Rome wasn’t built in a day.
羅馬不是一天建成的。

Nearly two decades have passed since China launched the first Beidou satellite in 2000. In that time, more Beidou satellites were sent into orbit, forming the Beidou Navigation Satellite System. In late 2012, it began providing positioning, navigation, timing and messaging services to people in China and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region.
自2000年中國(guó)發(fā)射第一顆北斗衛(wèi)星以來(lái)， 近二十年過去了。在此期間，多顆北斗衛(wèi)星被送入太空軌道，形成了北斗衛(wèi)星導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)。2012年末，該系統(tǒng)開始向中國(guó)以及亞太其他地區(qū)的人們提供定位、導(dǎo)航、授時(shí)以及通信服務(wù)。

At the end of 2018, BDS started to provide global services. “This marks Beidou’s entry into a ‘global era’ from its ‘regional era’,” BDS Spokesperson Ran Chengqi said at a news conference.
2018年末，北斗衛(wèi)星導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)開始提供全球服務(wù)。“這標(biāo)志著北斗從區(qū)域時(shí)代邁入全球時(shí)代，”北斗衛(wèi)星導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)新聞發(fā)言人冉承其在一場(chǎng)新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上如此說道。

Now with two more Beidou satellites launched on Dec 16, 2019, BDS has 53 satellites in orbit – more than US government’s Global Positioning System (GPS), which has 31 active satellites. That launch means the core of Beidou’s third-generation network is now in place. It’s expected to greatly improve the system’s ability to serve users worldwide.
2019年12月16日，隨著兩顆北斗衛(wèi)星再次成功發(fā)射，北斗衛(wèi)星導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)在軌運(yùn)行的衛(wèi)星數(shù)量上升至53顆 —— 多于美國(guó)政府只有31顆在軌衛(wèi)星的全球定位系統(tǒng)。此次發(fā)射標(biāo)志著北斗三號(hào)全球系統(tǒng)核心星座部署完成，有望極大增強(qiáng)該系統(tǒng)服務(wù)全球用戶的能力。

Although a satellite-based navigation system needs only 24 satellites to run properly, having 53 allows for better coverage.
盡管衛(wèi)星導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)只需24顆衛(wèi)星便能正常運(yùn)作，但53顆在軌衛(wèi)星能夠提供更好的信號(hào)覆蓋。

This is how it works: A signal receiver on Earth – your smartphone, for example – measures its distance from at least three satellites by recording the amount of time it takes to receive their signals. Then it can calculate its location. With so many satellites, BDS can provide a more accurate calculation. While GPS calculates locations to within a few meters, BDS reduces the error to centimeters. This high-precision service is useful for land surveying, mapping, agriculture and automated driving.
衛(wèi)星導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)的工作原理是這樣的：地球上的信號(hào)接收器 —— 比如說，你的智能手機(jī) —— 通過記錄接收衛(wèi)星信號(hào)所需的時(shí)間，測(cè)量出自身與至少三顆衛(wèi)星之間的距離。然后再據(jù)此計(jì)算出所處的地理位置。擁有眾多衛(wèi)星的北斗衛(wèi)星導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)能夠提供更精準(zhǔn)的計(jì)算。全球定位系統(tǒng)地理位置的計(jì)算誤差在幾米之內(nèi)，而北斗衛(wèi)星導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)能將誤差縮小至厘米范圍。這種高精度的服務(wù)可用于土地測(cè)量、地圖繪制、農(nóng)業(yè)以及自動(dòng)駕駛等。

China is willing to share BDS with the world. According to Ran, BDS products have been exported to more than 120 countries and regions. “The Beidou system will always adhere to the development concept of ‘China’s Beidou, the world’s Beidou, and the first-class Beidou’, serving the world and benefiting mankind,” Ran told reporters after the latest launch.
中國(guó)樂于與世界共享北斗衛(wèi)星導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)。冉承其表示，北斗衛(wèi)星導(dǎo)航系統(tǒng)的產(chǎn)品已經(jīng)出口至120多個(gè)國(guó)家和地區(qū)?！氨倍废到y(tǒng)將始終秉承‘中國(guó)的北斗、世界的北斗、一流的北斗’的發(fā)展理念，服務(wù)全球，造福人類?！比匠衅湓谧罱淮涡l(wèi)星發(fā)射后如此向記者表示。

He added that future plans call for a smarter and more accessible system with Beidou at its core, to come online by 2035.
他補(bǔ)充道，在未來(lái)的規(guī)劃中，2035年將建成以北斗系統(tǒng)為核心，更加泛在、更加智能的系統(tǒng)。

By then, we can probably say that Rome has finally been built.
到那時(shí)，我們或許可以說，羅馬終于建成了。

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》，詳情請(qǐng)見《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》高一777期