From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
Can you imagine riding around the streets of your hometown on a skateboard without wheels? In the late 1980s, film director Robert Zemeckis showed a skateboard floating above the ground in his movie Back To The Future Part II.
你能想象到在家乡附近的街道踩上一款没有轮子的滑板吗？在20世纪80年代末期，电影导演罗伯特·泽米吉斯（Robert Zemeckis）在他的电影《回到未来 2》中呈现了一款漂浮在地面的滑板。
Now, an American company, Arx Pax, has moved the idea for such a device from a futuristic dream to reality. The new product operates on the same rules that govern magnetism.
美国Arx Pax公司现在已经将这种设备理念从未来梦想变成了现实。这种新产品根据磁性原理来工作。
When similarly charged ends of two magnets get close together, they repel or push away from each other. That force can make an object levitate or hover in space.
当两块磁铁的同极接近时，它们会互相排斥。这种磁力可以让某个物体漂浮或悬停在空中。
Since the 1980s, levitation has been used on trains in Europe, Japan and China. These maglev trains, seem to float above the ground. There is no contact between the bottom of the cars and the surface of the train track. Maglev trains are almost noiseless and can move very fast.
自上世纪80年代以来，磁悬浮已被应用于欧洲、日本和中国的列车上。这些磁悬浮列车似乎漂浮在地面之上。在车厢底部和轨道之间没有发生接触。磁悬浮列车几乎没有噪音，并且移动速度非常快。
Greg Henderson says the same technology can make anything hover, even buildings.
格雷格·亨德森(Greg Henderson)说，同样的技术可以使万物悬停，甚至包括建筑物。
"Imagine there's an earthquake and the early warning turns on the warning systems and the supports fall away as the building starts to hover. The shaking stops, the supports return, and no one in that room or in that building ever knew there was an earthquake."
他说，“想象一下地震来了，早期预警打开警报系统，楼房的支座收回去，大楼开始悬浮。地震停止后，支座重新升起，大楼里的人们甚至不知道发生了地震。”
Greg Henderson's company created the first maglev hoverboard, called Hendo. It can hold a single person about 2.5 centimeters above a metal surface.
格雷格·亨德森的公司开发了首款名为Hendo的磁悬浮滑板。它能将一位人漂浮到某种金属表面的2.5厘米以上。
"We are creating a magnetic field, and then through a method of induction, that's part of our secret sauce, we are creating a secondary and equal magnetic field in this conductive surface."
他说，“我们正在开发一种磁场，然后通过电磁感应的方式，在这个导电表面建立一个次级的平衡磁场。这是我们的秘密武器之一。”
Batteries provide the electricity needed to power Hendo's four engines. However, the batteries only last for a short time. But design engineer Kyle O'Neil says they last long enough for experienced skateboarders to learn how to control the hoverboard.
Hendo四个引擎所需的电力由电池提供。然而，这些电池只能持续很短时间。但设计工程师凯尔·奥尼尔（Kyle O'Neil）表示它们能够维持足够长时间，让有经验的滑板爱好者学会如何控制这种悬浮滑板。
"Some people say it's like snowboarding. Some say it's how they imagined a hoverboard is supposed to be, which is kind of an interesting response because no one's ever ridden one before."
他说，“有人说它像滑雪板。有人说它就是他们想象中的悬浮滑板。这是一种有趣的回应，因为此前没人玩过这种滑板。”
The creators of Hendo say they do not expect to see their hoverboard on the streets anytime soon. The reason: it only works on a metal-covered surface. But they say larger hover engines could be used to transport containers in storerooms.
Hendo的开发者表示，他们不敢奢望很快看到他们的滑板出现在街上。原因是它仅适用于一种金属覆盖表面。但他们表示，更大的悬浮引擎可以用于移动仓库中的集装箱。
For now, their dream is to build a recreation area where anyone can take a ride on a hoverboard.
目前他们的梦想是打造一个休闲区让大家可以玩一下悬浮滑板。
And that's the VOA Learning English Technology Report. For more technology stories, go to our website 51voa.com. Give us a like on the VOA Learning English Facebook page. Follow us on Twitter at VOA Learning English. You can also watch vedios on the VOA Learning English YouTube channel. I'm Jonathan Evans.
以上就是本期美国之音科技报道的全部内容。更多科技新闻，请访问我们的网站51voa.com。我是乔纳森·埃文斯。(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！)