VOA慢速英語：谷歌公司報(bào)告谷歌氣球上網(wǎng)計(jì)劃最新進(jìn)展

Google Reports Progress in Bringing Internet Service to Rural Areas

谷歌公司報(bào)告谷歌氣球上網(wǎng)計(jì)劃最新進(jìn)展

The owner of technology company Google has reported progress in its plan to offer Internet service to rural areas around the world.

谷歌科技公司的所有者報(bào)告了該公司向世界各地農(nóng)村地區(qū)提供互聯(lián)網(wǎng)計(jì)劃的進(jìn)展。

Google's parent company, Alphabet, calls the plan "Project Loon." Its goal is to increase access to the billions of people currently without internet connectivity.

谷歌公司的母公司Alphabet稱之為谷歌氣球計(jì)劃(Project Loon)，其目標(biāo)是提高目前沒有互聯(lián)網(wǎng)連接的數(shù)十億人的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)接入。

Alphabet has no plans to use traditional wiring, which can be costly. Instead the idea is to float huge balloons about 20 kilometers above the surface of the Earth.

Alphabet公司沒有計(jì)劃使用可能會(huì)很昂貴的傳統(tǒng)線纜，而是在地球上空20公里左右漂浮巨大的氣球。

The balloons would act like telecommunications satellites, providing internet service to the rural areas. The huge objects would ride air currents to either stay in place or move to another position high in the skies.

這些氣球就像通信衛(wèi)星一樣，為農(nóng)村地區(qū)提供互聯(lián)網(wǎng)服務(wù)。這種巨大的氣球?qū)?huì)隨著氣流停留在原地或是漂浮到另一個(gè)高空位置。

At first, the idea was to have a large number of balloons circling the planet. One balloon would move away from an area while another arrived to guarantee service in the affected areas.

最初的想法是利用大量氣球在地球環(huán)繞。某個(gè)氣球可能會(huì)從某個(gè)地區(qū)飄走，而另一個(gè)氣球飄過來以保證受影響地區(qū)的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)服務(wù)。

But Alphabet announced it has found a way to make balloons float over one area for an extended period.

但是Alphabet公司聲稱找到了一種辦法，可以讓氣球在某個(gè)區(qū)域漂浮很長一段時(shí)間。

In a statement released online, the company said its software "can now send small teams of balloons to form a cluster over a specific region where people need internet access. This is a shift from our original model...in which we planned to create rings of balloons sailing around the globe, and balloons would take turns moving through a region to provide service."

該公司在網(wǎng)上發(fā)布的一份聲明中表示，其軟件“可以升空少數(shù)氣球，在人們需要互聯(lián)網(wǎng)接入的某個(gè)特定區(qū)域形成一個(gè)集群。這是從我們?cè)心Ｊ降囊环N轉(zhuǎn)變，我們?cè)瓉碛?jì)劃用氣球形成一個(gè)環(huán)繞地球漂流的氣球圓環(huán)，這些氣球?qū)?huì)輪流飄過某個(gè)地區(qū)提供互聯(lián)網(wǎng)服務(wù)。”

The company said the discovery was made during tests of balloons launched from the island of Puerto Rico to float in Peruvian airspace. The company said some of the balloons stayed in the same area for as long as three months.

該公司表示，從波多黎各島升空氣球漂流到秘魯領(lǐng)空進(jìn)行測試時(shí)有了這一發(fā)現(xiàn)。該公司表示，一些氣球在同一地區(qū)停留了長達(dá)三個(gè)月時(shí)間。

The company said the discovery should speed up the project and reduce costs: "We'll reduce the number of balloons we need and get greater value out of each one."

該公司稱這一發(fā)現(xiàn)將會(huì)加快該項(xiàng)目的進(jìn)度并降低成本：“我們將會(huì)減少所需的氣球數(shù)量，并從每個(gè)氣球中獲得更大價(jià)值。”

But Project Loon workers must still find ways to increase the life of the balloons. A British Broadcasting Corporation report says the longest service for a single balloon was 190 days.

但是谷歌氣球計(jì)劃的員工們?nèi)匀槐仨氄业教岣邭馇驂勖霓k法。英國廣播公司報(bào)道稱，單個(gè)氣球的最長壽命為190天。

Google has also explored the idea of providing internet service to rural areas using solar-powered drone aircraft. But it cancelled that project because of technological barriers and high costs.

谷歌公司還探索了使用太陽能無人機(jī)為農(nóng)村地區(qū)提供互聯(lián)網(wǎng)服務(wù)的想法。但是由于技術(shù)壁壘和高成本，該公司已經(jīng)取消了該項(xiàng)目。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

我是布萊恩·林恩。