21世纪大学英语自学教程 第一册
Unit Eight
【语篇赏析】
本单元包含三篇文章，讲述了正在逐渐改变人们生活的电脑及与之相关的一系列新技术。第一篇，《未来之路》序言，其作者是美国著名的电脑大亨比尔? 盖茨。文中作者回忆了自己对电脑兴趣初萌时的故事，并对当今这项最伟大的创新会如何发展下去进行了几点设想。第二篇，《聪明的机器：不知疲倦的助手》，预测人工智能及机器人这两项新技术将使人们的未来生活更加轻松便捷。第三篇，《国际互联网》，回答了一些关于国际互联网的常见问题。
Text A
Foreword
【重点词汇】
重点单词
incredible, barely, reliable, application, simultaneous, crucial, purpose, acceptance, abolish, primarily,
estimate, equivalent, complicated, stimulate 重点短语
arise from, bring about, serve as, get around to, ahead of schedule, run into, take advantage of 1.
incredible: adj. unbelievable 难以置信的；extraordinary, unbelievably good 了不起的 ? ? 2.
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? ? 5. 6.
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The film star has an incredible car in addition to a big house. Our army man fought in the battle with incredible bravery. They could barely see the road in the fog. We had barely enough money to buy food. It's not reliable to judge a man only by his looks. A reliable assistant will be welcome in any company.
The application of new scientific discoveries to industrial production methods usually increases efficiency.
The unemployed engineer wrote a dozen applications for jobs but got nothing. The two simultaneous shots sounded like one.
It is crucial that we should make good use of anything we have. The couple did not give up their love and marriage at the crucial moment. What is his purpose in coming back this time?
He walked back and forth on purpose to catch your attention. He taught with great acceptance for 40 years.
She won acceptance by the King family only through extraordinary diligence. Bad customs should be abolished as soon as possible. The legislature passed a law to abolish the surtax.
simultaneous: adj. happening, existing, or done at the same time 同时发生的、存在的或做的 crucial: adj. extremely significant or important, 极其重要的；decisive 决定性的
barely: adv. hardly 几乎不、几乎没有; only just 刚刚
reliable: adj. capable of being relied on 可靠的、确实的; dependable 可信赖的
application: n. 应用; 书面申请、正式申请
purpose: n. an aim or goal 目标、目的
acceptance: n. the act of accepting 接受；approval or agreement 赞同、肯定、认同
abolish: vt. put an end to, do away with 取消、废除（制度、习俗等）
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21世纪大学英语自学教程 第一册 10. primarily: mainly, chiefly 主要地、首要地
? ? ?
Now they are living in a primarily middle-class neighborhood. Now I've realized that my estimate of her character was one-sided. I asked the building firm to estimate for the repairs to the stairs.
11. estimate: v. & n. evaluate 估计；估价、出价
12. equivalent: n. something that is equal, as in value, force, or meaning 等值物、等量物；adj. 相等的、等值
的、等量的 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 人） ? ? ? ?
Not following the old man?s advice, they finally ran into great trouble. I ran into a high school classmate yesterday on the way to the supermarket.
The people in the mountainous areas take advantage of all they have to develop their agriculture. The students took advantage of what the college offered to learn more about their subjects. Is there an exact French equivalent to the English word ? home ?? He changed his pounds for the equivalent amount of dollars. We have never met such a complicated math problem than ever. Frequently doing exercises stimulates the flow of blood.
His father?s words stimulated him to work with greater efforts than before. Quarrels often arise from basic misunderstandings between each other. It is carelessness that accidents arise from.
The revelation of the pollution brought about the investigation from the government. This platform would serve as a port and a railway station.
Now the examination score serves as the only criterion for a student's academic performance. He hardly gets around to physical exercises because of too much work. Busy as the boss is, he often gets around to playing with his kids. The task will be finished ahead of schedule if nothing prevents.
But for the unexpected storm, they could have finished the construction ahead of schedule.
13. complicated: adj. very difficult to understand, complex 复杂的、难解的 14. stimulate: vt. excite ( the body or mind), encourage 刺激、激发
15. arises from: result from 由??产生、由??引起
16. bring about: cause to happen 导致??发生、造成 17. serve as: be used as 当作??用
18. get around to: find time for doing something, 抽出时间做(某事)
19. ahead of schedule: before the expected time 提前
20. run into: meet or encounter (difficulties, etc.) 遭遇（困难等）； meet (somebody) by chance 偶然遇见（某
21. take advantage of: make use of 利用
【课文详解】
Part One: Para. 1 to Para. 7 — 第一部分介绍了个人计算机迅速发展的过程，以及人们对个人计算机这一新事物的不同观点。 1.
It started on a day when, as a college sophomore, I stood in Harvard Square with my friend Paul Allen and pored over the description of a kit computer in Popular Electronics magazine. (Line 2-5)
The incredible adventure for me began at the time when I was a sophomore at college. One day, my friend Paul Allen and I stood in Harvard Square and paid all of our attention to reading an article in the magazine named Popular Electronics. The article described a kit computer.
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21世纪大学英语自学教程 第一册 2. 3. 4.
The personal computer revolution happened and it has affected millions of lives. (Line 8-9) The revolution of the personal computer started and it has influenced the lives of millions of people. It has led us to places we had barely imagined. (Line 9-10)
The revolution has brought people to a new world which we had seldom thought about.
We aren’t sure where this one will lead us either, but again I am certain this revolution will touch even more lives and take us all farther. (Line 11-13)
We don?t know what kind of world the revolution will bring us into, either. But what I know and I am sure is that it will influence the lives of much more people, and lead us to a further-developed place. 5.
The benefits and problems arising from this upcoming communications revolution will be much greater than those brought about by the PC revolution. (Line 15-17)
The advantages and disadvantages caused by this revolution in communications will be much more than those that were caused to happen by the using of PC. 6.
There is never a reliable map for unexplored territory. (Line 18)
Before we explore a new place, we do not know what it is like, so we can not draw a dependable map for it. That is to say, since PC is a new thing to us, we can not imagine where it will lead us to. 7.
Those of us who were attracted by computers and the possibilities they promised were unnoticed outside our own circles. (Line 27-29)
The people among us were greatly interested in computers and believed what computers would bring us. But except ourselves, no one had any idea of us. 8.
There has been an unbelievable amount of interest in this subject during the last few years, both inside and outside the computer industry. (Line 33-35)
During the past several years, computer, this subject, has aroused interest of great amount of people. Some of the people belong to the computer industry, but some not. 9.
The interest is not confined only to developed countries, and it goes well beyond the large numbers of personal-computer users. (Line 35-37)
Not only people of developed countries, but also a large number of PC users are interested in computers. Even those who do not use computers have showed interest in it. 10. Those developments will come, but they are not the highway. (Line 47-48)
What people hope, fear or imagine will appear as computers develop, but these are not what the highway means.
11. It will take place over several decades, and will be driven by new “applications” ? new tools, often meeting
currently unforeseen needs. During the next few years, major decisions will have to be made. (Line 49-52) The revolution in communications will happen in our life over several ten years, and it will be put forward by our new requirements. For example, we may need new tools when we meet some problems which we can not tell at the present time.
12. It is crucial that a broad set of people ? not just technologists or those who happen to be in the computer
industry ? participate in the debate about how this technology should be shaped. (Line 53-56)
It is very important that people from various professions take part in the discussion about how the technology of computer would develop. We need ideas from not only technologists and people work in the computer industry but also all the others who know computers.
It is crucial that … (should) do … 做??是十分必要的。主句中出现标志词crucial, 主语从句要使用虚拟语气。与crucial 一词用法相同的词还有important, necessary, essential, advised, suggested等。 ? ?
It is crucial that all the power supplies should be turned off before you leave for vacation. It is essential that physical exercises be kept every day if good health is expected.
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21世纪大学英语自学教程 第一册
?
It is suggested that they should not go to climb the mountain in such a bad weather.
Part Two: Para. 8 to Para. 12 — 第二部分中作者解释了自己写《未来之路》一书的初衷及期望。
13. I’m writing this book The Road Ahead as part of my contribution to the debate and, although it’s a tall order,
I hope it can serve as a travel guide for the forthcoming journey. (Line 59-61)
I am writing this book in order to do something as a help to the discussion about the development of computers. Though I know this request is difficult to perform, I hope my book can be used as a guide for our discussion about the future of computers.
14. The commissioner of U.S. patents who in 1899 asked that his office be abolished because “everything that
can be invented has been invented.” (Line 65-67)
The official of U.S. patents thought that all people need had been invented, so in 1899, he advised that his office be stopped working because nothing new would be invented.
Somebody ask that … (should) do … 某人要求??做?? 主句中出现标志词ask, 宾语从句要使用虚拟语气。与ask 一词用法相同的词还有 advise, suggest, request, require, demand等。（结合第十二点） ? ? ?
The government advised that people who were living in this area move out in case of the flood. The coach of the football team required that each member should put full effort into the match. The workers demanded that their working condition should be improved.
15. What I’ve said that turned out to be right will be considered obvious and what was wrong will be
humorous.(Line 69-71)
In the future, when the ideas in my book turn out to be true, people may think it is clear to be found; if my ideas turn out to be false, people may laugh at them.
由what 引导的名词性从句，可以充当主语从句、表语从句、宾语从句或者放在介词之后，下面依次举例。 ? ? ? ?
What the space is like is never a mystery to human beings. Usually we are not what we think we are.
People wondered what caused him to have such a crazy idea.
The life of the mountainous area is quite different from what we have imagined.
16. Anyone expecting an autobiography or a treatise on what it’s like to have bee as lucky as I have been will be
disappointed. (Line 72-74)
If someone expects to know how I am lucky enough to become successful by reading my book, he or she will feel disappointed.
17. Indeed, estimating the time it would take proved to be as difficult as projecting the development schedule of a
major software project. (Line 83-85)
It is difficult to make a schedule for the development of a major software project. It is also difficult to estimate the time for writing this book.
Text B
Smart Machines: Our Tireless Helpers
【重点词汇】
重点单词
capable, variety, identify, consult, available 重点短语
in relation to, make up , turn into , in control of 1.
capable: adj. able, competent 有能力的、能胜任的； capability: n. the quality of being capable 能力、素质
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21世纪大学英语自学教程 第一册
? ? ? 2.
? ? 3.
? ? 4.
? ? 5.
? ? 6.
? ? 7.
◆ ◆ 8.
You are capable of better work than this. He is quite capable of lying to get out of trouble. She has great capabilities as a pianist. She longs for a life full of change and variety.
A variety of people participated in the debate about the environment.
The policeman asked the witness to identify who was the man that attacked her. Can you identify your umbrella among these?
I consulted my personal doctor about my pains, but he had no idea.
You?d better consult with your parents since the money you need is not a small amount. The bookstore promised to inform me when the book I wanted was available. It is so surprising that the tickets for the superstar?s performance are still available. Prices seem high in relation to wages.
In relation to people in African, those here are leading a more peaceful life. Farming and mining make up most of the country?s industry. They will make up a bed for you on the floor.
variety: n. quality of not being the same 变化、多变（性）
identify: v. show or prove what or who something or somebody is 确认、证明某物或某人
consult: v. ask somebody for information or advice 请教、与某人磋商
available: adj. able to be used, seen, obtained, etc. 可用的、可看见的、可得到的
in relation to: in comparison with 与??相比
make up: form, constitute, arrange 形成、构成、安排
turn into: change into, become 变成、成为
◆ In fifty years this place has turned from a little village into a large town. ◆
The novel was turned into a successful Hollywood film.
Although she was old, she was still in control of the whole country.
The government has been overthrown and the military is now in control of situation.
9. in control of: in charge of 掌控、掌管 ? ?
【课文详解】
1.
As inventors work on their projects, they are learning more about a computer’s capabilities in relation to a human’s. (Line 6-7)
As computer scientists are working on develop a machine to think and act as human, they know more and more about what a computer is able to do when it is compared with a human being. 2. 3.
help a lawyer fight a court case. (Line 14-15) help a lawyer argue for his client in a court case
They figured that it would take Dante twenty-four hours to complete its journey seven hundred feet down. (Line 30-32)
They found by calculation that it would take Dante twenty-four hours to walk seven hundred feed down the volcano. 4.
But after traveling only a few feet, Dante stopped dead. (Line 37-38) But after walking just a few feet, Dante stopped suddenly. stopped dead: 突然不动了
◆ When he saw Tom on the campus, he was so surprised that he stopped dead.
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