At a huge trade fair in Shanghai this week, one small stage did not show a car or a robot arm. A man sat in a wheelchair, wearing a black band on his head. He thought about moving forward, and the chair moved forward. When an object appeared in its path, the chair went around it by itself. When a person suddenly stepped in front of it, the chair stopped. The man is Wang Ning, and he and his wife built this machine at home.
Six years ago, an injury to his spine took away the use of his legs. During long months of recovery, he began to study how the brain sends signals and how a car can drive itself. He and his wife, Huang Jinhua, taught themselves these subjects from books, videos and online courses. They wrote the programs, tested small parts and tried again after each failure. Neither of them had trained as an engineer.
The chair works like a quiet conversation. A band on the head picks up weak electrical signals from the brain, and the system learns which pattern means left, right, forward or stop. A small computer then checks the wish against what the cameras can see. If the road is clear, the chair obeys. If it is not, the chair waits or finds another way. Wang calls this shared control: he decides where to go, and the machine helps him get there safely.
The pair still describe the chair as a work in progress. They want it to fit different kinds of electric wheelchairs, so that a family does not need to buy a whole new vehicle. Their aim is a price below fifty thousand yuan, a number they say is close to what many families already pay for a good chair. That goal matters more than any prize. A clever device in one living room is a story. A device that many people can afford is a change.
Words to know:
- band (带子，头环)
- spine (脊柱)
- recovery (康复，恢复)
- signal (信号)
- obey (服从，遵照)
- aim (目标，目的)
- afford (买得起，负担得起)
- injury (损伤，伤害)
长难句拆解 · 分词短语作状语 + 宾语从句
原句：A man sat in a wheelchair, wearing a black band on his head. 主干：A man sat in a wheelchair.（一名男子坐在轮椅里） 状语：wearing a black band on his head 是现在分词短语，说明主句动作发生时伴随的状态，逻辑主语与主句主语 a man 一致。 语法定点：现在分词与过去分词的区别在于主动与被动。头带是「他戴着」的，所以用 wearing；如果写成 worn，就变成「他被戴着」，意思正好反了。 直译：一名男子坐在轮椅上，头上戴着一个黑色的头环。
长难句拆解 · 宾语从句并列 + 目的状语从句 so that
原句：They want it to fit different kinds of electric wheelchairs, so that a family does not need to buy a whole new vehicle. 主干：They want it to fit different kinds of electric wheelchairs.（他们希望它能适配不同种类的电动轮椅） 搭配：want sb/sth to do sth 是「希望某人或某物做某事」，这里的 it 指整套系统。 目的从句：so that 引导，意为「以便」，后面常接 can、could、will 或否定形式。 语法定点：a whole new vehicle 中的 whole 表示「整整一整台」，用来说明代价之大，写作时比 new 更有力。 直译：他们希望它能装到不同种类的电动轮椅上，这样一家人就不必再买一辆全新的车。
同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器
雅思阅读最爱把原文换个说法再出题，下面每组左边是原文表达，右边是常见替换，先遮住右边自测。
- one small stage did not show a car or a robot arm → the display was not about cars or machines / no big hardware was on show（展会报道常见的否定式开场）
- took away the use of his legs → left him unable to walk / cost him the ability to move his legs（描述伤情的委婉说法）
- taught themselves these subjects → learned the field on their own / studied without a teacher（强调自学，注意 teach oneself 的用法）
- the system learns which pattern means left, right, forward or stop → the software works out what each signal stands for / it recognises the meaning of different signals（说明识别机制，考同义转述）
- checks the wish against what the cameras can see → compares the request with the view ahead / tests the command against the surroundings（check A against B 的固定搭配）
- Wang calls this shared control → he describes it as shared control / the two sides control the chair together（术语解释句，常被改写为定义题）
- A clever device in one living room is a story → one clever machine is only an anecdote / a single success proves little（观点句，story 在此意为「故事而已」）
阅读自测 · 3 题
- True / False / Not Given: Wang Ning and his wife both studied engineering at university.
- 简答：What does the chair do when a person suddenly steps in front of it?
- 选词填空（选一个）：Their aim is a price ____ fifty thousand yuan. (below / under / down)
参考答案与解析
- FALSE。第二段明确说 Neither of them had trained as an engineer，即两人都没有受过工程师训练，是自学出身。凡是把「自学」改写成「大学专业」的选项，都属偷换结论。
- It stops。第一段说 a person suddenly stepped in front of it, the chair stopped；第三段补充 if it is not clear, the chair waits or finds another way。若答 it goes around，是把「遇到物体绕行」和「遇到突然出现的人停下」两种反应混为一谈。
- below。第四段原文为 a price below fifty thousand yuan，below 表示「低于（某个数值）」，是价格区间的标准说法；under 虽近义但原文未用，down 不能直接修饰数字。
中文译文
本周在上海一场大型博览会上，有一个小展台展出的既不是汽车，也不是机械臂。一名男子坐在轮椅里，头上戴着一个黑色的头环。他想了一下往前走，椅子就往前走了。前方出现障碍物时，椅子自己绕开；有人忽然横穿到椅前时，椅子停了下来。这名男子叫王宁，这台机器是他和妻子在家里做出来的。
六年前，一场脊柱损伤让他失去了双腿的行动能力。在漫长的康复期里，他开始琢磨大脑是怎么发出信号、汽车又是怎么自己行驶的。他和妻子黄金花靠着书本、视频和网络课程自学这些内容，自己写程序、测试一个个小零件，失败一次就再来一次。两个人都没有受过工程师的训练。
这把椅子的工作方式像一场安静的对话。头环拾取大脑发出的微弱电信号，系统慢慢学会哪一种波形代表左、右、前进或停止。随后一台小计算机会把这份意愿和摄像头看到的情况对照一遍：路是通的，椅子就照做；不通，它就等一等，或者另找一条路。王宁把这种方式叫作共享控制：他决定去哪儿，机器帮他安全地到那儿。
夫妻俩仍然把这把椅子称作一个还没做完的作品。他们希望它能装到不同种类的电动轮椅上，这样一家人就不必再买一整台新车。他们的目标是把价格压到五万元以下，他们说这个数字和许多家庭买一把好轮椅花的钱差不多。这个目标比任何奖项都重要。一台聪明设备只在一间客厅里用，那只是一个故事；一台很多家庭都买得起的设备，才是一种改变。