有些人本来能说话，但是因为疾病丧失了说话的能力，这就严重影响了他们的生活。现在科学家研究出了让他们重新说话的方法。
Mind-reading device helps patients speak again
by Sarah Knapton
A 'mind-reading' brain implant which decodes what a person is trying to say and plays it back through a computer has been created by scientists in a breakthrough which could help stroke victims to speak again.
implant /ˈɪmplɑːnt/ n. 植入人体的东西（比如器官、心脏支架等）
decode /diːˈkəʊd/ v. 解码
breakthrough /ˈbreɪkθruː/ n. 突破（由break和through组成）
stroke /strəʊk/ n. 中风
victim /ˈvɪktɪm/ n. 受害者
Many diseases and conditions leave patients unable to control the muscles which form words, but researchers realised that those muscles are still sending messages to the brain when a paralysed person tries to speak.
condition /kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 疾病
muscle /ˈmʌs(ə)l/ n. 肌肉
form /fɔːm/ v. 形成
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
paralysed /ˈpær(ə)laɪzd/ adj. 瘫痪的（这里指说话用的肌肉瘫痪了）
The team at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) decoded those brain signals, working out which tiny pulses from the larynx, lips, jaw and tongue corresponded to which sounds. They then recreated the vocal tract of a patient inside a computer and when they sent the brain signals to the virtual muscles they formed words and sentences, generating natural sounding synthetic speech.
California /ˌkælɪˈfɔːniə/ n. 加利福尼亚州（美国西部的州）
signal /ˈsɪɡn(ə)l/ n. 信号
work out 算出、求出
tiny /ˈtaɪni/ adj. 微小的
pulse /pʌls/ n. 脉冲（这里指由神经传导的脉冲信号）
larynx /ˈlærɪŋks/ n. 喉、咽喉
jaw /dʒɔː/ n. 下巴
tongue /tʌŋ/ n. 舌头
correspond /ˌkɒrɪˈspɒnd/ v. 对应
recreate /ˌriːkriˈeɪt/ v. 重建、再造（由create加上表示再次的前缀re-）
vocal /ˈvəʊk(ə)l/ adj. 声音的
tract /trækt/ n. （人体内的）腔道（vocal tract就是声道）
virtual /ˈvɜːtʃuəl/ adj. 虚拟的
generate /ˈdʒenəreɪt/ v. 产生
synthetic /sɪnˈθetɪk/ adj. 人造的
speech /spiːtʃ/ n. 话、说话
The new device could allow people with a disability to speak in real time at the speed of normal speech. "For the first time, this study demonstrates that we can generate entire spoken sentences based on an individual's brain activity," said Edward Chang, Professor of Neurological（神经的） Surgery at UCSF.
device /dɪˈvaɪs/ n. 设备
disability /ˌdɪsəˈbɪləti/ n. 残疾、失能
real time 实时
demonstrate /ˈdemənstreɪt/ v. 展示、演示
entire /ɪnˈtaɪə(r)/ adj. 完整的
based on 基于
individual /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl/ n. 个人、个体
activity /ækˈtɪvəti/ n. 活动
surgery /ˈsɜːdʒ(ə)ri/ n. 外科手术
Previous attempts to turn thoughts into synthesised（合成的） speech have faltered because the brain regions that control speech do not represent sounds, but rather the instructions needed to coordinate the movements of the vocal tract. The researchers realised that an extra step was needed, and a virtual vocal tract necessary to translate the signals correctly.
attempt /əˈtempt/ n. 尝试
turn A into B 把A变成B
falter /ˈfɒltə(r)/ v. 陷入低谷、停滞不前
represent /ˌreprɪˈzent/ v. 代表
instruction /ɪnˈstrʌkʃ(ə)n/ n. 命令、指令
coordinate /kəʊˈɔːdɪneɪt/ v. 协调
movement /ˈmuːvmənt/ n. 移动、动作（由move加后缀-ment变成名词）
step /step/ n. 步骤
translate /trænsˈleɪt/ v. 转换、转变
For the study five volunteers who already had electrodes implanted in their brains for other research were asked to read out loud hundreds of sentences from children's stories such as Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland.
volunteer /ˌvɒlənˈtɪə(r)/ n. 志愿者
electrode /ɪˈlektrəʊd/ n. 电极
implant /ɪmˈplɑːnt/ v. 把…植入人体（注意它做动词和名词时发音不同）
read out 朗读
Sleeping Beauty 睡美人
Alice in Wonderland 爱丽丝漫游仙境
Based on the audio recordings of participants' voices, the researchers reverse engineered the vocal tract movements needed to produce those sounds, such as pressing the lips together, tightening vocal cords or shifting the tip of the tongue to the roof of the mouth.
audio /ˈɔːdiəʊ/ adj. 声音的
participant /pɑːˈtɪsɪp(ə)nt/ n. 参与者
reverse /rɪˈvɜːs/ engineer 反向工程（指通过拆解分析已有产品，获得其技术信息）
tighten /ˈtaɪt(ə)n/ v. 拉紧、绷紧（由tight加后缀-en变成动词）
cord /kɔːd/ n. 线、绳（vocal cord就是声带）
shift /ʃɪft/ v. 移动、转移
tip /tɪp/ n. 尖、末端
They were then able to create a realistic virtual vocal tract for each participant that could decode their own brain activity and create synthetic speech from their thoughts which were understandable to hundreds of human listeners in transcription tests.
realistic /rɪəˈlɪstɪk/ adj. 逼真的
understandable /ˌʌndəˈstændəb(ə)l/ adj. 可以理解的（由understand加后缀-able变成形容词）
listener /ˈlɪs(ə)nə(r)/ n. 听者、听众（由listen加上表示人的后缀-er）
transcription /trænˈskrɪpʃ(ə)n/ n. 写下来
Josh Chartier, a bioengineering graduate student in Prof Chang's lab added: "The levels of accuracy we produced here would be an amazing improvement in real-time communication compared to what's currently available."
bioengineering /ˌbaɪəʊendʒɪˈnɪərɪŋ/ n. 生物工程（由engineering加上表示生物的前缀bio-）
graduate /ˈɡrædʒuət/ n. 大学毕业生（graduate student就是研究生）
level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 水平、程度
accuracy /ˈækjurəsi/ n. 准确
communication /kəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 交流、沟通
currently /ˈkʌr(ə)ntli/ adv. 现在、目前（由current加后缀-ly变成副词）
The researchers believe the device may not only restore communication to individuals with severe speech disability but even reproduce some of the musicality of the human voice that conveys the speaker's emotions and personality.
restore /rɪˈstɔː(r)/ v. 恢复
severe /sɪˈvɪə(r)/ adj. 严重的
reproduce /ˌriːprəˈdjuːs/ v. 复制（由produce加上表示再次的前缀re-）
musicality /ˌmjuːzɪˈkæləti/ n. 音乐才能
convey /kənˈveɪ/ v. 传达、表达
speaker /ˈspiːkə(r)/ n. 说话的人（由speak加上表示人的后缀-er）
emotion /ɪˈməʊʃ(ə)n/ n. 情绪、情感
personality /ˌpɜːsəˈnæləti/ n. 个性、性格
（如果您发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，请把您使用的浏览器升级到最新版本就能正常显示了。）
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