首款"偷不走的自行車"問世
A trio of Chilean engineers say they have found a way to thwart determined thieves with what they claim is the world's first 'unstealable bike.'
三名智利工程師宣稱發(fā)明了世界上首款“偷不走的自行車”，他們表示，這下那些信誓旦旦的偷車賊肯定沒轍了。
The design, called the Yerka, looks like an average bike, but the bottom tube of the frame can be split into two parts and wrapped around a pole. According its creators, the frame can be dismantled and reconnected to make a lock in just 10 seconds. Once the bike's seat tube forms a lock, the only way to steal the bike would be to cut through it, destroying it in the process.
這款自行車名為“尤科”，看上去跟普通自行車沒什么兩樣，但車身底桿可以分成兩部分，環(huán)繞在一根柱子上。發(fā)明者稱，拆開車身主架、重新組裝成一把鎖，這一過程僅需10秒。一旦自行車車座桿形成一把鎖，偷車的唯一辦法就是把車切開，這樣做的話自行車也就毀了。
The Yerka is the creation of Cristóbal Cabello, 22, Andrés Roi Eggers, 23 and Juan José Monsalve, 24. The design was first announced in November, but last week, the team said they had put in their first order to produce 300 Yerkas.
“尤科”自行車是由22歲的克里斯托波爾•卡貝略、23歲的安德烈斯•羅伊和24歲的胡安•喬斯•蒙薩爾維共同發(fā)明的。這個(gè)設(shè)計(jì)在去年11月份首次公布。上周，這個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)表示，他們接到了第一份訂單，首批300輛“尤科”自行車已投入生產(chǎn)。
While an investment of $100,000 from a state enterprise fund helped the project along, they raised most of their funds on crowdfunding site Indiegogo. The start-up sold the first 100 bikes for $400 then increased the price to $500. In future it will rise to $600, according to a CNN report.
一家國有企業(yè)已投資10萬美元來贊助這個(gè)項(xiàng)目，但是他們大部分的資金是在眾籌網(wǎng)站Indiegogo上籌集到的。這個(gè)初創(chuàng)公司以400美元單價(jià)銷售了首批100輛自行車，之后提價(jià)至500美元。據(jù)CNN報(bào)道，未來該品牌自行車價(jià)格將升至600美元。
While they call it the world's first unstealable bike, critics have previously said the lock could be picked or the bike easily destroyed. Thieves might also be happy simply to get the handlebars or front wheel.
他們宣稱“尤科”為世界上首輛“偷不走的自行車”，然而曾有人批評稱，車鎖是可以被撬開的，而且自行車也很容易毀壞。只拿到車把或前輪，小偷們也照樣很開心。
But the team say that if they weren't working on something as revolutionary as this, they would have their critics. They also add that the wheels have anti-theft nuts that can only be opened with a special key.
不過，這個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)表示，如果研制的產(chǎn)品不夠革新，他們也會遭受質(zhì)疑的，他們還說車輪有防盜螺母，只有專用鑰匙才能打開它。
The designers are now working on an app that will let users open up their bike using the smartphone.
設(shè)計(jì)者們目前正在開發(fā)應(yīng)用程序，如此一來，用戶可以用智能手機(jī)給自行車開鎖。
Vocabulary
a trio of: 三名，三人組
crowdfunding: 眾籌
nut: 螺母
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