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Virtual reality is coming, and you're going to jump into it.

虛擬現實即將到來，你會迫不及待地投身其中。

That's because virtual reality is the natural extension of every major technology we use today — of movies, TV, videoconferencing, the smartphone and the web. It is the ultra-immersive version of all these things, and we'll use it exactly the same ways — to communicate, to learn, and to entertain ourselves and escape. Dr. Bailenson says that it will even alter how society deals with such weighty issues as gender parity and environmental destruction.

詞匯突破：weighty issues 重大問題

gender parity 性別差異

參考譯文：這是因為虛擬現實是我們今天使用的每一種主要技術的自然延伸，如電影、電視、視頻會議、智能手機、網絡等技術。它是所有這些東西的超 級沉浸化的版本，我們也會以完全相同的方式使用虛擬現實技術，例如：用于通訊、學習、娛樂和逃避。拜倫森說，它甚至會改變社會處理一些 重大議題的方式，如性別平等和環境破壞。

This week, in an hour-and-a-half session, Dr. Bailenson offered a series of simulations similar to the ones Mr. Zuckerberg experienced，in which he experienced how an immersive virtual reality simulator can play strange tricks on one's body, mind and mood.

詞匯突破： simulations 模擬場景

參考譯文：本周，在一次一個半小時長的體驗中，拜倫森呈現了與扎克伯格體驗到的情景相似的一系列模擬場景，他體驗到了沉浸式的虛擬現實模擬裝置 能夠如何迷惑人的身體、頭腦和情緒。

It's this ability to let us feel a sense of human connection that boosters say will make virtual reality a powerful communications platform. Today, companies spend billions on travel and videoconferencing, because even though we can all get our work done remotely, face-to-face meetings are powerful.

詞匯突破：boosters 支持者

參考譯文：正是這種讓我們產生人際聯絡感的能力，促使支持者認為，虛擬現實是一種強大的傳播平臺。如今的公司要在差旅和視頻會議上耗費數十億美 元，因為盡管我們都能遠程完成工作，面對面的談話仍然是一種強大的手段。

Yet researchers have shown that virtual meetings can be even better than real-life encounters, because our avatars can be programmed to act perfectly manipulatively, in ways that we can't. For instance, in VR encounters, everyone can make eye contact with everyone else, suggesting a level of attentiveness that might be lacking in reality.

參考譯文： 而研究人員已經證明，虛擬會議甚至比真人會面還要好，因為我們的化身可以通過編程進行完美的操控，以我們做不到的方式行事。比如，在 虛擬現實的會面中，每個人都可以和他人進行眼神交流，展現一種在現實生活中可能缺失的專注。

Another potential use is pure escapism. History shows that we've never shied away from such immersive experiences when they work. Since their invention, movies have offered a compelling, immersive world. These days, we go outside wearing big headphones to transport us through music. And we can't stop staring at our phones.

詞匯突破：shy away from 躲避，遠離

immersive experiences 沉浸式體驗

compelling, immersive world 引人入勝的、身臨其境的世界