當(dāng)代研究生英語讀寫教程上Unit1課文 翻譯

1、Unit 1:cyberspace :if you don't love it ,leave it信息空間:出入隨愿1 something in the American psyche loves new frontiers.美國人的內(nèi)心深處具有一種酷愛探索新領(lǐng)域的氣質(zhì)。We hanker after wide-open spaces ;we like to explore ;we like to make rules but refuse to follow them .我們渴求寬敞的場地,我們喜歡探索,喜歡制定規(guī)章制度,卻不愿去遵守。But in this age it's

2、 hard to find a place where you can go and be yourself without worrying about he neighbours .在當(dāng)今時代,卻很難找到一塊空間,可以供你任意馳騁,又不必?fù)?dān)心影響你的鄰居。2 There is such a place : cyberspace .確實有這樣一個空間,那就是信息空間。Formerly a playground for computer fans ,cyberspace . Formely a playground for computer fans ,cyberspace now embra

3、ces every conceivable constituency : school children ,flirtatious ,singles ,Hungarian-Americans, accountants .這里原本是計算機(jī)迷的游戲天地,但如今只要想像得到的各類人群應(yīng)有盡有,包括少年兒童、輕佻的單身漢、美籍匈牙利人、會計等。Can they all get along ?Or will our fear of kids surfing for dirty pictures behind their bedroom doors provoke a crackdown ?問題是他們都能

4、和睦相處嗎?人們是否會因為害怕孩子們躲在臥室里看網(wǎng)上的淫穢圖片而將它封殺?3 The first order of business is to grasp what cyberspace is .首先要解決的問題是,什么是信息空間。It might help to leave beind metaphors of highways and frontiers and to think instead of real estate .我們可以拋開高速公路、前沿新領(lǐng)域等比喻,把信息空間看作一個巨大的莊園。Real estate ,remember ,is an intellectual ,leg

5、al ,artificial environment constructed on top of land. 請記住,莊園是人們智慧的結(jié)晶,是合法的、人工營造的氛圍,它建立在土地之上。Real estate recognizes the difference between parkland and shopping mall ,between red-light zone and school district ,between church ,state and drugstore .在莊園里,公園和商業(yè)中心、紅燈區(qū)與學(xué)校、教堂與雜貨店都能區(qū)分開來。4 in the same way ,

6、you could think of cyberspace as a giant and unbounded world of virtual real estate .你可以用同樣的方法把信息空間想像為一個巨大的、無邊無際的虛擬莊園。Some property is privatedly owned and rented out ; other property is common land ; some places are suitable for children , and others are bestavoided by all citizens .其中有些房產(chǎn)為私人擁有并已租出

7、,有些是公共場所;有的場所適合兒童出入,而有些地方人們最好避開。Unfortunately ,it's those places that are now capturing the popular imagination ,plaecs that offer bombmaking instructions ,pornography, advice on how to steal credit cards .不幸的是,正是這些應(yīng)該避開的地方使得人們心向神往。這些地方教唆你如何制造炸彈、為你提供淫穢材料、告訴你如何竊取信用卡。They make cyberspace sound like

8、 a nasty place . Good citizens jump to a conclusion : Better regulate it .所有這些使信息空間聽起來像是一個十分骯臟的地方。5 But before using regulations to counter indecency ,it is fundamental to interpret the nature of cyberspace .正直的公民紛紛作出這樣的結(jié)論:最好對它嚴(yán)加管理。但是,在利用規(guī)章制度來反擊下流之舉之前,關(guān)鍵是從根本上理解信息空間的性質(zhì)。Cyberspace isn't a frontier

9、 where wicked people can grab unsuspecting children ,nor is it a giant television system that can beam offensive messages at unwilling viewers .惡棍并不能在信息空間搶走毫無提防之心的兒童;信息空間也不像一臺巨大的電視機(jī),向不情愿的觀眾播放令人作嘔的節(jié)目。In this kind of real estate ,users have to choose where they visit ,whatthey see ,what they do .It

10、9;s optiona .在信息空間這座莊園里,用戶對他們所去之處、所見所聞、所做所為都要作出選擇,一切都出于自愿。In other words,cyberspace is a voluntary destination -in reality ,many destinations .換句話說,信息空間是個出入自便的地方,實際上,信息空間里有很多可去之處。You don't just get "onto the Net" ;you have to go someplace in particular . 人們不能盲目上網(wǎng),必須帶著具體的目標(biāo)上網(wǎng)。That means

11、 that people can choose where to go and what to see .這意味著人們可以選擇去哪個網(wǎng)址、看什么內(nèi)容。Yes , community standards should be enforced ,but those standards set by cyberspace communities themselves ,not by the courts or by politicians in Washington .不錯,規(guī)章制度應(yīng)該在群體內(nèi)得以實施,但這些規(guī)章制度必須由信息空間內(nèi)各個群體自己來制定,而不是由法庭或華盛頓的政客們來制定。6 wha

12、t makes cyberspace so alluring is precisely the way in which it's different from shopping malls , television ,highways and other terrestrial jurisdictions.信息空間之所以具有如此大的誘惑力,正是因為它不同于商場、電視、公路或地球上的其他地方。But let's define the territor: 那么,讓我們來描述一下這個空間。7 First ,there are private e-malil conversation

13、s ,similar to the conversations you have over the teleophone .These are private and consensualand require no regulation at all .首先,信息空間里人與人之間可以進(jìn)行電子郵件交流。這種交流類似于電話交談,都是私人之間的、兩相情愿的談話,不需要任何規(guī)章制度加以限制。8 Second , there are information and entertainment services , where people can download anytihing from leg

14、al texts and lists of "great new restaurants " to game software or dirty pictures .其次,信息空間提供信息與娛樂服務(wù)。人們可以從中下載各種信息,從法律文件、“大型新飯店”名單,到游戲軟件、下流圖片,無奇不有。These places are like bookstores ,malls and movie houses -places where you go to buy something .這里如同書店、商場和電影院,屬購物區(qū)域。The customer needs to request

15、 an item or sign up for a subscription; stuff (especially pornography is not sent out to people who don't ask for it .顧客必須通過索求或者登記來購物,物品(特別是淫穢之物不會發(fā)送給那些沒有索取的人。Some of these services are free or included as part of a broader service like ComputerServe or America Online ;有些服務(wù)可以免費,或作為總服務(wù)費用的一部分計算,如“計

16、算機(jī)服務(wù)”和“美國在線”就是如此。others charge may and may bill their customers directly .而有些服務(wù)要向顧客收費,而且可能會讓顧客直接支付賬單。9 Third ,there are "real" communities -groups of people who communicate among themselves .第三,信息空間里還有真正意義上的群體,那就是在內(nèi)部互相交流思想的人群。In real-estate terms ,they're like bars or restaurants or ba

17、thhouses . Each active participate contributes to a general conversation ,generally through posted messages . Other participant may simply listen or watch .從莊園的角度來看,這些群體就像酒吧、飯店或公共浴室。每個活躍的人都積極參與談話,談話一般通過郵件方式進(jìn)行;而有的人也許只充當(dāng)旁觀者或旁聽者。Some services are supervised by a moderator ; others are more like bulleti

18、n boards -anyone is free to post anything .有些活動由專人監(jiān)督,有些則像公告牌,任何人可以任意在上面張貼。Many of these services started out unmoderated but are now imposing rules to keep out unwanted advertising ,extraneous discussions or increasingly rude participants .很多活動起初都無人監(jiān)督,但現(xiàn)在實行強(qiáng)制管理,用規(guī)章制度來掃除那些不受歡迎的廣告、不相干的討論或日漸粗魯?shù)某蓡T。10 cy

19、berspace communitis evolve just the way terrestrial ommunities do : people with like-minded interests band together .信息空間里群體的演變過程正如陸地社會團(tuán)體的演變過程,即情趣相投的人們聚在一起。Every cyberspace community has its own character .信息空間里每一個團(tuán)體都各具特色。Overall , the communities on CompuServe tend t be more professsional ; 總的來說,“計

20、算機(jī)服務(wù)”上的團(tuán)體一般由專業(yè)技術(shù)人員組成; those on AmericaOnline , affluent young singles ; Prodigyfamily-oriented .美國在線”上的團(tuán)體一般為富有的獨身者;“奇才”主要面向家庭。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.另

21、外還有一些具有獨到見解的服務(wù)機(jī)構(gòu),“共鳴”為其中之一,是紐約市中心一家時髦的服務(wù)機(jī)構(gòu)。再如“婦女專線” ,是專為女性開辟的,她們希望逃避網(wǎng)上其他地方盛行的男性文化。On the internet itself there are lots of passionate non-commercial discussion groups on topics ranging from Hungarian politics (hungary Online copyright law .就因特網(wǎng)本身也有大量情緒激昂的討論小組,都屬非商業(yè)性質(zhì),討論話題廣泛,從匈牙利政治(匈牙利在線 到版權(quán)法,無所不及。11

22、 what's unique about cyberspace is that it allows communities of any size and kind to flourish ;信息空間的獨特之處在于允許任何規(guī)模、任何種類的團(tuán)體發(fā)展繁榮。in cyberspace ,communities are chosen by the users , not forced on them by accidents of geography . 在信息空間,用戶自愿參加任何團(tuán)體,而不是因為地理位置的巧合而被迫參加某個團(tuán)體。This freedom gives the rules th

23、at precise in cyberspace a moral authority that rules in terrestrial environments don't have .這種自由賦予主宰信息空間的準(zhǔn)則一種道義上的權(quán)威,這種權(quán)威是地球空間里的準(zhǔn)則所沒有的。Most people are stuck in the country of their birth, but if you don't like the rules of a given cyberspace community ,they can restrict their children's

24、 access to it .多數(shù)人呆在自己出生的國土上動彈不得,而在信息空間,假若你不喜歡某一群體的準(zhǔn)則,脫離這個群體即可。出入自由。12 what's likely to happen in cyberspace is the formation of new communities ,free of the constraits that cause conflict on earth .在信息空間,可能會發(fā)生的情況是形成新的群體,新群體的形成不像在地球上那樣受到限制,產(chǎn)生沖突。Instead of a global village ,which is a nice dream

25、but impossible to manage , we'll have invented another world of self-contained communities that cater to their own members' inclinations without interfering with anyonelse's.我們不是要建立一個夢寐以求、而又難以管理的全球村,而是要建立一個由各種獨立的、不受外界影響的群體組成的世界,這些群體將投其成員所好,而又不干涉他人。The possibility of a real market-style e

26、volution of governance is at hand . 一種真正的市場型管理模式很快成為可能。In cyberpace ,we'll be able to test and evolve rules governing wht needsto be governed -intellectual property ,content and access control , rules about privacy and free speech .在信息空間,我們將能夠檢驗并完善所需要的管理制度?知識產(chǎn)權(quán)制度、服務(wù)內(nèi)容與使用權(quán)的控制制度、個人隱私權(quán)與自由言論制度等。Some

27、 communities will allow anyone in ;others will restrict access to members who qualify on one basis or another .有些群體允許任何人加入,而有些則只允許符合這樣或那樣條件的人加入。Those communites that prove self-sustaining will prosper (and perhaps grow and split into subsets with ever-more-particular interests and identities 能夠自持的群體

28、會興旺發(fā)展(或許也會因為志趣與身份日趨特殊,而發(fā)展成為幾個分支。Those that can't survive -either because people lose interest or get scared off -will simply wither away .有些群體或因為成員失去興趣,或因為成員被嚇跑而不能幸存下來,它們將漸漸萎縮消亡。13 in the near future ,explorers in cyberspace will need to get better at defining and identifying their communities .

29、在不遠(yuǎn)的將來,信息空間的探索者應(yīng)該更善于解釋和辨別各群體的性質(zhì)。They will need to put in place -and accept -their own local governments apart from terrestrial governments ,just as the owners of expensive real estatet often have their own security guards though they can call in the police to get ride of undesirable customers .除了現(xiàn)實中

30、的政府之外,他們將有必要安置并接受自己的地方政府,就如同豪華莊園的業(yè)主一樣,盡管可以叫警察來驅(qū)逐不受歡迎的顧客,但還是寧愿雇傭自己的保安。14 then what shoul be done about undesirable material in cyberspace ?那么,該如何處置信息空間不受歡迎的材料呢?What to do ,for instance ,about pornography .例如,淫穢材料該怎么辦?The answer is labeling ,besides banning ,questionable material .答案除了禁止 以外，就是在有問題的材料上

31、貼上標(biāo)簽。 it makes sense for cyberspace participants themselves to agree on a scheme for uestionable items ,so that people or automatic filters can avoid them . 信息空間的成員對有問題的內(nèi)容應(yīng)該達(dá)成共識，拿出一個解決方案 來，使 人們或自動過濾系統(tǒng)避開這些內(nèi)容，這樣可能會有助于解決 問題。 It's easy enough for software manufacturers to build an automatioc filter

32、that would prevent you or your child from ever seeing the undesired item on a menu . (it's as if all the items were wrapped , with labels on the wrapper. 軟件制造商很容易建立一套自動過濾系統(tǒng)，使你 和孩子們在菜單上 見不到不想見到的內(nèi)容。(就好像所有的內(nèi)容都被包裝了起來，并在 包裝紙上貼有標(biāo)簽。 Someone who posted pornographic material under the title "Kid-Fun" could be sued for mislabeling . 如果有人在色情材