科技女性:海蒂·拉玛,Wi-Fi之母In the 1940s, Hedy Lamarr was one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading ladies. Butaway from the cameras, her passion for innovation spawned the wireless communication technology we take for granted today. 20世纪40年代,海蒂·拉玛是好莱坞最受欢迎的女主角之一。但在镜头之外,她对创新的热情催生了我们今天习以为常的无线通信技术。 sought-after adj.受欢迎的,很吃香的leading lady 饰女主角的演员spawn / spɔːn / v.引发,促生wireless communication technology 无线通信技术take for granted 认为……理所当然Of all the many parts played by Hedy Lamarr during her glittering Hollywood career, none can be quite as inspirational as the one which most people know least about – her life away from the cameras. 在海蒂·拉玛辉煌的好莱坞演绎生涯中,她扮演了许多角色,但这些角色都不像这个角色那样鼓舞人心,这个角色多数人都不知道——就是她远离镜头的生活。
glittering / ˈɡlɪtərɪŋ / adj.辉煌的,显赫的For as much as she became known as 'Hollywood’s most beautiful woman’, there was much more to Lamarr than just her stunning good looks. Put it this way: without her there might be no WiFi, no Bluetooth and even no smartphones. 尽管拉玛被称为“好莱坞最美丽的女人”,但她拥有的不仅仅是惊人的美貌。这么说吧:没有她,可能就没有WiFi、蓝牙,甚至没有智能手机。 stunning dj.极好的,极吸引人的
Who was Hedy Lamarr?
海蒂·拉玛是谁?Born in Vienna in 1914, Hedy Lamarr, whose real name was Hedwig Kiesler, emigrated to the US in 1937 and caught the eye of film producer Louis B. Mayer while traveling by ship from London to New York. She would go on to make over 25 movies, appearing opposite some of Tinseltown’s most iconic leading men, and socialized with the likes of US President John F. Kennedy and business magnate Howard Hughes. 海蒂·拉玛1914年出生于维也纳,真名海德薇·基斯勒,1937年移民到美国,在从伦敦乘船前往纽约时,引起了电影制片人路易斯·梅耶尔的注意。她接着拍了超过25部电影,与好莱坞最有代表性的男演员们演对手戏,并与美国总统约翰·肯尼迪和商业巨头霍华德·休斯等交往。
catch the eye of 引起……的注意opposite adj.(在说话者、所指的人或物)对面的Tinseltown n.星光熠熠之城,好莱坞,浮华城iconic adj.偶像的,图符的,象征性的magnate / ˈmæɡneɪt / n.富豪As with many female roles at the time, Lamarr’s celluloid(电影) career often depended on her looks. 和当时的许多女性角色一样,拉玛的电影生涯通常依靠外表。Off-screen, Hedy’s life was sometimes turbulent and often shrouded in scandal – she was married and divorced six times. But when the camera’s stopped rolling, Hedy’s passion was for science, innovation and invention. 银幕外,海蒂的生活时有动荡,经常被丑闻笼罩——她结过婚,离过六次婚。但是当镜头停止转动时,海蒂对科学、创新和发明充满热情。 turbulent/ ˈtɜːrbjələnt / adj.动乱的shrouded v.覆盖,隐藏
From frequency hopping to spread spectrum technology
从跳频到扩频技术“Inventions are easy for me to do, the Austrian accented LaMarr says in 'Bombshell.’ I don’t have to work on ideas, they come naturally.” “发明对我来说很容易,奥地利口音的拉玛在《重磅新闻》中说。” 我不必研究想法,它们是自然而然的。' And invent she did.Armed with equipment gifted to her by fellow innovator (and sometime lover) Howard Hughes, Hedy Lamarr would spend hours in her trailer on movie sets, testing theories and experimenting with technology. 她确实发明了新东西。海蒂·拉玛带着创新者(曾经也是情人)霍华德·休斯送给她的设备,在电影片场,会花几个小时在拖车里测试理论,并做技术实验。
armed with拥有……trailer n.拖车movie sets片场One such idea would prove to be agame changer in terms ofwireless communication: it would pave the way for the foundation for today’s mobile phones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and of course GPS. 一个想法将成为无线通信行业的游戏规则改变者:它将为今天的手机、Wi-Fi、蓝牙,当然还有GPS的基石铺平道路。 game changer 游戏规则改变者in terms of 在……方面pave the way for 为……做好准备;为……铺平道路“Frequency hopping” was an ingenious way of switching between radio frequencies in order to avoid a signal beingjammed. It was developed by Hedy Lamarr with the American composer George Antheil as a “secret communications system”. By manipulating radio frequencies at irregular intervals(间隔) between transmission and reception, the invention formed an unbreakable code that could prevent secret messages from beingintercepted. “跳频”是一种在无线电频率之间切换以避免信号被干扰的独创性的技术。它是由海迪·拉玛和美国作曲家乔治·安泰尔开发的一种“秘密通信系统”。通过在传输和接收之间以不规则的间隔操纵无线电频率,这项发明形成了一种牢不可破的代码,可以防止秘密信息被截获。
海蒂手绘设计图纸 frequency hopping 无线跳频技术ingenious adj.有独创性的radio frequencies 无线电频率jam v.干扰(无线电或电子信号)manipulate v.操纵intercept v.拦截After receiving a patent for it in 1942, Hedy Lamarr donated the technology to help fight the Nazis, specifically to help guide torpedoes(鱼雷) under water without being detected. But it was dismissed at the time. 1942年获得专利后,海迪·拉玛将这项技术捐出去以帮助打击纳粹,特别是在水下引导鱼雷而不被发现起到重要作用。但当时这个技术被驳回了。 patent n.专利(权)It would subsequently go on to be used in a wide range of applications, but, significantly, it was the “spread spectrum” technology that Hedy Lamarr helped to invent that would form the basis of modern wireless communication technology and enable the smartphone boom and WiFi connections we take for granted today.随后这项技术被广泛应用,但重要的是,海迪·拉玛帮助发明的“扩频”技术将构成现代无线通信技术的基础,并使智能手机发展起来,使今天的我们习以为常地使用WiFi。
An unappreciated genius
一个不受赏识的天才 unappreciated adj.无人赏识的,不被重视的Hedy Lamarr would often lament that her beauty – as much as itdrove her Hollywood career – was also her curse. For most of her life, she was rarely considered for anything other than her image. 海蒂·拉玛经常抱怨自己的美貌——尽管它推动了她的好莱坞事业——也是她的诅咒。在她一生的大部分时间里,除了她的外貌之外,很少有人关注到她。 lament / ləˈment / v.抱怨drive v.驱动curse n. 诅咒Indeed, Hedy Lamarr’s inventions didn’t become more widely known until the late 1990s, shortly before her death in January 2000. And they were revealed in more detail when her obituaries(讣告) were published later that same year.事实上,海蒂·拉玛的发明直到20世纪90年代末才广为人知,距她于2000年1月去世不久。同一年再晚些的时候,她的讣告发表,她的发明得到了更详细的披露。Hedy LaMarr never received any money for her invention.海蒂·拉玛从未从她的发明里获得一分钱。