太阳能技术又有重大突破 | 一周看点
太阳能技术又有重大突破
一家比尔·盖茨支持的新公司称对太阳能的利用又上了一个新台阶，镜面板产生的热量足够用于生产水泥、钢和玻璃，而这些生产过程通常依赖化石燃料。
由于现代科技的发展，这些额外的热量和效率依赖人工智能实现：计算机软件可以完美地定位镜子，收集最强的阳光。
外媒报道
The company, called Heliogen, claims that its focussed beams of light are able to create a solar oven reaching 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit), something that hasn’t been done before in a commercial setting. That means solar power could replace fossil fuels for a host of industrial jobs, not just providing electricity.
这家名为Heliogen的公司声称聚焦的光束能够产生高达1000摄氏度（1,832华氏度）的太阳能烤箱，从未有这样的技术用于商业用途。这意味着太阳能可以替代化石燃料进行大规模工业生产，而不仅仅是用于发电。
“The world has a limited window to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says Bill Gross, CEO and founder of Heliogen. “We’ve made great strides in deploying clean energy in our electricity system. But electricity accounts for less than a quarter of global energy demand.”
Heliogen公司首席执行官兼创始人Bill Gross说：“全球大幅降低温室气体排放的方法有限，我们在电力系统中对清洁能源的利用成效显著，但电力需求在全球能源需求中所占比例不到四分之一。”
“Heliogen represents a technological leap forward in addressing the other 75 percent of energy demand: the use of fossil fuels for industrial processes and transportation. With low-cost, ultra-high temperature process heat, we have an opportunity to make meaningful contributions to solving the climate crisis.”
“Heliogen公司代表了在解决剩余75%的能源需求方面的技术飞跃，其中包括工业生产和交通中用到的化石燃料。现在有了低成本、超高温的生产用热量，我们有机会为解决气候危机作出有意义的贡献。”
Uber在伦敦失去牌照了
据《卫报》报道，Uber失去了在伦敦提供打车服务的牌照。伦敦的交通监管机构伦敦交通局说Uber管理不善，所以做了这一决定。
外媒报道
Announcing its decision not to renew Uber’s license, in a press release posted on its site, the TfL said:
伦敦交通局宣布不会再更新Uber的牌照，并在其网站发布的新闻稿中说：
Uber has made a number of positive changes and improvements to its culture, leadership and systems in the period since the Chief Magistrate granted it a licence in June 2018. This includes interacting with TfL in a transparent and productive manner.
自从 2018年6月首席治安官为其颁发牌照以来，Uber在公司文化、领导和系统上做出了很多积极的改进，其中包括与伦敦交通局进行了透明高效的沟通。
However, TfL has identified a pattern of failures by the company including several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk.
但伦敦交通局发现该公司存在一系列问题，包括几起危及乘客及其安全的违规事件。
Despite addressing some of these issues, TfL does not have confidence that similar issues will not reoccur in the future, which has led it to conclude that the company is not fit and proper at this time.
尽管其中一些问题得到了解决，但伦敦交通局不敢保证未来此类事件不会再发生，因此他们认为此时该公司不适合继续提供服务。
It’s important to note that though TfL has decided not to renew Uber’s license, Ubers will continue to be on the street in London for the time being.
值得注意的是虽然伦敦交通局决定不再更新Uber的牌照，但暂时在伦敦街道上仍然可以使用Uber的打车服务。
Uber has 21 days to appeal the decision, during which time the service can continue operating.
Uber有21天的时间决定是否上诉，在此期间内Uber可以继续提供打车服务。
日本推出天价珍珠奶茶
近日，日本一家奶茶店推出大红袍珍珠奶茶，一杯奶茶价格为一万日元，约合646元人民币。
外媒报道
Mr. Sato arrived bright and early for Tapioca Land Cafe’s grand opening, expecting a swarm of reporters and news-copters swirling overhead, but was surprised to find only himself. It made him feel good though, as clearly no one loved tapioca as much as he did. This was proof of that.
Sato先生一大早就来到了Tapioca Land奶茶店的开业典礼上，他以为会看到一大群记者，还会有新闻直升机在空中盘旋，但他惊讶地发现只有他自己。他还是很开心的，因为显然别人对珍珠奶茶的喜爱程度都不及他，事实也证明如此。
It also meant he would be the first person in the world to taste of Tapioca Land Cafe’s offerings - a rare honor indeed!
这也意味着他会是全世界第一个品尝Tapioca Land奶茶店的奶茶的人，这确实是难得的荣誉！
“Da Hong Pao Tapioca Milk Tea - 10,000 yen (US$92)”
“大红袍珍珠奶茶——10,000日元（92美元）”
Mr. Sato’s heart jumped in his chest. This was why he had come to Topica Land Cafe. As the first customer, he felt it was both his duty and immense pleasure to purchase and drink this luxury tea.
Sato先生心跳加速，这就是他要找的。他感觉作为第一个顾客，买下并喝掉这杯豪华奶茶既是他的责任也是极大的快乐。
It looked more like cafe au lait than regular bubble tea, and was generally a little disappointing in the visual stimulation department. It was nice and all, just not 10,000-yen nice.
它看起来跟普通的珍珠奶茶不太一样，更像牛奶咖啡，视觉效果有点让人失望。整体来说还不错，但就是不值10,000日元。
隐形条形码可提高塑料回收效率
如今，你回收的塑料瓶会被送到材料回收设施那里，然后回收设施要对它们进行识别和分类。
回收设施通常依靠不精确的旧技术试着找出一块废料中的可回收材料。包裹在传送带上飞速而过，工人站在旁边抓住。
这既不高效，也不精确。而通过新的隐形二维码技术，这个问题就能解决了。
外媒报道
“Obviously, there isn’t one silver bullet solution to the plastic issue,” says Sander Defruyt, who leads the New Plastics Economy initiative at the nonprofit Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which initially brought the companies together when the project began.
非营利性组织艾伦·麦克阿瑟基金会“新塑料经济”倡议的发起人Sander Defruyt说：“显然解决塑料问题没有万全之策”，在项目开始之初就是艾伦·麦克阿瑟基金会把各公司召集到一起的。
“We need to start by eliminating the plastic we don’t need. We need a lot of innovation shifting from single-use to reuse business models. But recycling is still one part of the problem, and [brands] realize that to make recycling work, we need to improve the way plastic waste is sorted in sorting centers.”
“我们要从消除不需要的塑料开始，需要有创新的方式将商业模式从一次性转变为重复使用。但回收仍然是一个问题，‘各大品牌’意识到为了更有效地回收，我们需要在分类中心改进塑料垃圾分类的方式。”
By sorting more accurately, the final bales of material are more valuable, and the total amount of material that can be recycled increases.
通过更准确地分类，回收过程最后获得的材料会更有价值，能被回收的材料总数才会增加。
The system can identify whether a bottle was used for food or something like shampoo - a crucial step that current systems can’t accomplish but is necessary for food companies that want to buy recycled plastic to reuse in new packaging, as European regulations prohibit them from using recycled plastic that was originally for something other than food.
该系统能识别一个瓶子是装过食品还是装过洗发水一类的东西，这是目前系统无法完成的关键一步，对于想要购买再生塑料制成新包装的食品公司来说也是很有必要的，因为欧洲法规禁止他们使用原本用于食品以外的其他用途的再生塑料。
