2017考研英語閱讀精選：iPhone7或支持LiFi技術

考研英語來源：新東方網整理 2016-01-26　

iPhone 7 could include cutting-edge ’LiFi’ technology that is 100 times faster than WiFi

干掉WiFi?iPhone 7 或支持LiFi技術

Apple’s future iPhones could include a cutting-edge technology that is capable of transmitting information at 100 times the speed of WiFi.

未來的蘋果手機有可能支持尖端技術LiFi, 其數據傳輸速率可高達WiFi的100倍。

Developer Chase Fromm made the discovery while browsing a section of code for Apple’s iOS 9.1 update, which began rolling out to iPhone users in October 2015.

Chase Fromm是一個開發者，他在瀏覽蘋果公司2015年10月向用戶推出的iOS 9.1 的軟件升級代碼時無意中發現了有趣的事情。

Buried in the code was a reference to "LiFiCapability", suggesting that future versions of the iPhone will support LiFi - a technology that uses light to transmit data through the air rather than radio waves.

這些代碼中有"LiFiCapability (LiFi 兼容)" 字樣，這暗示未來的蘋果手機或支持LiFi，這項技術用可見光取代無線電波在空氣中進行數據的傳輸。

While traditional Wi-Fi is capable of transmitting data at around 7 gigabits per second (Gbps), tests show that LiFi can transfer information at 100 Gbps, and could theoretically reach speeds of 224Gbps.

傳統WiFi網絡的傳輸速率大概為7Gbps，而測試數據表明LiFi的傳輸速率可達100Gbps，而且理論上可實現224Gbps。

This means that high-definition films could be downloaded to an iPhone over a LiFi connection in a matter of seconds.

這意味著我們用LiFi網絡把一部高清電影下載到手機中只需要幾秒鐘。

Although Fromm suggests that LiFi could feature in the iPhone 7, this is unlikely, given that it is still in the early stages of development. Researchers expect it to be ready for commercial use by the end of the decade.

雖然Fromm猜測iPhone 7 將支持LiFi 技術，但是目前這項技術實現起來還是相當困難的，因為它仍處于發展初期。研究者稱該技術有望在2020年前投入商業用途。

The biggest drawback to the technology is that it cannot travel through walls, because it requires a direct line of sight between the transmitter and the user’s device.

這項技術最大的缺點是不能穿透墻壁，因為它要求發射器和用戶設備可以通過直線連接。

The device also need to be within a three metre radius of the transmitter to pick up the signal.

另外，設備只有在距離發射器三米的半徑范圍內才能接收到信號。

Researchers at universities including Strathclyde, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Cambridge are all currently working to make LiFi more practical and accessible to electronics companies like Apple.

目前，斯特拉斯克萊德大學、愛丁堡大學、圣安德魯斯大學和劍橋大學的研究者們正在研究如何提高LiFi技術的實用性和對蘋果等電子產品公司的可接入性。

Light is already used to transmit data across fibre optic networks at high speed. These work by guiding the light along glass tubes so that no information is lost along the way.

光的數據傳輸已在光纖網絡中得以實現，且速率很高。在該項技術中，光在玻璃制成的纖維管中傳輸，可以避免信息丟失。

However, transmitting information by beaming light through the air is more difficult, because there are no tubes to guide the signal to where it needs to go.

然而，在空氣中實現光的數據傳輸相對困難，因為沒有纖維管來控制它的傳輸方向。