21世纪中期，温室效应累积的恶果已经使世界面目全非，两极冰冠消融，海平面上升，像威尼斯、纽约这样的城市已经不复存在。以最低的能耗谋求发展成为人类的指导方针，机器人得以普及，其制造技术取得了突破性的进展，科学家已经能够制造出外表与人无二的机器人。套用当时科学界的理论来说，这种类人机器人与真人的关键区别仅在于他们不能区分什幺是真正的爱——尽管只要打开他们身上控制爱的开关，他们就会对主人报以无限的爱。
In the middle of the 21st century, the accumulation of greenhouse effect has made the world totally different. The polar ice caps are melting and the sea level is rising. Cities like Venice and New York no longer exist. With the lowest energy consumption to seek development as the guideline of human beings, robots can be popularized, and its manufacturing technology has made a breakthrough. Scientists have been able to produce robots with the same appearance as human beings. According to the theory of the scientific community at that time, the key difference between humanoid robots and real people is that they can't distinguish what is real love - although as long as they turn on the switch to control love, they will repay their master with infinite love.
温斯顿夫妇本来有一个儿子马丁，但他十一岁时却被医生宣布为要永远躺在医院的休眠舱中。为了给妻子莫尼卡的生活增添乐趣，温斯顿领养了小机器人大卫。
The Winstons had a son, Martin, but at the age of eleven he was declared by doctors to lie in the hospital's sleeping quarters forever. To add fun to his wife Monica's life, Winston adopted the little robot David.
一开始，大卫的出现让莫尼卡惊慌失措，无法接受。但很快地，天真的大卫就赢得了莫尼卡的喜爱。然而，这种和谐的生活却被莫尼卡真正的儿子马丁的突然康复所打破。马丁把这个趁他不在闯入家中的兄弟当成机器玩具，并利用大卫的天真，屡屡在小机器人和母亲莫尼卡之间制造裂痕。终于，在温斯顿的坚持下，莫尼卡将大卫和他的玩具机器熊特德一起抛到了郊外。
At first, Monica was overwhelmed by David's presence. But soon, naive David won Monica's favor. However, this harmonious life was broken by the sudden recovery of Monica's real son Martin. Martin took the brother who was not in his house as a machine toy, and used David's innocence to make cracks between the little robot and his mother Monica. At last, at Winston's insistence, Monica throws David and his toy robot bear ted to the outskirts.
流浪过程中，大卫遇到了“机器人舞男”乔，并和他一起遭围捕队捕获。他们和其它一些机器人被关进铁笼，带到了一家以残害机器人吸引顾客的娱乐中心。在这里大卫目睹了机器人被人用各种残忍方法残杀的恐怖景象。当大卫也被拉到台上，他哭喊着求救。他不相信其它机器人所说的“机器人都会有这样的结局”，他不想这样死去，他想念妈妈，渴望像真正的人一样生活，享受爱与被爱。终于，人性中的博爱与良知被唤醒，观众们冲向舞台。大卫、特德和乔乘乱逃脱。
During the wandering, David met Joe, the "robot dancer", and was caught by the hounding team together with him. They and some other robots were caged and taken to an entertainment center that attracts customers with its crippling robots. Here David witnessed the horror of robots being killed by people in all kinds of cruel ways. When David was also pulled to the stage, he cried for help. He didn't believe that other robots said "robots will have such an end". He didn't want to die like this. He missed his mother and wanted to live like a real person and enjoy love and being loved. Finally, humanity's fraternity and conscience were awakened, and the audience rushed to the stage. David, Ted and Joe got away.
变成人类的梦想主导着大卫的思想。乔帮助他来到一座被海水浸泡的城市，因为据说只有霍比博士一个人有可能让大卫梦想成真，而他就住在这里。
The dream of becoming human dominates David's mind. Joe helped him come to a city soaked in sea water, because it is said that only Dr. hobby can make David's dream come true, and he lives here.
尽管大卫的表现已经超越了正常机器人的行为准则，但霍比博士仍给了一个令他绝望的回答：机器人变成人太难，以至于根本没有这种可能。
Although David's performance has exceeded the normal behavior of robots, Dr. hobby still gave him a desperate answer: it's so difficult for robots to become human beings that there is no such possibility at all.
大卫跃入大海，他难以接受这种现实。乔将他从海底救起，二人相依在残破巨厦的楼顶。这时一只飞船幽灵般地赶到，捉走了乔。
David jumped into the sea. He couldn't accept the reality. Joe rescued him from the bottom of the sea. They were on the top of the dilapidated building. Then a spaceship arrived ghostly and captured Joe.
大卫带着特德驾驶飞船来到海底。在一座沉入海底的女神像前，熄灭了飞船的发动机。他一遍一遍地向女神祈祷，祈求她让他变成真正的人。女神的脸上挂着的是一成不变的微笑。大卫不断地祈祷，直到世界沧桑巨变。他就那样一动不动，大大的双眼透过无边的黑暗搜索希望，一天又一天，任两千年的岁月悄然而逝。
David took ted to the bottom of the sea. In front of a statue that sank to the bottom of the sea, the engine of the spaceship was put out. He prayed to the goddess over and over, asking her to make him a real person. On the goddess's face hangs the invariable smile. David kept praying until the world changed. He was so motionless, his big eyes searching for hope through the boundless darkness, day after day, the two thousand years passed away quietly.
一只纤细的手拂去大卫飞船舷窗上厚厚的沉积物，大卫被惊醒了。他蹒跚地走出飞船，外面的海底已变成陆地，只有他前面的长着翅膀的女神笑容依然。大卫伸出手，可是刚一接触到女神，它便在顷刻间坍塌，化为碎片。这时，一个四肢退化得细若麻秆的人将手搭在大卫的头上，于是他所有的记忆以及思想都释放出来。
David was awakened when a thin hand brushed the thick sediment from the porthole of his spaceship. He hobbled out of the ship, the sea floor outside had become land, only the winged goddess in front of him still smiled. David held out his hand, but as soon as he touched the goddess, it collapsed and broke into pieces. At this time, a man whose limbs are as thin as hemp sticks puts his hand on David's head, so all his memories and thoughts are released.
后来大卫才知道，他已经身处两千年后的世界，两千年前的人类已经灭绝，新人类希望通过他解开人类之谜。
Only later did David know that he was in the world 2000 years later, and that the human race 2000 years ago had been extinct. The new human race hoped to solve the mystery of human race through him.
大卫请求未来人让他的母亲复活，未来人告诉他，没有DNA信息他们也无能为力。当特德从体内掏出了一绺莫尼卡的长发时，未来人答应了大卫的请求，但同时提醒大卫：他们的技术只能让他的母亲存活一天。
David asked future people to revive his mother. Future people told him that they could do nothing without DNA information. When Ted pulled out a lock of Monica's long hair from his body, the future man agreed to David's request, but at the same time reminded David that their technology could only keep his mother alive for one day.
这一天，大卫就像一个离开母亲多年的浪子，像一个真正的男孩，将自己内心积存的对母亲的挚爱尽情释放。他没有告诉母亲事情的真相，他要用爱使母亲度过最快乐的一天。这天夜晚，莫尼卡幸福地睡去了，这一睡意味着永远。
On this day, David is like a prodigal son who left his mother for many years, like a real boy, releasing his inner love for his mother. He didn't tell his mother the truth. He wanted to spend the happiest day with love. That night, Monica went to sleep happily, which means forever.
大卫也睡去了，这是他一生中第一次睡着了，梦中他去了他想去的地方，那是他的家。
David also fell asleep. It was the first time in his life that he fell asleep. In the dream, he went to the place he wanted to go, that was his home.