How wonderful would it be if new technology could help the physically challenged? A smart wearable device that enables people with speaking disabilities to communicate normally is giving hope to those without a voice.
如果新科技能幫助殘疾人士，那該有多好？一種智能可穿戴的裝置可以幫助語言障礙人士正常交流，為其帶來希望。

Tao Luqi, a research fellow at Chongqing University, used a material called graphene to produce an artificial throat with a tiny sensor that allows people with speech impairments to speak normally, according to a paper published in Nature Communications in 2017. Tao has continued his work on the device for the last four years.
據(jù)2017年發(fā)表在《自然通訊》上的一篇論文稱，重慶大學(xué)研究員陶璐琪使用石墨烯材料，制備出一種帶有小感應(yīng)器的人工喉，可以幫助語言障礙人士正?！罢f話”。在過去四年間，陶璐琪都在堅持研究這一裝置。

Although it’s a tiny mechanical sensor, it can work wonders. The device can detect weak vibrations and can produce sounds across a wide spectrum, from 100Hz to 40kHz, China Daily reported. Humans can detect sounds in a frequency range from about 20Hz to 20kHz.
雖然這是個微小的機械裝置，但它可以創(chuàng)造奇跡。這個裝置可以檢測到微弱的振動，發(fā)出100Hz-40kHz的寬頻譜聲音，《中國日報》報道稱。人耳可感知的聲音頻率在20Hz-20kHz之間。

“Although the speaking impaired people can’t speak, their throats can vibrate,” Tao told The Paper. “If I put a device made of graphene into the throat of a person, it can detect the vibrations and make sounds using electrical signals.”
“聾啞人士雖然不能說話，但是喉嚨可以震動，”陶璐琪在接受澎湃新聞采訪時表示?！叭绻野岩粋€石墨烯裝置放在人的喉嚨處，它就可以檢測喉嚨的震動，通過電信號發(fā)出聲音。”

Even whispers, screams and coughs at different frequencies can be recorded and encoded by the device, and it can arrange them into groups. When the device detects the sounds in a particular group, it will reproduce the words, phrases or sentences, according to Tao.
陶璐琪稱，甚至不同頻率的低語、尖叫、咳嗽都可以被這一裝置記錄下來、編碼、分類。當(dāng)這一裝置檢測出特定組別里的聲音時，就會轉(zhuǎn)化出單字、短語或句子。

“But the speaking impaired people need to classify their own language sounds in groups and memorize them, just like typing keys on a keyboard,” Tao said.
“但聾啞人士需要將自己的聲音分類并記住，就像敲鍵盤上的字母鍵一樣，”陶璐琪稱。

Tao’s artificial throat has brought the possibilities of graphene to reality. It’s been 17 years since the discovery of graphene, and the world has been waiting for the “wonder material” to provide groundbreaking innovations. At only the width of an atom, graphene is the thinnest material known to humans – and also the strongest. The material is also an efficient conductor of heat and electricity, and is ultra-lightweight, China Daily reported.
陶璐琪研制的人工喉使石墨烯的種種可能性變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實。人們發(fā)現(xiàn)石墨烯已有17年之久，世界都在等待這個“神奇材料”帶來突破性創(chuàng)新。石墨烯只有一個原子那么寬，是人類已知的最薄、最堅硬的材料。這種材料還具備很強的導(dǎo)電導(dǎo)熱性能，重量超輕，《中國日報》報道稱。

“Graphene really does have fantastic properties and its potential is huge,” said Khasha Ghaffarzadeh, a director at UK-based research consultancy IDTechEx.
“石墨烯確實具有優(yōu)異的特性，它的潛力巨大，”總部位于英國的研究公司IDTechEx總監(jiān)Khasha Ghaffarzadeh表示。

China has emerged as a key country for graphene production. Around 3,000 Chinese companies are exploring uses for graphene, according to government statistics in 2018, while half of the world’s graphene-related patents have been filed in China, according to China Daily.
中國已經(jīng)成為石墨烯生產(chǎn)的主要國家。據(jù)《中國日報》稱，2018年相關(guān)部門統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)顯示，約3000家中國企業(yè)正在探索石墨烯應(yīng)用，全球一半的石墨烯專利來自中國。

“It’s a brand-new science, and China is trying to take the lead,” said Neill Ricketts, chief executive at Versarien, a UK-based advanced material company.
“這是全新的科學(xué)領(lǐng)域，中國正在努力占據(jù)領(lǐng)先地位，”制造先進材料的英國沃薩潤公司首席執(zhí)行官尼爾·里基茨表示。

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報高中版》，詳情請見《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報高中版》高二827期