VOA慢速：手机问世50周年
Cellphone Celebrates 50 Years in Existence
刘立军 供稿
u TRANSCRIPT
The first cellphone was invented fifty years ago this week. The man who built that phone, Martin Cooper, is now 94 years old.
Cooper, who has been called the "father of the cellphone," has been speaking with the media as he looks back at his efforts to create a device that greatly changed our world.
In the early 1970s, Cooper worked for American technology company Motorola. At the time, Motorola and other manufacturers were attempting to create wireless phones that could work in vehicles and also be carried.
There was intense competition between Motorola, Bell Labs and AT&T to build the first truly portable phone. The technology used to create the first cellphone is known as cellular. This technology uses many small, interconnected transmitters that give off wireless signals and connect cellphones to the internet.
Cooper made the first public call from a handheld portable telephone in New York City on April 3, 1973. The device, called Dyna-TAC, weighed about 1 kilogram and was 28 centimeters long.
He developed the phone with his team at Motorola over a period of five months. The first model permitted about 25 minutes of talk time. Cooper noted that such a talk time was not a problem, since "This phone was so heavy, you couldn't hold it up for 25 minutes."
Speaking about that moment to the Associated Press, Cooper said, "The only thing that I was worried about: 'Is this thing going to work?' And it did." Cooper admitted that at the time, "We had no way of knowing this was a historic moment."
While Cooper is pleased that his invention has opened up a series of technological possibilities for cellphone users, he thinks many people are just too obsessed with their devices.
"I am devastated when I see somebody crossing the street and looking at their cellphone. They are out of their minds," Cooper told the AP. "But after a few people get run over by cars, they'll figure it out," he joked.
Today, Cooper uses a late model iPhone. He likes that the phone permits him to do numerous things, such as read emails, watch YouTube and control his hearing aid devices. But mostly, he says he uses the phone just to talk to people.
Cooper said the modern progress of cellphones is sure to continue long into the future. He predicts phones will develop to the point of being able to be "distributed on your body," with sensors "measuring your health at all times."
Cooper said batteries could even be replaced by human energy. "You ingest food, you create energy. Why not have this receiver for your ear embedded under your skin, powered by your body?" he imagined.
But the cellphone inventor has also expressed worries about how the device has created serious risks for users, especially in the area of privacy. "My most negative opinion is we don't have any privacy anymore because everything about us is now recorded someplace," Cooper said.
But, he noted he is hopeful that cellphones will continue to progress in ways that can greatly help humanity. "Each generation is going to be smarter. They will learn how to use the cellphone more effectively," Cooper said. "Humans sooner or later figure it out."
I'm Bryan Lynn.
u VOCABULARY
1. transmitter n. a piece of equipment used for sending electronic signals, especially radio or television signals （尤指无线电或电视信号的）发射机，发射台，发报台
2. obsess v. to completely fill your mind so that you cannot think of anything else, in a way that is not normal 使痴迷；使迷恋；使着迷。例如：She's completely obsessed with him. 他让她神魂颠倒。
3. embed v. to fix sth. firmly into a substance or solid object 把……牢牢地嵌入（或插入、埋入）
uQUESTIONS
Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.
1. When was the first cellphone invented?
A) Fifty years ago this week.
B) In the early 1970s.
C) Fifty years ago next week.
D) In the late 1970s.
2. How long did it take for Cooper and his team to develop the phone?
A) One month.
B) Two months.
C) Five months.
D) Six months.
3. How does Cooper feel about people’s obsession with their cellphones?
A) He is pleased with it.
B) He is devastated by it.
C) He is indifferent to it.
D) He is happy about it.
4. What does Cooper mostly use his late model iPhone for?
A) Reading emails.
B) Watching YouTube.
C) Controlling his hearing aid devices.
D) Talking to people.
5. What is Cooper’s negative opinion about cellphones?
A) Cellphones have made people too obsessed.
B) People don’t have any privacy anymore.
C) Cellphones have created serious risks for users.
D) All of the above.
u KEY
1. When was the first cellphone invented?
A) Fifty years ago this week.
B) In the early 1970s.
C) Fifty years ago next week.
D) In the late 1970s.
【答案】A) Fifty years ago this week.
【解析】第一部手机是在50年前的这个星期发明的。
2. How long did it take for Cooper and his team to develop the phone?
A) One month.
B) Two months.
C) Five months.
D) Six months.
【答案】C) Five months.
【解析】Cooper和他的团队花了五个月的时间开发这款手机。
3. How does Cooper feel about people’s obsession with their cellphones?
A) He is pleased with it.
B) He is devastated by it.
C) He is indifferent to it.
D) He is happy about it.
【答案】B) He is devastated by it.
【解析】Cooper对人们对手机的痴迷感到极度沮丧。
4. What does Cooper mostly use his late model iPhone for?
A) Reading emails.
B) Watching YouTube.
C) Controlling his hearing aid devices.
D) Talking to people.
【答案】 D) Talking to people.
【解析】Cooper主要用他的后期型iPhone与人通话。
5. What is Cooper’s negative opinion about cellphones?
A) Cellphones have made people too obsessed.
B) People don’t have any privacy anymore.
C) Cellphones have created serious risks for users.
D) All of the above.
【答案】B) People don’t have any privacy anymore.
【解析】Cooper对手机的负面看法是人们不再有任何隐私。
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