First let me mention a line of jackets launched in the fall of 2000 by Royal Philips' Electronicsand Levi Strauss &Co3. Philips'original press release4 called it"merging fashion andtechnology in the creation of work wear for the digital age . "I love that kind of talk.

　　Each design is said to contain"a simple body area network using wires integrated into thebody design. "What it really does is allow you to use a Philips Xenium GSM mobile phone5 andMP3 player in a jacket — all controlled by a unified remote .

　　A company named VivoMetrics6 has designed a different type of electronic garment. It's calledLifeShirt, and it's an ambulatory monitoring system stuffed into a flexible, washable T-shirt.

　　VivoMetrics has built a system that allows doctors to monitor more than 40 physiological signs (heart rate , breathing rate, blood pressure , etc. ) over extended periods of time whilepatients are away from a doctor's office or hospital. One of the early target markers is peoplewho suffer from sleep apnea7 .

　　"Various wires plug into a Springboard module that records and holds all of the medical data.The patient can then send the information wirelessly to their doctor or send the module to thelab. "

　　. .. But it says that this is the type of product that will probably never be available toconsumers. Its real purpose is for clinical and medical research.

　　The company hopes to market the LifeShirt to pharmaceutical companies and research centersconducting trials of new drugs. VivoMetrics is going to show off the product. The company saysit has" secured one driver, Jon Herd, to wear the shirt during his race".

　　I believe these produ cts are only the tip of the iceberg. In the future I think we 'll see morevaried combinations of electronics and clothing. They'll find new ways to meld future computerdesigns with clothing to improve our lives seamlessly.

　　練習題：

　　Ⅰ. Give synonyms to the following words:

　　1. merge 2. monitor 3 . stuff

　　4. portable 5. ambulatory 6 . show off

　　Ⅱ. Question:

　　What is the unique function of Life Shirt and its early target marker?

　　參考答案

　　Ⅰ. 1. immerge / submerge / involve 2. watch over / admonish

　　153 3. pack / full / cram 4. light / handy / manageable

　　5. moving / walking 6 . exhibit / display / set off

　　Ⅱ. VivoMetrics has built a system that allows doctors to monitor more than 40 physiological signs ( heart rate, breathing rate , blood pressure , etc. ) over extended periods of time while patients are away from a doctor’s office or hospital. One of the early target markers is people who suffer from sleep apnea.

　　參考翻譯

　　神奇的電子服裝

　　大家可能知道, 自亞當和夏娃開始, 服裝就存在了, 并且現在的服裝比早期那些無花果樹葉做成的服裝, 要復雜精致得多。另一方面, 自富蘭克林拿著他那輕便式避雷針四處奔走開始, 電子產品伴隨著我們也僅僅是幾百年的時間。如今, 小電子產品倍受歡迎, 因而服裝和電子產品的結合也就不可避免了。

　　首先, 我要提及的是2000年秋季飛利浦皇家電子公司和利維· 斯特勞斯公司聯合推出的一系列的茄克。飛利浦新聞原稿稱“ 在數字時代的服裝設計當中, 融合了時尚和科 技 ”。我喜歡那種說法。

　　據說每一款設計都包含“ 一個簡單的由電線連接茄克各部位的區域網絡。”其目的是使飛利浦X enium 全球通手機和MP3可以在茄克衫內使用。這些功能都由一個統一的遙控器控制。

　　一家名為唯我的健康信息與監測公司設計了一種與眾不同的電子服裝。人們稱之為 “ 救命衫”, 它有一個內置于有彈力的耐洗的T 恤衫里的移動監視系統。

　　唯我公司建立的這種系統, 使醫生在病人離開醫生辦公室或醫院期間, 也能夠長期監測到病人的40 多種生理征候( 心率、呼吸率、血壓等) 。這件產品早期的市場定位是針對患有睡眠呼吸暫停癥的病人的。

　　“ 各種電線插入能記錄并儲存所有醫療數據的跳板式模塊。病人可以通過無線電的方式將信息傳送給醫生或將模塊送到實驗室。”

　　但是聽說消費者很難買到這種產品。它真正的用途是臨床醫學研究。

　　公司希望把這種“ 救命衫” 推銷給制藥公司和測試新藥品的研究中心。唯我公司夸贊自己的產品, 他們說這種產品“ 救了一名叫喬恩· 赫德的司機的命, 他在比賽中穿了這件襯衫”。

　　我相信這些產品只是冰山一角。未來, 我們將看到更多的電子產品和服裝的融合。人們將會找到新的融合方法, 從而讓我們生活得更完美。