白金汉宫翻新

白金汉宫翻新 For many tourists, a trip to London is not complete without a photo in front of Buckingham Palace. And from the outside, the roughly 300-year-old building looks fit for the world's longest serving monarch. 对于很多游客而言，去到伦敦而没在白金汉宫前拍照留念绝对称得上是一大遗憾。虽然从 面上看，这座有着约300年历史的建筑物光鲜亮丽，这里是英国在位时间最长的君主---现任 女王伊丽莎白二世的寝宫。 But behind the facade, palace officials say it is falling apart. The boilers are more than 30 years old. The estimated 160 kilometers of electric cables were installed in the 1960s and the pipes are made of lead and cast iron. All of it needs replacing, the bill around half a billion dollars. 但英国皇室官员表示，白金汉宫看似华丽，实则破损严重。宫殿内的锅炉使用了30多年之 久，约160公里长的电缆安装于20世纪60年代，使用的还是铅制水管和老式铸铁水管。所 有这些都需要更换，预计将耗资约5亿美元。 The British government has approved the use of public money. But many lawmakers question why taxpayers should pay. "The estimates suggest that the total net value of the monarchy is about 84 billion U.S. Dollars. The personal wealth of the Queen is about half a billion or 650 million U.S. dollars. So the monarchy can easily afford to be the payer than the populace in the state that have. I think that it should be the monarchy, not the people." 英国政府批准使用公共资金，但是，很多立法者质疑为什么纳税人需为此买单。"据估计， 英国王室的总资产价值高达840亿美元，女王个人资产高达5亿甚至6.5亿美元，因此，与 普通百姓相比，这笔钱对王室来说，简直是九牛一毛，我认为，王室应该自己掏钱，而不应 让百姓掏钱。" 白金汉宫要翻新 4.6亿美元谁来掏惹争议 And at a time of austerity, Monaghan says the bill is unjustifiable. "Yards away from where we are at this particular point and time, but our people, they are rough sleeping. They've got no homes. "But the government argues the upkeep of Buckingham Palace is vital to Britain itself. Visiting heads of state are usually given a full ceremonial welcome here by the queen. Earlier this month, she hosted Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos. 莫纳亨表示，当前英国政府行使紧缩政策，如此天价大修白金汉宫说不过去。"就在离我们 现在所站地方的不远处，就在我说话的此刻，我们的同胞却难以入眠。他们无家可归。"然 而，英国政府表示，修缮白金汉宫对国家本身意义重大，因为女王通常是在这里接待来访的 各国元首，并举办欢迎仪式的。本月早些时候，英国女王就曾在此接见哥伦比亚总统胡安. 曼努埃尔.桑托斯。 Buckingham Palace also draws hundreds of thousands of tourists. Many visitors told VOA they were surprised to hear of the problems at the palace. "Given austerity measures going throughout the country, I would say that putting that on taxpayers and the people is tough." "I feel like it should definitely come from both sides. As far as the government (is) paying it, I feel like in return it gets a lot. Tourists are going to come and it is something that tourists are always going to want to come and see." 无数的游客慕名参观白金汉宫，很多游客在接受VOA采访时表示，听闻白金汉宫内部有很 多问题，他们对此感到十分惊讶。"考虑到现在英国在全国范围内实施紧缩政策，我认为让 纳税人承担费用会加重它们的负担，百姓的日子会很不好过。""我认为这笔钱应该由皇室和 民众两方面共同承担，只要政府肯出资，我认为后期它会获得很大收益，因为不断地会有大 量游客前来参观白金汉宫。" The work will be done in stages, so the Queen will not have to move out. And with 775 rooms, there should be somewhere for her to escape the noise of renovation. Officials say if the planned work goes ahead, the palace will not need another renovation until 2067. By that time Prince William, second in line to the throne, would be 85 years old. 翻新工作分阶段进行，因此女王现在不必迁出白金汉宫，那里有着多达775个房间，总能找 到一处住所，使女王免受装修噪音的影响。皇家官员称，如果修缮工作进展顺利的话，下次 修缮可到2067年再进行。届时英国王位第二继承人威廉王子已经85岁。 A Visit to the Virtual World Virtual reality, or VR, is a powerful, new technology. VR software programs are being used in many video games. But others have been developed for education, to train doctors and in military training. VR gives the people who use it an interactive three-dimensional experience. They can see realistic images and hear sounds that are almost like those one experiences in real life. Khora Virtual Reality opened earlier this year in Denmark's capital, Copenhagen. It may be the first virtual reality store in the world. It is a place where people can learn about virtual reality and create and play it. The Greek philosopher Plato used the word "Khora" to describe a place between reality and fantasy. In the company's VR game "Cityscape Repairman," players must operate a huge urban infrastructure. Each person must take care of the city's roads and public services to continue playing. Simon Lajboschitz is the CEO of Khora. He says the company's developers do more than create games. "We work with artists in New York. We work with psychology. We work with the main city hospital here. We work with dementia. We work with businesses (to) tell (a) new way of telling stories..." Morten Haulik is the company's event manager. "Tt's super important to give people the experience of actually walking around in the world, interacting with stuff. It could be the Great www.edu800.cnWall of China or the space station or stuff like that, but if you really need to learn something about it, you actually need to see it in real life, and touch it and interact with it." Lajboschitz says that is what students at the University of Copenhagen experience. "My favorite thing is showing people virtual reality and then, when they take off the goggles. It's like, ‘Whoa, I forgot that I was in this space with white walls and with people around me.' When they realize that they actually forgot that's my favorite part." Clara Lykkegaard is a student at the university. "I have read about virtual reality before, and I've seen others trying it, but I have never tried it myself. And it is a brand new world. It's so weird because you almost forget where you are." Khora's leaders believe helping students get interested in this technology might persuade some of them to work in the industry, and gain a share of what is expected to be a more than $3 billion market by 2020. I'm Lucija Millonig. 1.Virtual reality 虚拟现实 One day virtual reality will revolutionize the entertainment industry. 有一天虚拟现实将使娱乐业发生革命性的变化。 2.real life 现实生活 Children use fantasy to explore worrying aspects of real life. 孩子们用幻想来探索实际生活中令人不安的各种事情。 3.public services 公共设施 The money is used by local authorities to pay for public services. 那笔资金被地方当局用来支付公共事业的开支。 4.military training 军事训练 When I entered junior high school and had the military training. 我升初中的时候，参加了军训。 1.Each person must take care of the city's roads and public services to continue playing. take care of 保管;照顾 I take care of them to the best of my abilities 我尽我所能地照顾他们。 You have to learn to take care of your possessions. 你得学会保管好自己的财物。 2."My favorite thing is showing people virtual reality and then, when they take off the goggles. take off 拿下;起飞 He took off at once and headed back to the motel 他立刻离开，回到汽车旅馆。 He wouldn't take his hat off. 他不肯摘下帽子。 破竹之势～虚拟现实颠覆商业地产 虚拟现实(VR)技术是一项强大的新型科技。 VR软件程序被广泛用于电子游戏中。此外，还被应用于教育、医生及军事演习领域。 VR给用户带来交互式三维立体体验。与身处现实一般，人们能够看到真实的影像，听到声 音。 今年初，科尔拉(Khora)虚拟现实商店在丹麦首都哥本哈根开业。这是世上首家虚拟现实 商店。它能够让人们了解、创造并充分利用虚拟现实。 虚拟现实.jpg 希腊哲学家柏拉图用Khora来形容存在于现实和幻想的地方。 在科尔拉公司的“Cityscape Repairman”VR游戏中，玩家须管理大型城市的基础设施建设。 每位玩家只有维护好城市的道路和基础设施才能继续游戏。 西蒙?拉博斯齐(Simon Lajboschitz)是科尔拉公司的首席执行官。他说公司的开发人员制 作的不仅仅是游戏。 “我们与纽约的艺术家共事。我们还会涉猎一些心理学。我们和主要的城市医院开展合作。 我们向着痴呆症方面研究。我们甚至还会与企业合作，用全新的方式讲述故事。” 莫顿?霍利克(Morten Haulik)是公司的策划部经理。 “最重要的让人们产生在真实世界中行走、与外界互动的切身感受。周遭的环境可能是中国 的长城，也可能是空间站等等，如果你真的想要深入地了解一些事物，你还是得在现实生活 中观察，触摸并与之互动。” 拉博斯齐称，这也是哥本哈根大学学生们的真实经历。 “我非常喜欢向人们展示虚拟现实，然后，当他们摘掉护目镜。突然大惊，‘哇，我都忘了 四面是白墙，还有周遭的人群。‘当用户身处忘我之境时，这才是我最自豪的时刻。” 克拉拉?瑞克加德(Clara Lykkegaard)是哥本哈根大学的学生。 “我曾经读过虚拟现实的文章，也看过其他人尝试，只是我自己从未亲身体验过。那是个全 新的世界。居然能让人忘记身处何地真是太奇怪了。” 科尔拉的高层相信，激发学生对VR技术产生兴趣能鼓励一些人从事该行业，并在2020年 实现30亿美元的市场份额。 卢齐娅?米隆尼为您播报。 This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber. Whales, seals and walruses stay warm in chilly water because they have a thick layer of blubber. We humans rely on something like blubber—neoprene rubber wet suits—to spend time in cold water. But the thick versions for really icy water are heavy and ungainly. So rather than taking after big marine mammals, what if we could learn from the littler ones, like beavers and otters? "These animals are quite small and they can't carry around a thick layer of blubber. So instead they have fur that is evolved to trap air, and this air provides a layer of insulation for them in water." Alice Nasto is a graduate student in mechanical engineering at MIT. Scientists have known about this air-trapping insulation mechanism for a long time, but they had not teased out the details of how it works. So Nasto and her colleagues took on the challenge. "We're creating these furry samples from these rubbery materials by laser cutting molds and casting these hairy surfaces. And through our approach we can precisely control the spacing of the hairs and the length of the hairs." 这里是科学美国人——60秒科学。我是辛西娅?格雷伯。 鲸鱼，海豹和海象可以在寒冷的水中维持体温，因为它们有很厚的脂肪层。我们人类则可以 依靠类似于脂肪的氯丁橡胶潜水服在冰冷的水中活动。可是在冰水中穿着厚厚的潜水服又沉 重又笨拙。那除了效仿大型海洋哺乳动物，向河狸和水獭等小型海洋哺乳动物学习是否也可 以呢, “这些动物都很小，它们没有厚厚的脂肪层。所以它们进化出了可以存留空气的皮毛，存留 的空气为它们在水中活动时提供了隔热层。” 爱丽丝?纳斯托是麻省理工学院机械工程专业的研究生。科学家们很早就发现了这种存留空 气形成的隔热机制，但是他们并没有测试出这种机制的具体原理。所以纳斯托和她的同事们 接受了这项挑战。 “我们用激光切割模具将这些橡胶材料制成了毛皮样本，然后铸造出这些毛茸茸的表面。通 过这种方法，我们可以精确地控制毛发间的距离以及毛发的长度。” 然后，研究人员创建了一个系统，在毛皮进入液体并在液体里移动时收集相关数据，这种液 体并不是水，而是硅油，用硅油更易在试验过程中看到气泡。关键是要保持毛皮空气层的完 整性。 “当它们穿过气液界面时，一开始毛发材质充满了空气。然后，把它们投入液体中。当你移 动它穿过气液界面时，你可以带动多少空气,这就是我们的模型会告诉大家的事情。” 他们发现，毛发的密度越大，存留的空气就越多。这就可以使动物保持温暖，或许未来也可 以使穿着毛皮潜水服的人类保暖。该研究结果发表在《流体物理评论》期刊上。 “我们接下来想继续研究的是，在你跳入水中后，如何让这个空气隔热层一直存留在毛皮里。 在我们设计的这个模型中，这种毛皮的许多有趣特点我们还没有研究，进一步了解它们也许 能够解释这种机制的原理。” 现在，冷水潜水员或冲浪者仍会继续模仿海豹和海狮。而他们模仿水獭或者海狸的那一天终 将会到来的。也许你甚至会看到玩冲浪板的“伍基人”。 谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是辛西娅?格雷伯。 ALISON STEWART, PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND ANCHOR: Joining us now for more on this story is Greg Miller of "The Washington Post," part of the reporting team that broke the news last night. Greg, Russian cyber spying on the United States is not anything new or anything unknown, but it seems that this takes this to an unprecedented level. Can you explain? GREG MILLER, THE WASHINGTON POST: You're right. Russia has, for many, many years, been suspected of aggressive espionage against the United States in all kinds of areas. But in this case, the thing that separates this instance is www.zycaihui.com what Russian intelligence appears to have done with the material it got, right? So, it's not a surprise that they went after material like it this on a main parties in the United States' system. But they took this trove, and they used it, and as some ex-agency people have said, they weaponized it. They turned it into a weapon against the United States' system, against — and possibly now, against a particular candidate. STEWART: According to the CIA assessment, who were these hackers? Were they directly related to the Russian government or were they independent actors who then gave it to WikiLeaks and the Russian government watched with interest? MILLER: Right. So, these actors who obtained this material and delivered it to WikiLeaks were described to us as being g one step removed from Russian intelligence services as known entities, as having known affiliations with those Russian intelligence services, but nevertheless not necessarily specifically part of those services. And there are still some gaps in the understanding of their role and what happened here, right? As our story said today, there is — it's not — U.S. intelligence hasn't, you know, doesn't for instance, have specific instructions issued to these actors. But they look — I mean, I think this is part of the emerging case, that the CIA and other spy agencies are really busy assembling, and their identification of these actors is a really critical breakthrough. 美国中情局称俄罗斯黑客协助特朗普当选 STEWART: Let's talk about all the agencies. The CIA has weighed in. The director of the NSA, Admiral Rogers told the "Wall Street Journal" last month about WikiLeaks that, quote, "It was a conscious effort by a nation state to attempt to achieve a specific effect." What about the FBI? MILLER: Well, the FBI is — is a little harder to understand where they are on this. I mean, there's been lots of speculation about investigations and surveillance efforts that were under way during the election, but a lot of that really remains murky. Director Comey, notably, did not sign off — at least publicly — on the letter that the director of national intelligence and director of homeland security issued in late October, accusing Russia, confronting Russia, with this kind of intervention. And I think that's partly because the FBI is still pursuing this case. It's still trying to assemble a lot of this information and is trying to stay out of the political fray that is quickly enveloping this story. STEWART: Let's talk about the politics of this. At any point during this time, did any of the agencies, or the administration or anybody with information about these leaks realize all these leaks are about the DNC, not the RNC? MILLER: That wasn't lost on Democratic lawmakers. I mean, if you add up, if you stack up all the material that has been released here, it ends up on one side of the political spectrum. Now, how can you not draw the conclusion that Russia was trying to steer to a particular outcome here. And I think the intelligence agencies were reluctant to make that leap until they had enough evidence to back that up, and I think that's what we're starting to see now. STEWART: What comes next in terms of the Obama administration's calls for an investigation by January 20th? MILLER: I mean, to me — this is a really interesting time because this sets up a big showdown. Here you have an outgoing administration assembling a– trying to assemble a consensus determination on Russia's role in this past election, something that you can't really argue with, something so compelling, that it will override all of the opposition. And it's setting it up so it will deliver this just as this new president is sworn in, who has dismissed this from the very beginning. So, to me, it's just a fascinating showdown that awaits here. STEWART: Greg Miller of the "Washington Post," thank you so much for joining us. MILLER: Sure, thank you. The researchers then created a system to gather data when their pelts entered and moved through a liquid—in this case not water, but silicone oil, which makes it easier to see air bubbles. The key is to keep the pelt's air layer intact. "So when they're crossing the air water interface, initially their hairy texture is full of air. And then you go into water. How much of the air comes down with you as you're moving in through the interface. So that's what this model will tell you." They found that the denser the hairs, the more the air gets trapped. Which should keep the animal—or potentially the human in a future furry wet suit—warm. The research is in the journal Physical Review Fluids. "What we would like to work on moving forward is understanding how, after you dive into the water, how do you maintain this air layer trapped in your fur. And there's lots of interesting properties of the fur in nature that we haven't yet looked at in our model that could help explain how this mechanism might work." So for now, cold-water divers and surfers will still emulate seals or sea lions. But the day may come when they'll more closely resemble otters or beavers. Or even a Wookiee on a boogie board. Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science Science. I'm Cynthia Graber.