VOA常速英语:Decoding Brainwaves Allows Scientists to Pry into Thoughts

associate with与…交往, 联系
例句：Foreigners always associate China with the Great Wall.
外国人总是把中国和长城联系在一起。

2. A variety of health conditions can rob people of their ability to speak, including stroke, a neuromuscular disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and locked-in syndrome, in which individuals are completely awake and aware of their surroundings but unable to move or communicate with the outside world.

rob of抢夺(某人)…
例句：You have robbed me of my happiness.
你剥夺了我的幸福。
be aware of意识到
例句：He doesn't seem to be aware of the problems.
他好像没有意识到这个问题。
communicate with与…联系, 与…交往
例句：I communicate with him regularly by letter.
我与他定期通信。

3. To help these people regain a voice, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, set out to build a device that could translate human thoughts into speech.

set out着手, 开始
例句：The government has set out to make many needed reforms.
政府开始进行许多必要的改革。
translate into把…转化成; (把…)翻译成…
例句：His theorem can be translated into simple terms.
他的定理可用更简单的术语来解释。

4. The next step will be to see whether brainwaves generated not by hearing a word but by just thinking it could also be converted electronically into speech.

convert into (使)转而变为…
例句：All the bank money was converted into cash.
所有的银行票据都兑换成了现金。

5. “I think there’s some evidence that in certain cases the same brain areas will activate or turn on when you are imagining sounds or speech as to when you are actually listening," Pasley says.

turn on打开（水、电视、收音机、灯、煤气等）
例句：This tap is stiff; it won't turn on.
这个龙头太紧, 拧不开。

6. Pasley’s mentor, Robert Knight, believes it’s only a matter of time before researchers are able to map the brain circuitry involved in conscious speech.

involve in使参与〔陷入, 牵扯到〕
例句：She was involved in working out a puzzle.
她在聚精会神地解一道难题。