字神帝國英語天地

今日主題：Speak any language instantly  隨時說各種語言

凱妃老師&派老師共同推薦：雅思聽力最好的課外教材：BBC
康康精選雅思會考的主題，堅持每天精聽一定會進步的哦!!

建議方法：
1. 先聽兩三遍 (不看文稿)
2. 再一句一句聽寫 (每句都要聽寫數遍，直到寫出85%以上的字)
3. 最後check文稿，看哪聽不出來，單字沒背過，還是發音不熟。
4. 堅持天天聽，就能每天進步哦。

MP3音檔 (按右鍵可下載聽)：喜歡的同學，幫忙推或按讚哦~~
http://static.iyuba.com/sounds/minutes/51.mp3

只有音檔怎夠，聽不懂地方，不用怕，康康幫你準備好中英文稿了：

中英文稿：
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English: the programme in which we talk about a story in the news and learn some vocabulary while we’re doing it. I’m Neil and joining me today is Jen. Hi there, Jen.
大家好，歡迎來到BBC英語學習的六分鐘英語，我們討論的是新聞中的故事，同時學習一些詞彙，我是Neil，今天和我一起的是Jen。你好，Jen。
Hi Neil.
你好Neil。
Now, this sounds like every struggling language student’s dream...
這個故事聽起來像是每一個為語言學習苦苦掙扎的學生的夢...
A piece of technology which could put an end to hours and hours of study…
一種科技可以結束數以小時計的研究...
It sounds like something from science fiction…
聽起來像科幻小說。
A machine which allows you to speak any language in the world… instantly!
一台可以讓你說世界上任何一種語言的機器...並且是立刻！
OK, well not quite, but we are talking about an app – a piece of software common on smartphones - developed in Japan. This app allows you to have conversations with another person speaking in a different language translated in real time – in other words, instantly.
好的，也不完全是這樣，但是我們正在談論的關於應用程式app——一種日本開發的在智慧手機上很常見的軟體。這個應用程式允許您和說其他語言的人對話，並且即時翻譯，換句話說，同時的。
This could put us out of a job, Neil! Now come on, it must be time for a language-related quiz.
這可能會使我們丟了工作，Neil！好了，現在肯定是和語言相關的小測試時間。
Yes, that’s exactly what we’ll do now. I want to know, how many languages are there in the world? Is it: a) about 100 b) about 1,000 c) about 6,000
是的，這確實就是我們現在將要做的事。我想知道，世界上有多少種語言，大約100種大約1000種大約6000種
Well, I think there are a lot but maybe not 6,000, so I’ll go for b) about 1,000.
嗯，我覺得會有很多種，我選B。
OK, well we will find out, as ever, at the end of the programme. Back now to our app.
好的，節目最後我們看是否是正確的。回到我們正在討論的應用程式這個話題上。
This, of course, isn’t the only instant translation technology in the world.
它不是當今世界上唯一的即時翻譯技術。
No, Google have something similar, though it’s less advanced than this Japanese app. Listen to the first part of a report from the BBC’s correspondent, Richard Taylor. How does the Google technology work?
是的，穀歌有相似技術，雖然沒有日本的這個應用程式智慧。來聽一段來自BBC記者Richard Taylor的報告，看穀歌技術如何起作用的？
You simply talk into your smartphone. That’s then sent to the server from Google, which does real-time voice recognition and then machine translation on it and then that data is sent back to your phone either as a script or, if you pay a little bit extra in terms of data charges, as a voice file.
你只是和智慧手機對話。然後手機將對話內容傳送給來自穀歌的伺服器，這個伺服器帶有即時語音辨識和機器翻譯，之後資料被發送到你的手機上或者以文本的方式或者以音效檔的方式傳送給你，前提是你根據資料大小多少付點費用。
He says when you talk into your smartphone, it’s sent to the server – a central computer which other computers get their information from.
他說，當你對著智慧手機講話，內容被發送到伺服器——它是一台中心電腦，其他電腦從它處獲得資訊。
The server does real-time translation and then sends back a text or voice file.
這個伺服器進行即時翻譯，然後將文本或音效檔傳回去。
So you read the translation or, if you pay a little bit more, listen to a translation sent as an audio recording.
所以你閱讀到翻譯內容，或你付費聽取以語音形式發送的翻譯的談話內容。
Amazing stuff!
真是令人驚奇的東西！
Indeed, but this new app in Japan, developed by the company NTT Docomo, goes even further.
的確，日本的這個新型應用程式，由NTT Docomo公司開發，更加先進。
That’s right. With this technology, you can have an actual conversation with someone on the other side of the world, speaking a different language to the one which is coming out of your mouth!
沒錯。因為這項技術，你可以和世界上另一邊的人進行交談，說著兩種不同的語言！
Incredible! Now listen to the second part of the report from the BBC’s Richard Taylor.
令人難以置信！聽來自Richard Taylor的第二段報告。
But they’ve actually taken the concept and applied it to normal phone calls. So, you’re making a phone call to somebody from Japan in Japanese, on the other side of the world, for example in Britain. It will take that Japanese voice, do the real-time machine translation on the server, couple of seconds later it would bring it back down to you in English. Or at least that’s the idea.
但事實上他們採用了這個概念，將它用於普通手機。所以，如果你在日本給世界另一邊的人們，比如英國，打電話。它將來自日本的聲音，通過伺服器上即時的機器翻譯，在隨後的幾秒鐘，將翻譯好的英語返回給用戶。至少，穀歌是這樣的想法。
So, the difference is that this app allows people to speak to foreigners in real time – with a slight pause while the real-time translation takes place.
因此，不同點在於這款應用程式通過即時翻譯的方式，説明人們實現用稍微停頓的方式隨時和外國人對話。
So, which languages does it convert?
那麼，它轉換的是哪種語言？
At the moment, Japanese to English, Mandarin and Korean. But more are to follow.
在這一刻，日語到英語，普通話和朝鮮語。還有更多的語言互換。
I suppose the big question is “How accurate is the translation?”
我想我最大的問題是“翻譯的準確率如何？”
Yes, that is the big question. The BBC’s Richard Taylor tried it out with the help of a Japanese translator. What did he ask and how good does the translator think the app is?
的確，這是個大問題。BBC的Richard Taylor試著通過一位日語翻譯來檢驗這一點。關於這個應用程式，他問了哪些問題，以及性能如何？
Reporter: Hello, how are you? Are there any good restaurants around here? Smartphone: [Japanese reply] Reporter: How well did that do as a translation, first of all? Japanese translator: Well, it’s understandable but it’s not perfect.
記者：你好！這附近有好的餐廳嗎？智能手機：日語回復記者：翻譯的如何？日語翻譯：嗯，翻譯的內容可以理解，但是不夠完美。
The reporter asked if there is a good restaurant nearby.
記者問附近是否有不錯的餐館。
And the Japanese translator says the app was understandable but not perfect.
日語翻譯說這款應用軟體翻譯的語言是可以理解的，但是並不完美。
Is this technology going to sweep the world, I wonder?
這項技術風靡全球，我想？
Well, there are some other companies hot on the heels of the Japanese company NTT Docomo. For example, France’s Alcatel-Lucent is developing a rival product which will operate on landlines.
嗯，其他一些公司緊跟日本的NTTDocomo公司的步伐。例如，法國的Alcatel-Lucent正在開發一種競爭產品，將針對固話用戶。
And Microsoft is working on something it’s calling the Translating Telephone. Now the question I want to ask you Jen is, “Do you think this will put an end to language learning forever?”
微軟正在研製叫做翻譯電話的產品。我現在想問你的問題是，“你認為這會導致語言學習的終結嗎？”
Well, I hope not. I think these types of technologies are always helpful but nothing will ever replace learning a language. I know I’m biased but speaking a foreign language is one of life’s great pleasures!
我希望不會。我想這些技術總是有用的但是沒有東西會取代外語學習。我知道我有偏見了，但是說外語是人生中的一大樂趣！
And I agree with you but, of course, I would because it’s my job.
我同意，當然，我覺得是樂趣因為它是我的工作。
Before we go, Neil, aren’t you going give the answer to the quiz?
在我們結束之前，Neil，你是否要告訴我小測試的答案？
OK, yes. I wanted to know how many languages there are in the world. Is it: a) about 100 b) about 1,000 c) about 6,000
好的，我想知道世界上有多少種語言。大約100種大約1000種大約6000種
And I said b) about 1,000.
我覺得有1000種
And you are wrong. I know you speak about 1,000 languages, Jen, but the answer is about 6,000.
答錯了，我知道你覺得是1000種，但是答案是大約6000種。
Wow!
哇哦！
Now, time for a recap of some of the words we heard in today’s programme.
現在，回顧一下今天聽到的詞彙。
They are: app, smartphone, in real time, server, hot on the heels.
這些詞是：應用程式、智慧手機、即時、伺服器、緊跟時代。
Join us again soon for more 6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.
歡迎再次加入更多的六分鐘英語。
And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.
不要忘記在臉書和推特上找到我們。
Bye for now.
拜拜！
Bye.
拜拜！