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Recording Two
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With the use of driver-less vehicles seemingly inevitable, mining companies in the vast Australian desert state of Western Australia are definitely taking the lead.
随着无人驾驶汽车的使用似乎变得不可避免，位于澳大利亚西部的广阔沙漠州的矿业公司无疑走在了前面。
Iron ore is a key ingredient in steel-making.
铁矿石是炼钢的关键原料。
The mining companies here produce almost 300 million tons of iron ore a year.
这里的矿业公司每年生产近3亿吨铁矿石。
The 240 giant autonomous trucks in use, in the Western Australian mines, can weigh 400 tons, fully loaded.
在西澳大利亚的采矿中使用的240辆巨型自动驾驶卡车，满载时可重达400吨。
And travel at speeds of up to sixty kilometers per hour.
并且时速可达60公里。
They are a technological leap, transporting iron ore along routes which run for hundreds of kilometers from mines to their destinations.
这是一项技术飞跃，将铁矿石从矿山运送到目的地的路程长达数百公里。
Here when the truck arrives at its destination, staff in the operation center direct it precisely where to unload.
在这里，当卡车到达目的地后，操作中心的工作人员会精确地指示它在哪里卸货。
Vast quantities of iron ore are then transported by autonomous trains to ocean ports.
就这样，大量铁矿石通过自动列车运输到海港。
Advocates argue these automated vehicles will change mining forever.
支持者认为，这些自动化车辆将从此改变采矿业。
It may only be five years before the use of automation technology leads to a fully robotic mine.
可能只需要5年的时间就能从自动化技术的应用走向全机器人采矿。
A range of factors has pushed Western Australia's desert region to the lead of this automation revolution.
一系列因素将西澳大利亚沙漠地区推向了自动化革命的前沿。
These include the huge size of the mines, the scale of equipment and the repetitive nature of some of the work.
这些因素包括巨大的矿石体量、设备的规模以及某些工作的重复性。
Then there's the area's remoteness, at 502,000 square kilometers.
此外，该地区地处偏远，面积为50.2万平方公里。
It can sometimes make recruiting staff a challenge.
这有时会使招聘员工变得很困难。
Another consideration is the risks when humans interact with large machinery.
另一个需要考虑的问题是人类与大型机器交互时的风险。
There are also the financial imperatives.
此外，还有财务上的必要性。
The ongoing push by the mining corporations to be more productive and more efficient is another powerful driver in embracing automation technology.
矿业公司为提高生产效率而持续推动是自动化技术发展的另一个强大驱动力。
The concept of a fully autonomous mind is a bit of a misleading term, however.
然而，全自动的概念有点误导性。
This is because the more technology is put into the field, the more people are needed to deploy, maintain and improve it.
这是因为投入到该领域的技术越多，就需要越多的人来部署、维护和改进它。
The automation and digitization of the industry is creating a need for different jobs.
行业的自动化和数字化创造了对不同工作岗位的需求。
These include data scientists and engineers in automation and artificial intelligence.
包括自动化和人工智能领域的数据科学家和工程师。
The mining companies claim automation and robotics present opportunities to make mining more sustainable and safer.
矿业公司声称自动化和机器人技术为矿业的可持续发展和安全提供了机会。
Employees will be offered a career that is even more fulfilling and more rewarding.
员工将获得一份更有成就感、回报更高的职业。
Workers' union have accepted the inevitability of the introduction of new technology.
工会已经接受引进新技术是必然的。
But they still have reservations about the rise of automation technology.
但他们对自动化技术的崛起仍持保留态度。
Their main concern is the potential impact on remote communities.
他们主要担心的是对偏远社区的潜在影响。
As automation spreads further, the question is how these remote communities will survive when the old jobs are eliminated?
问题在于，随着自动化的进一步普及，旧的工作岗位消失，这些偏远的社区将如何生存？
And this may well prove to be the most significant impact of robotic technology in many places around the world.
这很可能被证明是机器人技术在世界许多地方产生的最重要的影响。
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
问题19到21基于刚才你所听到的那段录音。
Q19: What does the passage say about the mining industry in Western Australia?
问题19:关于西澳大利亚的采矿业，这篇文章说了什么?
Q20: What is the impact of the digitization of the mining industry?
问题20:采矿业数字化的影响是什么?
Q21: What is the attitude of workers' union towards the introduction of new technology?
问题21:工会对新技术的引进持什么态度?
