Level 3 Reading 9B

Ch.18 Reading 9B

第18章 阅读9B

Saving Lives Delivering medical supplies to hard-to-reach places has been an issue for years. Worldwide, more than two billion people lack access to essential life-saving supplies, such as blood and vaccines. In the African nation of Rwanda, for example, several remote health clinics do not have sufficient quantities of blood and other healthcare products. As a result, many people die of treatable illnesses. A company called Zipline is trying to address this problem. It uses drones to transport medical supplies around Rwanda. In the past, it took hours for packages of medicines to reach some health clinics. However, a drone can now deliver medicine in 30 minutes. Thanks to this rapid healthcare service, fewer women suffer during childbirth and more children receive life-saving medicine. Drones are also assisting emergency organizations after natural disasters. In 2015, for example, a powerful cyclone destroyed thousands of buildings in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. Around 75,000 people lost their homes, and at least 15 died. After the storm, drones photographed the damage. These surveys helped emergency workers assess the situation quickly and answer important questions: Which areas were hardest hit? Were crops damaged? What roads were affected? Emergency workers used the data to create a detailed map of the affected area. They were then able to transport aid to the people who needed it most. Eyes in the Sky Drones are also helping to protect vulnerable wildlife populations in parts of Africa and Asia. Every year, poachers kill thousands of elephants, rhinos, and other endangered animals. To stop them, the environmental organization World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is using drones. "Drones help us see things we can't," says Colby Loucks, who works for the WWF. For example, they can show where poachers are hiding and if they are carrying weapons. Drones are particularly helpful at night, when poachers tend to be most active. Fitted with infrared video cameras, drones can easily identify people and animals in the dark. These drones are not only helpful, they are affordable. Drones with infrared cameras cost about $20,000 each—a fraction of the cost of other high-tech tools. As well as finding poachers, drones can be used to track animals. Scientists at Liverpool John Moores University plan to employ drones for an ambitious conservation project: documenting the world's wildlife. The long-term project will start with scientific surveys of animal populations. As the project expands, members of the public will be able to contribute by uploading their own drone footage. Animal species can then be identified using special software. The project leader, biologist Serge Wich, predicts that drones— cheaper, more practical, and less dangerous than planes or helicopters—will become a widely used conservation tool. "I think we will have swarms of drones flying over forests," he predicts. Ironically, a tool originally created for military use is increasingly being used to save lives instead of taking them. Drones have the potential to provide solutions that will benefit both humans and animals, says photographer and environmentalist Kike Calvo. "There's nothing that can replace a good scientist," he says. But with the help of drones, "researchers are empowered to carry out projects they've never imagined before."

拯救生命 多年来，向难以到达的地方运送医疗用品一直是一个问题。 在全球范围内，超过20亿人无法获得血液和疫苗等基本的救生用品。 例如，在非洲国家卢旺达， 一些偏远的医疗诊所没有足够的血液和其他医疗产品。 因此，许多人死于可治疗的疾病。 一家名为Zipline的公司正试图解决这个问题。 它使用无人机在卢旺达各地运输医疗用品。 在过去，药品包需要几个小时才能到达一些卫生诊所。 然而，无人机现在可以在30分钟内运送药品。 得益于这种快速的医疗服务，更少的妇女在分娩过程中受苦，更多的儿童获得了挽救生命的药物。 无人机也在自然灾害后协助应急组织。 例如，2015年，一场强大的飓风摧毁了太平洋岛国瓦努阿图的数千栋建筑。 大约75000人失去了家园，至少15人死亡。 风暴过后，无人机拍摄了受损情况。 这些调查帮助应急工作人员快速评估情况并回答重要问题： 哪些地区受灾最严重？庄稼受损了吗？哪些道路受到影响？ 紧急救援人员利用这些数据绘制了受灾地区的详细地图。 然后，他们能够将援助运送给最需要援助的人。 空中之眼 无人机也在帮助保护非洲和亚洲部分地区的脆弱野生动物种群。 每年，偷猎者都会杀死数千头大象、犀牛和其他濒危动物。 为了阻止他们，环境组织世界野生动物基金会（WWF）正在使用无人机。 “无人机帮助我们看到我们看不到的东西，”为世界自然基金会工作的Colby Loucks说。 例如，它们可以显示偷猎者藏在哪里，以及他们是否携带武器。 无人机在夜间特别有用，因为夜间偷猎者往往最为活跃。 配备红外摄像机的无人机可以在黑暗中轻松识别人和动物。 这些无人机不仅有用，而且价格实惠。 配备红外摄像头的无人机每架售价约为2万美元，是其他高科技工具成本的一小部分。 除了寻找偷猎者，无人机还可以用来追踪动物。 利物浦约翰摩尔斯大学的科学家计划使用无人机进行一项雄心勃勃的保护项目：记录世界野生动物。 这个长期项目将从动物种群的科学调查开始。 随着该项目的扩大，公众将能够通过上传自己的无人机镜头做出贡献。 然后，可以使用特殊软件识别动物物种。 项目负责人、生物学家Serge Wich预测，无人机-- 比飞机或直升机更便宜、更实用、更不危险，将成为一种广泛使用的保护工具。 他预测：“我认为我们将有成群的无人机在森林上空飞行。”。 具有讽刺意味的是，一种最初用于军事用途的工具越来越多地被用来拯救生命，而不是夺走生命。 摄影师兼环保主义者Kike Calvo说，无人机有可能提供造福人类和动物的解决方案。 “没有什么可以取代一个好科学家，”他说。 但在无人机的帮助下，“研究人员有能力开展他们以前从未想象过的项目。”

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