From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
The American computer company IBM says it has developed a microprocessor -- a computer chip -- that works much like the human brain.
美国IBM电脑公司表示该公司开发出了一款运转方式近似人类大脑的电脑芯片。
IBM calls the chip TrueNorth. It is the size of a postage stamp. The chip has 5.4 billion tiny parts that work like the human brain's neurons and synapses. Neurons and synapses are the cells and electric forces that carry messages to and from the brain.
IBM公司将这款芯片命名为TrueNorth。该芯片拥有54亿个运转方式近似人类大脑神经元和突触的小零件。神经元和突触是人类大脑中传递信息的细胞和电流。
TrueNorth has 1 million neurons and 256 million synapses. The human brain has 100 billion neurons and up to 150 trillion synapses. IBM says it can program the new chip to understand difficult problems and then solve them as humans would.
TrueNorth拥有100万个“神经元”以及2.56亿个“突触”。人类大脑拥有1千亿个神经元和高达150万亿个突触。IBM公司表示，该公司能够给这款新的芯片编程，使其能够理解各种难题并像人类一样解决难题。
The company says the TrueNorth chip could be used as a brain for search-and-rescue robots. It can also be used for controlling new kinds of wheelchairs or for recording conversations involving several people and then making a printed record of those conversations.
该公司表示，TrueNorth芯片可以作为搜救机器人的大脑。它还能用于控制新型轮椅，或记录涉及数人的谈话并将这些对话打印出来。
TrueNorth is still being tested. But IBM says it could be available for public use in two to three years.
TrueNorth芯片仍处于测试中。但IBM公司表示，这款芯片会在两到三年内提供给公众。
The chip is just one example of machines becoming more and more like humans. This field of study is called artificial intelligence, or AI. Some experts believe computers will someday become more intelligent than humans.
该芯片只是电脑越来越接近人类的一个例子。这个研究领域被称为人工智能，简称AI。有专家认为，有一天电脑会变得比人类更聪明。
Researchers are trying to develop ways for humans and computers to work together more closely. Someday, humans and computers may be joined. The combination of a human and a computer is called a cyborg.
研究人员正试图开发出让人类和电脑更加密切合作的方法。有一天，人类和电脑可能会连接起来。这种人类和电脑的结合体就被称为半机械人。
Jonathan Mugan has written a book about the relationship between humans and computers, called "The Curiosity Cycle." He told VOA by email that it is time to prepare for a future where computers have more control over our lives.
乔纳森·缪庚（Jonathan Mugan）撰写了一本有关人类和电脑之间关系的书籍，该书名为《The Curiosity Cycle》。他通过电子邮件对美国之音表示，现在是时候准备迎接电脑更多控制我们生活的这样一个未来了。
In his words, "machines are technology. And technology expands as human knowledge expands. By contrast, human intelligence developed through evolution, which is a much slower process."
用他的话来说，“机器是科技。而科技会随着人类知识的扩展而扩展。相比之下，人类智力通过进化发展，这是一个非常缓慢的过程。”
Mr. Mugan believes that smarter computers are good for humans. He says intelligent machines can help humans solve many of our most difficult problems.
缪庚先生认为，智能电脑对人类有利。他说，智能机器可以帮助人类解决很多最大的难题。
But he says "once computers become broadly smarter than humans, it's hard to predict what will happen."
但他表示，“一旦电脑比人类广泛聪明，就很难预料会发生什么事情。”
And that's the VOA Learning English Technology Report. For more technology stories, go to our website 51voa.com. You can email comments to us at learningenglish@voanews.com. You can also watch videos on the VOA Learning English YouTube channel. I'm Jonathan Evans.
以上就是本期美国之音慢速英语科技报道的全部内容。更多有关科技的新闻请访问51voa.com。我是乔纳森·埃文斯（Jonathan Evans）。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)