中國網(wǎng)站品牌欄目（頻道）
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 A woman wearing a helmet walks through traffic chaos as people are forced to walk home between grid locked vehicles in central Tokyo after an earthquake off the coast of northern Japan March 11, 2011. |
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In what has become a too-familiar experience in Tokyo, a crowded subway train screeches to a sudden halt. From around the car, mobile phones start to ring. The sound is an emergency earthquake warning from an iPhone app that lets subscribers know when the quake will come, where the epicenter will be located and how strong the shaking will be. Often, seconds after the phone rings, the shaking starts. Following the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which have left nearly 28,000 dead and missing, Japan has been hit by hundreds of aftershocks of varying strengths. The app called Yure Kuru, or shaking coming, was developed by RC Solution Co, a Tokyo-based firm that specializes in providing disaster-related information services, such as relaying warnings or letting people confirm the safety of friends and family. "Emergency quake warnings began several years ago, but the equipment to receive them was quite expensive," said Akira Kuriyama, president of RC Solution. "We wondered if there wasn't a cheaper and easier way to provide this service, and we thought of smartphones." The app, based on technology originally developed by Japan's Meteorological Agency and railway firms, was released in November 2010. When the alarm is triggered, a window comes up on the phone screen saying that in approximately 10 seconds, there will be a quake of a certain strength. Users can decide for themselves at what strength of quake the phone will ring. Prior to March 11, there were 100,000 subscribers, Kuriyama said. But now there are at least 1.5 million, and the company has stopped counting. The app is symbolized by a cartoon catfish, which, according to Japanese folk belief, are said to warn of quakes. "We're very happy to be of service," Kuriyama said. "Among other things, there still isn't a lot of understanding about the quake warning. If our app helps more people learn about this, and increases their safety, we'll be pleased." (Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
乘坐擁擠的地鐵時發(fā)生地震在東京是再尋常不過的事情了。在地鐵急剎車時，車廂內(nèi)各個角落的手機(jī)開始響起來。 這一響聲是iPhone的一款應(yīng)用程序發(fā)出的緊急地震警報，讓用戶知道地震何時會來臨，震中在哪個位置，以及地震強(qiáng)度有多大。通常，手機(jī)響后幾秒鐘，地震就會開始。 在3月11日發(fā)生強(qiáng)震和海嘯之后，日本已發(fā)生數(shù)百次強(qiáng)度各異的余震。這次強(qiáng)震和海嘯已導(dǎo)致近2.8萬人死亡或失蹤。 這款應(yīng)用程序名為Yure Kuru（地震來了），是由一家專門提供災(zāi)害信息服務(wù)的日本公司RC Solution研發(fā)的。該公司提供轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)警報或幫助確認(rèn)親友的安全等服務(wù)。 RC Solution的總裁栗山明說：“緊急地震警報在幾年前就有了，但是接收警報的設(shè)備相當(dāng)昂貴?！?/p> “我們想知道是否有更廉價、更容易的方式來提供這一服務(wù)，于是我們想到了智能手機(jī)。” 這一應(yīng)用程序基于日本氣象廳和鐵路公司研發(fā)的技術(shù)，于2010年11月發(fā)布。 在警報響起時，手機(jī)屏幕上會彈出一個窗口，上面的文字顯示說，大約在10秒后，會發(fā)生一定級別強(qiáng)度的地震。用戶可以自行設(shè)定在發(fā)生何種強(qiáng)度的地震時手機(jī)會響起。 栗山說，在3月11日前，用戶數(shù)為10萬，而現(xiàn)在至少有150萬用戶。由于用戶太多，公司已經(jīng)停止計算用戶數(shù)。 這一應(yīng)用程序的標(biāo)志是一條卡通鯰魚。據(jù)日本民間的說法，鯰魚可以預(yù)報地震。 栗山說：“我們很高興能對大家有所幫助。另外，人們在地震預(yù)警方面了解得并不多。如果我們的應(yīng)用程序能夠讓更多的人對此有所了解，并讓人們更安全，我們會很高興。” 相關(guān)閱讀 （中國日報網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 陳丹妮 編輯：許雅寧） |
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Vocabulary: epicenter: the point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake（震中） catfish: a large fish with long stiff hairs, like a cat's whiskers, around its mouth. There are several types of catfish, most of which are freshwater fish. 鯰魚，鲇魚（多為淡水魚） be of service (to somebody): （對某人）有用，有幫助 |
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