万花筒 2008-11-10&11-11 高科技墓碑

For many people who’ve lost a loved one, a visit to their grave¹ can help them to grieve². Now German mourners could remember those who have died in a different, modern way with a digital tombstone. Michel Kurney Spelt is a gardener in this cemetery³ in western Germany, where his aunt is buried.

 

“I was looking for a wood tombstone on the internet, and then came across this digital one. I thought it was a great idea, something modern and new which I am always hoping to. ”

 

It could almost be seen as the graveyard⁴ answer to the social networking phenomenon. The battery-operated monitor can display slide shows, or pictures of the deceased person, their relatives or anything which is important to them while alive. Kurney says this digital tombstone is met with approval⁵, especially for the cemetery's younger visitors. The idea for a new kind of memorial to a dead comes from the Netherland, and an inventive approach carpenter Carton Glasses is about to producing them. The monitor is protected from the elements by this wooden lid. So far, Glasses has made four of these tombstones to order and is working on two more. The tombstone costs around 5000 Euros, almost 6,500 US Dollars. But Glasses says people are getting used to the idea.

 

“With tombstones, it's not like we are selling coffee machines. They have to be in demand for what we are offering. People won't just buy because they think it is a good product. I have to say the feedback⁶ is very positive. ”

 

But there is a limit to how high-tech⁷ these tombstones are. They will play music on the deceased person's voice as Glasses is making noise is against German cemetery regulations.

 

John Patries, Reuters.

 

1 grave   

n.墓穴，坟墓，雕刻工，抑音；adj.庄重的，严肃的，重大的，低沉的；vt.雕刻

参考例句：

• Marriage is the grave of love.婚姻是爱情的坟墓。
• This is a very grave matter indeed.这问题的确非常严重。

2 grieve   

vi.（for，over）感到悲痛；vt.(使)伤心

参考例句：

• Be sure and not grieve.一定不要伤心。
• What the eye does not see,the heart does not grieve over.眼不见，心不烦。

3 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

4 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

5 approval   

n.赞成，同意；批准，认可

参考例句：

• The audience has expressed its approval.观众已经认可。
• The teacher signed his approval.老师做了手势表示同意。

6 feedback   

n.回授，反馈，反应

参考例句：

• I was getting great feedback from my boss.老板对我的评价很高。
• You need feedback to monitor progress.你需要利用反馈信息来监控进展。

7 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。