【慢速听力 3 篇 】How Well Can People Work with Robots?
No.1
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
How Well Can People Work with Robots?
January 05, 2020
In this Dec. 17, 2019, photo dozens of Amazon robots transport packages from workers to chutes that are organized by zip code, at an Amazon warehouse facility in Goodyear, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Robots have become common in warehouses across America.
Warehouses are centers where products are stored and organized before they are sent to buyers.
Manufacturers of robots say the machines can do the most repetitive and difficult jobs. But critics warn that they are also creating new forms of stress and even injuries.
Working with robots
Amanda Taillon’s job is to enter a robot-only area to fix problems in one of Amazon’s warehouses in the state of Connecticut. Sometimes she has to pick up a fallen toy or ease a traffic jam.
She uses a belt that works like a superhero’s force field. It can command the nearest robots to stop and the others to slow down or change their paths.
“They weigh a lot,” she said of the robots.
Criticisms of robots and AI
Critics say that this kind of human-machine cooperation has its problems. They say that keeping up with the pace of the new technology is hurting human workers’ health and morale.
Beth Gutelius studies urban economic development at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has spoken with warehouse operators around the U.S.
She said human burnout is a problem in warehouses where robotics and artificial intelligence, or AI software are being used. She said that is because the robots add more work and increase the pressure on workers to speed up their performance.
Recently, reporters investigated injury rates at Amazon warehouses. They found that robotic warehouses reported more injuries than those without the machines.
Reporters with the Center for Investigative Reporting’s website Reveal studied records from 28 Amazon warehouses in 16 states. They found that the rate of serious injuries was more than two times the warehousing industry average.
Amazon, however, says that it is misleading to compare its rate with other companies. That is because the company says it has an “aggressive stance on recording injuries no matter how big or small.”
The Reveal report also found a connection between robots and safety problems, such as in Tracy, California. There, the serious injury rate nearly quadrupled in the four years after robots were introduced.
Amazon has not released information on how its safety record at robot-powered warehouses compares to those without. But company officials believe that Amazon workers are able to deal with the new technology.
Benefits of using robots
Companies say they cannot quickly fulfill buyers’ demands for packages without fast-moving pods, robots and other forms of automation.
The increased use of robots and AI is changing warehouse work in a way that the head of Amazon Robotics says can “extend human capability.” The idea is that robots can help people to do what they are best at: problem solving.
Tye Brady is Amazon Robotics’ chief technologist. He said having people and robots work together permits the company to offer lower prices. Brady said worker safety remains very important.
But Gutelius, the University of Illinois researcher, said that the hope for easy human-machine operations is not a reality. “It sounds quite lovely, but I rarely hear from a worker’s perspective that that’s what it feels like,” she said.
Large growth in warehouse robots
Amazon has more than 200,000 “drives,” or robotic vehicles, that move goods through its warehouses around the U.S. That is two times the number it had in 2018.
Much of the growth in warehouse robotics came in 2012 when Amazon bought Kiva Systems. Afterwards, Kiva Systems became Amazon Robotics. For seven years, the company has been designing and building Amazon’s robots.
Amazon’s move to buy Kiva influenced its competitors, said Jim Liefer. He is chief of the San Francisco company, Kindred AI. It makes an AI robotic arm used by companies such as The Gap clothing store.
Melonee Wise is chief of California-based Fetch Robotics. The company sells robotic carts. She credits Amazon with causing the industry to develop new technologies.
But she said Amazon’s system forces workers to do “un-ergonomic moves” such as reaching up very high or down low.
“They have robots that live in cages,” she said. “Our robots are designed to work safely around people.”
Getting used to working with robots
Taillon, the Amazon employee you met at the beginning of this report, said that she has gotten used to working with robots.
She described how she felt when first working with them.
“When you’re out there, and you can hear them moving around, but you can’t see them, it’s like, ‘Where are they going to come from?’,” she said. “It’s a little nerve-racking at first.”
I’m Jill Robbins.
And I’m John Russell.
Matt O’Brien reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.
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Words in This Story
repetitive – n. having parts, actions, etc., that are repeated many times in a way that is boring or unpleasant
pace – n. the speed at which something happens
morale – n. the feelings of enthusiasm and loyalty that a person or group has about a task or job
burnout – n. the condition of someone who has become very physically and emotionally tired after doing a difficult job for a long time
stance – n. a publicly stated opinion — usually singular
quadruple – v. to become four times bigger in value or number
automation – n. running or operating (something, such as a factory or system) by using machines, computers, etc., instead of people to do the work
perspective – n. a way of thinking about and understanding something (such as a particular issue or life in general)
artificial intelligence – n. the power of a machine to copy intelligent human behavior
ergonomic – n. the parts or qualities of something's design that make it easy or safe to use
nerve-racking – adj. causing a person to feel very nervous
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No.2
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
NASA's Mars 2020 to Prepare for Humans into Deep Space
January 05, 2020
Members of NASA's Mars 2020 project take a picture after attaching the remote sensing mast to the Mars 2020 rover at NASA's JPL in Pasadena, California, U.S., June 5, 2019. (NASA-JPL-Caltech/Handout via REUTERS)
America’s space agency is nearing completion of a vehicle that will search for evidence of past life on Mars. It is too cold and dry for life to exist on the surface of Mars today. But scientists hope the rover will find evidence of life that once lived on the planet.
The rover will make the trip to the red planet later this year, and start preparing for NASA’s mission to send humans into deep space.
NASA recently showed off its Mars 2020 rover. It has four wheels and is about the size of a car. The rover will be sent to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in three parts. It will be put together there. The vehicle’s official name will be chosen soon.
Launch is set for July. The following February, the rover will land in the 250-meter-deep Jezero Crater – a dry lake bed that is bigger than New York’s Manhattan. Billions of years ago, it was a deep lake, but as the climate changed there, it dried up. Scientists believe that the crater holds many sediments in great condition—some may be 3.5 billion years old. They hope the rover will find fossils—remains of plants or animals that once lived on Mars.
“The trick, though, is that we’re looking for trace levels of chemicals from billions of years ago on Mars,” Mars 2020 deputy project manager Matt Wallace told Reuters. The rover will collect up to 30 samples, or small amounts, of soil. NASA plans to have them picked up and returned to Earth by a future spacecraft.
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Mars 2020 research will also be very important for future human missions to the red planet. It is carrying equipment that can turn carbon dioxide, which is everywhere on Mars, into oxygen for breathing.
If successful, Mars 2020 will mark NASA’s fifth Martian rover to carry out a soft landing. Important lessons were learned from the most recent Curiosity rover, which landed on the planet’s surface in 2012. It continues to move and work on the Martian surface southeast of the Jezero Crater.
The former Soviet Union is the only other country to land a rover on Mars. But it did not deploy. China and Japan have attempted to send orbiters around Mars. India and Europe’s space agency have successfully sent an orbiter to the planet.
I’m Anne Ball.
Rollo Ross wrote this story for Reuters. Anne Ball adapted the story for Learning English. Kelly J. Kelly was the editor.
What do you think of this story? Write to us in the comments section below.
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Words in This Story
mission – n. a task or a job that someone is giving to do
sediment – n. material like stones and sand that is carried into water by water or wind
trace – n. something, like an object, which shows that someone, or something, was in a particular place
No.3
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Study Provides New Details about Teenage T. Rex
January 05, 2020
Scientists say they have discovered new details about young Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaurs.
Researchers examined fossilized skeleton samples from two small Tyrannosaurus rex – also known as T. rex. The skeletons were discovered in the western American state of Montana in the early 2000s.
Researchers named the two dinosaurs Jane and Petey. Each T. rex was estimated to have stood a little taller than a horse and was about twice as long.
The researchers say the fossilized bone samples have helped them better understand the history and development of this famous dinosaur. The findings are described in a study recently published in Science Advances.
The examination team was led by Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Sciences.
Holly Woodward was a lead writer of the study. She said in a statement that it was unusual to study such small fossils from the T. rex family. This is because researchers usually seek to collect the largest fossil samples they can find to study and to show in public.
"The problem is that those smaller fossils may be from younger animals,” Woodward said. “So, for a long while we've had large gaps in our understanding of how dinosaurs grew up, and T. rex is no exception."
The team removed thin pieces from the leg bones of Jane and Petey and examined the samples under a microscope. Woodward said the study of the bones’ “microstructure” can provide valuable information about the animals’ growth rate, age and metabolism.
Researchers said they were able to use this method to count rings within the fossil bone to estimate age. They said Jane lived to be age 13, while Petey was 15. The size of the blood vessel openings showed the two dinosaurs were still experiencing growth at a fast rate at the time of death.
It takes a T. rex about 20 years to reach adulthood. Fossil evidence shows that when fully grown, the T. rex was about 12 meters long and about 5 meters tall.
The researchers say the samples have already provided important details about young T. rex’s growth and development. The fossil examinations suggest the small T. rex grew as fast as modern-day warm-blooded animals such as mammals and birds, the team reported.
The researchers said the findings suggest that the teenage T. rex animals were very quick on their feet and had knife-like teeth for cutting. By comparison, the adult T. rex had teeth meant to crush large bones.
The researchers said they found a clear link between T. rex growth rates and the availability of food. This was discovered in spacing between the yearly growth rings of the fossil bones.
“The spacing between the rings within Jane, Petey, and even older individuals is inconsistent,” Woodward said. “Some years the spacing is close together, and other years it's spread apart." This finding suggests the T. rex grew less during years in which food supplies were limited. If a large supply of food was available, the T. rex experienced far more growth.
Some scientists have questioned whether the two small skeletons really came from a T. rex. Those scientists said they believed the two represented evidence of a newfound kind of dinosaur species called Nanotyrannus. The researchers said they believed Nanotyrannus was similar to T. rex, but was smaller and showed different skull and bone development.
But Woodward and her team said the latest evidence from the two examined skeletons suggests they belonged to teenage T rex dinosaurs – not a new species with a smaller body size.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Agence France-Presse, Oklahoma State University and Science Advances. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Words in This Story
gap – n. an empty period between things happening
metabolism – n. the chemical processes by which a plant or an animal uses food and water to grow and heal and to make energy
mammal – n. a kind of animal that feeds milk to its young and that usually has hair or fur covering most of its skin
inconsistent – adj. not staying the same in quality or behavior
skull – n. the bones of the head that surround the brain