雅思阅读材料之iPhone遥控蟑螂

It is hard to believe that a toy known as Roachbot which was introduced just earlier this year, functioning as a remote controlled cockroach (much to the chagrin of roach haters everywehre), is already on the receiving end of an “upgrade” of sorts. Japan Trust Technologies, the company realized that they ought to spice things up a bit, and have introduced a souped up version of the original Roachbot – by throwing in support for the iPhone and iPad as well.

令人难以置信的机械蟑螂玩具于今年上半年问世，遥控蟑螂看起来几乎随处可见的臭蟑螂一模一样。事实上，这已经是经过改良的新型产品。日本JTT公司（Japan Trust Technologies）认为，应该把产品做得更有趣些，所以发布了这种高速版的仿真蟑螂机器人，它支持iPhone和iPad的远程协助。

You can now download and install an exclusive app for your Apple smartphone or tablet device, where it is then attached to an infrared light, letting you use it as a controller via the touchscreen display. There is also a new feature that lets you play the role of throttling – that is, you can adjust the Roachbot’s cruising speed to hit a maximum velocity and make its movement far more realistic than ever before.

现在只要为你的苹果手机或是平板电脑下载安装一个专门的app程序，之后你的“苹果”就能变成一个触屏控制器，通过红外线控制蟑螂。控制者可将蟑螂的速度调整到值，这样会让机器蟑螂的形象地贴近真蟑螂。

A “Trim Correction Slider” also lets you make slight adjustments to the Roachbots course while going straight, doing away with the previous hard left/right turns. Not only that, it makes the entire thing looks so much more realistic. I wonder whether people will start using the Roachbot as an excuse to snag them a free meal at restaurants…

机械蟑螂根据预设的左右移动指令做前进后退动作。控制程序上还有微修正滑块，操作者也能对蟑螂的行进路线进行细微的调整。这样会让机器蟑螂看起来更像是真的。我想，也许会有人用机械蟑螂到饭店蹭白食的吧。

Prices for the new Roachbot start from $37 after conversion.

经过改良的新型遥控蟑螂售价37美元。