我们知道，经纬度可以准确地标识地球上的任意地点。但是，经纬度是一长串数字，在日常生活中很难使用。有人提出用3个单词来代替经纬度的数字，就有了全球性的统一“地址”。
Finding any place without an address
by Michelle Toh
Traditional addresses don't work. That's the argument of London startup what3words, which says such addresses are expensive to provide, restrictive and prone to error.
argument /ˈɑːɡjumənt/ n. 论据、论点（由argue加后缀-ment变成名词）
startup /ˈstɑːtʌp/ n. 初创公司（由start和up组成）
restrictive /rɪˈstrɪktɪv/ adj. 限制性的（由restrict加后缀-ive变成形容词）
prone /prəʊn/ adj. 易于遭受…的
error /ˈerə(r)/ n. 错误
The company's answer is to divide the world into 57 trillion squares and give them each quirky（怪诞的）, three-word addresses that what3words says can track down pretty much any place on the planet, from homes in an Indian slum to a refugee camp in Uganda to an alleyway（小巷） in Hong Kong, China.
trillion /ˈtrɪljən/ n. 万亿
track /træk/ v. 追踪
pretty much 几乎
Indian /ˈɪndiən/ adj. 印度的
slum /slʌm/ n. 贫民窟
refugee /ˌrefjuˈdʒiː/ n. 难民
Uganda /juːˈɡændə/ n. 乌干达（非洲国家）
"It's user-friendly GPS," said Giles Jones, the company's chief marketing officer. "Everybody's got a story of where location has not been good enough." Addresses "either didn't exist, they weren't accurate enough, or they were really difficult to communicate," he added.
chief /tʃiːf/ adj. 首席的
marketing /ˈmɑːkɪtɪŋ/ n. 市场营销
accurate /ˈækjurət/ adj. 准确的
communicate /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/ v. 交流、沟通
It works like this: Say you want to meet a friend at the mall, but there are multiple entrances and no easy way to explain where you are. By using the what3words mapping app, you can mark out the specific building entrance and tap on a virtual square to conjure up a random phrase fixed to that location, like "caramel.kingdom.signature". The app then lets you open up the address in another mapping provider, such as Google Maps or Apple Maps, which can direct you there.
say /seɪ/ v. 比方说
multiple /ˈmʌltɪp(ə)l/ adj. 多个
map /mæp/ v. 绘制地图
app /æp/ n. （手机上的）应用程序
mark /mɑːk/ v. 做标记
specific /spəˈsɪfɪk/ adj. 确切的、具体的
tap /tæp/ v. （用手指）轻轻点击
virtual /ˈvɜːtʃuəl/ adj. 虚拟的
conjure /ˈkʌndʒə(r)/ up 像变戏法一样使…出现
random /ˈrændəm/ adj. 不寻常的
phrase /freɪz/ n. 短语、词组
fix /fɪks/ v. 固定
provider /prəˈvaɪdə(r)/ n. 提供者（由provide加上表示人的后缀-er；这里指提供某个功能的app）
direct /dɪˈrekt/ v. 给…指路
One of the company's greatest success stories has been in Mongolia, a vast landlocked country with a vibrant（生气勃勃的） nomadic（游牧的） population. What3words has become an official addressing system there, Jones said, which means the company's three-word phrases are now used by the Mongolian postal services, its banks, taxis, Airbnb owners and even Pizza Hut.
Mongolia /mɒŋˈɡəʊliə/ n. 蒙古国
vast /vɑːst/ adj. 巨大的
landlocked /ˈlændlɒkt/ adj. 内陆的、不靠海的
official /əˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ adj. 官方的
address /əˈdres/ v. 写地址、给予地址
postal /ˈpəʊst(ə)l/ adj. 邮政的
service /ˈsɜːvɪs/ n. 服务、服务部门
Airbnb 是一家为游客提供短期租房服务的公司（Airbnb owner指房东）
Pizza Hut 必胜客（一家批萨连锁餐厅）
The app supports 36 languages, including Korean, Japanese and Mandarin. It can also operate offline, making it easier for first responders to deploy in remote locations without internet data. It's also been useful in situations where a person might not necessarily know exactly where they are.
Mandarin /ˈmænd(ə)rɪn/ n. （汉语）普通话
operate /ˈɒp(ə)reɪt/ v. 运作、运行
offline /ɒfˈlaɪn/ adj. 离线的、不连网的
first responder 指发生紧急情况时最早到达现场的救援者（比如警察、消防队员、医护人员等）
deploy /dɪˈplɔɪ/ v. 部署
remote /rɪˈməʊt/ adj. 遥远的、偏远的
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据（这里指数据服务、流量服务）
not necessarily /ˈnesəserɪli/ 不一定
Police in northern England said that they once used the app to rescue a kidnapping victim. "We asked her to download the app and give us her three-word location," said Paul Redshaw, a supervisor at Humberside Police. "This meant that we could identify which building she was in and officers were sent to her aid immediately."
rescue /ˈreskjuː/ v. 营救
kidnap /ˈkɪdnæp/ v. 绑架
victim /ˈvɪktɪm/ n. 受害者
supervisor /ˈsuːpəvaɪzə(r)/ n. 主管
identify /aɪˈdentɪfaɪ/ v. 识别
aid /eɪd/ n. 帮助、援助
Two of what3words' investors are logistics（物流） firms. Germany's DB Schenker and the UAE's Aramex are using the startup's technology in their systems to help delivery workers know exactly where they're going, a way to save time.
investor /ɪnˈvestə(r)/ n. 投资者（由invest加上表示人的后缀-or）
UAE 阿联酋（西亚国家）
delivery /dɪˈlɪv(ə)ri/ n. 投递、送货
Other partners are using it to showcase（展示） new features on their platforms. German automaker Daimler, another what3words backer, has adopted it in some of its cars' navigation（导航） systems, letting passengers input three-word addresses by voice.
feature /ˈfiːtʃə(r)/ n. 特点
platform /ˈplætfɔːm/ n. 平台
automaker /ˈɔːtəʊˌmeɪkə(r)/ n. 汽车制造商
backer /ˈbækə(r)/ n. 支持者
adopt /əˈdɒpt/ v. 采纳、采用
input /ˈɪnpʊt/ v. 输入
In five years, the company wants to be accepted as the global standard. "So you see the three slashes on a building, on a business card, in a search engine, and you go, 'That's an address,'" said Jones.
global /ˈɡləʊb(ə)l/ adj. 全球的
standard /ˈstændəd/ n. 标准
slash /slæʃ/ n. 斜杠（在表示地址的3个单词之前有3个斜杠做为标记）
business card 名片
（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。）
网友评论