双语体育新闻：虚拟生活教练来电话了

虚拟生活教练来电话了

　　Get up! No stalling! Virtual life coach is calling

　　起床！别磨蹭！虚拟生活教练来电话了

　　(2006-2007学年第34期)

　　By Jessica McGovern 刘颖 译

　　{1}LONDON (Reuters) — Better study habits, weight loss and the iron discipline to train for the marathon could be yours for the price of a few messages over your cell phone.

　　{2}A German research institute is working on a virtual life coach which sends messages to your cell phone to help you achieve your goals at a fraction of the cost of the real thing.

　　{3}The “eCoach,” which is under development by the Fraunhofer Institute for Communications Systems in Munich, can be designed to wake you with a happy song and an inspirational message.

　　{4}“What a wonderful morning! It’s time to put on your running shoes and go for a jog around the park,” is a typical message example on the Fraunhofer Web site.

　　{5}Fraunhofer Institute spokeswoman Susanne Baumer said that the “eCoach” can be tailored to meet the goals of individuals or the needs of organizations.

　　{6}“For example, if I am a university and I want to help my final years (students) to study for their exams, then the messages could be something like...‘60 percent of your fellow students have already read chapter 74. You have not.’”

　　{7}She said the system will be programmed to react to the user’s progress. If they fall behind on their goals, more motivation will be sent.

　　{8}This means that the system relies on the honesty of the user about their progress but Baumer says that’s not a worry.

　　{9}“I don’t think that’s really a problem because the person who uses this system wants to learn something, and so it is like betraying yourself,” she said.

　　{10}The system can also be a useful tool for motivating individuals in a group because it allows group members to send each other wake-up calls and multi-media messages like a film of a member achieving a goal, Baumer said.

　　{11}“It’s important because with eLearning, the problem is not with understanding the material, but getting the motivation to work on it.”

　　参考译文:

　　{1}(路透社)伦敦消息：只需花费几条短信的价钱，你就会获得良好的学习习惯，实现减肥，完成马拉松赛跑的严酷训练。

　　{2}德国一家研究机构正在研制一种虚拟生活教练，该教练给你的手机发送信息，帮助你实现目标，而花费仅是真实教练费用的一小部分。

　　{3}位于德国慕尼黑的弗劳恩霍夫通讯系统研究所正在研制这种“电子教练”。经设计，“电子教练”可以用一首欢快的歌曲和一条鼓舞人心的短信将你唤醒。

　　{4}“多么美妙的早晨啊！该穿上跑鞋绕着公园慢跑了，”这是弗劳恩霍夫网站一条典型的短信范例。

　　{5}弗劳恩霍夫研究所的发言人苏珊•鲍默说，“电子教练”可以量身定做，以适合个人目标或 满足团体机构的需求。

　　{6}“举个例子说，如果我是一所大学，我想帮助毕业班的(学生们)复习备考，那么短信会是……‘60%的同学都已经读完第74章了，而你还没有完成。’”

　　{7}她说，经编程设计，系统将会根据使用者的进度作出反应，如果他们没有实现目标，系统将会发出更多的鼓励。

　　{8}这就是说，该系统依赖于使用者是否诚实地汇报自己的进展情况，鲍默说，这一点并不令人担忧。

　　{9}她说：“我认为这不会真正构成问题，因为使用这一系统的人想要学到东西，如果对系统不诚实就等于背叛自己。”

　　{10}该系统也是激励团体成员的有效工具，因为系统允许团员之间互相打电话催促起床，发送某成员实现目标的影片等多媒体信息。

　　{11} “这是非常重要的，因为使用电子学习系统，问题不在于弄懂学习材料，而在于获得学习动力。”