普京爱犬戴上GPS

Russia's satellite navigation system isn't fully operational yet, but it seems to work on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's dog.

Putin listened Friday as his deputy, Sergei Ivanov, briefed him on the progress of the Global Navigation Satellite System. Then footage broadcast on Russian TV showed them try a collar containing satellite-guided positioning equipment on the prime minister's black Labrador Koni.

Ivanov said that the equipment goes on a standby mode when "the dog doesn't move, if it, say, lies down in a puddle."

Putin interrupted him jokingly: "My dog isn't a piglet, it doesn't lie in puddles."

"She looks sad," Ivanov said. "Her free life is over."

"She wags her tail, she likes it," Putin said after watching Koni outside his colonnaded residence on Moscow's western outskirts.

The navigation system, which goes by acronym GLONASS, was developed during the Soviet era.

The government had promised to make the system fully operational by the beginning of this year, but it was delayed by equipment flaws and other technical problems.

Ivanov told Putin that the system would have 21 satellites by the year's end — enough to provide navigation services over the entire Russian territory.

Ivanov said it would be available worldwide by the end of 2009, for which it would need to have 24 satellites.

俄罗斯的卫星定位系统还未全面投入使用，不过经过普京总理爱犬的检验证明，它的性能还不错。

普京总理于上周五听取了副总理伊万诺夫关于“全球卫星定位系统”建设的进展汇报。据俄罗斯电视台播放的画面显示，（技术人员）给普京总理的黑色拉布拉多猎犬“科尼”戴上了一个内置卫星定位装置的项圈。

伊万诺夫说，当科尼不动时，比如趴在坑里时，定位项圈就会进入待机模式。

普京打断他，开玩笑说：“科尼又不是小猪，不会趴在坑里。”

伊万诺夫说：“她看起来很难过，从此要失去自由了。”

看见戴上项圈的科尼在其位于莫斯科西郊的住所外（摇起了尾巴），普京说：“她在摇尾巴，看来她喜欢这个项圈。”

俄罗斯的这一“全球卫星定位系统”（英文缩写“GLONASS”）早在苏联时期就开始开发了。

俄罗斯政府原计划在今年年初将该系统全面投入使用，但因设备故障和其他技术原因而推迟。

伊万诺夫对普京说，到今年年底，全球卫星定位系统将拥有21颗卫星，足以覆盖俄罗斯全境。

他说，到2009年底，该系统的卫星数量有望达到24颗，从而实现全球定位导航。

Vocabulary: 

on a standby:待命