机器人棋手骗局：英语精读讲义

This is the Turk,

这就是“土耳其机器人”，

a mechanical chess-playing robot from the 1700s

一个来自 18 世纪的机械下棋机器人，

that was basically unbeatable.

它基本上是战无不胜的。

It made its own moves,

它能自己走棋，

called checkmate,

宣告“将军”，

and even laughed in its opponent's face. 習語

甚至当面嘲笑对手。

For almost 90 years,

在近 90 年的时间里，

it toured the world,

它在世界各地巡回演出，

facing some of the best chess players and historical figures,

迎战了一些最顶尖的国际象棋选手和历史人物，

and beating them all.

并将他们一一击败。

Hundreds of articles were written trying to expose its secrets,

有数百篇文章试图揭开它的秘密，

but no one ever figured out how it worked, 短語動詞

但从来没有人弄清楚它是如何运作的，

or if it was actually real or not.

甚至不知道它到底是不是真的。

Amazingly, the real secret behind this mysterious machine

令人惊讶的是，这台神秘机器背后的真正秘密，

remained unknown for almost 90 years

在将近 90 年里都不为人知，

and was almost lost completely

甚至差点永远失传，

when the Turk eventually perished in a fire.

因为这台机器最终在一场大火中被毁了。

We modeled the entire thing to show you how this incredible machine worked

我们对整个装置进行了三维建模，以向你们展示这台不可思议的机器是如何运作的，

and how it managed to trick the entire world for almost a century.

以及它是如何成功欺骗了整个世界近一个世纪的。

The story begins in Vienna in 1769,

故事始于 1769 年的维也纳，

where a special event was being held by the Empress of Austria.

奥地利女皇在那里举办了一场特别的活动。

At the event,

在活动中，

the audience were being treated to a show by a famous French magician 短語搭配

观众们欣赏了一位著名的法国魔术师的表演，

who performed illusions using magnets.

他用磁铁表演了许多错觉魔术。

While the audience was blown away, 習語

当观众们被深深震撼时，

one man was less than impressed, 語氣意圖

唯独有一个人不为所动，

Hungarian inventor Wolfgang von Kempelen.

他就是匈牙利发明家 Wolfgang von Kempelen。

He worked for the Empress

他为女皇工作，

and promised that he would come back next year

并向女皇承诺他明年还会回来，

with a much more impressive creation of his own.

带上自己更令人惊叹的发明。

And so, over the next six months,

于是，在接下来的六个月里，

in the secrecy of his own home,

在他自己家中的秘密角落里，

he constructed the Turk.

他制造了“土耳其机器人”。

Kempelen revealed his creation at the next event,

Kempelen 在下一次活动中展示了他的发明，

and it was an absolute hit. 用詞

取得了绝对的成功。

The audience watched on in amazement

观众们惊奇地看着

as this mysterious-looking mannequin came to life, 習語

这个外表神秘的人体模型复活了，

moving around the chess pieces

它四处移动棋子，

and destroying his opponent.

把对手杀得片甲不留。

Word spread quickly about the Turk,

关于机器人的消息迅速传开，

and soon hundreds of people around Europe

很快，整个欧洲数以百计的人

wanted to take on the machine. 短語動詞

都想挑战这台机器。

10 years went by, 短語動詞

10 年过去了，

but the demand to see the Turk was higher than ever. 語法

人们想要一睹其风采的呼声却空前高涨。

And so,

于是，

Kempelen took the machine out on the road,

Kempelen 带着机器上路了，

starting its first European tour in 1783.

于 1783 年开始了它的首次欧洲巡演。

This is how a typical show would go. 表達脈絡

一场典型的表演大致是这样的。

At the beginning,

一开始，

Kempelen would go around opening the cabinet doors

Kempelen 会四处走动，打开柜门，

and inviting people to look inside the machine,

邀请人们观看机器内部，

starting with the left door.

他会先打开左边的门。

It would reveal a compartment full of complex machinery.

这会露出一个装满复杂机械的隔间。

To show that there was nothing hiding behind the machinery,

为了证明机械后面没有藏着任何东西，

he opened the door at the back and lit a candle

他又打开了后面的门，并点燃了一根蜡烛，

so that the audience could see right through the machine.

让观众可以直接看穿这台机器。

Then he closed the rear door

然后他关上后门，

and opened up the main compartment,

打开主隔间，

which was mostly empty.

里面几乎是空的。

With all the doors open,

所有的门都打开后，

Kempelen pulled out a set of chess pieces from the drawer at the bottom.

Kempelen 从底部的抽屉里拿出了一副国际象棋。

The Turk was now ready to play.

现在机器准备好下棋了。

Kempelen would challenge the most intelligent member of the audience

Kempelen 会挑战观众中最聪明的人，

to try and beat the Turk,

让他们尝试击败这台机器，

and almost always the Turk would come out on top. 習語

而结果几乎总是这台机器获胜。

Kempelen and his machine continued traveling across Europe,

Kempelen 和他的机器继续在欧洲各地旅行，

playing some of the most skilled chess masters of the time.

迎战了一些当时最优秀的国际象棋大师。

For the final game in France,

在法国的最后一场比赛中，

the Turk went up against Benjamin Franklin. 短語動詞

机器对阵了 Benjamin Franklin。

Despite being a chess fanatic,

尽管他是个国际象棋狂热分子，

the Turk quickly defeated him with ease.

机器还是轻松地迅速击败了他。

After this,

在这之后，

speculation behind the machine's authenticity started to ramp up. 短語動詞

关于机器真实性的猜测开始加剧。

While many believed it really was a completely automated machine,

虽然许多人相信它确实是一台完全自动化的机器，

some thought it was also being controlled by magnets,

但也有人认为它是受磁铁控制的，

and some thought there was a small child operating the Turk from inside.

还有人认为有一个小男孩在里面操纵它。

But Kempelen was determined to take the secret to his grave, 習語

但 Kempelen 决心将这个秘密带进坟墓，

and in 1804,

在 1804 年，

he passed away at the age of 70.

他以 70 岁的高龄去世了。

The Turk was eventually sold to a German inventor

后来，这台机器被一位德国发明家，

called Johann Maelzel for around $300,000.

名叫 Johann Maelzel 的人买下，花费大约 30 万美元。

Over the course of several years,

经过几年的时间，

he figured out the Turk's secrets

他弄清了这台机器的秘密，

and took it back out on the road. 短語搭配

并带着它重新踏上旅程。

This time,

这一次，

finding even more success in America.

在美国取得了更大的成功。

But one day,

但是有一天，

after performing in Baltimore,

在巴尔的摩表演之后，

an article was written in the local newspaper

当地报纸上发表了一篇文章，

that appeared to give away the Turk's secret. 短語動詞

似乎泄露了机器的秘密。

Two young boys had climbed onto the Turk's storage shed

两个小男孩爬上了存放这台机器的棚子，

and saw Maelzel opening the cabinet

看到 Maelzel 打开柜子，

and a man climbing out of it.

一个男人从里面爬了出来。

A few days later,

几天后，

the newspaper retracted the article 用詞

报纸撤回了那篇文章，

because the boys' story couldn't be verified.

因为男孩们的故事无法得到证实。

This is still a problem in today's world.

这在当今世界仍然是一个问题。

That's why we're working with Ground News again for this video.

这就是为什么我们在本视频中再次与 Ground News 合作。

Invented by a former NASA engineer,

Ground News 是由一名前 NASA 工程师发明的，

Ground News is a news app and website that allows you to compare articles

它是一款新闻应用和网站，可让你比较来自

from a wide range of sources to verify information and see the full picture. 習語

广泛来源的文章，以验证信息并了解全貌。

Every story comes with a quick visual breakdown of the political bias, 用詞

每一个故事都配有快速直观的政治偏见分析、

reliability, ownership,

可靠性、所有权，

and headlines,

以及标题对比，

all backed by ratings from three independent news monitoring organizations.

所有这些都由三个独立的新闻监控机构评级背书。

Take this story about Boeing's Starliner.

以波音 Starliner 的这个故事为例。

More than 150 news outlets reported on the story,

超过 150 家新闻机构报道了此事，

most of which are from the left.

其中大部分偏左派。

You can also see a breakdown of the reliability and ownership,

你还可以看到关于其可靠性和所有权的细分数据，

as well as headlines to see how this bias can affect framing. 用詞

以及大标题，看看这种偏见是如何影响报道框架的。

With their bias comparison feature,

借助其偏见对比功能，

which highlights specific differences in reporting,

它可以突显出报道中的具体差异，

we can see that the left and center outlets

我们可以看到，左翼和中间派媒体

tended to focus on the number of helium leaks and the affected valves,

倾向于关注氦气泄漏的次数和受影响的阀门，

while right-leaning outlets framed these leaks

而右倾媒体则将这些泄漏

as a crucial test for Boeing's competition with SpaceX.

描绘成波音与 SpaceX 竞争的一次关键考验。

One of our favorite features is their blind spot feed, 習語

我们最喜欢的功能之一是其信息盲点推荐，

which highlights stories underreported by one side of the political spectrum.

它突显出了政治派别一方报道不足的故事。

For example,

例如，

if you lean left, 用詞

如果你偏向左翼，

you probably missed this story on Boeing being blocked from increasing production of their airplane.

你可能错过了关于波音飞机增产受阻的这则故事。

For a more faithful and objective way to keep up with current events, 短語動詞

为了更忠实且客观地了解时事，

click the link in the video description or scan the QR code

请点击视频描述中的链接或扫描二维码，

to get 40% off the unlimited access plan.

以 60% 的价格获取无限制访问计划。

After figuring out the secrets behind his new machine,

在弄清了新机器的秘密之后，

Maelzel took the Turk back out on the road.

Maelzel 带着它重新上路。

One of his first opponents was none other than Napoleon Bonaparte, 習語

它的首批对手之一正是拿破仑·波拿巴，

who he defeated with ease.

结果被它轻松击败。

Maelzel and the Turk spent the next 20 years

Maelzel 和这台机器在接下来的 20 年里

touring all the way from Boston to the Mississippi River 短語搭配

一路从波士顿巡演到密西西比河，

and everywhere in between.

以及这之间的各个地方。

The Turk was more popular than ever,

机器的受欢迎程度空前高涨，

but still nobody knew if it was real or not.

但仍然没有人知道它是不是真的。

Famous poet Edgar Allan Poe was invited to inspect the machine

著名诗人 Edgar Allan Poe 受邀检查这台机器，

and ended up writing an essay on how he thought it worked. 短語動詞

最终还写了一篇文章分析它是如何运作的。

He thought that there was simply a man underneath the Turk's clothing

他认为机器人的衣服底下肯定藏着一个男人，

that could see the chessboard

能够看到棋盘，

and was making all of the moves.

并且所有的棋都是他下的。

Maelzel spent most of the 1830s touring America and Cuba with great success.

在 1830 年代的大部分时间里，Maelzel 都在美国和古巴巡演，取得了巨大成功。

But while sailing back to the US,

但在乘船返回美国的途中，

Maelzel suddenly died at sea,

Maelzel 突然在海上猝死，

and the Turk and all of its secrets

而机器和它的所有秘密，

were now just waiting to be uncovered once it arrived back.

现在只能等待回到岸上时被人发掘了。

The machine eventually fell into the hands of Edgar Allan Poe's physician, 習語

这台机器最终落入了 Edgar Allan Poe 的医生手中，

who had always been interested in the machine.

他一直对这台机器很感兴趣。

But by then,

但到那时，

the Turk was 70 years old,

这台机器已经 70 岁了，

and without a charismatic owner to put on the show,

又没有了富有魅力的主人来表演，

it was eventually donated to a museum in Philadelphia.

最终它被捐赠给了费城的一家博物馆。

It remained here for over a decade,

它在这里待了十多年，

until one day,

直到有一天，

a fire swept through and completely destroyed the Turk.

一场大火席卷而来，将这台机器彻底摧毁。

It was no doubt one of the best kept secrets in the world.

毫无疑问，这是世界上保守得最好的秘密之一。

It traveled everywhere,

它游历了世界各地，

constantly under scrutiny from the world's brightest minds. 短語搭配

一直经受着世界上最聪明大脑的审查。

And yet,

然而，

even through multiple owners,

即使几经易主，

it managed to take its secrets

它还是将秘密保留

all the way to the end.

到了最后一刻。

It seemed like the secrets behind the Turk would remain unknown forever.

似乎这台机器背后的秘密将永远成为不解之谜。

But a year later,

但是一年后，

the son of the Turk's last owner published an article

这台机器最后一位主人的儿子发表了一篇文章，

that would finally reveal the truth.

终于揭开了真相。

These are the secrets behind the Turk.

以下就是它背后的秘密。

As it turned out, 表達脈絡

事实证明，

the Turk wasn't automated at all,

这台机器根本不是自动化的，

and was in fact operated by a chess master hidden inside the machine at all times.

而是由一直隐藏在机器内部的一名国际象棋大师操作的。

The fake machinery and the bottom drawer

虚假的机械装置和底部的抽屉

didn't extend all the way to the back of the cabinet,

并没有延伸到机柜的最深处，

and so there was space

因此有空间

for the operator to sit with his legs stretched out under a fake floor.

让操作员坐在虚假的地板下伸直双腿。

Before the left door was opened,

在左侧门打开之前，

the operator would slide forward on a movable chair into the main compartment,

操作员会坐在可移动的椅子上向前滑动到主隔间，

closing behind him a secret door.

并关上身后的暗门。

The presenter would then open the rear door

主持人随后会打开后门，

and show the audience that there was nothing but machinery inside. 語法

向观众展示里面除了机械装置一无所有。

As the presenter closed the rear door,

当主持人关上后门时，

the operator would slide back into his original position,

操作员会滑回原来的位置，

closing another door behind him and in front of him.

关上身后和身前的另一扇门。

The presenter would then open up the front and rear doors

主持人随后会打开主隔间

to the main compartment

的前门和后门，

to allow the audience to see inside.

让观众看到内部。

Having seen right through the whole machine, 語法

既然已经看穿了整台机器，

the audience would now have full belief

观众现在完全相信

that no one could be hidden inside the machine.

机器里根本藏不了人。

The doors were then locked,

门一锁上，

and the Turk was ready to come to life.

机器准备好开始行动了。

The operator would slide back into the main compartment

操作员会滑回主隔间，

and open a hidden door inside the Turk's body,

打开机体内的一扇暗门，

revealing a candle, a chessboard,

露出一根蜡烛、一个棋盘，

and a mechanical lever,

以及一根机械杠杆，

which would control the Turk's arm.

用来控制机器人的手臂。

The lever was in fact a clever pantograph mechanism,

杠杆其实是一个巧妙的缩放机构，

using strings that would mimic the exact movements of the Turk's arm.

其中的细绳可以精确模拟机器人手臂的运动。

It had a pointer,

它有一个指针，

which the operator could lift to raise the arm

操作员可以通过抬起它来举起手臂，

and twist to close the Turk's fingers.

也可以通过扭动它来闭合机器人的手指。

By moving the pointer over the chessboard, 語法

通过在棋盘上移动指针，

it would move the Turk's hand

就能在真正的棋盘上将机器人的手

over the exact same square on the real chessboard.

移动到完全相同的格子上。

But how did the operator see the moves his opponent was making?

但操作员如何看到对手下的棋呢？

Above the operator was a fake ceiling

操作员的上方是一个假天花板，

that could be taken down to reveal the bottom of the real chessboard.

可以拿下来露出真正棋盘的底部。

Under each square was a small magnet dangling from a copper wire.

棋盘的每个方格下都悬挂着一个小磁铁，磁铁连着铜线。

The chess pieces themselves also had magnets in their base,

棋子的底座也有磁铁，

and so the magnets would get pulled up wherever there was a chess piece.

所以只要那里有棋子，磁铁就会被吸上去。

As his opponent picked up a chess piece,

当对手拿起棋子时，

the corresponding magnet would drop and wobble for about 30 seconds,

对应的磁铁就会落下并摇晃大约 30 秒，

allowing the operator to see what piece had moved and replicate it on his own chessboard.

这样操作员就能看到哪个棋子动了，并在自己的棋盘上复刻这步棋。

To this day, 短語搭配

至今，

the original operator of the Turk is unknown,

这台机器最初的操作员是谁仍是个谜，

but during Maelzel's tours,

但在 Maelzel 的巡演期间，

the machine was operated by an impressive list of chess masters,

机器曾由多位了不起的国际象棋大师操作，

all of whom kept their part of the secret. 語法

他们所有人都严守了自己这部分的秘密。

Over the course of its 90-year career,

在其长达 90 年的生涯中，

the Turk played hundreds, 表達脈絡

这台机器下过几百场，

if not thousands,

甚至几千场

of games

比赛，

and won almost all of them.

并且赢下了几乎所有的对局。

Amazingly,

令人惊讶的是，

the story of these young boys seeing an operator climb out of the machine was almost certainly true.

那两个年轻男孩看到操作员从机器里爬出来的故事几乎可以肯定是真实的。

But the Turk went on to keep its secret for another 30 years. 短語動詞

但是它还是把秘密又守了 30 年。

And now,

现在，

for the Primal Space giveaway.

是 Primal Space 抽奖时间。

The winner of the previous giveaway is Marco.

上次抽奖的赢家是 Marco。

Congratulations.

恭喜你。

In the next video,

在下一个视频中，

we'll be giving away this awesome mechanical Turk poster.

我们将赠送这张精美的土耳其机器人海报。

All you need to do is sign up at the link below, 語法

你所需要做的就是在下方链接注册，

like the video,

给视频点赞，

and leave a comment saying how you thought the Turk actually worked.

并留言说说你原本觉得土耳其机器人是如何运作的。

Thank you very much for watching,

非常感谢您的观看，

and I'll see you in the next video.

我们下期视频见。