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We tend to think of robots as creations of the late 20th century,
我們通常認為機器人是二十世紀末的產物，

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but 18th century watchmakers were creating sophisticated machines long before the advent of computers and algorithms.
但早在電腦與演算法出現之前，十八世紀的鐘錶匠就已製造出極為繁複的機器。

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Nick Glass traveled to Philadelphia to see one.
尼克．葛拉斯前往費城去瞧瞧一部這種機器。

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In a darkened room in a museum in Philadelphia, a machine with an astounding memory,
在費城一座博物館的一間陰暗房間裡，這部機器擁有驚人的記憶，

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a clockwork mechanical boy who can write and draw,
是個能夠寫字與畫圖的發條機械男孩，

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an automaton from the Greek word automatus, meaning self-moving.
一具自動機械裝置（automaton）——這個詞源自希臘文的 automatus，意思是「自動」。

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It does three poems and four pictures.
它能夠寫出三首詩，畫出四幅畫。

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Charles Penniman is 85.
查爾斯．潘尼曼現年八十五歲。

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He first saw the mechanical boy when he was six or seven.
他第一次見到這個機械男孩的時候，才六歲或七歲。

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My father lifted me up so I could look inside the box
我父親把我舉起來，讓我能夠看到箱子裡面，

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and that was very exciting to see how these wheels and gears were producing a picture.
看著這些輪子和齒輪如何產生出一幅畫讓人相當興奮。

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The instructions, the memory are all in the so-called cams,
所有的指令和記憶都儲存在所謂的凸輪裡，

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a series of brass discs, each individually filed down and serrated.
也就是一連串的黃銅片，每個都各別打磨並且製作出鋸齒狀。

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There is one cam to make the pen go up and down,
有一個凸輪可讓筆上下移動，

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another cam to make it go from side to side, and another cam group to make it go forward or backward.
另一個凸輪讓筆左右移動，還有一個凸輪可讓筆前後移動。

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There are 72 cams altogether to make the whole thing work.
總共有七十二個凸輪讓這部機器完成所有的動作。

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The automaton arrived at the Franklin Institute in 1928 in pieces.
這部自動機在一九二八年送達富蘭克林研究院是零散拆解開來的狀態。

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They didn't find out who made it until they got it working again.
他們不知道製作的人是誰，直到有辦法讓它再次動起來。

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"Ecrit par L'Automate de Maillardet" -- "written by Maillardet's Automaton."
「Ecrit par L'Automate de Maillardet」——「梅拉德特的自動機筆」。

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That's Henri Maillardet, a Swiss clockmaker based in London in the 1790s.
梅拉德特就是亨利．梅拉德特，他是一位瑞士鐘錶匠，一七九○年代住在倫敦。

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These automata are from the so-called golden age, a half century from 1860 to 1910.
這些自動機來自所謂的黃金時代，亦即一八六○至一九一○年這半個世紀間。

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Plaster heads, eyelashes of human hair and mohair, eyeballs of blown glass, teeth of real ivory.
灰泥製成的頭，人類毛髮與毛海製成的眼睫毛，吹玻璃做的眼球，真正的象牙做的牙齒。

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A chef gets sozzled on white wine as he prepares to cook the cat.
一名廚師準備煮貓之前，喝白酒喝到酩酊大醉。

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Automata like the peasant and the pig have a dozen or more different animations.
像這個農夫與豬的自動機有十幾種以上的不同動作。

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The mechanism is at the back, the clockwork spring in a drum on the left,
機械裝置都安裝在後面，發條在左側的圓桶內，

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the cams with the memory for each animation on the right,
儲存了每種動作的記憶的凸輪位在右側，

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all up and under the peasant's tailcoat.
全都藏在農夫的燕尾服裡。

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His shoulders shake with laughter. His foot stamps with the fun of it all.
他的肩膀會隨著笑而振動，也會愉快地跟著跺腳。

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And for the umpteenth time, the salivating pig is denied the black truffle in his other hand.
此外，那隻垂涎不已的豬，一次又一次無法吃到他另一隻手上的黑松露。

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You've known him for over 80 years. Have your feelings changed?
你認識他已經超過八十年了，你的感覺有變嗎？

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Yes, indeed they have. The longer I know him, the more respect I have for the mysteries of how he works.
有，確實有。我認識他愈久，愈崇敬驅動他運作的個中奧秘。

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How?
怎麼說？

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Maillardet managed to get the information that makes ships and poems and so forth reduced to brass cams.
梅拉德特設法得以將造船的資訊、詩詞等等簡化濃縮到黃銅凸輪裡了。

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With the advent of cinema, the fashion for automata came to an end.
隨著電影出現，自動機的潮流畫下了句點。

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But they still have the power to astonish and delight us, adults and children alike.
不過，這些機器仍然能夠令我們感到驚奇和開心，不論是成人或小孩都一樣。