Best Inventions of the Year 2013

∷李殊 編 經(jīng)緯 注

美國《時代》周刊評選出了2013年的25項最佳發(fā)明，有些很實用：能隱身的摩天大樓、能讓癱瘓者重新站立的外骨骼套裝；有些很有趣：不能提神的咖啡酒、結(jié)合了兩種美味的羊角甜甜圈面包。讓我們隨著這篇文章，一起來看看其中一些令人驚艷的最佳發(fā)明吧。

The year 2013 has seen a wide array1. an array of： 大量，大批。of inventions, some of them solving problems that we never thought could be solved and others simply making life more fun. Which of these inventions stand out? Check out some of the things that made it intoTimemagazine’s list of the 25 best inventions of 2013.

The Driverless (Toy) Car無人駕駛（玩具）汽車

San Francisco-based Anki wants to bring robotics to the people.2. Anki： 一家專注于人工智能研發(fā)的美國高科技公司；robotics： 機器人學(xué)。The company’s first offering is Anki Drive, a $200 racing game in which toy cars can drive themselves. The cars carry sensors that feed data to an iPhone or iPad, which players can use to control speed and position for their cars.3. sensor： 傳感器；feed： 饋給，發(fā)送（信號）。Meanwhile, the Anki app computes actions of the enemy cars so they can compete as craftily as the humans.4. compute： （用計算機）計算，估算；craftily：有技巧地，熟練地。

Gravity’s Lightbox太空燈箱

For his filmGravity, set entirely in space, director Alfonso Cuarón had to throw out the normal sci- fiplaybook.5.為了拍攝背景全都設(shè)置在太空中的電影《地心引力》，導(dǎo)演艾方索·柯朗不得不扔掉科幻電影的教科書，另尋佳徑。Gravity：《地心引力》，一部于2013年上映的太空災(zāi)難電影；Alfonso Cuarón：艾方索·柯朗（1961— ），墨西哥電影導(dǎo)演、編劇和監(jiān)制，電影代表作有《地心引力》（2013）、《人類之子》（2006）和《哈利·波特：阿茲卡班的囚徒》（2004）。Working with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, he created a“l(fā)ightbox”: a 20-by-10-ft. structure covered with 196 panels of 4,096 LED bulbs each to simulate the extreme light in outer space.6. 與攝影特效師艾曼努爾·盧貝茲基合作，他設(shè)計出了一個“太空燈箱”——這個18平方米的燈箱上有196個鑲嵌板，上面有4,096個LED燈泡，每個都可以模擬太空中的發(fā)光體。cinematographer： 攝影師，攝影特效師；Emmanuel Lubezki： 艾曼努爾·盧貝茲基（1964— ），墨西哥電影攝影師，電影代表作有《人類之子》（2006）和《斷頭谷》（1999）；simulate： 模擬。The box had the added bonus of being able to project images that would be added later in CGI, so that the actors had a visual reference.7. 燈箱還帶來了另一個好處：它能把后期電腦生成圖像技術(shù)添加到影片中的影像提前投射出來，為演員在表演時提供視覺參考。bonus： 附加值，額外的好處；project： 投射；CGI： = computer graphic image，電腦生成圖像技術(shù)，是指使用電腦產(chǎn)生的影像，如影片中的3D特效。

Alcoholic Coffee咖啡酒

Portuguese and Spanish researchers writing in the journalLWT—Food Science and Technologyannounced the birth of a new coffeebased beverage. They dried used grounds, heated the powder in scalding water for 45 minutes, removed the liquid and added sugar and yeast.8. 他們將干燥的咖啡渣放在滾燙的熱水中煮45分鐘，脫水后加上糖和酵母，然后讓混合物發(fā)酵提純。used grounds： 咖啡渣；scalding： 滾燙的，灼燙的；yeast： 酵母。Then they let the mixture ferment and concentrated it to boost the alcohol content.9. ferment： 使發(fā)酵；concentrate： 凝縮，濃縮；boost： 增長，增加。The result? A booze that’s about 80 proof, like tequila and vodka.10. booze： 酒，烈酒；proof： 西方的一種酒精濃度衡量單位，即酒中含乙醇的體積百分比；tequila： 龍舌蘭酒，一種墨西哥產(chǎn)、使用龍舌蘭草心為原料所制造出的酒精飲品；vodka： 伏特加，俄羅斯的傳統(tǒng)酒精飲料。It’s good enough to consume11. consume： 喝光。, they found, and its taste might improve with age. But beware: this coffee won’t keep you awake,since most of the caffeine disappears as it brews.

Sony’s Smart Lens索尼智能鏡頭

With its large sensor, high-quality glass and 3.6x optical zoom, the Sony DSC-QX100 has all the fixings of a high-quality digital camera—but it clips to your iPhone or Android phone.12With Sony’s “PlayMemories Mobile” app, your phone acts as the view finder. Unattached, it’s the remote control. The DSC-QX100 is a bit too big to fit in a jeans pocket but plenty small enough for a bag. It retails13for $499.

The Cronut羊角甜甜圈面包

In 2013 a new fusion food joined the ranks of the ice cream cake and the turducken.14The cronut—made of croissant-style pastry that’s fried like a doughnut, filled with cream and topped with glaze—trans fixed foodies when New York City chef Dominique Ansel started selling it in May.15His recipe inspired imitations around the world, and customers proved willing to wait hours for a taste; scalpers were even hawking the $5 treats for up to $40.16

The 3Doodler 3D打印筆

Enjoy doodling17? The 3Doodler promises to make it more fun. The pen doodles in three dimensions instead of two. Essentially it works like a 3-D printer, melting and cooling colored plastic to create freestanding structures in any shape imaginable.18Invented by Maxwell Bogue, Peter Dilworth and Daniel Cowen at the Boston-based toy company WobbleWorks, the 3Doodler raised over $ 2 million on Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects.