Level 6 Unit 3 Part 4 Reading How Tech Improves Life
Paralyzed people can now control artificial limbs by thought alone.
瘫痪的人现在可以通过思想来控制假肢。
This is possible because of the development of technologies which involve connecting the brain to a computer or other electronic devices.
One well-known use of such technology enables deaf people to hear. The device has several parts.
One part is surgically implanted into the inner ear.
其中一部分通过手术植入内耳。
There it stimulates nerves to cause the sensation of sound.
在那里它刺激神经引起声音的感知。
The other part sits behind the ear and works like a miniature microphone.
另一部分在耳朵后面，像一个微型麦克风。
paralyzed ：英 ['pærəlaɪzd] 美 ['pærəlaɪzd] adj. 瘫痪的，麻痹的
artificial ：英 [ˌɑ:tɪˈfɪʃl] 美 [ˌɑ:rtɪˈfɪʃl] adj. 人工的;人造的;人为的;虚假的，非原产地的
limbs： 英 [lɪmz] 美 [lɪmz] n. 肢体;肢( limb的名词复数 );大树枝
surgically ：英 ['sɜ:dʒɪklɪ] 美 ['sɜ:dʒɪklɪ] adv. 外科手术上;如外科手术般地
Implanted [医]植入的
stimulate ：英 [ˈstɪmjuleɪt] 美 [ˈstɪmjəˌlet] vt. 刺激;激励，鼓舞;使兴奋 vi. 起兴奋作用;起促进作用;起刺激作用
sensation 英 [senˈseɪʃn] 美 [sɛnˈseʃən] n. 感觉;轰动;知觉;直觉
nerve： 英 [nɜ:v] 美 [nɜ:rv] n. 神经;勇气，胆量;[植] 叶脉;中枢
miniature ：英 [ˈmɪnətʃə(r)] 美 [ˈmɪniəˌtʃʊr, -tʃɚ, ˈmɪnə-] adj. 小型的，微小的
microphone ：英 [ˈmaɪkrəfəʊn] 美 [ˈmaɪkrəfoʊn] n. 话筒;扩音器，麦克风
Another new device allows those who have lost an arm or a leg to control their artificial limb just by thinking. The first human volunteer to try this out was Matt Nagel. Matt was paralyzed from the neck down due to a vicious knife attack.
马特颈部以下由于一次恶毒的刀伤而瘫痪。
vicious 英 [ˈvɪʃəs] 美 [ˈvɪʃəs] adj. 邪恶的，恶毒的;有恶意的;凶猛的;有缺点的
The process of implanting the device into Matt was quite involved.
把装置植入马特的过程相当复杂。
involved 英 [ɪnˈvɒlvd] 美 [ɪnˈvɑ:lvd] adj. 复杂难懂的;与他人有密切关系的;受牵扯的;
First, a circular piece of his skull was removed.
首先，他的一块圆形头骨被移除。
circular ：英 [ˈsɜ:kjələ(r)] 美 [ˈsɜ:rkjələ(r)] adj. 圆形的;环行的;迂回的，绕行的;供传阅的，流通的 n. 通知，通告;印制的广告，传单
skull ：英 [skʌl] 美 [skʌl] n. 脑袋;颅骨，头盖骨;脑子;
Then a tiny plate with hair-thin electrodes was inserted into his brain.
hair-thin 英 ['heərθ'ɪn] 美 ['heərθ'ɪn] adj. 细如毛发的
plate ：英 [pleɪt] 美 [plet] n. 盘子，盆子;金属板;均匀厚度的片状硬物体;
electrode 英 [ɪˈlektrəʊd] 美 [ɪˈlektroʊd] n. 电极;电焊条
inserted 英 [ɪn'sɜ:tɪd] 美 [ɪn'sɜ:tɪd] adj. 插入的;嵌入的;着生的;附着的
It was placed in the motor cortex, the brain region that controls movement.
它被放置在运动皮层，即控制运动的大脑区域。
cortex 英 [ˈkɔ:teks] 美 [ˈkɔ:rteks] n. 皮质;树皮;果皮
motor 英 [ˈməʊtə(r)] 美 [ˈmoʊtə(r)] n. 汽车;马达，发动机，
region 英 [ˈri:dʒən] 美 [ˈridʒən] n. 地区，地域，地带;行政区，管辖区;
This plate detects the electrical signals in the brain that usually control hand movement.
detect 英 [dɪˈtekt] 美 [dɪˈtɛkt] vt. 查明，发现;洞察;侦察，侦查;[电子学]检波
From the plate, thin cables were connected to a small computer which decodes the signals from the plate and converts them into commands.
从平板上，细电缆被连接到一台小型计算机上，该计算机对平板上的信号进行解码，并将其转换成命令。
cable 英 [ˈkeɪbl] 美 [ˈkebəl] n. 缆绳，绳索;[电学]电缆;
decode 英 [ˌdi:ˈkəʊd] 美 [ˌdi:ˈkoʊd] vt. 译（码），解（码）;分析及译解电子信号
convert 英 [kənˈvɜ:t] 美 [kənˈvɜ:rt] vt. （使）转变;使皈依;兑换，换算;侵占
Hopefully, these commands would control the artificial hand attached to Matt’s arm.
Shortly after the operation, Matt was surrounded by the surgeons as he stared at his artificial hand with hope.
surgeon 英 [ˈsɜ:dʒən] 美 [ˈsɜ:rdʒən] n. 外科医生;[军]军医
To the delight of the crowd, the hand started moving, and the fingers closed, becoming a fist.
delight 英 [dɪˈlaɪt] 美 [dɪˈlaɪt] n. 快乐，高兴;使人高兴的东西或人 vt. 使高兴，使欣喜
fist 英 [fɪst] 美 [fɪst] n. 拳，拳头;〈口〉笔迹;掌握;[印]指标参见号 vt. 紧握;握成拳;用拳打
At that moment Matt made history, he became the first person to control an artificial limb by using a device surgically inserted into his brain.
Since the operation, Nagel has continued to test the technology and further investigate its capabilities.
investigate 英 [ɪnˈvestɪgeɪt] 美 [ɪnˈvɛstɪˌɡet] vt. 调查;研究;审查 vi. 作调查
capabilities n. 容量;能力( capability的名词复数 );可能;[复数]潜在能力
Using thought alone, he can now perform a variety of tasks. He can control a TV and even open emails. Such uses of technology are inspiring and bring joy to our hearts. It is powerful evidence that technological advancements will improve our lives.
