当代研究生英语课件Unit1_Text_A-2

1、Book One,当代研究生英语,Unit 1 Cyberspace,Book One,Text A CYBERSPACE: IF YOU DONT LOVE IT, LEAVE IT Esther Dyson cyberspace: subject of the article a choice: love it, or leave it. You have complete freedom,Book One,I. Introducing the Topic,Esther Dyson (born 14 July 1951, Switzerland) is the editor and pub

2、lisher of the widely respected computer newsletter Release计算机时报发行社. Dyson is also the organizer and moderator (Chairman) of the annual Personal Computer Forum,Book One,What is cyberspace,Cyberspace: it refers to the Internet and the information contained on it. Useful information is easily accessibl

3、e to any computer user via a modem and a server. For this reason, many people are fascinated with cyberspace,Book One,Function of cyberspace,Using this global network, individuals can exchange ideas, share information, provide social support, conduct business, direct actions, play games, engage in p

4、olitical discussion, and so on,Book One,Problems of cyberspace,Unfortunately, cyberspace also offers undesirable information and indecent pictures. Some websites even give instructions in stealing, gambling and other crimes, thus creating social problems. Therefore, for some, cyberspace is a nasty p

5、lace that good citizens should avoid and government should control,Book One,Three parts of the text,Part I (Para. 1 5) nature of cyberspace the author defines the nature of cyberspace by comparing it with real estate. According to the author, cyberspace is like real estate consisting of many differe

6、nt areas such as parkland公共用地, shopping mall, school district, church, state and drugstore,Book One,Cyberspace also consists of different places, each place catering to the tastes and interests of a particular group of people. It is up to the individual to decide which area to go to. Unfortunately,

7、some places are not suitable for children; others are nasty places that good citizens should avoid. Therefore, many people think that cyberspace should be regulated,Book One,Part II (Para. 6 10) contents/components the author discuss what cyberspace comprises. According to the author, cyberspace com

8、prises three parts. First, there are e-mail conversations,Book One,Second, there are information and entertainment services,Book One,Third, there are communities in which individuals can choose to participate. If they are not interested in a particular cyberspace community and its rules, they can si

9、mply leave it,Book One,Paragraph 1 - 2,Main idea: Cyberspace is a place where people can go and be free without worrying about others,Book One,1 Something in the American psyche loves new frontiers. We hanker after wide-open spaces; we like to explore; we like to make rules but refuse to follow them

10、. But in this age its hard to find a place where you can go and be yourself without worrying about the neighbors. psyche: the human mind frontiers. the most advanced achievement in a particular field or an outer limit in a field of endeavor. hanker after/for sth. : to have a strong wish for (usu. st

11、h. One cant have)憧,Para.1,Book One,Worrying about the neighbors” implies that wherever you go and whatever you do, you must consider whether you will disturb other people or not. 译文：很难找到这样一个地方，你自己可以随心所欲，而又不必担心影响到你的邻居,Book One,Para. 2,2 There is such a place: cyberspace. Formerly a playground for com

12、puter fans, cyberspace now embraces every conceivable constituency: schoolchildren, flirtatious singles, Hungarian-Americans, accountants. Can they all get along? Or will our fear of kids surfing for dirty pictures behind their bedroom doors provoke a crackdown,Book One,embrace: to include or cover

13、包括 conceivable: that can be imagined flirtatious: expressive of playful sexual invitation/ frivolous get along: have smooth relations = Or will our fear that children look for pornographic /erotic information on the Internet in their bedroom cause us to take disciplinary actions (against cyberspace)

14、,Book One,Paragraph 3 - 4,Main idea: The author compares cyberspace to real estate for the reader to visualize the place. The metaphor is used because real estate and cyberspace have much in common. Both have different areas, each of which caters to the interest of a particular group of people. The

15、metaphor helps to reveal the nature of cyberspace to the reader,Book One,Para.3,3 The first order of business is to grasp what cyberspace is. It might help to leave behind metaphors of highways and frontiers and to think instead of real estate. Real estate, remember, is an intellectual, legal, artif

16、icial environment constructed on top of land. Real estate recognizes the difference between parkland and shopping mall, between red-light zone and school district, between church, state and drugstore,Book One,the first order of business: the first thing to be considered leave behind: choose not to t

17、ake (sth. or sb.); abandon “Highways” and “frontiers” are both metaphors (比喻) of the cyberspace. Paraphrase: It might help us (to understand what cyberspace is) if we think of it as real estate rather than as highways and frontiers. Or: (To understand what cyberspace is) it might be helpful to forge

18、t about metaphors of highways and frontiers and to think in terms of real estate instead.译文：我们可以抛开高速公路、前沿新领域等比喻，把信息空间看作一个巨大的庄园,Book One,Para. 4,4 In the same way, you could think of cyberspace as a giant and unbounded world of virtual real estate. Some property is privately owned and rented out; oth

19、er property is common land; some places are suitable for children, and others are best avoided by all citizens. Unfortunately, its those places that are now capturing the popular imagination, places that offer bomb-making instructions, pornography, advice on how to steal credit cards. They make cybe

20、rspace sound like a nasty place. Good citizens jump to a conclusion: Better regulate it,Book One,that offer bombmaking instructions, pornography, advice on how to steal credit cards” is the attributive clause(定语从句)of places. capturing he popular imagination (使民众为之神往) bombmaking instructions: instruc

21、tions about how to make bombs Jump to a conclusion: draw a conclusion hastily Better regulate it: Its better to regulate it,Book One,Paragraph 5,Main idea: Cyberspace communities should set and enforce community standards,Be Courteous to Others,Maintain Proper Decorum,Book One,Para.5,5 But before us

22、ing regulations to counter indecency (obscenity下流之辈) it is fundamental to interpret the nature of cyberspace. Cyberspace isnt a frontier where wicked people can grab unsuspecting children, nor is it a giant television system that can beam offensive messages at unwilling viewers. In this kind of real

23、 estate, users have to choose where they visit, what they see, what they do. Its optional (voluntary). In other words, cyberspace is a voluntary destinationin reality, many destinations. You dont just get “onto the Net”; you have to go someplace in particular. That means that people can choose where

24、 to go and what to see. Yes, community standards should be enforced, but those standards should be set by cyberspace communities themselves, not by the courts or by politicians in Washington,Book One,cyberspace isnt a frontier where wicked (vicious 缺德的) people can grab (snatch抢夺) unsuspecting childr

25、en (not skeptical, nave), nor is it (inverted structure) a giant television system that can beam offensive messages at unwilling viewers (不情愿的观众）. =: Cyberspace isnt a frontier where bad-minded people can grab unsuspecting children, it isnt a giant TV system that can transmit offensive messages to u

26、nwilling viewers, either. 译文：恶棍并不能在信息空间抢走毫无提防之心的儿童；信息空间也不像一台巨大的电视机，向不情愿的观众播放令人作呕的节目,Book One,Paragraph 6 - 9,Para. 6 9: three areas in cyberspace e-mail conversation information stuff (especially pornography) is not sent out to people who dont ask for it. Some of these services are free or included

27、as part of a broader service like CompuServe or America Online; others charge and may bill their customers directly,Book One,people can download anything from legal texts and lists of “great new restaurants” to game software or dirty pictures. (Para. 8, Line 1) “anything from . to.” means a wide var

28、iety of something. Here it refers to a wide variety of information available in cyberspace. “Legal texts”, “lists of new restaurants”, “game software”, and “dirty pictures” are just some examples.译文：人们可以从中下载各种信息，从法律文件、“大 型新饭店”名单，到游戏软件、下流图片，无 奇不有,Book One,1. sign up for a subscription: sign ones name

29、 in order to get签名订阅 2. free: free of charge 免费 3. a broader service: 总服务费 4. bill the customer: 让顾客付帐,Book One,Para.9,9 Third, there are “real” communitiesgroups of people who communicate among themselves. In real-estate terms, theyre like bars or restaurants or bathhouses. Each active participant

30、contributes to a general conversation, generally through posted messages. Other participants may simply listen or watch. Some services are supervised by a moderator; others are more like bulletin boardsanyone is free to post anything. Many of these services started out unmoderated but are now imposi

31、ng rules to keep out unwanted advertising, extraneous discussions or increasingly rude participants,Book One,there are “real” communities. : “real” in quotation marks, the author emphasize the fact that people belonging to cyber communities will talk to each others as they do in real life, yet the c

32、ommunities are not real, since one could not spatially locate it as a tangible object, but they are clearly real in its effects,Book One,in real-estate terms: using the words from 用不动产的角度来看；按照房地产业的说法 contribute to:做出贡献 -started out unmoderated：were not controlled or regulated at the beginning - impo

33、se rules: enforce/ rules 强制管理 - keep out: preventfrom entering 使 留在外面 extraneous: irrelevant,Book One,Paragraph 10,Main idea: People with similar interests and tastes form a community in cyberspace, and these people communicate among themselves. 物以类聚，人以群分 birds of a feather flock together People of

34、one mind fall into the same group,Book One,Para.10,10 Cyberspace communities evolve just the way terrestrial communities do: people with like-minded interests band together. Every cyberspace community has its own character. Overall, the communities on CompuServe tend to be more professional; those o

35、n America Online, affluent young singles; Prodigy, family-oriented. Then there are independents like Echo, a hip, downtown New York service, or Womens Wire, targeted to women who want to avoid the male culture prevalent elsewhere on the Net. On the Internet itself there are lots of passionate noncom

36、mercial discussion groups on topics ranging from Hungarian politics (Hungary Online) to copyright law,Book One,Cyberspace communities evolve (just the way terrestrial communities do). (Para. 10, Line 1)evolve: vi. to undergo gradual change; develop “just the way terrestrial communities do” 是方式状语(adv

37、erbial of manner)，而“terrestrial communities do” 是定语从句(attributive clause)，修饰the way。Paraphrase: Cyberspace communities develop just in the same way in which terrestrial communities do.译文：信息空间里群体的演变过程正如陆地社会团体的演变过程,Book One,like-minded: to be of similar purpose and interests意见或兴趣相同的，志趣相投的 Affluent: ri

38、ch, wealthy Prodigy: A person with exceptional talents or powers: a math prodigy. targeted to women: with the objective being women, serving the interests of women. 专为妇女开辟的 Passionate: Capable of, having, or dominated by powerful emotions range from to : introduces examples 范围从 到,Book One,Paragraph

39、11,Main idea : Cyberspace gives individuals a choice: Love it or leave it,Book One,Para.11,11 Whats unique about cyberspace is that it allows communities of any size and kind to flourish; in cyberspace, communities are chosen by the users, not forced on them by accidents of geography. This freedom g

40、ives the rules that preside in cyberspace a moral authority that rules in terrestrial environments dont have. Most people are stuck in the country of their birth, but if you dont like the rules of a cyberspace community, you can just sign off. Love it or leave it. Likewise, if parents dont like the

41、rules of a given cyberspace community, they can restrict their childrens access to it,Book One,unique about cyberspace: 信息空间的独特之处 flourish: v. 茂盛，繁荣；（指人）活跃 be stuck in: be fixed, unable to escape 陷入，卡住，被困住 e.g.: Our car stuck (was stuck) in the mud. / get stuck in a country: 呆在一个国家动弹不得 sign off: lea

42、ve在签到簿上签下班时间；签字保证戒酒；（美俚）停止；停止讲话，住嘴 restrict sb.s access to: not allow sb. to do sth.限制某人享用 的权利,Book One,Paragraph 11paraphrase,Communities are chosen by the users, not forced on them by accidents of geography (Para. 11-line 2): Paraphrase: (in terrestrial environments) certain people have to belong

43、to a certain place./ If you happen to be born or live in a certain place, you have to be a member of certain community, even if you are not willing to. In cyberspace, people choose their own communities no matter where you are born or where you live,Book One,This freedom gives the rules that preside

44、 in cyberspace a moral authority that rules in terrestrial environments dont have . (Para. 11, Line 3)give. sb. sth. This is a complex sentence, it has two attributive clauses定语从句. “.that preside in cyberspace.” modifies “the rules”; “. that rules in terrestrial environments dont have” modifies “a m

45、oral authority”. preside: vi. exercise control or authority 管辖，掌管 译文：这种自由赋予主宰信息空间的准则一种道义上的权威，这种权 威是地球空间里的准则所没有的,Book One,Love it or leave it. （Para.11, Line 5） This sentence is the short form of the title “If You Dont Love it, Leave It”. Paraphrase: If you love it, you can stay with it, or if you do

46、nt love it you can leave it (Thats up to you, its personal choice). 译文：出入自由,Book One,Paragraph 12,Main idea: The author predicts the trend of future development of cyberspace. New communities are likely to form which cater to their own members desire. At the same time, some old communities may survi

47、ve; and others wither away. So this is a market-style evolution of governance,Book One,Para.12,12 Whats likely to happen in cyberspace is the formation of new communities, free of the constraints that cause conflict on earth. Instead of a global village, which is a nice dream but impossible to manag

48、e, well have invented another world of self-contained communities that cater to their own members inclinations without interfering with anyone elses. The possibility of a real market-style evolution of governance is at hand. In cyberspace, well be able to test and evolve rules governing what needs t

49、o be governed intellectual property, content and access control, rules about privacy and free speech. Some communities will allow anyone in; others will restrict access to members who qualify on one basis or another. Those communities that prove self-sustaining will prosper (and perhaps grow and spl

50、it into subsets with ever-more-particular interests and identities). Those that cant survive either because people lose interest or get scared off will simply wither away,Book One,constraint: something that restricts, limits or regulates your freedom to do what you want 限制，约束， 压抑，抑制 cater to: meet s

51、omebodys needs, to someones taste 迎合的需要, 合的 口味 at hand: a. near, close in space, within reach 附近 e.g. He lives close at hand. 他住在附近. b. close in time, about to occur 临近 e.g. Election day is at hand. 大选之日马上就要到来,Book One,Prosper: flourish, thrive 繁荣，昌盛 e.g. My father was no longer prospering in busine

52、ss. 我父亲的生意不再兴旺发达了。 wither: dry up 枯萎，消失e.g. Remove an old tree and it will wither to death. 老树移栽活不了，老人迁居命不长,Book One,real market-style evolution: some new communities will appear; some old ones will survive, while some will die out 真正 的市场运作模式 Others will restrict access to members who qualify on one

53、 basis or another (p12-L7) other communities will only allow members in who have the necessary qualifications as judged by the principle or standard set by the communities,Book One,split into subsets with ever-more-particular interests and identities:(last line but 2) branches or smaller communities

54、 are formed in which members interests and identities become more and more particular,Book One,Paragraph 13,Main idea: Cyberspace communities will put in place their own government apart from the terrestrial government,Book One,Para.13,13 In the near future, explorers in cyberspace will need to get

55、better at defining and identifying their communities. They will need to put in place and accept their own local governments apart from terrestrial governments, just as the owners of expensive real estate often have their own security guards though they can call in the police to get rid of undesirabl

56、e customers. get better at: be good at 更善于 put in place: appoint to a post , putin office or authority 安置 apart from: besides 除了,Book One,Paragraph 14,Main idea: Cyberspace has its problems. Besides banning some materials, it is up to cyberspace participants themselves to find a solution,Book One,Pa

57、ra. 14,14 Then what should be done about undesirable material in cyberspace? What to do, for instance, about pornography? The answer is labeling, besides banning, questionable material. It makes sense for cyberspace participants themselves to agree on a scheme for questionable items, so that people

58、or automatic filters can avoid them. Its easy enough for software manufacturers to build an automatic filter that would prevent you or your child from ever seeing the undesired item on a menu. (Its as if all the items were wrapped, with labels on the wrapper.) Someone who posted pornographic material under the title “Kid-Fun” could be sued for mislabeling,Book One,Paragraph 14,make sense: be useful, helpful or reasonable 有助于解决问题；有道理有意义；讲得通；言之有理 e.g. What he said didnt make any sense. agree on /about 对.达成协议, 对.取得一致意见 agree with sb.与（人、想法）意