VOA常速英语:Translation Apps and Devices Take Off As Travelers Look to Connect

Travelers around the world know that being understood in a foreign country can be daunting.This is just scary because you don’t know you...you feel lost, right? You feel lonely cuz this is a hard time connecting with people and you feel kind of bad for not speaking the language.
世界各地爱好旅行的朋友都明白，在异国他乡要想与人交流非常是一件非常令人害怕的事情。这很让人感到恐惧，因为你......你会感觉自己像是迷失了方向，对吧？你会感觉非常孤独，因为你很难和别人沟通，你会觉得不会说这种语言很难过。

But for consumers this is the golden age at translation.Companies like Google are applying the latest artificial intelligence to translation apps, some work offline.So travelers can use them anywhere.
但是对于消费者来说，现在可谓是翻译发展的黄金时期。谷歌等公司将最新人工智能技术应用于翻译软件，有些甚至可以离线工作，所以游客们可以随时随地使用。

At this technology store in San Francisco, the hottest selling item is a little hand-held gadget that uses voice recognition to provide one-way translation in English, Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin, it’s called the Ili.
在旧金山的一家科技数码店内，销量最好的一款产品就是这个掌上翻译机Ili，这个小小的机器可以进行语音识别，从而进行英语、西班牙语、日语和中文翻译。

“Hello and welcome to the store.”So it’s translating it into Japanese right now.
“欢迎来到我们的商店。”它就能够把刚才的话翻译成日语。

Just under two hundred dollars, the Ili has been snapped up by people who want a quick way to be understood. One of them is Greg Mcdonald who travels to Japan several times a year. “I feel like I can go to Japan with this and ask anything anywhere.”
由于其售价不到二百美元，而且能快速提高人们的沟通效率，Ili经常会被人们抢购一空。格雷格·麦克唐纳就是买家之一，他每年要去日本很多次。“我感觉现在带着它去日本，随时随地都可以与人交流了。”

Maya Akiyoshi with the Japanese company that makes the Ili tried it out in San Francisco. “I can’t speak English.” “I would like to rent a bicycle.” “So we have this bikes, our tandem and our electric bike.” But the Ili struggled with it. “Can I rent what kind exactly?” “Sorry?”
玛雅秋实和制造Ili的日本公司共同在旧金山试验其使用效果。“我不会说英语。”“我想要借一辆自行车。”“我们有这款自行车，还有双人自行车以及电动车。”但是Ily的翻译却让人有些不知所措。“那么我到底能借哪一种呢？”“您说什么？”

Deep conversations may still be far of the Ili or translation apps. But for those key questions in a foreign city, “Is there a restroom around here?”“Yeah, I think there’s one that way.” They can help get the answers.
Ili和其它翻译软件要进行深层次的翻译交流还是有些困难。但是对于那些在异国他乡的时候经常会用到的关键问题，“请问附近有卫生间吗？”“有的，那边应该就有一个。”它们还是可以帮助人们交流的。

Michele Quinn VOA News San Francisco.
美国之音记者米歇尔·奎因旧金山报道