第1452期:Is VR the new reality？

Most people associate virtual reality with the world of gaming or entertainment. 

大多数人将虚拟现实与游戏或娱乐世界联系起来。

What is all the fuss, you may wonder, about a futuristic contraption you wear on your head that makes you look like a creature from Star Wars?

你可能想知道，你头上戴的一个未来派装置让你看起来像星球大战中的生物，这有什么大惊小怪的？ 

But this emerging technology has been spreading rapidly into many other areas and could fundamentally change your life in the future.

但这项新兴技术已迅速传播到许多其他领域，并可能从根本上改变您未来的生活。 

Virtual reality, or VR, is a computer-generated technology that creates a three-dimensional digital world that you can not only see and observe, but explore and interact with it as if you are there.

虚拟现实（VR）是一种计算机生成的技术，它创建了一个 3D 数字世界，您不仅可以看到和观察，还可以像身在其中一样探索和互动。

 Once you put on the special equipment – a helmet or goggles with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors – you become immersed in the virtual world.

一旦你戴上特殊设备——头盔或内有屏幕的护目镜或装有传感器的手套——你就会沉浸在虚拟世界中。

VR now has serious applications in fields as wide-ranging as business and medicine. 

VR 现在在商业和医学等广泛领域都有重要的应用。

VR has already proved effective as a training tool as it simulates real experiences. 

VR 已被证明是一种有效的培训工具，因为它可以模拟真实体验。

One simulation programme educates young drivers about the dangers of bad driving. 

一个模拟程序教育年轻司机关于不良驾驶的危险。

Participants experience a dangerous car journey and a virtual accident. 

参与者将经历危险的汽车旅程和虚拟事故。

It is now being used to train surgeons. Connor Pierce of Samsung's IT for UK and Ireland thinks it will impinge on all walks of life: "We'll socialise via VR, we will do business via VR, we'll have VR team-meetings, we'll have VR education, museums will have virtual reality experiences…". 

它现在被用于培训外科医生。三星英国和爱尔兰 IT 部门的 Connor Pierce 认为它将影响各行各业：“我们将通过 VR 进行社交，我们将通过 VR 开展业务，我们将举行 VR 团队会议，我们将进行 VR 教育，博物馆将拥有虚拟现实体验……”。

Its benefits have been felt in the field of psychology and the treatment of mental health patients. Professor Daniel Freeman at the Warnford Hospital in Oxford uses it to treat vertigo and other anxiety disorders. 

它的好处已在心理学领域和心理健康患者的治疗中得到体现。牛津沃恩福德医院的丹尼尔弗里曼教授用它来治疗眩晕和其他焦虑症。

He explains that by exposing patients to what they fear most in a virtual environment and showing them that nothing bad happens, they can eventually overcome their panic.

他解释说，通过让患者接触他们在虚拟环境中最害怕的事情，并向他们展示没有任何不好的事情发生，他们最终可以克服恐慌。

In the world of work too, VR may change our lives dramatically. 

在工作世界中，VR 也可能极大地改变我们的生活。

Working individually at home, we can connect to our colleagues in a virtual space. 

在家中单独工作，我们可以在虚拟空间中与同事联系。

We can be at home and at the office at the same time. For the first time, we can really be in two places at once.

我们可以同时在家和办公室。第一次，我们真的可以同时在两个地方。

Some VR developers predict that the impact of VR could be as significant as the internet or mobile phones. 

一些 VR 开发者预测，VR 的影响可能与互联网或手机一样重要。

Google alone has sold 2 million cardboard VR headsets in the last two years. Is a new age of reality about to dawn?

在过去的两年里，仅谷歌就售出了 200 万部硬纸板 VR 头戴设备。一个新的现实时代即将到来吗？

词汇表

gaming 玩电子游戏
futuristic 未来的，超前的
contraption 奇怪的装置
fundamentally 根本地
computer-generated 计算机生成的
three-dimensional 三维立体的
sensor 传感器
immersed 沉浸在，深陷于
to simulate 模拟
to impinge 对……起作用，影响
vertigo 眩晕
to expose 使（某人）接触……
impact 影响
to dawn 开始