VOA慢速英語:China's Tianhe-2 Supercomputer Takes No. 1 Ranking on TOP500 List

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語科技報道。

China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer has just been rated No. 1 on the top 500 -- a respected list of the world's most powerful computers. Experts measured the supercomputer's performance at 33.86 petaflop or quadrillion of operations per second.

中國的天河2號超級計算機(jī)剛剛被問鼎全球最強(qiáng)大計算機(jī)五百強(qiáng)，這是一個受人尊敬的名單。專家測到，該超級計算機(jī)的性能達(dá)到每秒33.86千萬億次運算。

China's National University of Defense Technology developed the supercomputer, which runs twice as fast as the No. 2 rated Titan super computer. It belongs to the United States Government's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Both Tianhe-2 and Titan are part of an ongoing race to make supercomputers faster and more powerful.

中國國防科技大學(xué)研制了這臺超級計算機(jī)，其運行速度是排名第二的泰坦超級計算機(jī)的兩倍。泰坦超級計算機(jī)隸屬于位于田納西州的美國政府旗下的橡樹嶺國家實驗室。天河2號和泰坦都是使得超級計算機(jī)更快更強(qiáng)的一場進(jìn)行中的競賽的一部分。

So what is a supercomputer? A basic personal computer has one microchip at the center of its operations. This Central Processing Unit, or CPU, executes a set of commands contained in a predesigned program.

那么，什么是超級計算機(jī)呢?一臺普通個人電腦的運行中心都有一個微芯片，這個被稱為CPU的中央處理器執(zhí)行預(yù)先設(shè)定程序中包含的控制命令。

The first supercomputers had a few more CPUs. That number grew as microprocessors became cheaper and faster. Andrew Grimshaw, a computer science professor at the University of Virginia explains:

第一臺超級計算機(jī)只有一些中央處理器(CPU)。這一數(shù)字隨著微處理器變得更快更便宜而增長。弗吉尼亞大學(xué)計算機(jī)科學(xué)教授安德魯·格里姆肖(Andrew Grimshaw)解釋說：

"Today, supercomputers are all what we call parallel machines. Instead of one CPU - central processing unit - they have thousands and thousands. And in the case of the Chinese machine, depending on how you count, millions of the central processing units."

“今天，超級計算機(jī)被我們稱為并行機(jī)器。它不止一個中央處理器，而是有成千上萬個。在中國這臺超級計算機(jī)中，根據(jù)統(tǒng)計就有數(shù)百萬計的中央處理器。”

These parallel machines are made up of many individual computers called nodes. They are all positioned in one block. They used a lot of power, create a lot of heat, and require huge cooling systems. They also use programs different from those used by ordinary computers.

這些并行機(jī)器由很多被稱為節(jié)點的獨立計算機(jī)組成。他們被定位在一個塊上，使用大量電能，制造大量的熱，并需要巨大的冷卻系統(tǒng)。他們還使用和普通電腦不同的程序。

Professor Grimshaw says anyone with enough resources can build a supercomputer to solve problems that require millions of mathematical calculations.

格里姆肖教授說，任何人有足夠資源都可以制造一臺超級計算機(jī)，用來解決需要數(shù)以百萬計數(shù)學(xué)運算的問題。

But that's not always necessary. A virtual supercomputer can be created by networking individual computers within a university campus or company. These machines then process data during down time, when no one is using them.

但是這并非總有必要?？梢酝ㄟ^大學(xué)校園或公司的個人電腦聯(lián)網(wǎng)來制造虛擬超級計算機(jī)。這些機(jī)器在無人使用時可以處理數(shù)據(jù)。

"Those are very easy to run on virtual supercomputers because each problem is independent of all the others and I can scatter these jobs out all around the place. We run these all the time at UVA."

“在虛擬超級計算機(jī)上運行這些很簡單。因為每個問題都相互獨立，可以分散到各個地方進(jìn)行。我們在弗吉尼亞大學(xué)一直這么做。”

Professor Grimshaw says that entire ten years ago, engineers worked on making computers faster. Since then, he says, they have worked to create more powerful parallel machines.

格里姆肖教授說，整整十年前，工程師們致力于使得計算機(jī)更快。他說，從那時起，他們一直在努力制造更強(qiáng)大的并行機(jī)。

"It's transforming science and engineering, and it's going to continue to transform it in ways I think most people don't fully grasp - how well we can model and simulate the world now."

“這是在轉(zhuǎn)換科學(xué)和工程，它還將用我認(rèn)為多數(shù)人未能完全掌握的方法繼續(xù)轉(zhuǎn)換。這種方法就是現(xiàn)在我們可以對世界進(jìn)行建模和仿真。”

Professor Grimshaw says the increasing computing ability of supercomputers makes the future of research very bright.

格里姆肖教授說，超級計算機(jī)計算能力的不斷增加使得研究的未來一片光明。