This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
Dogs are known for a strong sense of smell. Their noses can be trained to identify different odors. Dogs are often used in search and rescue operations and to sniff for things like drugs and explosives. Some dogs have even been trained to sniff for cancer in people.
狗嗅觉灵敏众所周知，狗的鼻子经过训练后可以识别各种不同气味 。狗通常用于搜索和营救行动，以及嗅出类似毒品和爆炸品之类的东西。有些狗甚至被训练成可以为人类嗅出癌症。
Researchers have been trying to reproduce the extraordinary sense of smell that real dogs are born with. Now, officials at the Glasgow airport in Scotland are testing a new security device called an "electronic sniffer dog." The electronic sniffer dog represents one of the latest developments in the area of smell technology.
研究人员一直试图重现狗与生俱来的非凡嗅觉。目前，苏格兰格拉斯哥机场的相关人员正在测试一种被称为“电子嗅探犬”的安全设备。这种设备代表着嗅探技术领域最新的成就之一。
A Scottish company, Cascade Technologies, joined with the French security company Morpho to develop it. The device uses lasers to identify explosive material in gases in the air. The purpose is to identify explosives that may be hidden on a person's body.
苏格兰Cascade科技公司和法国Morpho安全公司联合开发了这种电子嗅探犬。它采用激光识别空气中的可爆成分，目的是找出可能藏在人身上的爆炸物。
The machine looks similar to the metal detectors now used at airports. Passengers walk through the machine as the lasers test the surrounding air.
这台机器看上去和机场当前使用的金属探测器类似。乘客从机器走过的同时，激光就会检测人体周边的空气。
People are not required to take off their coats, belts or shoes as part of the security process. And, unlike full-body scanners, the new device does not show images of the passenger.
人们不需要脱下外套、皮带或鞋子来作为安检过程的一部分。同时，与全身扫描仪不同，这种新设备不会显示乘客图像。
Officials at Cascade Technologies say the machine can process one person per second and produce almost immediate results. They say future developments could cut security processing times at airports by screening all passengers at walking speed.
Cascade科技公司相关人员表示，这种机器检测一个乘客只需1秒，并近乎实时的生成检测结果。他们表示，未来的发展可能通过扫描机场所有以正常速度步行的乘客，节省安检时间。
Professor Yushan Yan is the head of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Riverside. His research team has been working on a similar sniffer device since two thousand eight.
严玉山教授（Yushan Yan，音译）是加州大学河滨分校（University of California, Riverside）化学与环境工程系主任。他的研究团队自2008年来一直致力于一种类似设备的研究。
He points out that unlike real dogs, electronic devices do not get tired or need to be walked or require food and water. Professor Yan says real sniffer dogs also have other needs.
他指出，和实际生活中的狗不同，电子设备不会疲倦，不需要遛狗，不需要食物和水。严教授说实际生活中的嗅探犬还有其他方面的要求。
YUSHAN YAN: "They also need very extensive training that could be expensive. And when they work they have to have a very skilled handler around them."
严教授：“它们还需要非常广泛的训练，这可能代价不菲。当它们工作时必须有一个非常熟练的驯狗员带领。”
But Professor Yan says in his experience, there is an important area where man's best friend still wins compared to technology.
但严教授说，以他的经验，还有一个重要领域狗能战胜科技。
YUSHAN YAN: "In terms of sensitivity and selectivity, the current technology out there is still inferior. The dog has amazing capability identifying some really really minor amount of explosives."
严教授：“在灵敏度和选择性方面，目前的技术仍存在劣势。狗在识别极少量的爆炸物方面有着惊人的能力。”
But Professor Yan says electronic sniffer technology is developing quickly and could have a lot of uses in the future.
但严教授说，电子嗅探技术发展迅猛，将来可能有很多用途。