動物溝通 ANIMAL COMMUNICATION
新科技也許能助我們與動物對話交流 New technology may help us talk to animals
很多飼主都渴望與自己的寵物說話。 畢竟，如果寵物能說話，照顧起來會比較容易，也能建立比較緊密的情感連結。 因此，不少企業公司都著手研發能夠解譯動物內心想法的裝置及應用程式。 其中一個這樣的應用程式，就是「喵說」；「喵說」利用語音辨識軟體，能辨識貓發出的不同聲音，並且提供那些聲音的對應英語翻譯。 舉例來說，一種聲音可能意指「餵我」，而另一種聲音可能譯為「讓我出去」。 這個應用程式能利用機器學習進行翻譯，從而對特定貓咪的叫聲改善其辨識成果。 換句話說，該應用程式能夠專精於理解你的貓咪。 這點很重要，因為不是所有貓都使用相同的語言，而且個別貓咪經常會使用特定的聲音代表特定意思。 未來，「喵說」可能會與一款智慧項圈連線，這種項圈能夠辨識貓叫聲並播放出翻譯結果。 貓如果在外面需要有人開門讓牠進來，項圈甚至還能夠向飼主的手機發送通知提醒。
Many pet owners aspire to talk with their animals. After all, if pets were able to talk, people could take care of them more easily and have closer emotional connections to them. So a number of companies are working on devices and apps that could decipher what animals have to say.
One such app is called MeowTalk. Using voice recognition software, this app identifies different sounds a cat makes and offers English translations of them. For example, one type of sound might mean "feed me" while another could be translated "let me outside."
The app can use machine learning to assess its translations and improve at identifying one particular cat's vocalizations. In other words, it can specialize in understanding your cat in particular. This is important because cats do not all have a shared language, but individual cats frequently use particular sounds to mean certain things. In the future, Meow Talk could connect to a smart collar that would hear the cat meow and play the translation out loud.
Perhaps if the cat is outside and needs to be let in, it could even send notifications to the owner's phone.
aspire （v.）渴望；有志於．．．
Everyone in that village aspires to get out of poverty. 渴望脫離貧窮
Hillary Clinton aspired to be the first woman president of the United States. 有志於
Victoria aspires to go to art school in Paris.
decipher （v.）破解密碼；辨認潦草的字跡
Harold found it very difficult to decipher the letter because of Bill’s terrible handwriting. 辨讀
decipher （v.）解讀
It is hard to decipher what Sally means to do after she leaves this job.
The kids couldn’t decipher how their father felt about what they had just done.
Dr. Dolittle 怪醫杜立德
after all
emotional connection/ tie/ attachment
to work on ＋（n.）
whisperer
cat whisperer
dog whisperer
很會安撫人情緒的人
Aunt Lily is such a baby whisperer.
assess （v.）評量；評估
The study assesses the effect cellphones have on young children. 評估手機對兒童的影響
Sean’s home was assessed at US$500,000.
assessment （n.）
All new students are given an assessment test to see what grade they should be in.
let in （ph v.）讓某人進來
Paul always lets in his dog when it is raining.
They opened the windows and let in some fresh air.
let in for something 使陷入某事
When she agreed to help with the project, Joan didn’t realize how much work she had let herself in for.
particular vs. in particular
to be particular about ＋（n.）
chirp唧唧喳喳
Baby chickens.
croak
Frogs and toads, they croak.
roar
screech
bird, eagle
neigh
horse
