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號超級計算機剛剛被問鼎全球最強大計算機五百強，這是一個受人尊敬的名單。專家測到，該超級計算機的性能達到每秒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.

中國國防科技大學研制了這臺超級計算機，其運行速度是排名第二的泰坦超級計算機的兩倍。泰坦超級計算機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更快更強的一場進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)行預先設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。弗吉尼亞大學計算機科學教授安德魯·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，超級計算機被我們稱為并行機器。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.

這些并行機器由很多被稱為節(jié)點的獨立計算機組成。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，用來解決需要數(shù)以百萬計數(shù)學運算的問題。

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^大學校園或公司的個人電腦聯(lián)網(wǎng)來制造虛擬超級計算機。這些機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行。我們在弗吉尼亞大學一直這么做。”

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更快。他說，從那時起，他們一直在努力制造更強大的并行機。

"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)換科學和工程，它還將用我認為多數(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，超級計算機計算能力的不斷增加使得研究的未來一片光明。