2012年英语一 选句填空

第 1 段

Think of those fleeting moments when you look out of an aeroplane window and realise that you are flying, higher than a bird. Now think of your laptop, thinner than a brown-paper envelope, or your cellphone in the palm of your hand. Take a moment or two to wonder at those marvels. You are the lucky inheritor of a dream come true.

想想那些转瞬即逝的时刻，当你从飞机窗口向外望去，意识到自己正在飞翔，比鸟儿飞得更高。现在想想你的笔记本电脑，比牛皮纸信封还薄，或是你手掌中的手机。花一两分钟惊叹于这些奇迹。你是梦想成真的幸运继承者。

第 2 段

The second half of the 20th century saw a collection of geniuses, warriors, entrepreneurs and visionaries labour to create a fabulous machine that could function as a typewriter and printing press, studio and theatre, paintbrush and gallery, piano and radio, the mail as well as the mail carrier. (41)

20世纪下半叶见证了一群天才、勇士、企业家和梦想家辛勤劳作，创造出一台神奇的机器,它可以充当打字机和印刷机、工作室和剧院、画笔和画廊、钢琴和收音机、邮件以及邮递员。他们不仅开发出这样一种设备,而且到千禧年之交,他们还成功地将其嵌入一个每天有数十亿人访问的全球系统中。

第 3 段

The networked computer is an amazing device, the first media machine that serves as the mode of production, means of distribution, site of reception, and place of praise and critique. The computer is the 21st century's culture machine.

联网的计算机是一种惊人的设备,是第一台既充当生产方式、分销手段、接收场所,又是赞美和批评之地的媒体机器。计算机是21世纪的文化机器。

第 4 段

But for all the reasons there are to celebrate the computer, we must also act with caution. (42) I call it a secret war for two reasons. First, most people do not realise that there are strong commercial agendas at work to keep them in passive consumption mode. Second, the majority of people who use networked computers to upload are not even aware of the significance of what they are doing.

但尽管有种种理由去赞美计算机,我们也必须谨慎行事。这是因为联网的计算机引发了一场下载与上传之间的秘密战争——被动消费与主动创造之间的战争——其结果将以我们只能开始想象的方式塑造我们的集体未来。我称其为秘密战争有两个原因。首先,大多数人没有意识到有强大的商业议程在起作用,要将他们保持在被动消费模式中。其次,大多数使用联网计算机上传的人甚至没有意识到他们所做之事的重要性。

第 5 段

All animals download, but only a few upload. Beavers build dams and birds make nests. Yet for the most part, the animal kingdom moves through the world downloading. Humans are unique in their capacity to not only make tools but then turn around and use them to create superfluous material goods – paintings, sculpture and architecture – and superfluous experiences – music, literature, religion and philosophy. (43)

所有动物都会下载,但只有少数会上传。海狸筑坝,鸟儿筑巢。然而在大多数情况下,动物王国以下载的方式在世界中移动。人类独特之处在于不仅能够制造工具,而且能够转而使用这些工具来创造多余的物质商品——绘画、雕塑和建筑——以及多余的体验——音乐、文学、宗教和哲学。当然,正是这些多余的东西定义了人类文化,并最终定义了作为人的本质。下载和消费文化需要高超的技能,但如果不能超越下载,就是在剥夺自己人性的一个决定性组成部分。

第 6 段

For all the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still stuck in download mode. Even after the advent of widespread social media, a pyramid of production remains, with a small number of people uploading material, a slightly larger group commenting on or modifying that content, and a huge percentage remaining content to just consume. (44)

尽管我们的新文化机器具有种种可能性,但大多数人仍然停留在下载模式中。即使在社交媒体广泛出现之后,生产金字塔依然存在,少数人上传材料,稍大一些的群体对该内容进行评论或修改,而巨大比例的人仍然满足于仅仅消费。这种生产金字塔持续存在的一个原因是,在过去半个世纪里,世界上大部分媒体文化一直由单一媒介——电视——所定义,而电视是由下载定义的。

第 7 段

Television is a one-way tap flowing into our homes. The hardest task that television asks of anyone is to turn the power off after he has turned it on. (45)

电视是流入我们家中的单向水龙头。电视对任何人提出的最艰巨任务就是在打开电源后将其关闭。联网的计算机提供了50年来第一次扭转流向的机会,鼓励有思想的下载,更重要的是,有意义的上传。

第 8 段

What counts as meaningful uploading? My definition revolves around the concept of "stickiness" – creations and experiences to which others adhere.

什么算作有意义的上传?我的定义围绕"黏性"这一概念——即他人会附着其上的创造和体验。