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0Episode: Hangzhou: Robot Cleans, She Helps, Robot 7, Her 3
Duration: approximately 8 minutes
Level: B1 (Intermediate)
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[Mike]: Welcome back to Learn English with Podcasts! Sarah, quick question — if your coworker did the dirtiest job in the whole building, what would you score them out of ten?
zh:欢迎回到 Learn English with Podcasts！Sarah，先问你一个问题——如果同事把全楼最脏的活都包了，你会给他打几分（满分10分）？
[Sarah]: Honestly? Eight, maybe nine — if they never complained about it. Why do you ask?
zh:说实话？八分，也许九分——如果他们从不抱怨的话。为什么这么问？
[Mike]: Because a cleaner in Hangzhou gave her coworker a 7. And that coworker is a robot.
zh:因为杭州一位保洁员给她的搭档打了7分。而这位搭档是个机器人。
[Sarah]: Just a 7 for a robot? That is a surprisingly calm score.
zh:机器人才7分？这分给得相当淡定。
[Mike]: She gave herself a 3. And she said, "Together we make 10."
zh:她给自己打了3分。还说："我们俩加起来正好10分。"
[Sarah]: Okay, now I need the whole story. Where is this happening?
zh:好吧，现在我得听完整个故事。这事发生在哪？
[Mike]: The Fifth Global Digital Trade Fair in Hangzhou, September 23 to 27. In the AI zone, there is a robot cleaning a public toilet — Star X2 Lite.
zh:杭州，第五届全球数字贸易博览会，9月23日到27日。展区里有个机器人在扫公厕——Star X2 Lite。
[Sarah]: And the woman standing right next to it, explaining everything to the cameras?
zh:那站在它旁边、对着镜头讲解一切的女人呢？
[Mike]: That is Wei Yonghua, 60 years old, a public toilet cleaner in Yuhang, Hangzhou. She is not a presenter — she cleans with the robot every day.
zh:那是魏永华，60岁，杭州余杭的公厕保洁员。她不是主持人——她每天和这机器人一起打扫。
[Sarah]: Alright, show me what the robot actually does.
zh:好吧，让我看看这机器人到底会干什么。
[Mike]: Wei taps her phone once. The robot turns to face the toilet, then flushes, sucks up the water, dries it, and disinfects — all in one go.
zh:魏大姐在手机上点一下。机器人转向马桶，然后冲水、吸水、烘干、消杀——一气呵成。
[Sarah]: And the stubborn stains that water just cannot wash away?
zh:那水冲不掉的顽固污渍呢？
[Mike]: The arm changes its tool head by itself — spray, suck, dry. When it is done, there is almost nothing left in the corner.
zh:机械臂会自己换工具头——喷洗、吸污、烘干。干完活，几乎不留死角。
[Sarah]: Okay, that is genuinely useful. But she did not learn this job yesterday — how long have they worked together?
zh:好吧，这确实有用。但她可不是昨天才上岗的——她们搭档多久了？
[Mike]: Since January. Her robot arrived three months before she did. She calls it "Jiejie" — the name just means clean, clean.
zh:从1月开始。机器人比她早到三个月。她管它叫"洁洁"——这名字就是干净、干净的意思。
[Sarah]: So how long did it take her to get the hang of it?
zh:那她花了多久才摸熟？
[Mike]: Three days. She says the first day she did not really get it. Then she opened the app, tapped a few times, and they could work together.
zh:三天。她说第一天还不太适应，后来手机上一弄，就能和它配合着干活了。
[Sarah]: So what is the split? Who does what?
zh:那分工呢？各干什么？
[Mike]: The robot takes the heavy stuff — the repeated, exhausting jobs, and the dirty spots: spit stains, waste in the squat toilet.
zh:机器人包重活——高频重复的累活，还有脏地方：痰渍、蹲坑里的排泄物。
[Sarah]: And Wei takes the details — taps, mirrors, walls, doors.
zh:魏大姐负责细节——水龙头、镜面、墙面、门板。
[Mike]: Before, cleaning the men's room, the women's room, and the baby room took her three hours. Now it takes an hour and a half.
zh:以前男厕、女厕加母婴室全清洁一遍要三个小时，现在一个半小时。
[Sarah]: And her back? All that bending used to be the worst part.
zh:她的腰呢？以前弯腰才是最要命的部分。
[Mike]: "I do not have to bend over all the time. It saves a lot of trouble." And the small stains — half a minute, and they are gone.
zh:"我都不用老是弯腰，很省事儿。"还有那些小污渍——半分钟就没了。
[Sarah]: So who built this thing?
zh:那这是谁造出来的？
[Mike]: A robotics startup in Hangzhou. The co-founder says the team wanted one thing from the start — a robot that does the jobs nobody wants to do.
zh:杭州一家机器人公司。联合创始人说，团队从一开始只想做一件事——一台专门干没人愿意干的活的机器人。
[Sarah]: And a public toilet is the perfect test, because the people cleaning them are often older, and the work is heavy.
zh:而公厕正是理想的场景，因为保洁的往往是年纪偏大的大哥大姐，干的还是重活。
[Mike]: The robot runs on laser radar, AI vision, and 3D depth sensing. But here is my favorite part — the app is all icons.
zh:机器人靠激光雷达、AI视觉和3D深度感知。但我最喜欢的一点是——整个App全是图标。
[Sarah]: So you do not need to read much to use it.
zh:也就是说，不用认多少字就能用。
[Mike]: Their words: if you can understand an icon, you can operate it.
zh:他们的原话是：只要能看懂图标，就会操作。
[Sarah]: Does it actually sell, or is it just a fair attraction?
zh:它真卖得出去吗，还是只是展会上的看点？
[Mike]: This was the company's third year in a row at the fair. First appearance in 2024, then over 300 million yuan in intended orders in 2025.
zh:这是公司第三次参加数贸会。2024年首秀，2025年拿下超过3亿元意向订单。
[Sarah]: And this year?
zh:那今年呢？
[Mike]: Two days in, nearly 1500 intended orders — and most of them came from overseas.
zh:开幕两天，将近1500台意向订单——而且主要来自海外。
[Sarah]: A robot that cleans toilets, and the demand is from other countries. You would never guess that.
zh:一个扫厕所的机器人，订单却主要来自海外。谁能想到呢。
[Mike]: In Hangzhou alone, more than 50 robots are already working in over 20 kinds of places — the airport, highway service areas, parks, office buildings, malls, the metro.
zh:光在杭州，就有50多台设备在20多个场景上岗——机场、高速服务区、公园、写字楼、商圈、地铁站。
[Sarah]: And every toilet it cleans teaches it something new.
zh:它每扫一间厕所，都会学到新东西。
[Mike]: That is what the co-founder says — hundreds of robots in hundreds of toilets means real data, and real data makes the skill list grow.
zh:联合创始人就是这么说的——几百台机器人在几百间公厕干活，就能攒下真实数据，技能库也就越来越强。
[Sarah]: Meanwhile, Wei became the famous one. She is on the news now.
zh:与此同时，出名的反倒是魏大姐。她都上新闻了。
[Mike]: Her sisters back home could not believe it. "You do that job? That kind of work?"
zh:老家的姐妹都不敢相信。"你干那个？那埋汰活？"
[Sarah]: Her answer: "I want them to see that my work is not dirty. And I am on national TV now — look how well I am doing in Hangzhou."
zh:她的回答是："我想让她们看到，我这工作不埋汰。而且我都上央视了，你看我在杭州争不争气？"
[Mike]: Her daughter says she is relieved — mom does not have to work so hard anymore. The grandchildren call on video and ask, "Grandma, show us the robot!"
zh:女儿说这下放心了，老妈不用这么累。外孙打视频电话总说："姥姥，快给我看看机器人！"
[Sarah]: There is a banner on the toilet wall too, right?
zh:公厕墙上还挂着一面锦旗，对吧？
[Mike]: On May Day, she found four phones in one day. The owners got together and sent her the banner.
zh:今年"五一"，她一天捡到四部手机。失主们一起把锦旗送了过来。
[Sarah]: Now the big question — will the robot take her job?
zh:现在是那个大问题——机器人会抢她的饭碗吗？
[Mike]: She was asked that too — the reporter even followed her to the bathroom. Her reply came back as three questions.
zh:她也被问过这个问题——记者甚至一路追到厕所。她的回答是三个反问。
[Sarah]: Go on, I am ready.
zh:说来听听，我准备好了。
[Mike]: "When the pipe is blocked, can the robot fix that? When it runs out of water, does it fill itself? And since a human built it, doesn't someone have to hold a phone and tell it what to do?"
zh:"厕所堵了，机器人通得了吗？它没水了，能自己加水吗？既然是人造的，总得有人拿手机随时指派它吧？"
[Sarah]: She does not know the first thing about technology, and she just named the three things no robot can do.
zh:她一点都不懂技术，却说出了机器人目前干不了的三件事。
[Mike]: She gave two words for why her job stays: "human warmth" and "a warm heart."
zh:她给了两个词，说明自己的工作为什么不会消失："人气"和"热心"。
[Sarah]: A visitor walks in and somebody notices them. A phone left behind gets handed in.
zh:游客进来，有人会注意到他。落下手机有人交上去。
[Mike]: And the company's slogan? "We make robots bend down, so people do not have to bend down."
zh:那家公司的口号是什么？"我们让机器人弯下腰，是为了不让人弯下腰。"
[Sarah]: Someone online finished the thought — when the robot bends down to do the least dignified work, workers finally get to stand up straight.
zh:有网友把这句话接完了——当机器人弯腰去干最不体面的活，劳动者才有机会体面地挺直腰板。
[Mike]: Here is my favorite detail of the whole day. This robot has laser radar, AI vision, and 3D depth sensing.
zh:整件事里我最喜欢的一个细节。这台机器人有激光雷达、AI视觉和3D深度感知。
[Sarah]: And?
zh:然后呢？
[Mike]: A mosquito landed on the reporter's face. The robot did not notice. Wei brushed it off and ran to get the mosquito repellent.
zh:一只蚊子落在记者脸上。机器人没发现。魏大姐一挥手把它赶开，转身跑去拿风油精。
[Sarah]: A 7 for the robot. I am starting to think she was being generous.
zh:给机器人7分。我现在觉得她打得挺大方。
[Mike]: And the 3 points are still hers — every single time that robot moves, it is her finger that taps the screen.
zh:而那3分还是归她——机器人每动一下，都是她的手指在点屏幕。
[Sarah]: Fair enough. Thanks for listening to Learn English with Podcasts — see you next time!
zh:很公平。感谢收听 Learn English with Podcasts——下期再见！
