VOA慢速英语2012 Technology Report - Event Aims to Build Interest in Science, Engineering

 

Technology Report - Event Aims to Build Interest in Science, Engineering¹

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

Last week we reported on Microsoft Corporation’s Imagine Cup finals in the United States. Team FlashFood from Arizona State University won top honors² at the event. Its mobile³ application and website lets hotels, restaurants and farmers markets donate food to people who need it.

The FlashFood project grew out of the Engineering Projects in Community Service program at Arizona State. The director of the program, Richard Filley, says the project has far-reaching possibilities. Mr. Filley plans to work with the team to decide what changes are necessary to make the project successful in other countries. For example, he notes a method of saving⁵ uneaten food, commonly called a doggie bag.

RICHARD FILLEY: “After you’ve gone to a restaurant, if you don’t eat all the food you take what’s left over and put it in what’s called a doggie bag. You take it home. You may feed it to the dog or you may eat it. Would those cultures in those different countries be open to the idea of taking leftover⁶ food and using FlashFood to connect with people who are hungry? We don’t know the answer to that yet.”

The Microsoft Imagine Cup competition is now in its tenth year. Mark Hindsbo is a vice⁴ president with Microsoft. He says students today have a lot of technology available to help with their projects.

MARK HINDSBO: “In the beginning people were building almost everything from scratch. We have built a lot of things in the industry over those ten years.”

Mr. Hindsbo says many of the software applications needed to complete such projects already exist. He offers Team FlashFood as a good example.

MARK HINDSBO: “The fact that they can build on the assumption⁷ that there are smartphones in the hands of most of the people that they need to coordinate⁸ with, there’s an online service with mapping and turn by turn direction.”

The Microsoft official says solving world problems is a major goal of the Imagine Cup competition. But, he adds, there is another goal that is equally important.

MARK HINDSBO: “In the U.S. alone we have probably around a million jobs that risk being unfilled over the next five years within the software and tech sector⁹ because we don’t have enough students. So when you look at the pipeline¹⁰ in science, technology engineering and math we come up way short.”

Mark Hindbro says he welcomes any efforts to increase interest in these areas of study.

A team from Drexel University also was a winner at the Imagine Cup finals in the United States. The Drexel Dragons designed a game to help students better understand mathematics. The Dr. Fishbowl team from Carnegie Melon University designed a game that teaches about sustainability, byproducts and waste.

Team FlashFood will represent the United States at the Imagine Cup worldwide finals in Sydney, Australia. The event takes place July sixth through the tenth. And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report. I'm Faith Lapidus.

1 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

2 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 saving   

n.节省，节约；[pl.]储蓄金，存款

参考例句：

• Energy saving is term strategic policy of our country.节约能源是我国长期的战略国策。
• Old-fashioned housewives were usually very saving.旧时的家庭主妇通常都很节俭。

6 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

7 assumption   

n.假定，臆断，担任，承担

参考例句：

• We mistook assumption that the price would fall.我们错误地认为价格会下降。
• I would question the validity of that assumption.我会质疑那个假设的正当性。

8 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。