【VOA慢速英语】高科技船只庆祝五月花号航行400周年
Tina讲出海
A high-tech ship is marking the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower -- the ship that carried a group of European settlers to North America.
为纪念五月花号航海400周年，一艘高科技轮船研制成功，五月花号曾运载一批欧洲殖民者到北美。
The famous trip prepared the way for England's colonization of what Europeans in 1620 called the New World.
这艘著名的轮船开辟了英国发展殖民地的道路，1620年欧洲人把殖民地叫做新世界。
The anniversary was marked this week in Plymouth, England – the starting point for the historic Mayflower crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
周年庆典本周在英国普利茅斯举行——这里是有历史意义的五月花号穿越太平洋的起点。
Local officials gathered with sea travelers and scientists for the launch of the new ship.
当地官员、航海家和科学家聚集在一起观看这艘新船下水。
It is called the Mayflower Autonomous Ship.
It is an ocean research ship that is fully autonomous and powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
它是一艘海洋研究船只，人工智能（AI）供能，完全自动驾驶。
The sun-powered ship is set to sail across the Atlantic without a captain or crew on it.
The 15-meter ship is a joint project of ocean research group ProMare and IBM, the American computing company.
这艘15米长的船是海洋研究公司ProMare和美国计算公司IBM共同完成的项目产品。
It will take the same route as the 1620 Mayflower, from Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, in the American state of Massachusetts.
它将会沿着1620年五月花号的航行路线行驶，从英国普利茅斯到美国马塞诸塞州的普利茅斯。
ProMare and IBM hope the autonomous Mayflower will be the first in a new generation of crewless, ocean traveling machines.
ProMare和IBM希望自动驾驶的五月花号是新一代首个无船员的航海器。
They say such ships could be used to explore parts of oceans that are too difficult or dangerous for people to reach.
他们表示这样的船可以用来探索海洋中那些对人类来说太难到达或者太危险的地方。
Andy Stanford-Clark is chief technology officer for IBM in Britain and Ireland.
安迪·斯坦福·克拉克是IBM英国和爱尔兰公司的首席技术官。
He told The Associated Press the ship's launch marked "a very exciting stage of the journey towards autonomous shipping."
他告诉美联社这艘船下水标志着“通往自动航运路上一个令人兴奋的阶段开始了。”
He added that AI-powered ships like the new Mayflower could be used in the future to transport goods, carry out research and serve as water taxis.
他补充道AI供能的船只，就像新五月花号，未来可以运输商品、进行研究以及用作水上出租车。
The ship will first complete six months of sea trials and short trips before beginning its Atlantic crossing early next year.
这艘船将会先完成六个月的海上试行和短途航行，然后明年早些时候开始穿越大西洋。
The ship is equipped with instruments designed to measure the health of ocean waters.
It will examine the effects of climate change, gather information on microplastic pollution and study ocean populations of whales and dolphins.
它会检测环境变化的影响、收集微型塑料污染的信息然后研究海洋中的鲸鱼和海豚群体。
Along the way, the ship's AI system will have to make complex decisions, reacting to severe weather conditions and movements of other ships.
在航行路上，为应对恶劣的天气状况、避开其他航行的船只，船上的AI系统会做出复杂的决定。
Brett Phaneuf is co-director of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project.
He told the AP he sees strong similarities between the two Mayflower trips even though they were four centuries apart.
他告诉美联社尽管时隔4个世纪，他觉得两次五月花号航行有很多相似之处。
"Neither of us are sure we were going to make it," Phaneuf said.
"But our risk is much smaller than their risk," he said, "if we don't make it, no one will be injured, no one will die."
“但是我们的风险比上次小的多，”他说，“如果我们不成功，没有人会受伤，也没有人会死。”
