VOA慢速英語(yǔ):China's Tianhe-2 Supercomputer Takes No. 1 Ranking on TOP500 List

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[00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.79]this is the Technology Report. [00:05.68]China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer [00:09.53]has just been rated No. 1 on the top 500 [00:14.74]-- a respected list of the world's most powerful computers. [00:20.31]Experts measured the supercomputer's performance [00:24.59]at 33.86 petaflop or quadrillion of operations per second. [00:34.21]China's National University of Defense Technology [00:38.58]developed the supercomputer, which runs twice [00:42.77]as fast as the No.2 rated Titan supercomputer. [00:48.16]It belongs to the United States Government's [00:51.80]Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. [00:55.43]Both Tianhe-2 and Titan are part of an ongoing race [01:01.28]to make supercomputers faster and more powerful. [01:06.27]So what is a supercomputer? [01:10.02]A basic personal computer has one microchip [01:14.79]at the center of its operations. [01:17.00]This Central Processing Unit, or CPU, [01:22.18]executes a set of commands contained in a predesigned program. [01:28.25]The first supercomputers had a few more CPUs. [01:33.63]That number grew as microprocessors [01:36.91]became cheaper and faster. [01:39.74]Andrew Grimshaw, a computer science professor [01:43.42]at the University of Virginia explains: [01:47.00]"Today, supercomputers are all what we call parallel machines. [01:50.55]Instead of one CPU - central processing unit [01:53.63]- they have thousands and thousands. [01:55.46]And in the case of the Chinese machine, [01:57.35]depending on how you count, [01:58.91]millions of the central processing units." [02:01.34]These parallel machines are made up of [02:04.32]many individual computers called nodes. [02:08.30]They are all positioned in one block. [02:11.75]They used a lot of power, create a lot of heat, [02:16.82]and require huge cooling systems. [02:20.45]They also use programs different [02:23.69]from those used by ordinary computers. [02:27.31]Professor Grimshaw says anyone with enough resources [02:31.75]can build a supercomputer to solve problems [02:35.97]that require millions of mathematical calculations. [02:40.61]But that's not always necessary. [02:44.29]A virtual supercomputer can be created [02:47.82]by networking individual computers [02:50.76]within a university campus or company. [02:54.35]These machines then process data during down time, [02:59.06]when no one is using them. [03:01.41]"Those are very easy to run on virtual supercomputers [03:05.20]because each problem is independent of all the others [03:08.19]and I can scatter these jobs out all around the place. [03:10.98]We run these all the time at UVA." [03:12.81]Professor Grimshaw says that entire ten years ago, [03:16.79]engineers worked on making computers faster. [03:20.77]Since then, he says, they have worked to create [03:25.21]more powerful parallel machines. [03:27.70]"It's transforming science and engineering, [03:30.19]and it's going to continue to transform it [03:32.10]in ways I think most people don't fully grasp [03:36.52]- how well we can model and simulate the world now." [03:39.86]Professor Grimshaw says [03:41.69]the increasing computing ability of supercomputers [03:45.34]makes the future of research very bright. [03:49.62]And that's the Technology Report from VOA Learning English.

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By VOA

18 August, 2013

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.

China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer has just been rated No. 1 on the top 500 -- a respected list of the world's most powerful computers. Experts measured the supercomputer's performance at 33.86 petaflop or quadrillion of operations per second.

China's National University of Defense Technology developed the supercomputer, which runs twice as fast as the No. 2 rated Titan super computer. It belongs to the United States Government's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Both Tianhe-2 and Titan are part of an ongoing race to make supercomputers faster and more powerful.

So what is a supercomputer? A basic personal computer has one microchip at the center of its operations. This Central Processing Unit, or CPU, executes a set of commands contained in a predesigned program.

The first supercomputers had a few more CPUs. That number grew as microprocessors became cheaper and faster. Andrew Grimshaw, a computer science professor at the University of Virginia explains:

"Today, supercomputers are all what we call parallel machines. Instead of one CPU - central processing unit - they have thousands and thousands. And in the case of the Chinese machine, depending on how you count, millions of the central processing units."

These parallel machines are made up of many individual computers called nodes. They are all positioned in one block. They used a lot of power, create a lot of heat, and require huge cooling systems. They also use programs different from those used by ordinary computers.

Professor Grimshaw says anyone with enough resources can build a super computer to solve problems that require millions of mathematical calculations.

But that's not always necessary. A virtual supercomputer can be created by networking individual computers within a university campus or company. These machines then process data during down time, when no one is using them.

"Those are very easy to run on virtual supercomputers because each problem is independent of all the others and I can scatter these jobs out all around the place. We run these all the time at UVA."

Professor Grimshaw says that entire ten years ago, engineers worked on making computers faster. Since then, he says, they have worked to create more powerful parallel machines.

"It's transforming science and engineering, and it's going to continue to transform it in ways I think most people don't fully grasp - how well we can model and simulate the world now."

Professor Grimshaw says the increasing computing ability of supercomputers makes the future of research very bright.

And that is the Technology Report from Learning English.

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.

這里是美國(guó)之音慢速英語(yǔ)科技報(bào)道。

China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer has just been rated No. 1 on the top 500 -- a respected list of the world's most powerful computers. Experts measured the supercomputer's performance at 33.86 petaflop or quadrillion of operations per second.

中國(guó)的天河2號(hào)超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)剛剛被問(wèn)鼎全球最強(qiáng)大計(jì)算機(jī)五百?gòu)?qiáng)，這是一個(gè)受人尊敬的名單。專家測(cè)到，該超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)的性能達(dá)到每秒33.86千萬(wàn)億次運(yùn)算。

China's National University of Defense Technology developed the supercomputer, which runs twice as fast as the No. 2 rated Titan super computer. It belongs to the United States Government's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Both Tianhe-2 and Titan are part of an ongoing race to make supercomputers faster and more powerful.

中國(guó)國(guó)防科技大學(xué)研制了這臺(tái)超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)，其運(yùn)行速度是排名第二的泰坦超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)的兩倍。泰坦超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)隸屬于位于田納西州的美國(guó)政府旗下的橡樹(shù)嶺國(guó)家實(shí)驗(yàn)室。天河2號(hào)和泰坦都是使得超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)更快更強(qiáng)的一場(chǎng)進(jìn)行中的競(jìng)賽的一部分。

So what is a supercomputer? A basic personal computer has one microchip at the center of its operations. This Central Processing Unit, or CPU, executes a set of commands contained in a predesigned program.

那么，什么是超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)呢?一臺(tái)普通個(gè)人電腦的運(yùn)行中心都有一個(gè)微芯片，這個(gè)被稱為CPU的中央處理器執(zhí)行預(yù)先設(shè)定程序中包含的控制命令。

The first supercomputers had a few more CPUs. That number grew as microprocessors became cheaper and faster. Andrew Grimshaw, a computer science professor at the University of Virginia explains:

第一臺(tái)超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)只有一些中央處理器(CPU)。這一數(shù)字隨著微處理器變得更快更便宜而增長(zhǎng)。弗吉尼亞大學(xué)計(jì)算機(jī)科學(xué)教授安德魯·格里姆肖(Andrew Grimshaw)解釋說(shuō)：

"Today, supercomputers are all what we call parallel machines. Instead of one CPU - central processing unit - they have thousands and thousands. And in the case of the Chinese machine, depending on how you count, millions of the central processing units."

“今天，超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)被我們稱為并行機(jī)器。它不止一個(gè)中央處理器，而是有成千上萬(wàn)個(gè)。在中國(guó)這臺(tái)超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)中，根據(jù)統(tǒng)計(jì)就有數(shù)百萬(wàn)計(jì)的中央處理器。”

These parallel machines are made up of many individual computers called nodes. They are all positioned in one block. They used a lot of power, create a lot of heat, and require huge cooling systems. They also use programs different from those used by ordinary computers.

這些并行機(jī)器由很多被稱為節(jié)點(diǎn)的獨(dú)立計(jì)算機(jī)組成。他們被定位在一個(gè)塊上，使用大量電能，制造大量的熱，并需要巨大的冷卻系統(tǒng)。他們還使用和普通電腦不同的程序。

Professor Grimshaw says anyone with enough resources can build a supercomputer to solve problems that require millions of mathematical calculations.

格里姆肖教授說(shuō)，任何人有足夠資源都可以制造一臺(tái)超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)，用來(lái)解決需要數(shù)以百萬(wàn)計(jì)數(shù)學(xué)運(yùn)算的問(wèn)題。

But that's not always necessary. A virtual supercomputer can be created by networking individual computers within a university campus or company. These machines then process data during down time, when no one is using them.

但是這并非總有必要?？梢酝ㄟ^(guò)大學(xué)校園或公司的個(gè)人電腦聯(lián)網(wǎng)來(lái)制造虛擬超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)。這些機(jī)器在無(wú)人使用時(shí)可以處理數(shù)據(jù)。

"Those are very easy to run on virtual supercomputers because each problem is independent of all the others and I can scatter these jobs out all around the place. We run these all the time at UVA."

“在虛擬超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)上運(yùn)行這些很簡(jiǎn)單。因?yàn)槊總€(gè)問(wèn)題都相互獨(dú)立，可以分散到各個(gè)地方進(jìn)行。我們?cè)诟ゼ醽喆髮W(xué)一直這么做。”

Professor Grimshaw says that entire ten years ago, engineers worked on making computers faster. Since then, he says, they have worked to create more powerful parallel machines.

格里姆肖教授說(shuō)，整整十年前，工程師們致力于使得計(jì)算機(jī)更快。他說(shuō)，從那時(shí)起，他們一直在努力制造更強(qiáng)大的并行機(jī)。

"It's transforming science and engineering, and it's going to continue to transform it in ways I think most people don't fully grasp - how well we can model and simulate the world now."

“這是在轉(zhuǎn)換科學(xué)和工程，它還將用我認(rèn)為多數(shù)人未能完全掌握的方法繼續(xù)轉(zhuǎn)換。這種方法就是現(xiàn)在我們可以對(duì)世界進(jìn)行建模和仿真。”

Professor Grimshaw says the increasing computing ability of supercomputers makes the future of research very bright.

格里姆肖教授說(shuō)，超級(jí)計(jì)算機(jī)計(jì)算能力的不斷增加使得研究的未來(lái)一片光明。

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