Welcome to Cogville! / 欢迎来到齿轮小镇！

Chapter 1: Welcome to Cogville!

第 1 章：欢迎来到齿轮小镇！

> Chapter Mission / 本章使命: What is an *agent*? And why is one little robot sometimes not enough? > 本章任务：什么是"智能体"？为什么一个小机器人有时候不够用？

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🚪 A New Bot Arrives at the Brass Gates / 一位新机器人来到黄铜大门

The morning sun climbed slowly above Cogville, painting every rooftop with a thin coat of golden light. Tiny brass screws on every chimney caught the rays and twinkled like birthday candles. Somewhere down a side street, a robotic rooster crowed three cheerful "beep-beep-boops," and the whole town began to wake up.

清晨的太阳缓缓地爬上了齿轮小镇的天空，给每一座屋顶都涂上了一层薄薄的金色光辉。每根烟囱上的小黄铜螺丝接住了阳光，像生日蜡烛一样闪闪发光。在一条小巷子的某处，一只机器公鸡欢快地"哔-哔-啵"叫了三声，整个小镇就这样苏醒了过来。

And standing at the great iron gate, looking up at all of this with eyes as wide as dinner plates, was a brand-new robot named Pip.

在小镇那扇巨大的铁门前，站着一个崭新的机器人，名叫 Pip。他睁着一对盘子那么大的眼睛，仰头看着这一切。

Pip was small—much smaller than most of the bots who lived in Cogville. Pip stood about the size of a school backpack, with a perfectly round head, two big glowing blue eyes, and a body covered in smooth, sky-blue metal. Inside Pip's chest, you could hear a soft, steady hum: *tick-tick-tick*, the sound of many tiny gears working together like a happy little choir.

Pip很小——比齿轮小镇里的大多数机器人都小。Pip大概只有一个书包那么高，圆圆的脑袋，两只大大的、发光的蓝色眼睛，身子是光滑的天蓝色金属。在Pip的胸口里面，你可以听到一种温柔而稳定的嗡嗡声：*嗒-嗒-嗒*——那是许多小齿轮一起工作的声音，像一支快乐的小合唱团。

Just one week ago, Pip had graduated from the Starting-Up Training Camp. In robot language, "graduating" does *not* mean wearing a long dress or throwing your cap in the air. It means your very last screw was tightened, your very last button was pressed, and someone wise looked at you and said, *"You are ready!"*

就在一个星期前，Pip刚从"启动训练营"毕业。在机器人的语言里，"毕业"的意思 *不是* 穿一件长长的礼服或者把帽子扔到天上去。它的意思是：你最后一颗螺丝被拧紧了，最后一个按钮被按下去了，然后一位有智慧的机器人看着你说："你准备好啦！"

At training camp, Pip had learned many important things:

在训练营里，Pip学会了许多重要的事情：

• How to **walk** without falling over (mostly).
• 如何 **走路** 不摔倒（大部分时候）。
• How to **talk** without squeaking (also mostly).
• 如何 **说话** 不发出吱吱的声音（同样大部分时候）。
• How to **greet a friend** without bumping into them (this one took a long time).
• 如何 **跟朋友打招呼** 不会撞到对方（这一项花了好久好久）。
• How to **count to ten** in binary (Pip thought this was very fancy).
• 如何用 **二进制数到十** （Pip觉得这特别高级）。

But Pip had *never* seen a town as wondrous as the one standing right in front of Pip's nose.

但是Pip从来没有见过像眼前这样神奇的小镇。

"Wow," whispered Pip, in a voice that sounded like wind chimes. "Is this really Cogville?"

"哇哦，"Pip轻轻地说，声音像风铃一样。"这里真的是齿轮小镇吗？"

The gatekeeper, a tall robot with green stripes and a friendly smile that took up half his face, nodded slowly. "It is, little one. Cogville has been humming for one hundred and forty-two years. And today, *you* become a part of it."

门口的守门机器人——一个高高的、身上有绿色条纹、脸上挂着一个占了半张脸的微笑的机器人——慢慢地点了点头。"是的，小家伙。齿轮小镇已经嗡嗡响了142年了。而今天，你 也成为了它的一部分。"

Pip felt something warm and bright flicker in Pip's chest—not a gear, but something softer. Something that robots call happiness.

Pip的胸口里感到有什么温暖而明亮的东西闪了一下——不是齿轮，而是某种更柔软的东西。机器人们管这种东西叫做 快乐。

"Welcome home, Pip," said the gatekeeper.

"欢迎回家，Pip，"守门机器人说。

Pip rolled through the gate—*click-click-click* went the wheels—and into the most amazing place in the whole wide world.

Pip咕噜咕噜地滚过了大门——轮子发出 *咔嗒-咔嗒-咔嗒* 的声音——滚进了这个广阔世界里最神奇的地方。

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🏙️ A Tour of Cogville / 齿轮小镇一日游

Pip's blue eyes went *ping-ping-ping*, bouncing from one marvel to the next. Every building was built from shiny brass and copper, polished until it glowed like a mirror. The lampposts were made from old-fashioned gears stacked on top of each other, like robot-shaped flowers. The streets were paved with smooth silver tiles that hummed softly when Pip rolled over them.

Pip的蓝色小眼睛 *叮-叮-叮* 地转个不停，从一个奇迹跳到下一个。每一栋房子都是用闪闪发光的黄铜和紫铜建成的，打磨得像镜子一样光亮。路灯是用一个一个老式的齿轮叠起来做成的，像机器人形状的小花朵。街道是用光滑的银色小方砖铺成的，Pip滚过去的时候，方砖会发出轻轻的嗡嗡声。

In one window, Pip saw a robot baker pulling out trays of fresh bolt-buns that smelled like toasted walnuts. In another, Pip saw a robot gardener watering a row of glowing cog-flowers, whose petals opened and closed like tiny mouths. And in the sky above, a small drone-butterfly flitted past, dropping a sprinkle of sparkles that landed softly on Pip's nose.

在一扇窗户里，Pip看到一位机器人面包师正在端出一盘又一盘刚出炉的 螺栓小面包 ，闻起来像烤过的核桃。 在另一扇窗户里，Pip看到一位机器人园丁正在给一排 会发光的齿轮花 浇水，那些花瓣像小嘴巴一样一张一合。 在头顶的天空中，一只小小的 无人机蝴蝶 飞过，洒下一点点亮晶晶的粉末，轻轻地落在Pip的鼻子上。

"Achoo!" sneezed Pip, and the drone-butterfly giggled and flew away.

"啊嚏！"Pip打了一个小喷嚏，无人机蝴蝶咯咯笑着飞走了。

But the most amazing thing of all stood right in the middle of the town square: the Great Lighthouse.

但是最神奇的东西矗立在镇中心的广场正中央：大灯塔。

The Great Lighthouse was tall and round and proud, with a glowing crystal at the very top. That crystal was what lit up all of Cogville when the night came. As long as the crystal shone bright and steady, every robot in town could see, work, play, and find their way home. It was like a giant nightlight for the whole town, only it worked in the day *and* the night.

大灯塔又高、又圆、又神气，最顶上有一颗发光的水晶。只要这颗水晶又亮又稳地发光着，齿轮小镇的每一个机器人都能看见路，能工作，能玩耍，能找到回家的方向。它就像整个小镇的一盏巨大夜灯，无论白天还是黑夜，都在那里发光。

Pip gazed up at the crystal. It shimmered pink and gold, like a sunset caught inside a soap bubble. Pip's gears hummed a happy little tune.

Pip抬头望着那颗水晶。它闪着粉色和金色的光，像把一整个夕阳装进了一个肥皂泡泡里。Pip胸口的齿轮哼着一支快乐的小曲。

*Click-click-click*, went Pip's wheels. *Hum-hum-hum*, went Pip's gears. *Twinkle-twinkle-twinkle*, went the crystal high above.

*咔嗒-咔嗒-咔嗒* ，Pip的轮子转着。 *嗡嗡-嗡嗡-嗡* ，Pip的齿轮唱着。 *闪闪-闪闪-闪闪* ，头顶的水晶亮着。

And so, on this very first morning, Pip the little robot began to explore. Pip did not know it yet, but Pip was about to have the most important adventure of Pip's whole life.

就这样，在这个崭新的早晨，小机器人Pip开始了他的探险。Pip还不知道——这一天的冒险，将会成为Pip一生中最重要的冒险。

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🤖 What is an Agent? / 智能体是什么？

After rolling around for a while, Pip met many friendly robots in Cogville. There was Wheelie, who delivered packages faster than anyone. There was Glimmer, who painted beautiful pictures on the town's walls. There was Buzzer, who made music with bells and chimes. There was Cranky the mechanic, who fixed anything that was broken. And there was Bot-Professor Memo, the oldest and wisest robot in town, who wore round glasses and carried a small leather notebook everywhere he went.

滚来滚去玩了好一会儿之后，Pip在齿轮小镇里认识了许多友好的机器人。有送包裹比谁都快、名叫 威利（Wheely） 的机器人。有在小镇墙上画出美丽图画、名叫 闪闪（Glimmer） 的机器人。有会敲铃铛奏出音乐、名叫 铃铛先生（Buzzer） 的机器人。有修东西特别厉害、名叫 小咔（Cranky） 的修理师傅。还有全镇最年长、最有智慧的机器人—— 备忘录教授（Bot-Professor Memo） 。备忘录教授戴着圆眼镜，无论走到哪里都带着一个小小的皮质笔记本。

"Hello, Professor Memo!" said Pip, rolling up politely. "I'm new here. I'm Pip. Can you teach me something?"

"您好，备忘录教授！"Pip礼貌地滚了过去。"我是新来的。我叫Pip。您能教我点东西吗？"

Professor Memo smiled a gentle smile. "Of course, little Pip. A wise robot once said, *'A question is the first step on a long, beautiful road.'* Tell me—what do you think makes a robot special?"

备忘录教授温柔地笑了笑。"当然可以，小Pip。一位智者曾经说过：'一个问题，是一条又长又美丽的路的第一步。'告诉我——你觉得是什么让一个机器人变得特别呢？"

Pip thought hard. Pip's gears spun as Pip searched for the answer. "Um... we have gears?"

Pip使劲地想了想。Pip的齿轮飞速转动，寻找着答案。"嗯……我们有齿轮？"

"That's a start," said the Professor. "But what do those gears *let us do*?"

"这是一个开始，"教授说。"但是这些齿轮 让我们能做些什么呢 ？"

Pip thought again. "They let us... walk? Talk? Roll?"

Pip又想了想。"它们让我们……走路？说话？滚动？"

The Professor's eyes twinkled behind his round glasses. He opened his notebook. There was a drawing on the page: a small robot with three arrows pointing at it. The first arrow was labeled "SENSE." The second was labeled "THINK." The third was labeled "ACT."

教授的圆眼镜后面，眼睛闪闪发光。他打开了笔记本。笔记本的某一页上画着一张图：一个小机器人，有三个箭头指着它。第一个箭头写着 "感知（SENSE）" 。第二个写着 "思考（THINK）" 。第三个写着 "行动（ACT）" 。

"Do you see this drawing, Pip?" asked the Professor. "This is the secret of every helper in Cogville. We call them agents."

"你看到这张图了吗，Pip？"教授问。"这就是齿轮小镇里每一位小帮手的秘密。我们管他们叫 智能体（agents） 。"

"Agents?" repeated Pip. "What's an agent?"

"智能体？"Pip重复了一遍。"什么是智能体？"

"An agent," said Professor M