有關科技的英語文章
當今世界,科學技術正在成爲經濟社會發展的決定性力量,科技競爭力成爲企業競爭力的核心。下面是本站小編帶來的有關科技的英語文章，歡迎閱讀!
有關科技的英語文章1
誰是下一個WhatsApp和Candy Crush
WhatsApp and Candy Crush recently joined the big leagues of technology start-ups done good,prompting tech-shy investors to join the hunt for the digital giants of the future.
WhatsApp和Candy Crush最近加入了成功高科技初創企業的行列，這推動通常回避科技股的投資者開始尋找未來的數字巨擘。
Family offices, wealthy individuals and even some institutional investors have begun to siftthrough the swaths of up-and-coming technology ventures in the hope of spotting the next bigthing.
家族理財室、富有的個人甚至一些機構投資者開始篩選前景看好的科技企業，以期發現下一個巨擘。
Christian Nagel, co-founder of Earlybird, a Berlin-based venture capital company, admits thatEuropean investors have in recent years suffered a “horrible experience” when committingcapital to start-ups.
總部位於柏林的風投公司Earlybird聯合創始人克里斯蒂安•納格爾(Christian Nagel)承認，最近幾年，歐洲投資者在將資金投入初創企業方面遭遇了“可怕的經歷”。
“Venture capital as an asset class has not been in investors’ favour, and investment volumeshave constantly come down,” he says.
他表示：“作爲一種資產類別，風險投資近年不受投資者青睞，投資規模持續下降。”
But he believes the high-risk, low-return dynamic that blighted early-stage investors isshifting.
但他認爲，讓早期投資者希望破滅的高風險和低迴報的格局正在改變。
“We have had discussions with our investors about whether the venture capital model isbroken, and we find that family offices are among those who have realised that something haschanged,” he says. “There is less capital chasing more opportunities.”
“我們就風險投資模式是否已經不適用與我們的投資者進行了討論，結果發現，家族理財室等投資者意識到情況已發生變化，”他表示，“機會更多了，但追蹤這些機會的資金變少了。”
The recent flurry of young tech companies that have found success at an international level hasspurred investor interest in digital start-ups, despite the fact that many investors were burntnot too long ago during the dotcom bubble.
近期一連串在國際層面上獲得成功的年輕科技公司，引發了投資者對數字初創企業的興趣，儘管事實是，很多投資者在不那麼久以前的網絡股泡沫期間曾遭受虧損。
Just last month King Digital Entertainment, the developer behind the addictive online gameCandy Crush Saga, filed for an initial public offering in the US with the hope of raising morethan $500m.
就在上個月，深受網民喜歡的在線遊戲Candy Crush Saga背後的開發公司King Digital Entertainment，申請在美國進行首次公開發行(IPO)，希望籌資逾5億美元。
Sina Weibo, a Chinese messaging platform similar to Twitter, followed suit last week byannouncing plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange with a potential valuation of up to$8bn.
類似於Twitter的中國微博客平臺新浪微博(Sina Weibo)最近也宣佈，計劃在紐交所(New York StockExchange)上市，估值可能高達80億美元。
Social networking giant Facebook also recently surprised markets with its $19bn buyout ofinstant messaging application WhatsApp in what appeared to be one of Silicon Valley’s best-kept secrets.
社交網絡巨頭Facebook最近以190億美元收購即時通訊應用WhatsApp，此舉令市場意外，堪稱硅谷保守最好的祕密之一。
While the odds of spotting the next Facebook are very long, investing in the next Airbnb, theaccommodation website, or Farfetch, the online fashion retailer, is more plausible, accordingto Stefano Guidotti, chief executive of U-Start, a matchmaker for start-ups that puts selectedsmall businesses in touch with angel investors.
爲初創企業牽線搭橋、把精選的小企業介紹給天使投資者的U-Start公司的首席執行官斯泰法諾•吉多蒂(Stefano Guidotti)表示，儘管發現下一個Facebook的機會不大，但投資於下一個住宿網站Airbnb或者在線時尚零售商Farfetch還是比較可信的。
He says: “Digital start-ups are disrupting industries from travel to accommodation to logistics– this is where you can really look for home runs in the investment space.
他表示：“數字初創企業正在顛覆各種行業，從旅遊和住宿到物流，你確實可以從中找到投資良機。”
“Models that are growing at an incredible pace have the chance to become a billion-dollaropportunity, and [they emerge] much more frequently than companies like Facebook orTwitter.”
“正以令人難以置信的速度增長的模式，有機會成爲價值數十億美元的機遇，(它們的涌現)次數遠遠多於Facebook或Twitter這樣的公司。”
The one area that investors should steer clear of is the new breed of start-ups aiming to cashin on the buzz around alternative digital currencies such as Bitcoin, according to Matteo Rizzi,partner at SBT Venture Capital, the financial technology-focused firm.
聚焦金融技術的公司SBT Venture Capital合夥人馬特奧•里茲(Matteo Rizzi)表示，投資者應迴避的一個領域是希望藉助比特幣(Bitcoin)等另類數字貨幣所引發的熱潮謀利的新型初創企業。
“This is potentially a very risky investment because the return could be very big, or you couldlose all of your money,” he says. “It has such explosive potential because regulation could hitthis sector very hard and kill it before it gets going.”
“這可能是一種風險非常高的投資，因爲回報率可能會非常高，但你也可能血本無歸，”他表示，“它具有如此爆炸性的潛力，因爲監管機構可能在這個行業站穩腳跟之前沉重打擊並掐滅它。”
Rising investor confidence in early-stage technology and digital businesses has been helpedby the development of vibrant start-up hubs beyond the US.
美國以外富有活力的初創企業中心的發展，增強了投資者對初創科技和數字企業的信心。
A cluster of businesses focusing on online marketing and data analytics has sprung up in Berlin,while London is home to a growing number of financial tech start-ups. Large entrepreneurialcommunities have similarly sprouted in Tel Aviv and pockets of eastern Europe and SouthAmerica.
一些聚焦於在線營銷和數據分析的企業開始在柏林涌現，倫敦也出現了越來越多的金融科技初創企業。類似的大型創業社區在特拉維夫、東歐和南美部分地區紛紛涌現。
Mr Nagel says: “In the past most start-ups were in Silicon Valley or New York and you had tospend millions just to start developing. Now we see businesses popping up everywhere as youcan develop and test an app overnight with little money.”
納格爾表示：“過去，多數初創企業位於硅谷或紐約，僅僅啓動開發，你就得花費數百萬美元。如今，我們看到企業從各個地方涌現出來，你幾乎不用花什麼錢就能在一夜之間開發並測試一款應用。”
As a result, Earlybird recently launched a fund focused on early-stage businesses in Turkey,central and eastern Europe. It raised $110m from entrepreneurs, family offices andinstitutional investors including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development andthe International Finance Corporation.
因此，Earlybird最近推出了一隻基金，關注土耳其、中歐和東歐的初創企業。這隻基金從企業家、家族理財室和機構投資者那裏籌資1.10億美元，這些機構投資者包括歐洲復興開發銀行(European Bank forReconstruction and Development)和國際金融公司(International Finance Corporation)。
Family offices founded by successful business people who made their fortunes decades agohave been among the first to realise that an exciting new generation of entrepreneurs hasemerged, according to Mr Nagel. “This new breed of entrepreneur does not copy existing USbusiness models, but creates something unique that can be expanded internationally,” he says.
納格爾表示，由幾十年前致富的成功商人成立的家族理財室，首先意識到新一代令人激動的創業家已經涌現。他表示：“這一代的創業家不會複製美國現有的商業模式，而是創造出了能夠在全球擴張的獨特產品。”
Mr Guidotti agrees, pointing out that many family offices are particularly keen to invest insectors they already have some experience of. Families with a background in the motorindustry, for example, prefer to invest in start-ups in related technology, such as car-sharingor tracking devices.
吉多蒂同意這點，他指出，很多家族理財室尤其熱衷投資於自己有一定經驗的行業。例如，具備汽車行業背景的家族更願意投資於相關技術領域的初創企業，例如汽車分享或跟蹤裝置。
“They see the opportunity in something they can control and understand better than ahedge-fund product, which has not necessarily brought the results they expected,” Mr Guidottisays.
吉多蒂表示：“它們在自己比對衝基金產品更內行的領域發現機遇，對衝基金不一定帶來它們期待的結果。”
Although investors are regaining confidence in the tech start-up scene, it is not fool e is resounding consensus that roughly 15 to 20 per cent of even the most carefullyselected businesses will fail.
儘管投資者正在重拾對科技初創企業的信心，但這並非穩操勝券。各方的一個強烈共識是：即便是經過最精心的遴選，也仍會有15%至20%左右的企業破產。
To keep business failures – and investor discontent – to a minimum, venture capitalists andgroups such as U-Start seek recommendations from accelerators such as Berlin’sStartupbootcamp and academic incubators that provide facilities, office space and mentoringadvice to early-stage entrepreneurs.
爲了把企業破產(以及投資者不滿)降至最低，風險投資家和U-Start等機構從創業加速器(如柏林的Startupbootcamp)和爲初創企業家提供設施、辦公場所和指導建議的高校創業孵化器那裏尋求建議。
Earlybird’s Mr Nadel adds that the main reason a business tends to fail is down to problemswith the team dynamic.
Earlybird的納格爾補充稱，企業破產的主要原因往往在於團隊動力問題。
He says: “We have declined opportunities where the idea was great but the team was team needs to be really willing to create something, not give up first time a cheque fromGoogle comes around. This is not about quick money – if you sell the company or bring itpublic, the team should stay.”
他表示：“我們曾拒絕那些創意不錯但團隊平平的機會。團隊需要真正具備創造的意願，而不是在谷歌(Google)第一次送上支票時就放棄。這不是爲了快速發財，如果你要出售企業或將其上市，團隊應當留下來。”
有關科技的英語文章2
高科技電子網球拍原理運作揭祕
In 1990, when Eric Babolat was a college student in France, he remembers watching SharonStone play tennis with a hologram instructor in the movie Total Recall and thinking, "That's thefuture of tennis." This was not idle reflection. Babolat represents the fifth generation in afamily business of tennis equipment makers, started when his great-great grandfather madethe first strings out of sheep gut, obtained from the slaughterhouses of Lyon. Their latestinnovation, a racquet called Babolat Play, has just come on the market. This time, it's not juststrung; it's wired.
埃裏克o百保力記得，1990年他在法國上大學時，曾經看過一部名叫《宇宙威龍》(Total Recall )的電影。在這部電影中，莎朗o斯通和一個全息投影的“教練”一起打網球。當時埃裏克不禁想到：“這就是網球的未來”。他可不是閒着沒事纔回想往事。埃裏克o百保力是著名家族企業、法國網羽設備製造商百保力集團(Babolat)的第五代繼承人，從他的曾曾祖父開始，百保力家族就已經在用羊腸線製做網球拍，製作原料來自法國里昂的屠宰場。百保力集團最近推出了一款名叫Babolat Play的網球拍。特別之處在於它是一副安裝有電子設備的網球拍。
The company first came up with the idea of a connected racquet a decade ago, thinking itwould provide more reliable data about prototypes. "We have professional testers whoanalyze if a racquet is rigid, heavy, light," Babolat says. "We wanted to make sure that theywere speaking the same language, and our engineers wanted captors to show exactly what wasgoing on." They quickly realized this feature could prove interesting for players, too. "Nobodyreally knows what happens the moment the racquet hits the ball."
百保力公司早在十年以前就提出了電子網球拍的理念，它覺得這樣做可以收集更加可靠的數據用來開發原型產品。埃裏克o百保力說：“我們有專業的測試人員測試一支網球拍是否太硬、太重或太輕了。我們希望所有測試人員都按照相同的標準測試，而且我們的工程師也想要捕捉詳細的數據來進行研究。”後來他們很快發現，這項功能也會吸引網球運動員們的興趣。“沒有人具體知道球拍擊中球的那一刻究竟發生了什麼。”
At the time, the technology wasn't up to the task, but three years ago it looked morepromising, and Babolat gave it another go. To develop the system, it hired Movea, a leader inmotion sensing technology headquartered in Grenoble. (In 2008, Movea acquired Gyration, whohad worked with Nintendo on an early prototype for the Wii.) Babolat established twoconditions. First, the technology would have to fit inside the racquet handle so that it wouldn'taffect a player's game. Second, it needed to be accessible and useful to all players, not justpros.
當時，這項技術還沒有立即提上議事日程。到了三年前，這項技術似乎變得越來越吸引人，於是百保力集團又進行了一次嘗試。這家公司重金聘請了總部位於法國格勒諾布爾市的運動感應技術公司Movea來研發這個系統。【2008年，Movea收購了曾與任天堂(Nintendo)合作研發Wii遊戲機早期原型機的Gyration公司。】百保力集團專門提出了兩個條件：第一，這個技術單元必須嵌入到網球拍的手柄內部，以免影響運動員比賽。第二，它的實用性必須針對所有運動員，而並不只是針對專業人士。
They started by modifying the company's bestselling model, the Pure Drive. The Play version isthe same weight, around 11 ounces, and looks nearly identical; the only obvious difference istwo orange stripes at the bottom of the handle, buttons that activate the racquet andsynchronize it via Bluetooth.
研發團隊開始在百保力最暢銷的網球拍產品Pure Drive的基礎上進行開發。Babolat Play和Pure Drive的重量相同，都是11盎司，外觀看起來也一般無二。唯一顯著的區別是Babolat Play的手柄底部有兩個橙色亮條，以及用來激活球拍和通過藍牙進行同步的按鈕。
You have to remember to switch the racquet on before playing -- and, prior to that, to chargeit. Afterwards, you download the data to your user account on a computer, tablet orsmartphone app. Here you can see a breakdown of your shots by number and classification(forehands, backhands, serves, smashes), the power of your strokes in percentage, based onthe speed of the racquet (100 percent corresponds roughly to a flat serve of 136 miles perhour), the type of spin you use and how often. An impact locator shows what percentage ofyour shots hit the sweet spot or the areas around it. CyrilleSoubeyrat, vice president ofengineering for Movea, says this was the most complicated feature to make, requiring thedevelopment of brand new technology.
打球之前，一定要記得打開球拍的開關——當然前提是別忘了充電。運動完畢後，你可以在電腦、平板或智能手機上通過一款應用登陸你的個人賬戶，下載你的數據。你在這裏可以看到對運動數據的詳細分類(正手、反手、發球、高壓球)，它還可以根據球拍的運行速度測算出你的擊球力度，然後用百分比的形式顯示出來(100%的力度大致相當於平擊發球的速度達到每小時136英里)。另外它還能分析你經常使用的旋轉球的種類和頻率。球拍上安裝的衝擊定位器可以顯示有多少比率的擊球是擊中了球拍的最佳擊球點或其附近位置。Movea公司工程副總裁西里爾o索貝萊特表示，衝擊定位器是整個產品研發過程中最難的部件，需要專門開發全新的技術。
Soubeyrat did his best to explain in simple terms what happens inside the racquet during the handle, sensors deliver signals to an electronic system, which executes analysis takes place continuously, such as the racquet's position in relation to theground. Other measurements start each time the ball hits the strings, setting off a reactionlike when a car crash sets off an airbag.
索貝萊特儘可能用簡單的語言向我們解釋了這款球拍的工作原理：運動時，手柄中的傳感器會向負責運行算法的電子控制系統發送信號。有些分析運算會不間斷地進行，比如球拍相對於地面的位置。其它的運算只是在擊球的一瞬間才啓動，就像車輛發生撞擊時，氣囊就會自動彈出一樣。
At the moment of impact, the racquet experiences several modes of flexion and torsion, and atdifferent frequencies. The electronic system analyzes all of these vibrations simultaneously,and within 200 milliseconds produces information about 20 different properties of the shot. Atthe same time, it recognizes and rejects all the "parasitic" gestures, such as bouncing the ballbetween serves or using the racquet to whack clay off one's sneakers.
擊球的瞬間，球拍短時內會在不同頻率上經歷好幾種形式的彎曲、扭曲。電子控制系統會實時分析所有這些震動，在不到200毫秒的時間內，就會得出關於這次擊球的大概20種不同性質的數據。同時它還可以自動識別、排除一些“無關動作”，比如在發球間隙將球彈來彈去時造成的震動，以及用球拍敲掉沾在球鞋上的土時造成的震動。
Soubeyrat says the technology is remarkably accurate, even if there are things it cannotmeasure, like whether that ball you hit so powerfully went right over the court and into theparking lot. Eventually, he says, other tools could round out the offer, such as sensors in theshoes.
索貝萊特表示，這項技術的精確度非常驚人，儘管有些東西目前它可能還無法測量到，比如說某次擊球力度太大，將球打出界外甚至打到了停車場裏。但是索貝萊特認爲，最終隨着其它工具的發展(比如在網球鞋裏安裝傳感器)，這個問題終究會得到解決。
One of the most addictive things about the new technology is the gaming aspect. Each playerstarts out as a "newbie" and can work his or her way up through levels like a video game. "There's nothing more frustrating in tennis than feeling you aren't progressing," Eric Babolatsays. "To put a bit of reward in the application seemed like an obvious thing to do." You canjoin the global Babolat Play community, check your ranking and compare your performanceto other players, even Rafael Nadal. If you like what you see you can share the data onFacebook.
這項新技術最令人上癮的地方是它含有電子遊戲的因素在裏面。每個運動員一開始都是一個“菜鳥”，然後可以像打遊戲一樣逐漸“升級”。坎裏克o百保力說：“網球這項運動最令人沮喪的莫過於覺得自己沒有進步。因此，在這款應用中加入一點激勵的元素也就成了順理成章的事。”你可以加入全球Babolat Play社區，然後查看自己的排名，把自己的表現和其他球員(甚至是納達爾)進行對比。如果你對自己的進步滿意的話，也可以把你的數據分享到Facebook上。
Can the racquet improve a player's technique? "The advantage of gaming is that it motivatespeople to play more tennis," Babolat says. "It's exciting to see how you evolve." The companylent me a Play for a couple of weeks to try out. After noting (to my chagrin) that all of myserves were flat, I concentrated on adding some spin and immediately saw the difference, onthe court and on the app. As for the impact locator, I managed to hit the sweet spot a goodpart of the time, but also hit a sizable percentage below it, and realized that I wasn't bendingmy knees enough. Afterwards, going back to my old racquet was a bit of a letdown.
這樣一款電子球拍是否真能提高網球愛好者的技術?對此，埃裏克o百保力說：“遊戲元素的好處是，它能鼓勵人們花更多的時間練習網球。看着自己的技術一天天提高，這種感覺很令人興奮。”這家公司借給我一支球拍讓我試用一兩個星期。在它的提醒下，我注意到我的所有發球都太平了，於是我着重加了一些旋轉進去，結果馬上就看到了效果，而且無論是實地效果還是在應用上顯示的效果都很明顯。至於撞擊定位器的功能，雖然我有相當一部分擊球都正中甜點，但仍然有很大一部分擊球點的位置偏低，於是我意識到是這是我的膝蓋彎得不夠造成的。但是用回我的舊球拍之後，我又有點鬆勁了。
Babolat introduced the Play in mid-December in the United States, its number one market,selling it in 50 specialized stores. (It launches in Europe in May.) Though it was on the shelvesfor only ten days, it took fourth place for December's overall tennis racquet sales in the U.S.,in terms of dollar value -- at $400, it is roughly twice the price of a normal racquet. Eric Babolatnotes that in 2013, his company sold 1.8 million unconnected racquets worldwide, and he feelsthat the potential for connected racquets is huge: "I'm convinced that 10 years from now allracquets will be wired."
百保力集團在12月中旬將Play球拍引入其第一大市場美國，目前這款產品在美國的50個專營店中有售。(相比之下今年五月纔在歐洲發佈。)上架僅十天，它的銷量就佔到12月美國所有品牌網球拍銷量的第四位。Play球拍的售價爲400美元，基本上是一個普通球拍的兩倍。埃裏克o百保力指出，2013年，他的公司在全球共賣出180萬支普通球拍，他覺得電子球拍具有巨大的潛力：“我相信，十年以後，所有的球拍將都安裝電子設備。”
Meanwhile, two other companies have been working on a similar concept. Artengo, a Frenchbrand specializing in modestly priced racquet sport equipment, now sells a gadget thatattaches to the outside of a handle and gathers data (also developed by Movea). And inJanuary, Sony (SNE) showed off a prototype sensor at the Consumer Electronics Show in LasVegas. Weighing under 3 ounces and made to snap onto the butt of certain Yonex racquets, itcomes out in Japan this spring.
與此同時，還有另外兩家公司也在研究類似的產品。比如法國迪卡儂旗下的Artengo品牌專門銷售中端價位的球拍和其它運動產品，現在Artengo推出了一款可以附着在球拍手柄之外收集數據的設備(也是由Movea公司研發的)。另外，今年一月，索尼公司(Sony)在拉斯維加斯的消費電子展上展出了一款傳感器的原型產品。它的重量不足3盎司，可以附着在尤尼克斯(Yonex，一家日本網羽用品公司)公司的球拍上。它今年春天已經在日本正式上市。
Babolat sees this competition as encouraging. "I'm surprised that Sony is among the first toenter this field, since sports is not really their thing. But it's reassuring to see that they arefocusing on tennis, and that they believe it has potential as online communityentertainment."
埃裏克o百保力認爲這種競爭令人振奮。他說：“索尼成爲第一批在這個領域競爭的公司之一，這讓我覺得很驚訝，因爲體育並不是他們擅長的方面。但是看到他們也把重點放在網球上，並且他們也相信在線社區娛樂的潛力，還是讓人吃了一顆定心丸。”
Last July, the International Tennis Federation wrote its 31st rule, permitting the use ofapproved "Player Analysis Technology" during competitions. Babolat is looking forward to theday the Play makes its debut in an official tournament. For the moment, however, only thePure Drive is wired, and the company's star ambassadors -- Nadal and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga --use a different model.
去年七月，國際網球協會(International Tennis Federation)制訂了它的第31條規則，允許在網球比賽中使用經過批准的“運動員分析技術”。埃裏克o百保力非常期待有一天能在正式的網球錦標賽上看到Play球拍的亮相。目前這家公司的產品中，電子球拍只有Pure Drive一款，而公司的產品代言人納達爾和威爾弗雷德o特松加則使用的是另一款產品。
The pros had the chance to try the new racquet at a demonstration match at Roland Garros in2012. According to Babolat, Nadal and his coach, Antonio Nadal, were like children when theygot their hands on it -- Toni teasing his nephew that now he'd see how badly he was serving,Rafa responding that he would show his uncle just how powerfully he was hitting. "They arealways on the lookout for the detail that make a difference," the Frenchman says. "A player feelscertain things, and his trainer sees others. For the first time they had quantifiable data theycould discuss."
2012年的一場法網表演賽上，專業運動員們獲得機會試用新的電子球拍。據埃裏克o百保力表示，當納達爾和他的教練安東尼奧o納達爾(託尼)拿到這款新球拍時，他們表現得就像小孩子一樣。託尼對他侄子開玩笑說，現在他可以知道他發球到底有多差了。拉菲爾o納達爾則回答說，他要讓他叔叔看看他的擊球多麼有力。埃裏克o百保力說：“他們總是在尋找任何能提高成績的細節。運動員可以感覺到一些東西，而教練能看到其它一些東西。Play球拍讓他們第一次有了可以研究的量化數據。”
Before the demonstration began, a 14-year-old ball boy went up to Babolat and told himexcitedly that the racquet combined his two favorite activities, tennis and video games. "Itconfirmed that we were on the right track, especially with young people," Babolat says. "Thisis not just an old sport, people wearing white at Wimbledon. Tennis is cool."
表演賽開始之前，一名14歲的球童走過來，高興地對埃裏克o百保力說，這款球融合了他最喜歡的兩個活動——網球和電腦遊戲。埃裏克說：“這再次讓我確信，我們走在正確的道路上，尤其是對於年輕人來說。網球不僅僅是一項古老的運動——比如大家傳統上都要穿着白色的球衣參加溫布爾登公開賽。網球還很酷。”
