专八阅读材料库之IBM夺回最快计算机桂冠_大学英语阅读

专八阅读材料库之IBM夺回最快计算机桂冠

　　Every year， the Department of Energy has to certify to the U.S. president that the missiles are safe and in working order. Computers are constantly running simulations to predict the likelihood of missile failure in a war， or the consequences of a missile mishap while still in peacetime.

　　每年，能源部都要向美国总统证明美国的导弹是安全的，它们正在正常工作。许多计算机持续运转，模拟预测在战时导弹失败的可能性或在和平时期导弹惹祸的恶果。

　　Currently， the former worlds No. 1 computer， ASCI White， did the job. But it can only run simulations on simple theoretical models， said lab spokesman David Schwoegler. ASCI Purple will do the first true-to-life， three-dimensional simulation of a detonation.

　　实验室发言人David Schwoegler说，当前，前世界运行最快的计算机--ASCI白计算机曾经承担这个重任，但它仅能在简单的理论模型中模拟核爆炸的瞬间情况，而ASCI紫计算机将首次逼真地三维模拟核爆炸。

　　And testing the nuclear arsenal requires much more than simulating the behavior of the plutonium inside a bomb. In fact， everything inside the bomb must be tested because materials tend to act in unpredictable ways during a detonation. One thing the computer will be able to test， for example， is whether aging materials hold potential hazards.