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Neil(尼尔)

I’m Neil.

我是尼尔。

Sam(山姆)

And I’m Sam.

我是山姆。

Neil(尼尔)

What do shopping with a credit card, finding love through internet dating and waiting for the traffic lights to change have in common?

用信用卡购物、通过网络约会寻找爱情以及等待红绿灯变化有什么共同点？

Sam(山姆)

Hmmm, they all involve computers?

嗯，它们都涉及计算机？

Neil(尼尔)

Good guess, Sam! But how exactly do those computers work? The answer is that they all use algorithms – sets of mathematical instructions which find solutions to problems.

好猜，山姆！但是这些计算机究竟是如何工作的呢？答案是，它们都使用算法 —— 找到问题解决方案的数学指令集。

Sam(山姆)

Although they are often hidden, algorithms are all around us. From mobile phone maps to home delivery pizza, they play a big part of modern life. And they’re the topic of this programme.

尽管它们经常被隐藏，但算法就在我们身边。从手机地图到送货上门的披萨，它们在现代生活中扮演着重要的角色。它们就是这个节目的主题。

Neil(尼尔)

A simple way to think of algorithms is as recipes. To make pancakes you mix flour, eggs and milk, then melt butter in a frying pan and so on. Computers do this in more a complicated way by repeating mathematical equations over and over again.

将算法视为食谱的一种简单方法。要制作煎饼，您需要混合面粉、鸡蛋和牛奶，然后在煎锅中融化黄油，依此类推。计算机通过一遍又一遍地重复数学方程式以更复杂的方式做到这一点。

Sam(山姆)

Equations are mathematical sentences showing how two things are equal. They’re similar to algorithms and the most famous scientific equation of all, Einstein’s E=MC2, can be thought of as a three-part algorithm.

方程式是数学句子，显示两件事情如何相等。它们类似于算法，最著名的科学方程，爱因斯坦的 E=MC2，可以被认为是一个由三部分组成的算法。

Neil(尼尔)

But before my brain gets squashed by all this maths, I have a quiz question for you, Sam. As you know, Einstein’s famous equation is E=MC2 - but what does the ‘E’ stand for? Is it: a) electricity? b) energy? or c) everything?

但是在我的大脑被所有这些数学压扁之前，我有一个测验问题要问你，山姆。如您所知，爱因斯坦的著名方程是 E=MC2 —— 但“E”代表什么？是：a）电吗？b） 能源？或 c） 一切？

Sam(山姆)

I’m tempted to say ‘E’ is for ‘everything’ but I reckon I know the answer: b – ‘E’ stands for ‘energy’.

我很想说“E”代表“一切”，但我想我知道答案：b – “E”代表“能量”。

Neil(尼尔)

OK, Sam, we’ll find out if you’re right later in the programme.

好的，山姆，我们会在节目的后面发现你是否正确。

Sam(山姆)

With all this talk of computers, you might think algorithms are a new idea. In fact, they’ve been around since Babylonian times, around 4,000 years ago.

说到这些关于计算机的讨论，你可能会认为算法是一个新想法。事实上，它们从大约 4,000 年前的巴比伦时代就已经存在了。

Neil(尼尔)

And their use today can be controversial. Some algorithms used in internet search engines have been accused of racial prejudice.

它们今天的使用可能会引起争议。互联网搜索引擎中使用的一些算法被指责为种族偏见。

Sam(山姆)

Ramesh Srinivasan is Professor of Information Studies at the University of California. Here’s what he said when asked what the word ‘algorithm’ actually means by BBC World Service’s programme, The Forum:

拉梅什·斯里尼瓦桑是加州大学信息研究教授。当被问及BBC世界服务节目“论坛”中“算法”一词的实际含义时，他是这样说的：

Ramesh Srinivasan(拉梅什·斯里尼瓦桑)

My understanding of the term ‘algorithm’ is that it’s not necessarily the bogyman, or its not necessarily something that is, you know, inscrutable or mysterious to all people – it’s the set of instructions that you write in some mathematical form or in some software code – so it’s the repeated set of instructions that are sequenced, that are used and applied to answer a question or resolve a problem – it’s a simple as that, actually.

我对“算法”一词的理解是，它不一定是bogyman，或者它不一定是，你知道的，对所有人来说都是难以理解或神秘的东西 —— 它是你以某种数学形式或一些软件代码编写的指令集 —— 所以它是一组重复的指令，这些指令被排序，用于回答问题或解决问题 —— 就这么简单， 实际上。

Sam(山姆)

Some think that algorithms have been controversial, but Professor Srinivasan says they are not necessarily the bogyman. The bogyman refers to something people call ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ to make other people afraid.

有些人认为算法一直存在争议，但Srinivasan教授说，算法不一定是妖怪。bogyman 指的是人们称之为“坏”或“邪恶”的东西，让其他人害怕。

Neil(尼尔)

Professor Srinivasan thinks algorithms are neither evil nor inscrutable – not showing emotions or thoughts and therefore very difficult to understand.

Srinivasan教授认为算法既不是邪恶的，也不是高深莫测的 —— 不显示情感或思想，因此很难理解。

Sam(山姆)

Still, it can be difficult to understand exactly what algorithms are, especially when there are many different types of them. So, let’s take an example.

尽管如此，仍然很难准确理解算法是什么，尤其是当算法有许多不同类型的算法时。那么，让我们举个例子。

Neil(尼尔)

It’s autumn and we want to collect all the apples from our orchard and divide them into three groups – big, medium and small. One method is to collect all the apples together and compare their sizes.

现在是秋天，我们想从果园里收集所有的苹果，并将它们分为三组 —— 大、中、小。一种方法是将所有苹果收集在一起并比较它们的大小。

Sam(山姆)

But doing this would take hours! It’s much easier to first collect the apples from only one tree - divide those into big, medium or small – and then repeat the process for the other trees, one by one.

但这样做需要几个小时！首先从一棵树上收集苹果要容易得多 —— 将它们分为大、中或小 —— 然后对其他树一个接一个地重复这个过程。

Neil(尼尔)

That’s basically what algorithms do – they find the most efficient way to get things done, or in other words, get the best results in the quickest time.

这基本上就是算法的作用 —— 它们找到最有效的方法来完成工作，或者换句话说，在最快的时间内获得最好的结果。

Sam(山姆)

Mathematics professor Ian Stewart agrees. Listen as he explains how the algorithm called ‘bubble sort’ works to BBC World Service’s programme, The Forum:

数学教授伊恩·斯图尔特对此表示赞同。听他解释被称为“气泡排序”的算法如何工作于BBC世界服务节目The Forum：

Ian Stewart(伊恩·斯图尔特)

Think of when your computer is sorting emails by date and maybe you’ve got 500 emails and it sorts them by date in a flash. Now it doesn’t use bubble sort, but it does use a sorting method and if you tried to do that by hand it would take you a very long time, whatever method you used.

想想当你的电脑按日期对电子邮件进行排序时，也许你有500封电子邮件，它会在一瞬间按日期对它们进行排序。现在它不使用气泡排序，但它确实使用排序方法，如果您尝试手动执行此操作，无论您使用哪种方法，都会花费很长时间。

Neil(尼尔)

Professor Stewart describes how algorithms sort emails. To sort is a verb meaning to group together things which share similarities.

斯图尔特教授描述了算法如何对电子邮件进行排序。排序是一个动词，意思是将具有相似性的事物组合在一起。

Sam(山姆)

Just like grouping the apples by size, sorting hundreds of emails by hand would take a long time. But using algorithms, computers do it in a flash – very quickly or suddenly.

就像按大小对苹果进行分组一样，手动对数百封电子邮件进行分类需要很长时间。但是使用算法，计算机可以在一瞬间完成 - 非常快或突然。

Neil(尼尔)

That phrase – in a flash – reminds me of how Albert Einstein came up with his famous equation, E=MC2 .

这句话 —— 一闪而过 —— 让我想起了阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦是如何提出他的著名方程的，E=MC2。

Sam(山姆)

And that reminds me of your quiz question. You asked about the ‘E’ in E=MC2 . I said it stands for ‘energy’. So, was I right?

这让我想起了你的测验问题。你问了 E=MC2 中的“E”。我说它代表“能量”。那么，我是对的吗？

Neil(尼尔)

‘Energy’ is the correct answer. Energy equals ‘M’ for mass, multiplied by the Constant ‘C’ which is the speed of light, squared.

“能量”是正确的答案。能量等于质量的“M”乘以常数“C”，即光速的平方。

Sam(山姆)

OK, let’s recap the vocabulary from this programme, starting with equation – a mathematical statement using symbols to show two equal things.

好的，让我们回顾一下这个节目的词汇，从方程式开始 —— 一个使用符号来表示两个相等事物的数学语句。

Neil(尼尔)

If something is called a bogyman, it’s something considered bad and to be feared.

如果某物被称为妖怪，那么它就被认为是坏的，值得恐惧的。

Sam(山姆)

Inscrutable people don’t show their emotions so are very difficult to get to know.

高深莫测的人不会表现出自己的情绪，所以很难了解。

Neil(尼尔)

Efficient means working quickly and effectively in an organised way.

高效意味着以有组织的方式快速有效地工作。

Sam(山姆)

The verb to sort means to group together things which share similarities.

排序动词的意思是将具有相似性的事物组合在一起。

Neil(尼尔)

And finally, if something happens in a flash, it happens quickly or suddenly.

最后，如果某件事在一瞬间发生，它会迅速或突然地发生。

Sam(山姆)

That’s all the time we have to discuss algorithms. And if you’re still not 100% sure about exactly what they are, we hope at least you’ve learned some useful vocabulary!

这就是我们必须讨论算法的所有时间。如果您仍然不能 100% 确定它们到底是什么，我们希望至少您已经学会了一些有用的词汇！

Neil(尼尔)

Join us again soon for more trending topics, sensational science and useful vocabulary here at 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Bye for now!

很快再次加入我们，了解更多热门话题、耸人听闻的科学和有用的词汇，请访问 BBC Learning English 的六分钟英语。再见！

Sam(山姆)

Goodbye!

再见！