电脑导致人脑变蠢？ Are computers making us dumb?

Hello, I’m Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. With me in the studio today is Neil. Hello, Neil.
大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语节目。我是主播Rob，今天嘉宾是Neil。
Hi. Hi Rob!
额，你好啊，Rob。
Are you alright, Neil? Are you playing on your smartphone again, are you?
你还好么？你又在玩手机对不对？
Err... what was that? Yeah, sorry, Rob… just doing something on my smartphone,you know, the kind of phone which allows you to go online.
额，怎么了，对不起，我就是看看手机，你懂得，手机可以上网就..
Oh I can see that. But are you waiting for a call?
我懂， 你在等电话么？
No. No, I just carry it with me at all times. Where I go, the phone goes. No phone, no Neil!
不，我只是随时都带着，我去哪儿手机去哪儿，手机在，人在。
OK, but why do you need your phone so much?
这样，你为什么离不开手机啊？
Why?! What if I need to need to go somewhere? How will I find my way?What about the weather? Will it rain today? I need to know these things.
为什么？万一我需要去某个地点，不认得路怎么办？天气什么样的？会不会下雨？这些我都需要了解。
Why don’t you just look up in the sky and see if it is cloudy?
为什么不抬头看看天，有没有乌云呢？
Look up to see if it is going to rain?! I have an app - which is short for an application, which is a computer programme for a specific purpose. My app tells me the weather... and this one does all the maths I need… and here’s one for translations, and this one here... can tell me what I’m going to…
看看天然后判断会不会下雨？ 我有一个手机应用，就是一个专门的应用程序。这个程序会告诉我天气状况，还有的可以做计算器，还有一个可以翻译，这个程序可以告诉我线路图。
OK, OK, OK, I get the point. Today we’re talking about computers - and we’ll bring you some words connected with the digital age.
好的好的我明白了，今天我们就来谈谈电脑，也会介绍一些相关词汇。
Connected - to connect - we use this verb a lot. It means ’to link, or join, one thing to another thing. In this case, connected means ’linked to the internet’.
这个词语经常用，意思是把什么东西连接、加入到什么中去。在这里，指的是连上网络。
OK, I can see you are very excited about computers. So that’s what my question is all about. The first commercially produced "desktop computer" was designed and produced by the Italian company Olivetti and presented at an event in New York.When did it happen? Was it in:a) 1955b) 1965 orc) 1975
我发现你对电脑很感兴趣。我的问题来了，第一台台式电脑是意大利 Olivetti公司设计生产的，第一次亮相于美国纽约是哪一年呢？选项有：a)1955年b)1965年c)1975年
Well, I think it’s (a) 1955.
好吧我猜是a) 1955年。
Very interesting. You’ll get the right answer at the end of the programme. Now, let’s talk about computers. You can’t live without them but American technology writer Nicholas Carr, the author of a book called ’The Glass Cage - where automation is taking us’, thinks they might cause problems.
答案将在节目后期揭晓。接下来我们聊聊电脑，电脑对于人们生活必不可少，然而美国科技作家Nicholas Carr——着有《玻璃箱》，却有不同看法，认为在控制我们并将产生问题。
Problems?! They cause us problems when they crash - that’s what we say when our computer suddenly stops working.
问题？好吧，电脑崩溃的时候确实有问题。crash 指的是电脑无法工作。
Well, not just that. Let’s listen to Nicholas Carr. He says if we rely too much on computers we lose something. But what is it?
不是那个啦，来听听Nicholas Carr怎么讲，他说道因为电脑人类丢掉了一些东西，那么是什么呢？
【American technology writer Nicholas Carr】The ability of computers to do things we used to do is growing astronomically and we’re rushing to hand over to computers tasks, activities - both in our work lives and in our personal lives - and what you begin to see is what is often called a de-skilling effect. The person becoming reliant on computers; because they are not exercising their own talents, those talents begin to fade.And we begin to lose, as a result, the unique things that human beings can do that computers can’t: feel empathy, take a broad perspective, interpret all the stuff that can’t be turned into data.
【美国科技作者Nicholas Carr】我们手动处理的事情飞速地被电脑所取代，我们交给计算机处理各式各样的任务和活动，无论是工作方面的还是个人生活。这就是所谓的技能退换效应。人们对电脑开始依赖，不进行思考，人的才能开始退化。人类开始退化，这样的结果是，唯一无法被电脑所取代的是人类的感觉，说开来，是人类能够感知解释事物的能力，无法被电脑转化为数据。
According to Nicholas Carr, using computers means that we are losing skills -he talks about ’de-skilling’. A skill is the ability to do something well because we’ve practised it.
根据Nicholas Carr的说法，经常使用电脑人们会退化，他用到的单词是de-skilling。skill是指人类实践所需要的技能。
And he also talks about the loss of talent - talent is a natural ability to do something -you didn’t have to learn it, you’re just naturally good at it. It’s something we’re all born with.Carr says that relying on computers means our talent is fading because we don’t use it any more.
他也谈到了人类智商的退化，智商就是人类处理事物的能力，智商不是后天学习而成的，智商是与生俱来天生具备的。Carr还说到长期的依赖电脑人们会智商退化，因为人类不再思考。
And he goes even further and says we’re losing some of the things that make us human, like empathy, the ability to imagine and understand what other people might be feeling.
他还说道，人类正在失去人类安身立命根本的一些东西，比如说感觉、想象力和与理解力。
So, do you agree with this writer, Neil?
Neil，你同意这个说法么？
I think he’s got a point actually.
我觉得他说的有些道理。
It’s like the friendships we make on social media. It is nice to get to know new people in different countries, but we have to remember that it’s important to talk to people face-to-face too.
这就像我们社交网站上的朋友圈关系，我们能够结交不同国家的朋友，但是我们也需要明白，现实中的朋友往往更为重要。
So... maybe we shouldn’t use GPS to find our way around all the time.GPS, the global positioning system which gives us directions with the help of satellites orbiting the Earth... instead, have a conversation with someone - ask for directions.
所以，也许我们不应该每次都用GPS来找路。GPS，是全球定位系统，它可以帮助人们找到方向。我们也许应该询问他人来找路。
Yes, and perhaps we can give the spellchecker a miss occasionally.A spellchecker is a very useful piece of software which helps us avoid making spelling mistakes when we’re typing on a computer but..it is good to actually learn how to spell the words properly and not leave everything to the machine.
是的，也许我们可以偶尔不用拼写检查器。拼写检查器是一个非常有用的软件，它能够查漏补缺矫正我们的电脑输入时的错误，但是我们应该学会如何正确拼写单词而不是把这个任务交给电脑。
Good idea, Rob. I’ll try not to rely so much on digital technology.Computers are here to stay and they’ll become more and more sophisticated, but we have to remember they are just tools.
好主意，Rob！我会试着不这么依赖电子科技。计算机会一直在并且越来越复杂，但是我们必须记住计算机只是工具而已。
Yes, computers are here to stay. And by the way, when was the first commercially produced "desktop computer" launched?As I told you, it was designed and created by Olivetti and launched in New York. But when was it launched? Was it: 1955, 1965 or 1975?
是的，计算机一直都会有，顺便说一句，第一次大规模的生产台式电脑是什么时候呢？是的，我说过，是由意大利 Olivetti公司设计生产的，第一次亮相于美国纽约的时间是何时？1955年，1965年还是1975年呢？
And I said 1955.
我猜的是1955年。
Perhaps you should ask your smartphone because the correct answer is actually (b) 1965.
也许你应该查查手机，答案是B 1965年。
I don’t believe it!
天啊。
The computer was called Programma 101 and it was presented at the New York World’s Fair. They sold 44,000 units all over the world. The initial price in the US was US$ 3,200. Well, we are almost out of time so let’s remind ourselves of some of the words we said today, Neil.
这个计算机叫做 Programma 101 ，亮相于美国纽约世界博览会。全球售出4万台，最初价格为3200美元。好吧时间快到了，咱们来回顾一下今天的单词，
smartphoneapp (application)to connectcrashskilltalentempathyGPS (Global Positioning System)spellchecker
手机手机应用连接崩溃技能才能同情全球定位系统拼写检查器
Thank you. Well, that’s it for today. Do log on to bbclearningenglish.com - maybe on your smartphone, Neil - to find more 6 Minute English programmes. Until next time. Goodbye!
今天的节目就到这里，往期节目可以通过手机收听。下期节目再会。
Bye!
再见！