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S01EP08 我们日常用的电脑键盘为什么是这样排列的？
Why the Computer Keyboard is not Arranged in Alphabetical Order
Intro:
Welcome to daily fun facts where we discuss fun facts about this crazy world. Use these newfound facts to break the ice and start an interesting conversation. Happy learning everyone!
Dialogue:
Andrea: What’s up, Brie? You seem stressed out.
Brie: Ugh, I sure am. I totally forgot that I had a final essay due next week, and now I’m trailing far behind. I have a minimum of 10,000 words to type in order to meet just one of the requirements.
Andrea: Sorry to hear that, Brie, I guess you’ll just have to increase the speed of your typing to be able to make your deadline on-time.
Brie: I wish it was that easy.
Andrea: Here’s a fun fact about typing that might cheer you up! Have you ever wondered why the computer keyboard is not laid out in alphabetical order?
Brie: I know it’s in the QWERTY layout. I’m guessing the reason is because that layout makes it easier and more efficient for us to type.
Andrea: Mmm, that’s debatable. The keyboard layout that we recognize today, called the QWERTY keyboard, was designed in the US in the late 1860s. At the time of its invention, typewriters were in popular use. Unfortunately, if a typist typed too quickly on these early typewriters, they would jam up. So, some historians claim the QWERTY keyboard was designed to find a solution to the mechanical failures of these early typewriters. The inventor, they say, intentionally spaced commonly used letters in hard to reach places to make typers less efficient typists.
Brie: 你是说早在19世纪60年代， 当打字机还相当流行的时候，由于打字员的打字速度相对于当时打字机能够处理文字的速度太快，打字机经常出现机械卡壳的问题。为了解决这个问题，QWERTY 键盘就应运而生了。 键盘设计师巧妙地将常用字母排布在了相隔较远的地方，从而达到减缓打字员打字速度的目的。That’s indeed a fun fact. Technologies are generally designed to make human tasks easier to perform and more efficient, but that’s not the case for the keyboard.
Andrea: Well, not all historians agree with that explanation of how the QWERTY keyboard design came about. In 2011, researchers at Kyoto University argued just the opposite -- that the typist came before the keyboard. They claim that the first users of the QWERTY keyboard were telegraph operators who needed to quickly translate the sound signals of Morse Code into the English alphabet. The telegraph operators found it very inefficient to translate using a keyboard design that was in alphabetical order.
Brie: 哦， 原来QWERTY键盘的设计初衷还有另外一个解释，就是为了帮助电报员更有效地翻译莫尔斯电码！电报员发现,要在按照字母顺序排列的键盘上,高效地翻译实时电码很困难。
Andrea: Yes, but what’s not debatable is why this keyboard design is still popular today. The inventor of the keyboard worked with a gun making company to introduce the keyboard design to the masses. They provided special training courses that taught a lot of people how to use their product. They want to get their buyers hooked!
Brie: So, that’s the key reason as to why I’m stuck typing out my essay on this inefficient QWERTY keyboard!
Andrea: Yes, although better keyboard designs have since been invented that might increase your typing speed, that’s the key to your typing misery!
Close:
So, everyone, there’s your fun fact of the day! Let’s go over some of the vocabulary and phrases from this dialogue.
Vocabulary:
Ugh /ʌg/ 啊！
Essay /ˈɛs eɪ/ 论文/短文
Requirement /rɪˈkwaɪər mənt/ 要求
Alphabetical Order /ˌæl fəˈbɛt ɪ kəl ˈɔr dər/ 字母顺序
Debatable /dɪˈbeɪ tə bəl / 有争议的
Typewriters / ˈtaɪpˌraɪ tərs/ 打字机
Typists /ˈtaɪ pɪsts/ 打字员
Telegraph /ˈtɛl ɪˌgræf/ 电报
Morse Code /mɔrs koʊd/ 莫尔斯电码
Masses /(ˈmæsɪz)/ 群众/大众
Hooked /hʊkt / 上瘾的
Misery /ˈmɪz ə ri / 苦难/苦痛
Phrases:
Stressed out 压力过大的，过于劳累的
Trailing far behind 远远落后
Cheer you up 让你高兴起来
Jam up 阻塞
That’s the key 那是主要原因
Alright, join us next time for another fun fact to help break the ice! 好了，这就是我们今天的有趣常识分享，如果喜欢我们的话，请别忘了点击订阅支持我们！如果有什么疑问，想法，或者建议，请给我们多多留言，多多赐教，我们会在第一时间给你答复！拜拜，咱们下期再见！
Photo Credit: Clint Patterson on Unsplash
Background Music Credit:
Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/LightsSappheiros
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/-lbbHQbZNKg
View all episodes
By AnnanovaWhy the Computer Keyboard is not Arranged in Alphabetical Order
Intro:
Welcome to daily fun facts where we discuss fun facts about this crazy world. Use these newfound facts to break the ice and start an interesting conversation. Happy learning everyone!
Dialogue:
Andrea: What’s up, Brie? You seem stressed out.
Brie: Ugh, I sure am. I totally forgot that I had a final essay due next week, and now I’m trailing far behind. I have a minimum of 10,000 words to type in order to meet just one of the requirements.
Andrea: Sorry to hear that, Brie, I guess you’ll just have to increase the speed of your typing to be able to make your deadline on-time.
Brie: I wish it was that easy.
Andrea: Here’s a fun fact about typing that might cheer you up! Have you ever wondered why the computer keyboard is not laid out in alphabetical order?
Brie: I know it’s in the QWERTY layout. I’m guessing the reason is because that layout makes it easier and more efficient for us to type.
Andrea: Mmm, that’s debatable. The keyboard layout that we recognize today, called the QWERTY keyboard, was designed in the US in the late 1860s. At the time of its invention, typewriters were in popular use. Unfortunately, if a typist typed too quickly on these early typewriters, they would jam up. So, some historians claim the QWERTY keyboard was designed to find a solution to the mechanical failures of these early typewriters. The inventor, they say, intentionally spaced commonly used letters in hard to reach places to make typers less efficient typists.
Brie: 你是说早在19世纪60年代， 当打字机还相当流行的时候，由于打字员的打字速度相对于当时打字机能够处理文字的速度太快，打字机经常出现机械卡壳的问题。为了解决这个问题，QWERTY 键盘就应运而生了。 键盘设计师巧妙地将常用字母排布在了相隔较远的地方，从而达到减缓打字员打字速度的目的。That’s indeed a fun fact. Technologies are generally designed to make human tasks easier to perform and more efficient, but that’s not the case for the keyboard.
Andrea: Well, not all historians agree with that explanation of how the QWERTY keyboard design came about. In 2011, researchers at Kyoto University argued just the opposite -- that the typist came before the keyboard. They claim that the first users of the QWERTY keyboard were telegraph operators who needed to quickly translate the sound signals of Morse Code into the English alphabet. The telegraph operators found it very inefficient to translate using a keyboard design that was in alphabetical order.
Brie: 哦， 原来QWERTY键盘的设计初衷还有另外一个解释，就是为了帮助电报员更有效地翻译莫尔斯电码！电报员发现,要在按照字母顺序排列的键盘上,高效地翻译实时电码很困难。
Andrea: Yes, but what’s not debatable is why this keyboard design is still popular today. The inventor of the keyboard worked with a gun making company to introduce the keyboard design to the masses. They provided special training courses that taught a lot of people how to use their product. They want to get their buyers hooked!
Brie: So, that’s the key reason as to why I’m stuck typing out my essay on this inefficient QWERTY keyboard!
Andrea: Yes, although better keyboard designs have since been invented that might increase your typing speed, that’s the key to your typing misery!
Close:
So, everyone, there’s your fun fact of the day! Let’s go over some of the vocabulary and phrases from this dialogue.
Vocabulary:
Ugh /ʌg/ 啊！
Essay /ˈɛs eɪ/ 论文/短文
Requirement /rɪˈkwaɪər mənt/ 要求
Alphabetical Order /ˌæl fəˈbɛt ɪ kəl ˈɔr dər/ 字母顺序
Debatable /dɪˈbeɪ tə bəl / 有争议的
Typewriters / ˈtaɪpˌraɪ tərs/ 打字机
Typists /ˈtaɪ pɪsts/ 打字员
Telegraph /ˈtɛl ɪˌgræf/ 电报
Morse Code /mɔrs koʊd/ 莫尔斯电码
Masses /(ˈmæsɪz)/ 群众/大众
Hooked /hʊkt / 上瘾的
Misery /ˈmɪz ə ri / 苦难/苦痛
Phrases:
Stressed out 压力过大的，过于劳累的
Trailing far behind 远远落后
Cheer you up 让你高兴起来
Jam up 阻塞
That’s the key 那是主要原因
Alright, join us next time for another fun fact to help break the ice! 好了，这就是我们今天的有趣常识分享，如果喜欢我们的话，请别忘了点击订阅支持我们！如果有什么疑问，想法，或者建议，请给我们多多留言，多多赐教，我们会在第一时间给你答复！拜拜，咱们下期再见！
Photo Credit: Clint Patterson on Unsplash
Background Music Credit:
Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/LightsSappheiros
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/-lbbHQbZNKg