為了更好地完成在平安夜派送禮物的偉大任務(wù)，圣誕老人決定買一些高科技玩意兒武裝一下自己，畢竟與時(shí)俱進(jìn)才是王道嘛。你會(huì)建議他買些什么呢？

Every year， the North American Aerospace Defense Command （NORAD） tracks Santa Claus' location on Christmas Eve， to the delight of millions who visit the military's website that night. If a high-tech military operation can track Santa， couldn't technology also give the jolly2） old elf a hand in finishing his rounds3）？ After all， Santa isn't getting any younger， and Christmas Eve isn't getting any longer. So what should be on Santa's wish list this year to help him guide his sleigh4） from the North Pole and get presents to all the good girls and boys of the world？ Here are a few suggestions.

1. A 3D Printer

Manufacturing is a tough business， what with5） outsourcing6）， supply problems， and the cost of labor. Perhaps Santa's elves could stay competitive if they caught up with the 3D-printing craze7）. Desktop 3D printers for home use are just coming on the market， and they're capable of turning digital instructions into 3D gizmos8）. Santa and his elves could even move beyond plastic as a material with a new， open-source 3D metal printer.

2. An Updated Naughty/Nice List

Parchment9） and paper are so 20th century. Santa needs something a bit snazzier10）—perhaps a tablet11）？ LAPTOP magazine's Avram Piltch suggests Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1. It comes with a pen and note-taking applications， so Santa won't have to take off his gloves to swipe at the screen （nor will he have to worry about tablet typing with chubby12） fingers）. The tablet allows users to open two apps at once， so Santa can keep his naughty/nice list open while consulting Google Maps for directions to his next stop.

3. High-tech Gloves

Santa's white gloves provide a nice contrast to his bright-red suit， but they won't do for the tablet era. Who wants to have to take off their gloves to use a touch screen or open an app？ Dutch designer label Mujjo sells a line of touch-screen gloves that register13） on smartphones and tablet screens just fine. There are even double-layered gloves for chilly climates like the North Pole， and the gloves are super-stretchy14）， so the aforementioned chubby fingers shouldn't be an issue. These gloves would ensure that if Santa were to drop his stylus15） from the sleigh midair， he'd still be able to access his list and directions.

4. GPS Capabilities

Rudolph， with his red nose so bright16）， may do just fine at keeping Santa's sleigh on course. But a little backup couldn't hurt. Santa needs to take advantage of the global positioning system （GPS）.

GPS has been around since 1995 and is now so ubiquitous17） in phones and cars as to be taken for granted. Originally a military project， GPS uses satellites positioned in orbit that transmit18） periodic19） messages with the time and their location to Earth. GPS receivers on the planet's surface capture and triangulate20） these space-based messages in order to pinpoint21） a location.

An emerging line of GPS trackers can even help Mrs. Claus keep an eye on her husband. These devices can show where someone is and where they've been—perfect for Christmas Command Headquarters.

5. Protective Gear

One disadvantage to entering the digital age is that most tech gadgets aren't built for the cold. Apple recommends operating its devices only between 32 degrees and 95 degrees Fahrenheit （0 degrees and 35 degrees Celsius）.

What's an Arctic-based elf to do？ A Kickstarter22）-funded company has a possible answer. Salt Cases uses NASA-developed materials that protect spacecraft from the chill of space and the heat of a launch to keep smartphones， laptops， and tablets cozy23）. The thermal24） layers in the cases refract25） heat away when it's hot and reflect warmth into the device when it's cold. The company even offers appropriately Christmasy red cases.

每一年的平安夜，北美防空司令部（NORAD）都會(huì)追蹤圣誕老人的位置，這讓當(dāng)晚訪問該軍事機(jī)構(gòu)網(wǎng)站的數(shù)百萬人十分高興。如果高科技軍事行動(dòng)能追蹤到圣誕老人，那么現(xiàn)代科技是不是也可以幫助這位極為古老的精靈完成他滿世界送禮物的工作呢？畢竟，圣誕老人年紀(jì)越來越大，而平安夜的時(shí)間也不會(huì)越變?cè)介L(zhǎng)。那么，今年圣誕老人的心愿單上應(yīng)該列上些什么樣的科技產(chǎn)品，好幫助他駕著雪橇從北極出發(fā)把禮物送給全世界的所有好孩子呢？以下是幾個(gè)建議。

1. 3D打印機(jī)

制造商品沒那么容易，因?yàn)樯婕巴獍?、供?yīng)問題以及勞工費(fèi)用。如果圣誕老人的精靈伙伴們也趕上如今的3D打印熱潮，他們也許就可以保持很強(qiáng)的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力了。家用臺(tái)式3D打印機(jī)剛剛上市（編注：英文原文發(fā)表于2013年12月），它們能把計(jì)算機(jī)數(shù)字指令變成實(shí)體物件。若使用一種新型開源3D金屬打印機(jī)，圣誕老人和他的精靈伙伴們甚至還能不受僅用塑料為原料打印的局限。

2. 新型“誰乖誰不乖名單”

羊皮紙和紙張屬于20世紀(jì)，太過時(shí)了。圣誕老人需要裝備些新潮點(diǎn)兒的東西，或許可以來臺(tái)平板電腦？《LAPTOP》雜志的阿夫拉姆·皮爾奇推薦三星的Galaxy Note 10.1。該款平板電腦配有一支觸控筆，還內(nèi)置一些筆記功能應(yīng)用軟件，這樣圣誕老人無須脫下手套就能在屏幕上操作（也不必因胖手指在屏幕上打字不方便而煩惱）。該款平板電腦允許使用者同時(shí)打開兩個(gè)應(yīng)用軟件，這樣圣誕老人就可以一邊查看他的“誰乖誰不乖”名單，一邊查看谷歌地圖，好知道如何前往下一個(gè)目的地。

3. 高科技手套

圣誕老人的白手套與一身鮮艷的紅裝相映襯，非常好看，但卻不適用于如今的平板設(shè)備時(shí)代。誰愿意每次使用觸摸屏或打開應(yīng)用軟件時(shí)都得脫下手套呢？荷蘭設(shè)計(jì)品牌Mujjo賣的一系列觸屏手套非常適用于智能手機(jī)和平板電腦的屏幕。該品牌甚至有一款適用于像北極這樣的嚴(yán)寒氣候的雙層手套，其彈性極好，所以前面提到的胖指頭應(yīng)該也不成問題。這種手套將確保圣誕老人即使從半空中的雪橇上掉落了觸控筆，也仍能查看他的名單和地圖。

4. 全球定位功能

馴鹿魯?shù)婪虻募t鼻子十分明亮，也許能夠不讓圣誕老人的雪橇偏航，不過添一點(diǎn)備用裝置也無傷大雅。圣誕老人需要用用全球定位系統(tǒng)（GPS）。

自1995年起，GPS廣泛投入使用，如今在手機(jī)和汽車上應(yīng)用十分普遍，讓人覺得就該如此。GPS最初是一個(gè)軍事項(xiàng)目，利用的是分布在軌道上的多顆衛(wèi)星。這些衛(wèi)星定期將帶有時(shí)間和其所處位置的信號(hào)傳給地球。地球上的GPS接收機(jī)捕獲這些來自太空的信號(hào)，并進(jìn)行三角定位，從而確定目標(biāo)位置。

現(xiàn)在不斷出現(xiàn)的一系列GPS跟蹤器甚至可以幫助圣誕夫人隨時(shí)盯緊丈夫。這些跟蹤器能夠顯示被追蹤者的實(shí)時(shí)位置和曾去過的地方，配備在“圣誕指揮中心”再合適不過了。

5. 數(shù)碼設(shè)備保護(hù)套

大多數(shù)科技產(chǎn)品生來都不耐寒，這是進(jìn)入數(shù)碼時(shí)代的一大缺憾。蘋果公司建議只在32～95華氏度（0～35攝氏度）范圍內(nèi)使用其產(chǎn)品。

那么，對(duì)于一位身在北極的精靈來說該怎么辦呢？一家獲得眾籌網(wǎng)站Kickstarter資金支持的公司想出了一個(gè)或許可行的辦法。Salt Cases公司使用美國(guó)宇航局研發(fā)的用于幫助航天器抵御太空嚴(yán)寒和發(fā)射高溫的特殊材料來為智能手機(jī)、筆記本電腦和平板電腦保溫。此類保護(hù)套里的保溫層會(huì)在高溫環(huán)境中通過折射來散熱，而在低溫環(huán)境中又將熱量反射到設(shè)備中。這家公司甚至還提供十分適合在圣誕節(jié)使用的紅色保護(hù)套。

1.boost [bu?st] n. 大大的改進(jìn)

2.jolly [?d??li] adv. 非常；極其

3.round [ra?nd] n. （職業(yè)上的）巡回走動(dòng)

4.sleigh [sle?] n. 雪橇

5.what with： 因?yàn)椋ㄓ脕碚務(wù)撛斐赡撤N特殊情況的原因）

6.outsourcing [?a?ts??s??] n. 外包

7.craze [kre?z] n. 一時(shí)的時(shí)尚；一時(shí)的狂熱

8.gizmo [?ɡ?zm??] n. 機(jī)械裝置；東西；小玩意兒

9.parchment [?pɑ?t?m?nt] n. 羊皮紙；仿羊皮紙

10.snazzy [?sn?zi] adj. 時(shí)髦的；漂亮的；新潮的

11.tablet [?t?bl?t] n. 平板電腦

12.chubby [?t??bi] adj. 圓胖的

13.register [?red??st?（r）] vi. 完全符合

14.stretchy [?stret?i] adj. 有彈性的；能延伸的

15.stylus [?sta?l?s] n. 觸控筆

16.據(jù)傳說，魯?shù)婪虻募t鼻子可以發(fā)光，能在風(fēng)雪中照亮路途。

17.ubiquitous [ju??b?kw?t?s] adj. 普遍存在的，無所不在的

18.transmit [tr?ns?m?t] vt. 傳送，傳遞

19.periodic [?p??ri??d?k] adj. 周期（性）的；定期的

20.triangulate [tra????ɡjule?t] vt. 對(duì)……進(jìn)行三角測(cè)繪

21.pinpoint [?p?np??nt] vt. （在地圖等上）用針標(biāo)出……的精確位置；指出……的位置

22.Kickstarter： 請(qǐng)參見P59注釋8

23.cozy [?k??zi] adj. 舒適暖和的

24.thermal [?θ??ml] adj. 保暖的

25.refract [r??fr?kt] vt. 折射