Cortana. Alexa. Siri. These are names of robotic voices that are often programmed on electronic tablets. They also become default(默认) identities for people with speech disorders who rely on technology to communicate. Now some speech scientists are developing personalized voices to reflect the broader diversity of the people who use them. To do it，they are tapping into a vast network of volunteers who are donating their voices to share with people who cannot speak.
The effort to build an international “Human Voicebank” has attracted more than 17，000 volunteers from 110 countries，including Priyanka Pandya，a 16－year－old from Columbia，Md. ，who plans to spend her winter vacation recording a string of sentences into her computer. “To be able to give somebody the gift of voice，I think that’s really，really powerful，” she said.
“Everyone has a voice，” said Rupal Patel，founder of VocaliD，the company that started the voicebank. “Even people who are unable to speak have sounds that are unique to them. ” Her company designs personalized voices by recording the unique sounds of the user，and then mixing them with 6 to 10 hours of recordings from a voice donor，matched by age，gender and region. The company is developing voices now for its first 100 customers.
Also，people’s voices change. The company is looking for donors who are willing to record their voices，and then record them again a few years later，as they get older. But some of the first customers say they are happy with the results.
John A. Gregoire was one of the first customers to receive a personalized voice from VocaliD last December. The voice came eight years after he developed ALS (肌萎缩侧索硬化症)and more than six years since his voice became unintelligible to everyone except his wife and youngest son. “Having a distinctive voice is like getting something back that was stolen，” John said.
【小题1】What does the author say about the voicebank?| A．It collects all kinds of voices. |
| B．It gains strong public support. |
| C．It helps to recognize special voices. |
| D．It offers people personalized voices free. |
| A．customers’ desire for personalized voices |
| B．VocaliD’s efforts to develop personalized voices |
| C．customers’ satisfaction with personalized voices |
| D．VocaliD’s success in designing personalized voices |
| A．Unclear. | B．Soft. |
| C．Incomplete. | D．Rough. |
| A．VocaliD is devoted to building a voicebank. |
| B．Volunteers donate their voices to VocaliD. |
| C．The Human Voicebank helps people with speech problems. |
| D．The Human Voicebank wins fame among speechless people. |
