我们在镜子里能看到清晰的图像，而在墙面上只能看到一个模糊的影子。科学家已经研究出一种方法，能从墙上模糊的影子里还原出比较清晰的图像来。
Turning white walls into mirrors
by Marcus Woo
By using an ordinary digital camera and a computer to analyze a shadow that's reflected off a normal white wall, researchers can reconstruct a scene that's hidden from a camera's line of sight.
analyze /ˈæn(ə)laɪz/ v. 分析
shadow /ˈʃædəʊ/ n. 影子
reflect /rɪˈflekt/ v. 反射
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
reconstruct /ˌriːk(ə)nˈstrʌkt/ v. 重建、重构（由construct加上表示再次的前缀re-）
scene /siːn/ n. 场景、情景
line of sight 视线
The new experiment, published in Nature, is the latest in a growing effort to develop ways to see around corners – technology that could someday be useful for everything from self-driving cars and medical imaging to monitoring hazardous environments and performing military reconnaissance（侦察）.
someday /ˈsʌmdeɪ/ adv. 将来某个时候（由some和day组成）
medical /ˈmedɪk(ə)l/ adj. 医疗的
imaging /ɪˈmɪdʒɪŋ/ n. 成像、成像技术
monitor /ˈmɒnɪtə(r)/ v. 监控
hazardous /ˈhæzədəs/ adj. 有危险的、有害的
perform /pəˈfɔːm/ v. 做、执行
military /ˈmɪlɪt(ə)ri/ adj. 军事的
The way researchers are trying to see around corners is similar to how submarine crews use periscopes（潜望镜） to see above water. The difference is that instead of the periscope's mirrors, which reflect a sharp image, there's a wall that scatters light, which usually produces a diffuse（弥漫的） glow.
submarine /ˌsʌbməˈriːn/ n. 潜水艇
sharp /ʃɑːp/ adj. 清晰的
image /ˈɪmɪdʒ/ n. 图像
scatter /ˈskætə(r)/ v. 散射
glow /ɡləʊ/ n. 亮光、辉光
Ideally, you would take that scattered light, figure out where each beam came from, and reconstruct the reflected image. But like Humpty Dumpty, it's nearly impossible to put such a scattered image back together again.
ideally /aɪˈdɪəli/ adv. 理想情况下（由ideal加后缀-ly变成副词）
figure out 弄清、查明
beam /biːm/ n. 光线、光束
Humpty /ˈhʌm(p)tɪ/ Dumpty /ˈdʌm(p)ti/ 是英国儿歌中的角色，它是个拟人化的鸡蛋，从高处摔下来以后就摔碎了，不可能再拼成完好的鸡蛋了。
One trick, it turns out, is to examine the shadows the hidden object might cast. "We see shadows around us all the time," said Vivek Goyal, an electrical engineer at Boston University and a co-author of the new paper. "But we don't think about how we can extract information from those shadows."
trick /trɪk/ n. 技巧、窍门
turn out 结果是
examine /ɪɡˈzæmɪn/ v. 仔细检查
cast /kɑːst/ v. 投射
electrical engineer 电力工程师、电子工程师
co- 前缀，意思是“共同”
paper /ˈpeɪpə(r)/ n. 论文
extract /ɪkˈstrækt/ v. 提取
Goyal and colleagues used an LCD screen to display several illuminated cartoon images. They then placed a small rectangular sheet in front of the screen, casting a shadow onto a matte（亚光的） white wall. Off to the side was a digital camera, which couldn't see the LCD screen but could take pictures of the shadow on the wall.
LCD 液晶显示屏
illuminate /ɪˈluːmɪneɪt/ v. 照明、照亮
cartoon /kɑːˈtuːn/ n. 卡通（漫画或动画）
place /pleɪs/ v. 放置
rectangular /rekˈtæŋɡjulə(r)/ adj. 长方形的、矩形的
What's crucial is that the shadow isn't a complete shadow. It's a partial shadow, called a penumbra, in which some of the light from the screen reaches the wall while the rest is blocked by the rectangle.
crucial /ˈkruːʃ(ə)l/ adj. 至关重要的
partial /ˈpɑːʃ(ə)l/ adj. 部分的（由part加后缀-ial变成形容词）
block /blɒk/ v. 阻挡、挡住
rectangle /ˈrektæŋɡ(ə)l/ n. 长方形、矩形
By using a computer algorithm to analyze an image of the penumbra, the researchers could examine every pixel to see which light was blocked, which made it through, and where that light came from. The algorithm combines all that information to reconstruct the cartoon image, turning a fuzzy（模糊的） dark patch into a colorful picture close to the original.
algorithm /ˈælɡ(ə)rɪð(ə)m/ n. 算法（可以理解为一个计算机程序）
pixel /ˈpɪks(ə)l/ n. 像素
combine /kəmˈbaɪn/ v. 组合、合并
patch /pætʃ/ n. （跟周围不同的）小块区域
colorful /ˈkʌləf(ə)l/ adj. 色彩鲜艳的（由color加后缀-ful变成形容词）
original /əˈrɪdʒ(ə)n(ə)l/ n. 原件
"The results look incredible," said Gordon Wetzstein, an electrical engineer at Stanford University who was not involved in the study. "I haven't really seen full color results at this quality."
incredible /ɪnˈkredəb(ə)l/ adj. 不可思议的、极好的
Stanford University 斯坦福大学（美国名校）
quality /ˈkwɒləti/ n. 质量、品质
Researchers still have much to work out before this technique can be put into use. But the fact that we can see around corners is amazing, Wetzstein said. "I wouldn't have thought it was even possible."
work out 解决
technique /tekˈniːk/ n. 技术、工艺
put something into use 把某物投入使用
（如果您使用的是火狐浏览器，可能会发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，这是简书系统的Bug，换成Chrome或其他浏览器就能正常显示了。）
网友评论