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__________________________________Text26TheInformationAgeHasImprovedEverydayLife(Part1)Pre-readingActivities1.Areyoufamiliarwiththenames“eBay,Napster,yahoo,sina,sohu”?Whatdotheymeantoyou?2.DoyousurftheInternetalot?Ifyoudo,whatdoyoudowiththeInternet?Ifyoudon’t,whynot?Text1.Today，there’sscarcelyanaspectofourlifethatisn’tbeingupendedbythetorrentofinformationavailableonthehundredsofmillionsofsitescrowdingtheInternet,nottomentionitsabilitytokeepusinconstanttouchwitheachotherviaelectronicmail.今天信息的浪潮席卷了我们生活的各个角落，人们可以从因特网上百万个网站上搜寻信息，更不用说人们通过电子邮件来保持联系。“Iftheautomobileandaerospacetechnologyhadexplodedatthesamepaceascomputerandinformationtechnology,”saysMicrosoft,“anewcarwouldcostabout$2andgo600milesonathimblefulofgas.AndyoucouldbuyaBoeing747forthecostofapizza.”“如果发动机技术和航天技术能够与计算机和信息技术同速发展的话，”微软公司曾经说过，“一辆新车只需要花费2美元，并且只耗费少量汽油就能跑600英里。而一架波音747和比萨的价钱差不多。”2.Probablythebiggestpayoff,however,isthebillionsofdollarstheInternetissavingcompaniesinproducinggoodsandservingfortheneedsoftheircustomers.NothinglikeithasbeenseensincethebeginningoftheIndustrialRevolution,whenpower-drivenmachinesbeganproducingmoreinadaythanmencouldturnoutinnearlyayear.也许最大的收益，就是因特网给企业节省了上亿元来生产商品，服务顾客。自从工业革命（动力驱动的机器一天生产出的商品比人一年生产的还要多）以来，就再也没有比信息革命更强大的变革了。“WeviewthegrowthoftheInternetande-commerceasaglobalmegatrend,”saysMerrillLynch,“alongthelinesoftheprintingpress,thetelephone,thecomputer,andelectricity.”MerrillLynch说，“我们认为因特网和电子商务的发展伴随着印刷业、电话、计算机、电力的发展，是全世界的大趋势。”3.Youwouldbehardpressedtonamesomethingthatisn’tavailableontheInternet.Consider:books,healthcare,movietickets,constructionmaterials,babyclothes,stocks,cattlefeed,music,electronics,antiques,tools,realestate,toys,autographsoffamouspeople,wineandairlinetickets.人们很难想到在因特网上找不到的东西。比如，书籍、医疗、电影票、建筑材料、宝宝服、股票、牛饲料、音乐、电子产品、古董、工具、房地产、玩具、名人亲笔签名、酒类、机票等。Andevenafteryou’vemovedontoyourfinalrestingplace,there’snoreasonthoseyoulovecan’tkeepintouch.AcompanycalledFinalThoughts.comoffersaplaceforyoutostore“afterlifee-mails”youcansendtoHeavenwiththehelpofa“guardianangel.”即使你到了最后的归宿，也不会和你所喜欢的东西失去联系。一名为“最后的理想”的网站为人们提供了储存“去世后的电子邮件”这项服务，人们可以通过“天使卫士”把邮件送到天堂。4.KidstodayaresocomputersavvythatitvirtuallyensurestheUnitedStateswillremaintheunchallengedleaderincyberspacefortheforeseeablefuture.Nearlyallchildreninfamilieswithincomesofmorethan$75,000ayearhavehomecomputers,accordingtoastudybytheDavidandLucilePackardFoundation.当前青少年对电脑都很精通，因此毫无疑问美国在将来会依然在网络领域占据绝对的领导地位。根据大卫鲁西派克德基金会的调查，对于年收入超过75，000美元的家庭，几乎每家都给孩子买了个人电脑。Youngstersfromages2to17atallincomelevelshavecomputers,with52%ofthoseconnectedtotheInternet.Mostkidsusecomputerstoplaygames(somefor30hoursormoreaweek),andmanyteenagegirlsthinknothingofrushinghomefromschooltohavee-mailchatswithfriendstheyhasjustleft.如果不考虑收入状况，2岁到17岁的未成年人都有电脑，其中的52%能够上网。大多数儿童用电脑打游戏（一周30小时甚至更多）。许多十几岁的女生每天迫不及待地从学校回家，和刚刚才分开的同学上网聊天。5.what’sclearisthat,whetherwelikeitornot,theInternetisanevergrowingpartofourlivesandthereisnoturningback.“TheInternetisjust20%invented,”sayscyberpioneerJakeWinebaum.“Thelast80%ishappeningnow.”…毋庸置疑，不管人们喜欢与否，因特网是我们生活中越来越重要的一部分，而且这一趋势不可逆转。“因特网作用才刚刚发挥出20%，”网络先驱JakeWinebaum说，“其余的80%正在发生中。”6.IBMCEOLouisV.GerstnerJr.callsthethousandsofInternetstartupsthatdisappearedsoonaftertheirinitialcapitalinfusionsranout“firefliesbeforethestorm.”Theirnamesarelegion,andmorehavebeenrushingtojoinwithoutletup.IBM公司的首席执行官路易斯哥斯特纳号召成千上万的因特网网络的启动，它们在最初的资本输注之后很快就消失了，这是“暴风雨来临前的火焰。”他们的名字很多，还有更多不断地涌现。Garden.com(gardeningsupplies),Living.com(homefurnishings),Toysmart.com(educationalplaythings),Eve.com(beautyproducts),Homewarehouse.Com(householdproducts),Cyberhomes(whereprospectivehomebuyerscouldaccesslistingsofpropertiesforsale),RedGorilla.com(onlinebilling),Craftshop.com(artsandcraftsstore),andBabygear.com(discountbabyproducts)areallillustrativeofwhatGerstnerdubs“dot-toast.”哥斯特纳列举了很多被他称为“do-toast”的网站：Garden.com(园艺供应)、Living.com(家居装饰)、Toysmart.com(益智游戏)、Eve.com(美容产品)、Homewarehouse.Com(家居产品)、Cyberhomes(潜在购房者可以得到待售房屋的信息)、RedGorilla.com(在线付款)、Craftshop.com(工艺品商店)、Babygear.com(打折婴儿商品)。7.Dot-comshavebeenfailingatthesametimeasthenumberofonlinecustomershasbeenexploding.It’sbelievedtheInternetwasbornin1969whentwocomputersattheUniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles,wereconnectedbya15–footcable,withbitsofmeaninglessdataflowingbetweenthem.这些网站在网上顾客不断增加的时候却慢慢减少了。人们认为因特网诞生于1969年，加利福尼亚大学和洛杉矶大学的两台计算机由15英尺的光缆连接，传递了毫无意义的数据。SincethentheNethastakenoff,withsome137millionU.S.computersonlineplusanother152millionoutsidetheUnitedStates,accordingtotheU.S.InternetCouncilinWashington,D.C..andwhilethenumberofInternet-linkedcomputersissurging,thevolumeoftraffictheyarecarryingisincreasingevenfaster.Someprojectionshaveitdoublingevery100days.自从那时起网络开始腾飞不。根据位于华盛顿特区的美国因特网协会的统计，在美国15，200万计算机联网，在美国以外还有13，700万计算机联网。尽管联网的计算机数量在猛增，但网速却更快。有人推测每100天翻两倍。8.ThisisnotsurprisingsinceahallmarkoftheCyberAgeisconnectivityandsharingofinformation.Theassertionthat“informationismeanttobefree”isanincreasingrealitysinceitcanbemovedfromthosewhohaveittothosewhoneeditintheblinkofaneye-andatvirtuallynocost,unlikeforothermedia.ThiscomputerdrivencontributiontothevitalityoftheU.S