能手机和平板电脑电子元件的产业化使得他们以很低的价格获得包括GPS在内的技术。
计算机程序指导无人机飞行在作物上空，无人机上的感应器能记录作物反射的四种不同颜色的太阳光光带。
让·巴蒂斯特·布鲁格曼是一位农民，他说无人机在季节的不同时间飞行在作物上空，他说这就能提供关于作物的信息。
他说无人机图片能让他了解作物所需化肥的确切份量，他说还能精确显示哪里需要化肥，一块土地上的一些区域可能需要更多的化肥。
布鲁格曼说，因此的结果就是庄稼收割后，来自化肥的氮的含量减少，这就对自然有益。
罗曼·法鲁克说农民们使用农业无人机收集的信息来将化肥施在需要化肥的地方，这就能省钱并减少污染。在使用无人机之前，农民们会在所有区域施同样量的化肥。
无人机还能省时间，因为农民们能在一分钟的时间内检查3公顷的土地。
我是玛莎·詹姆斯。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
