現(xiàn)在的手機(jī)幾乎都有語音識別功能，比如iPhone的Siri。本文主要講了語音識別技術(shù)。

ANY?sufficiently advanced（足夠先進(jìn)的）technology, noted Arthur C. Clarke, a British science-fiction writer, is?indistinguishable（adj. 難區(qū)分的; 不易察覺的）from magic.（用一個(gè)人引出文章的觀點(diǎn)，意思是任何足夠先進(jìn)的技術(shù)，跟魔術(shù)都是沒有差別的）The?fast-emerging?technology of voice computing proves his point（快速興起的語音技術(shù)證明了他的觀點(diǎn)）. Using it is just like?casting a spell（念個(gè)咒語）:say a few words into the air, and a nearby device cangrant your wish（滿足你的愿望）.

The Amazon Echo,a voice-driven cylindrical computer一臺聲控的圓柱形電腦/that sits on a table top and answers to the name Alexa同位語），can call upmusictracks（歌曲）and radio stations,tell?jokes,answer?trivia questions?and controlsmart appliances; even before Christmas it was already?resident（居民；定居）in about 4% of American households. Voice assistants are?proliferating（增生等越來越多，意思是蔓延，不受控制）in smartphones, too: Apple's Siri handles over 2bn commands a week, and 20% of Google searches on Android-powered handsets in America are input by voice. Dictating e-mails and text messages now works reliably enough to be useful. Why type when you can talk?

This is a huge shift.Simple though it may seem（原句是Though it may seem simple,讓步之后，必有轉(zhuǎn)折。意思是盡管它看起來簡單）, voice?has the power to（誰有能力做某事）transform computing, by providing a natural means of interaction. Windows, icons and menus, and then touchscreens, were welcomed as more intuitive ways to deal with computers than entering complex keyboard commands. But being able to talk to computers?abolishes the need for（去除了對...的需求）the abstraction of a “user interface” at all.Just as（后面為舉例子）mobile phones were more than existing phones without wires, and cars were more than carriages without horses, so computers without screens and keyboards have the potential to be more useful, powerful andubiquitous（無處不在）than people can imagine today.

Voice will not?wholly replace other forms of input and output（語音不會完全替代其他形式的輸入和輸出）. Sometimes it will remain more convenient to?converse with a machine by typing rather than talking（通過打字而不是說話與一臺機(jī)器交流）(Amazon is said to be working on an Echo device with?a built-in screen內(nèi)置屏幕).Butvoice is destined to（命中注定要做...，doomed也指注定了，但是一般指不好的）account for a growing share（主干）of people's interactions with the technology around them,fromwashing machines that tell you how much of the cycle they have lefttovirtual assistants in corporate call centres.However, to reach its full potential, the technology requires further breakthroughs-and a resolution of the tricky questions it raises around the trade-off between convenience and privacy（但是，為了達(dá)到它最大的潛能，這個(gè)技術(shù)需要更大的突破，還有一個(gè)問題需要解決，就是權(quán)衡便利和隱私）.

Alexa（前文類似Siri的存在）, what is deep learning（深度學(xué)習(xí)）?

Computer-dictation systems have been around for years. But they were unreliable and required lengthy training to learn a specific user's voice.Computers' new ability/to recognise almost anyone's speech dependably without training is the latestmanifestation of the power of “deep learning”, an artificial-intelligence technique/inwhich a software system is trained using millions of examples, usuallyculled from the internet（從互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上挑選）.Thanks to deep learning, machines now nearly equal humans in transcription accuracy, computerized translation systems are improving rapidly and text- to-speech systems are becoming less robotic and more natural-sounding.Computers are, in short, getting much better at handling natural language in all its forms（簡而言之，電腦正在更好地處理所有形式的自然語言）.

Although（讓步）deep learning means that machines can recognise speech more reliably and?talk in a less stilted manner（以一種更少的不自然的方式交流）, they still don't understand the meaning of language.That（指代前文的understand the meaning of language）isthe most difficult aspect of the problem and, if voice-driven computing is truly to flourish, one that must be overcome.Computers must be able to understand context in order to maintain a coherent conversation about something, rather than just responding to simple,one-off（一次性的）voice commands, as they mostly do today (“Hey, Siri, set a timer for ten minutes”)（要進(jìn)行連貫的對話，電腦必須能夠理解上下文，而不是對一次性的簡單的指令有反應(yīng)）.Researchers in universities and at companieslarge and smallare working on this very problem,building “bots”（伴隨狀語，建機(jī)器人）that can hold moreelaborate（具體的）conversations about more complex tasks, from retrieving information to advising onmortgages to making travel arrangements. (Amazon is offering a $1m prize for a bot that can converse “coherently and engagingly” for 20 minutes.)

When spells replace spelling（當(dāng)咒語代替拼寫的時(shí)候，即當(dāng)說話代替寫字）

Consumers and regulators also have a role to play in determining how voice computing develops. Evenin its current（=at this moment）, relativelyprimitiveform, the technologyposes a dilemma（在這個(gè)相對基礎(chǔ)的階段，就已經(jīng)造成一個(gè)進(jìn)退兩難的境地）:voice-driven systems are most useful when they are personalised（個(gè)人化）, and are granted wide access to sources of data such as calendars, e-mails and other sensitive information. That raises privacy and security concerns.

Consumers and regulators also have a role to play in determining how voice computing develops. Even in its current, relatively primitive form, the technology poses a dilemma: voice-driven systems are most useful when they are personalised, and are granted wide access to sources of data such as calendars, e-mails and other sensitive information. That raises privacy and security concerns.

To further complicate matters, many voice-driven devices are always listening, waiting to be activated. Some people are already concerned about the implications of internet-connected micro-phones listening in every room and from every smartphone.Not all audio is sent to the cloud-deviceswaitfor a trigger phrase (“Alexa”, “OK, Google”, “Hey, Cortana”, or “Hey, Siri”)/before they（指代cloud-devices）start relaying the user's voice to theservers/that actually handle the requests-but when it comes to storing audio, it is unclear who keeps what and when.（并非所有的聲音都被傳到了云端,在開始將用戶的語音傳到真正處理用戶指令的服務(wù)器之前，在云端等待觸發(fā)指令）

Police investigating a murder in Arkansas, which may have been overheard by an Amazon Echo, have asked the company for access to any audio that might have been captured. Amazon has refused to co-operate, arguing (with the backing of privacy advocates) that the legal status of such requests is unclear. The situation?is analogous to（與...類似）Apple's refusal in 2016 to help FBI investigators?unlock a terrorist's iPhone(解鎖恐怖分子的iPhone）; both cases highlight the need for rules that specify when and what intrusions into personalprivacy are justified in the interests of security./完善法律問題管控信息

Consumers will adopt voice computing even if such issues remain unresolved. In many situations voice is far more convenient and natural than?any other means of communication（任何其他形式的交流）. Uniquely, it can also be used while doing something else (driving, working out or walking down the street). It can extend the power of computing to people unable,for one reason or another（出于某種原因）, to use screens and key-boards. And it could have a dramatic impact not just on computing, but on the use of language itself Computerised simultaneous translation could render the need to speak a foreign language irrelevant for many people; and in a world where machines can talk, minor languages may be more likely to survive.The arrival of the touchscreen was the last big shift in the way humans interact with computers. The leap to speech matters more（觸摸屏的到來是人類與電腦互動(dòng)的最后一個(gè)過去的大轉(zhuǎn)變，向語音的跨越要更為重要）.

單詞:

?daunting [d?:nt??]adj. 令人畏懼的; 使人氣餒的; 令人怯步的v. 威嚇(daunt的現(xiàn)在分詞); 使氣餒; 使害怕; 使失去信心

?accessible [?k?s?s?b?l] adj. 易接近的; 可理解的; 易相處的; 易感的;

?sufficiently [s??f???ntl?]adv. 足夠地，充分地; 十分，相當(dāng);

?Indistinguishable [??nd??st??ɡw???b?l]adj. 不能分辨的; 不易察覺的; 無特征的;

?grant [gr?nt] vt. 授予; 承認(rèn); 準(zhǔn)許;n. 撥款; 補(bǔ)助金; 授給物（如財(cái)產(chǎn)、授地、專有權(quán)、補(bǔ)助、撥款等）;vi. 同意;

?cylindrical [s??l?ndr?k?l] adj. 圓筒形; 圓柱形的，圓筒狀的，氣缸（或滾筒）的;

?track [tr?k] n. 小路，小道; 痕跡，蹤跡; 軌道，音軌; 方針，路線;vt. 跟蹤; 追蹤; 監(jiān)看，監(jiān)測;vi. 沿著軌道前進(jìn);

?resident [?r?z?d?nt, -?d?nt]adj. 定居的，常駐的;n. 居民; （旅館的） 住宿者; 住院醫(yī)師;

?proliferate [pr??l?f??ret]vi. 擴(kuò)散; 激增; 增生，增殖;vt. 使激增; 使擴(kuò)散;

?reliably [r??la??bl?]adv. 可靠地，確實(shí)地;

?Intuitive [?n?tu:?t?v] adj. 直觀的; 直覺的; 憑直覺獲知的;

?abolish [??bɑ:l??]vt. 消滅; 撤銷; 廢除，廢止; 取消，革除;

?carriage [?k?r?d?]n. 運(yùn)費(fèi); 運(yùn)輸，輸送;

?ubiquitous ?[ju?b?kw?t?s]adj. 無所不在的; 普遍存在的;

?convenient ?[k?n?vinj?nt]adj. 方便的; [廢語] 適當(dāng)?shù)?

?destined ?[?d?st?n]vt. 注定; 預(yù)定; 命定; 指定;

?account ?[??ka?nt] n. 賬目; 存款; 報(bào)告; 理由;vi. 解釋; 導(dǎo)致; 報(bào)賬;vt. 認(rèn)為; 把…視作;

?Breakthrough [?brek?θru]n. 突破; 穿透; 重要技術(shù)成就; 爐襯燒穿;

?tricky ?[?tr?ki]adj. 狡猾的; 微妙的;

?trade-off [?tred??f, -?ɑf] n. 權(quán)衡; 交易;

?dictation ?[d?k?te??n]n. 命令; 口授，聽寫; 聽寫測驗(yàn);

?recognise ?['rek?gna?z]vt. 認(rèn)可; 認(rèn)出，

?manifestation ?[?m?n?f??ste??n]n. 表示，顯示; 示威;

?culle [k?l] vt. 精選; 挑選，剔除; 采，摘（花）;n. 剔除; 揀出的東西;

?transcription ?[tr?n?skr?p??n] n. 抄寫; 抄本; 錄音; 翻譯;

?robotic ?[ro??bɑ:t?k]adj. 機(jī)器人的; 自動(dòng)的; 像機(jī)器人似的; 呆板的;

?stilted ?[?st?lt?d]adj. （動(dòng)作或言語） 生硬的，不自然的;

?flourish [?fl?:r??]vi. 揮舞; 茂盛，繁榮; 活躍，蓬勃;vt. 揮動(dòng)，揮舞;n. 揮舞，揮動(dòng); 花樣，

?coherent ?[ko??h?r?nt]adj. 連貫的; 一致的; 條理分明的; 清楚明白的;

?elaborate ?[??l?b?ret]vi. 詳盡說明; 變得復(fù)雜;vt. 詳細(xì)制定; 詳盡闡述;

adj. 精心制作的; 精巧的;

?retrieve [r??triv]vt. 取回; 恢復(fù); [計(jì)] 檢索; ;vi. 找回獵物;n. 取回; 恢復(fù)，挽回; [計(jì)] 檢索;

?mortgage [?m?:rg?d?]n. 抵押; 抵押單據(jù)，抵押證明; 抵押權(quán)，債權(quán);vt. 抵押;

?engagingly [?n'ɡe?d???l?]adv. 有吸引力地; 動(dòng)人地，吸引人地;

?regulator [?r?ɡj??let?]n. 校準(zhǔn)者，[機(jī)]調(diào)整器，校準(zhǔn)器，調(diào)節(jié)器

?primitive ?[?pr?m?t?v]adj. 原始的; 發(fā)展水平低的; 落后的;n. 原始人; 早期的藝術(shù)家

?calendar [?k?l?nd?]n. 日歷; 歷法; 日程表;vt. 把…記入日程表中; 把…列入表中;

?trigger ?[?tr?ɡ?]n. （槍） 扳機(jī); 起動(dòng)裝置，扳柄;vt. 引發(fā)，觸發(fā); 扣?overheard ?[?o?v?r?h?:rd] v. 偶然聽到(overhear的過去式和過去分詞);

?capture [?k?pt??]vt. 俘獲; 奪取; 奪得; 引起（注意、想像、興趣）;n. 捕獲; 占領(lǐng); 捕獲物; [計(jì)算機(jī)] 捕捉;

?analogous [??n?l?ɡ?s]adj. 相似的，可比擬的;

?refusal ?[r??fjuz?l]n. 拒絕; 優(yōu)先取舍權(quán);

?specify ?[?sp?s??fa?]vt. 指定; 詳述; 提出…的條件; 使具有特性;vi. 明確提出，詳細(xì)說明;

?Intrusion [?n?tru??n]n. 闖入; 打擾; （對某事的） 干擾; 干涉;

?security [s??kj?r?ti]n. 安全; 保證，擔(dān)保; 保護(hù)，防護(hù); 有價(jià)證券;adj. 安全的，保密的;

?uniquely [j?'ni:kl?]adv. 獨(dú)特地，唯一地，珍奇地;

?dramatic ?[dr??m?t?k] adj. 引人注目的; 戲劇的，戲劇性的; 激動(dòng)人心的;

?Irrelevant [??r?l?v?nt] adj. 不相干的; 不恰當(dāng); 缺乏時(shí)代性的

?minor [?ma?n?]adj. 較小的，少數(shù)的，小…; 未成年的;n. 未成年人; 副修科目; 小公司;

vi. [主美國英語] 副修，選修，兼修;

?advocates [??dv??ket]vt. 提倡; 鼓吹;為…辯護(hù);n. 提倡者; （辯護(hù)） 律師; 支持者;

?justified [?d??st??fa?d]adj. 有正當(dāng)理由的，合理的; 事出有因的;v. 調(diào)整; 證明…有道理

?adopt [??dɑ:pt]vt. 收養(yǎng); 采用，采取，采納; 正式接受，接受; 批準(zhǔn);

?extend [?k?st?nd]vt. 延伸; 擴(kuò)大; 推廣;vt. 延長; 伸展; 給予; 發(fā)出（邀請、歡迎等）;

vi. 延伸; 伸出; 增加;

?dramatic [dr??m?t?k] adj. 引人注目的; 戲劇的，戲劇性的; 激動(dòng)人心的;

?leap [lip] vi. 跳; 沖動(dòng)的行動(dòng);vt. 跳過，躍過; 使跳躍;n. 跳躍，飛躍; 跳躍的距離;

長難句：

The Amazon Echo, a voice-driven cylindrical computer that sits on a table top and answers to the name Alexa, can call up music tracks and radio stations, tell jokes, answer trivia questions and control smart appliances; even before Christmas it was already resident in about 4% of American households.

主語是The Amazon Echo，逗號后面是同位語a voice-driven cylindrical computer，that sits on a table top and answers to the name Alexa 定語從句修飾a voice-driven cylindrical computer擱在桌子上，名字叫Alexa，類似蘋果的語音助手叫 siri，微軟的聊天機(jī)器人小冰。分號后面是另外一個(gè)分句，說的是超過4%的美國家庭已經(jīng)開始使用。

Windows, icons and menus, and then touchscreens, were welcomed as more intuitive ways to deal with computers than entering complex keyboard commands. But being able to talk to computers abolishes the need for the abstraction of a “user interface” at all.

第一句中出現(xiàn)了復(fù)雜比較結(jié)構(gòu)，把Windows, icons and menus, and then touchscreens,

和entering complex keyboard commands進(jìn)行比較，覺得前者是more intuitive ways to deal with computers。But轉(zhuǎn)折之后的句子簡單。指出在于計(jì)算機(jī)交流的方式上，先是視窗，icons（圖標(biāo)）、菜單，之后是觸摸屏，都因?yàn)楸容斎霃?fù)雜的鍵盤命令更直觀而備受歡迎，而語音說話徹底的消除了對“用戶界面”這一抽象概念的需要。

Just as mobile phones were more than existing phones without wires, and cars were more than carriages without horses, so computers without screens and keyboards have the potential to be more useful, powerful and ubiquitous than people can imagine today.

這個(gè)句式就是Just as···so，just as后面其實(shí)是在舉例，這句話就是就像手機(jī)遠(yuǎn)不止是沒有線的電話，汽車遠(yuǎn)不止是沒有馬的車，接著so后面給出觀點(diǎn)，指出沒有了顯示屏和鍵盤的電腦有潛力變得比人們今天所想象的更有用，更強(qiáng)大且無處不在。

Computers' new ability/to recognise almost anyone's speech dependably without training/is the latest manifestation/of the power of “deep learning”,/an artificial-intelligence technique/in which a software system is trained using millions of examples, usually culled from the Internet.

Computers’ new ability是名詞放在句首作主語，后面的不定式結(jié)構(gòu)to recognize是后置定語，Computers' new ability is the latest manifestation，manifestation后面的介詞短語是修飾語。逗號后面就是deep learning的同位語，進(jìn)一步修飾AI technique,是一個(gè)定語從句，注意后面就是一層一層的修飾關(guān)系。逗號之后就是在解釋deep learning，逗號之前的部分。Computers' new ability to recognise almost anyone's speech dependably without training is the latest manifestation of the power of “deep learning”，這半句其實(shí)就說計(jì)算機(jī)的新能力是深度學(xué)習(xí)力量的最新體現(xiàn)，計(jì)算機(jī)無需訓(xùn)練即能識別幾乎任何人的語言。后半句，an artificial-intelligence technique in which a software system is trained using millions of examples, usually culled from the internet.深度思考是一種人工智能技術(shù)（同位語處理掉），這一技術(shù)（定語從句的關(guān)聯(lián)體現(xiàn)）用通常來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的數(shù)百萬個(gè)范例來訓(xùn)練某一系統(tǒng)