New Words
新单词
scatter v.
分散
district n.
区
dispatch v.
发送
online adj.
联机的
inventory n.
存货
retail n.
零售
screwdriver n.
旋凿，(螺丝)起子
gross n.
总额
virtually adv.
事实上
enquiry n.
询问
skilled adj.
熟练的，有技能的
advantage n.
有利条件，优点
accuracy n.
准确，准确度
provided conj.
以．．．为条件，假如
mistake n.
错误
hardware n.
硬件
Phrases & Expressions
短语
as a result
作为．．．结果
chain stores
连锁店
Miss Bai:Well, this is the head office. We also have eight large chain stores scattered throughout eight different districts.
白：嗯，这里是总机室。我们还有8个大连锁店分布在8个不同地区。
Each with a duplicate of what you see here.
各分店都配备有你们在这儿看到的同样机组。
Miss Li:Each with a computer?
李：每一分机都有一台计算机吗？
Miss Bai:Oh, no. Just one computer, and it's in this building.
白：噢，不。计算机仅有一台，在这幢楼内。
Miss Li:And the eight chain stores are all connected to the same computer?
李小姐：那么8个连锁店都同这一台计算机连结在一起的，是吗？
Miss Bai:Yes. Whenever any stock is received or by despatched from one of those chain stores,
白：是的，任何时间接收到的某些连锁店拍来的存货量
an operator sends the information online to the central processor.
由操作员将信息直接送给中心处理机。
That gives a complete running inventory. By the way, we supply all types of tools to the retail trade.
这就给我们一个完整的运行清单。顺便提一句，我们为零售业务提供所有类型的工具。
Mr. Wang:Mr. Song, I thought it would make a good demonstration if you were to put any sort of question you like about the inventory to the computer.
王：宋先生，你若给计算机输入你所想提的任何有关库存的问题，那么我想计算机就会给你一个有效的示范。
Mr. Song:Oh, well... How many six-inch screwdrivers are there in stock?
宋：噢，好的．．．现库存的6英寸改锥还有多少？
Just the total for the eight chain stores.
8个连锁店的总数．
Miss Bai:All right. Will you process that, please, Miss Ding?
白：好的，丁小姐．你来处理吧．
Miss Ding:Yes, Miss Bai.
丁：是，白小姐．
Miss Li:How soon will we get the answer?
李：多快见到答复？
Mr. Wang:It's there already, on the other machine.
王：答案已经有了，在另一台计算机上。
Miss Li:It couldn't... It is! It says:'6" screwdrivers 14 gross".
李：不可能吧．．．真的啊！它说：“6英寸改锥有14罗。”
Mr.Wang:That's known as real time processing.
王：这就是实时处理。
Mr. Song:So real time is a method of processing data so fast there's virtually no time-lag between enquiry and result.
宋：那么实时是一种快速处理数据的方法。实际上，讯问与结果之间不存在时间延迟。
Mr. Wang:Correct. For example, in the case of a man driving a car at, say,
王：对。举个例子，比如某人驾驶一辆小轿车
thirty miles per hour he can normally solve all his driving problems in real time;
以每小时30英里速度行驶，那么他通常能够实时地解决驾驶过程中的所有问题。
whereas at a hundred miles per hour he may not be able to.
而当车速为每小时100英里时，他就不能处理所有问题了。
Miss Li:I suppose, Mr. Wang, there must be many scientific uses for computers?
李：王先生，看来计算机必定有多种科学用途吧！
Mr. Song:Weather forecasting, for example?
宋：比如，天气预报，是吗？
Mr. Wang:About a hundred years ago somebody had a theory for forecasting weather based on reports from all over the world.
王：大约一百年多前，有人提出一种根据全球报告作出天气预报的理论。
Unfortunately, it would have required sixty-four thousand skilled clerks working full-time.
不幸的是这需要64 000个技术熟练的工作人员的全天工作才行。
Mr. Song:I know about that. They use a similar system today,
宋：这我听说过，今天他们使用一种相似的方法，
and one relatively small computer does the same work in only half an hour.
一台较小的计算机仅在半小时之内便可完成同样的工作。
Miss Li:Is speed the only advantage?
李：是否速度是唯一的优点呢？
Mr. Wang:It's one of them. Accuracy is another - provided the computer is given accurate information to start with.
王：这仅是优点之一。另一个优点是准确性，但前提条件是提供给计算机的信息精确无误。
Miss Li:Can you give us another example?
李：您能再给我们举个例子吗？
Mr. Wang:Well, in medicine computers help researchers to test drugs by projecting information gained in limited trials.
王：好的，在医药方面，计算机帮助科研人员进行药品试验，可在有限的试验中得到预计的信息。
As a result, large-scale tests are not only becoming safer but also yielding far more useful information.
因此，大量模的试验不但变得更有把握，而且还能获得更为有用的信息。
Mr. Song:Computers can also make mistakes, of course.
宋：当然，计算机也会出差错。
Mr. Wang:Provided there is no hardware fault, the computer does not make a mistake.
王：假如硬件没有故障，那么计算机不会出差错，
But its results are only as good as the information with which it is programmed.
但是其结果不可能超过编程所运用的信息的完好程度。
Let's go back to the office and we can talk about other scientific uses of computers.
让我们回到办公室，再谈谈有关计算机在科学上其他方面的使用吧。
Come this way.
往这边走。