时间:2018-12-11 作者:英语课 分类:万花筒2009年


英语课

If you know anyone who is deaf, then you know the cochlear implant 1 has offered hope and help for some people. This next story may be the equivalence where restoring sight is concerned. While the science is very different and very tricky 2, the promise here is enormous. Nothing short of restoring sight for those who don’t have it. We get our report tonight from our chief science correspondent Robert Bazell.

"We're, basically, you’re gonna see squares on this screen."

"OK."

Catherine Blake has been totally blind but can see again.

"Correct." (computer voice)

Not a lot.

"I was able to sort my clothes."

But enough to make a big difference in her life.

"That would be right.""I was able to actually point the moon out in the sky. These are the glasses that make everything work."

Blake's vision comes from a tiny TV camera mounted on her sunglasses. They send images to electrodes placed on the back of her eyes.

"Here it is."

For 20 years, Dr. Mark Quimi and his team at the University of Southern California have been working towards the amazing goal of restoring the vision to the blind. The challenges are immense.

"The key of this is not only the hardware but the software. How do you take an image from the camera and convert it into this neural 3 code, of this Morse code of the eye and then stimulate 4 the nerve cells in the retina.

But recently the team has achieved great improvement into the device, going from 16 electrodes to 60, enabling better sight. With this demonstration 5, Dr. Quimi shows me what the patients see. First is the total blindness.

"Could you tell which of my hand is moving?"

With the 16-electrode device, the patient sees nothing but rows of light. But they change with movement, allowing the patient to avoid hitting large objects. Next with the latest device, I make out Dr. Quimi.

"I can see tie and a face on top of it."

"Correct."

And then parts of an eye chart.

"F, maybe, yeah. Two Fs? Yeah, two Fs? T. O."

"That’s progress. The idea is that more electrodes and more sophisticated device, you can actually begin to read large letters."

Soon the glasses will go.

"The typical prototype…"

Armand Tanguay, an electrical engineer is developing cameras to be implanted directly in the eye lens.

"We think it’s a pivotal future generation step to be able to supply the best possible vision to the blind."

A system many scientists believe will restore better and better sight to millions like Catherine Blake.

"OK."

Robert Bazell, NBC News, Los Angeles.


 



1 implant
vt.注入,植入,灌输
  • A good teacher should implant high ideals in children.好教师应该把高尚理想灌输给孩子们。
  • The operation to implant the artificial heart took two hours.人工心脏植入手术花费了两小时。
2 tricky
adj.狡猾的,奸诈的;(工作等)棘手的,微妙的
  • I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手,你能帮我吗?
  • He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题,只做了个笼统的表述。
3 neural
adj.神经的,神经系统的
  • The neural network can preferably solve the non- linear problem.利用神经网络建模可以较好地解决非线性问题。
  • The information transmission in neural system depends on neurotransmitters.信息传递的神经途径有赖于神经递质。
4 stimulate
vt.刺激,使兴奋;激励,使…振奋
  • Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
  • Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。
5 demonstration
n.表明,示范,论证,示威
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
学英语单词
accompanable
amphigen
andor
asynchronous byte oriented full duplex
auxiliary surface
batch-weighted
Brownings
carpinus polyneura var. wilsonia winkl.
CBDCA
certificate of master
challows
cochrane-orcutt transformation
color edge detection
conjunctival dryness
counter-agency
cross axis
Deleveraged Floater
design criteria of large dams
detection for resistance
direct assignment operator
disposal of wastes
ditantalum
dunea
electromechanical interlocking
evaporite mineral
fast load control
first come
Fourcault process
fw.
glitch attack
globuliferous
Gnps
guidanuce equipment
hammer disk
Hauptsalt
hunt counter
hydroidolinan
in the presence of
inclined-field tube
Institute Cargo Clauses C
IRMC
isologal curve
jordanite
laparacele
level sth at sb
load ratio
loathsomest
lode country
lower-left-hand
lunyie
mainvocal microphone
map exercise
mcclosky
micro adsorption detector
MMDDYY
Montaigne, Michel Eyquem de
mosquito screen
Moutamba
Navarrenx
noisy communication channel
non latin
nspi
Ohlenstedt
Otoka
partial eclipses
peak tye
permanganate volumetric method
platelet function regulator
pneumatic transport placer
poliorcetic
pruan
quartz grit
Quemicetina
refined rosin
rimmed
rotary (cup) oil burner
Saint Andrew the Apostle
schemaless
scombriform
secondary an(a)emia
sepetir
sigma-function
silverhaired
simplest
SM Bus controller
somatic cell division
somatotopic
stopping out
suburbans
synclonus tremens
tackle sb about a matter
tar itch
target price
to flake
Tristan chord
upstarting
vapour point
wedell
yeki
zedler
zeptampere
zircon alba