A Path That Speaks to the People Who Walk It
Most people never think about the yellow line on the pavement. For blind walkers, however, that strip of raised tiles is a lifeline. It tells them where to go and when to stop, and it works only if it is clear and complete. In the city of Nanning, a new kind of path was switched on in the middle of October, and this one can speak.
The date was chosen with care. October the fifteenth is the International Day of the Blind, which falls in the forty-third year since the day was first marked. On that afternoon, local officials opened two short stretches of smart pavement near a busy crossroads. The raised tiles are still there, but now they lead to a small orange device that stands beside the road and gives spoken directions.
The technology behind it is not simple, yet the idea is easy to grasp. Cameras and radar work together to watch the crossing. A computer then looks at three clues at once: the shape of a white cane, the presence of a guide dog, and the way a person walks. When these clues agree, the system is more than ninety-five percent sure that a blind person is waiting. It can also follow several people at the same time and give each of them separate advice.
There is a further step that matters just as much. If the green light is too short for someone to cross, the system can ask the traffic signal to wait a little longer. Engineers also built a small control centre, where broken devices report themselves instead of waiting for a passer-by to notice. In the old days, a damaged path was repaired only after somebody complained.
No single machine can remove every danger from a city street. Still, the people who tried the new path said they felt calmer. One of them compared the spoken warnings to a guide walking beside them the whole way. That simple feeling, of being expected rather than forgotten, may be the real point of the project.
Words to know:
- pavement (人行道)
- lifeline (生命线)
- crossroads (十字路口)
- radar (雷达)
- cane (手杖；盲杖)
- signal (信号；红绿灯)
- engineer (工程师)
- warning (警示；提醒)
长难句拆解 · 同位语从句与 not… but 结构
第一句：The raised tiles are still there, but now they lead to a small orange device that stands beside the road and gives spoken directions. 主干由 but 连接两个并列分句：The raised tiles are still there 和 now they lead to a small orange device。that stands beside the road and gives spoken directions 是 that 引导的定语从句，修饰 device，从句内部又用 and 并列了两个谓语 stands 和 gives。定语从句修饰的是紧挨在它前面的名词，这里就是 device，不要误认成 road。 直译：那些凸起的砖块还在那里，但现在它们通向一个立在路边的小小橙色设备，这个设备会发出语音指路。
第二句：A computer then looks at three clues at once: the shape of a white cane, the presence of a guide dog, and the way a person walks. 主干是 A computer looks at three clues。冒号后面是一串同位语，用来具体说明 three clues 到底指哪三样：the shape of a white cane、the presence of a guide dog 和 the way a person walks，三项之间用逗号和 and 并列。同位语和前面的名词指的是同一内容，翻译时常用「即」或直接铺开。 直译：随后计算机会同时查看三条线索：白色盲杖的形状、导盲犬的存在，以及一个人的走路姿态。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
雅思阅读的题干很少照抄原文，它更喜欢把同一个意思换一种说法。下面这些替换在本题材里很常见，先自己盖住右边，试着回忆。
- a strip of raised tiles → a line of bumps on the ground（盲道实物的改写）
- it works only if it is clear and complete → it fails when something blocks it（使用条件的反说）
- work together to watch the crossing → share the job of guarding the road（协同监测的释义）
- the system is more than ninety-five percent sure → the machine is almost never wrong（准确率的模糊化改写）
- ask the traffic signal to wait a little longer → hold the green light for a moment（延长绿灯的替换）
- report themselves instead of waiting for a passer-by → fix faults before anyone complains（主动运维的释义）
- being expected rather than forgotten → not being left out of the plan（结尾金句的改写）
阅读自测 · 3 题
- 判断正误：The smart path replaced the raised tiles with a smooth surface.
- 简答：What three clues does the computer check before it decides that a blind person is waiting?
- 选词填空：If the green light is too short, the system can ask the signal to ____. (A. change colour at once B. wait a little longer C. turn off)
参考答案与解析
- False（错误）。原文明确说 The raised tiles are still there, but now they lead to a small orange device。题干用 replaced the raised tiles with a smooth surface 把「保留凸起砖块、另外增设语音设备」偷换成「用平滑地面取代盲道」，属典型的「偷换做法」干扰项。
- The shape of a white cane, the presence of a guide dog, and the way a person walks.（白色盲杖的形状、导盲犬的存在，以及一个人的走路姿态。）原文用冒号直接列出三条线索，定位 three clues 即可。
- B. wait a little longer。原文为 the system can ask the traffic signal to wait a little longer。A 的 change colour at once 与「延长」意思相反、C 的 turn off 在文中完全没有依据，都是「偷换动作」的干扰项。
中文译文
大多数人从不会留意人行道上那条黄线。但对盲人来说，那一带凸起的砖块却是一条生命线。它告诉他们往哪里走、在哪里停，而只有当它畅通完整时才能发挥作用。今年十月中旬，南宁市启用了一种新式的路，这条路会说话。
日子的选择很用心。十月十五日是国际盲人节，从这一天首次设立算起已经是第四十三个年头。当天下午，当地有关部门在一处繁忙的十字路口旁开放了两段智能盲道。凸起的砖块依然在，但现在它们通到一个立在路边的小小橙色设备，这个设备会发出语音指路。
背后的技术并不简单，道理却很容易明白。摄像头和雷达一起盯着路口。随后计算机会同时查看三条线索：白色盲杖的形状、导盲犬的存在，以及一个人的走路姿态。当这些线索彼此吻合时，系统有超过百分之九十五的把握判断有一位盲人正在等待。它还能同时跟住好几个人，分别给他们不同的提示。
还有一个同样重要的环节。如果绿灯的时间不够某人走过路口，系统可以请交通信号灯再多等一会儿。工程师们还建了一个小型控制中心，设备一旦损坏会自己上报，而不必等路人发现。过去，损坏的盲道往往要等到有人投诉才会被修好。
没有任何一台机器能消除城市街道上的全部危险。不过，试走过这条新路的人说，他们心里踏实了一些。其中一位把那些语音警示比作一位全程陪在身边的向导。那种「有人在为你着想、而不是把你忘了」的简单感受，也许才是这个项目真正的意义所在。