Unit 5 Computers and Technology

1. Unit 5 Computers and Technology

2. New words and expressions for Reading One: juggernaut: If you describe an organization or group as a juggernaut, you are critical of them because they are large and extremely powerful, and you think they are not being controlled properly. 巨大且无法抗拒的力量；强大的机构 the juggernaut of industrialization 无法抗拒的工业化 the juggernaut of public expenditure 公共财政支出的强大力量

3. envision: to imagine something that you think might happen in the future, especially something that you think will be good I envisioned a future of educational excellence. In the future we envision a federation of companies... Most people do stop at this point, not envisioning that there is anything beyond. = envisage

4. IBM: trademark International Business Machines, the world’s largest computer company, based in the US, which produces both hardware and software, especially for business users. IBM is sometimes informally called “Big Blue”.

5. graphical interface: 图形界面 popularize: To popularize something means to make a lot of people interested in it and able to enjoy it. Irving Brokaw popularized figure skating in the US. early on: at an early stage in a relationship, process etc I realized early on I’d never pass the exam.

6. jabber: If you say that someone is jabbering, you mean that they are talking very quickly and excitedly, and you cannot understand them. The tourists were jabbering away on the bus. After a minute or two I left them there jabbering away.

7. drawl: If someone drawls, they speak slowly and not very clearly, with long vowel sounds. He has a deep voice and he drawls slightly. Drawl is also a noun. ...Jack’s southern drawl.

8. sultry: a woman who is sultry makes other people feel strong sexual attraction to her ...a dark-haired sultry woman. mimic: If you mimic the actions or voice of a person or animal, you imitate them, usually in a way that is meant to be amusing or entertaining. He could mimic anybody... = imitate

9. Carnegie Mellon: 美国卡耐基梅隆大学Carnegie Mellon University（CMU）是一所拥有8120名在校学生和3,800名教职员工及科研人员的著名学府（2003年8月23日数据）。其前身卡耐基技术学校是由美国著名的实业家和慈善家、钢铁大王安德鲁·卡耐基（Andrew Carnegie）于1900年在匹兹堡出资建立的。

10. grade school: [uncountable and countable] American English an elementary school recessed: If something such as a door or window is recessed, it is set into the wall that surrounds it. ...a wide passage, lit from one side by recessed windows.

11. out of the way: built-in, hidden 内置的,固定的,嵌入的 manila: A manila envelope or folder is made from a strong paper that is usually light brown. a large manila envelope

12. crisp: paper or cloth that is crisp is fresh, clean, and new a crisp, new five dollar bill crisp cotton sheets. = fresh bulky: Something that is bulky is large and heavy. Bulky things are often difficult to move or deal with. cathode-ray tube: A cathode-ray tube is a device in televisions and computer terminals which sends an image onto the screen. (TECHNICAL)

13. compact: Compact things are small or take up very little space. You use this word when you think this is a good quality. The compact design of the machine allows it to be stored easily. The students’ rooms were compact, with a desk, bed, and closet built in. tablet: 手写输入板

14. Check Your Comprehension A Answer each of the following questions with the information from the text. • Why is Nick Donofrio so sure that the computers of the future will be more user friendly? Because a lot of effort, to be specific, 50% of the added power of tomorrow’s computers, will be put forth to ensure that computers will be easier to use.

15. 2. What does “graphical interface” mean? Vivid symbols rather than written commands are applied to guide computer users in the process of using computers. 3. Describe the roles that computers can play in language learning and teaching. Computers can tutor students, teach grammar, interact with students, and act just like a teacher to teach the language.

16. 4. What changes will take place in computer hardware? Computers will be much smaller, lighter, and easier for users to carry around.

17. Check Your Comprehension B 1. Though people once had different opinions about the use of “mouse”, it is highly possible that it will be accepted by all people as the tool to move across the computer screen. 2. From the very beginning, market researchers knew that an office filled with continuously quick, unclear mechanical tones would be annoying, so the sales of chatty computers couldn’t be good.

18. 3. Computers will be able to understand human speech. But this is far more difficult than to imitate regional accent. 4. Computers that have been programmed to understand only one voice are able to understand a lot more words. 5. For the sake of security and privacy, a voice-recognition software will be set up in future computers so they would start functioning only when they recognize their boss’s voice.

19. 6. School teachers don’t want to use computers because they have had a lot to do already and the large and inconvenient computers will place a heavier burden on them. 7. New flat-screen displays made in Japan are so thin that they look just like a piece of paper.

20. Check Your Vocabulary A

22. New words and expressions for Reading Two: wearable: [countable] also called wearable computer — a computer that is designed to be worn as an item of clothing strap: If you strap something somewhere, you fasten it there with a strap. Through the basement window I saw him strap on his pink cycling helmet...

23. don: If you don clothing, you put it on. (WRITTEN) The crowd threw petrol bombs at the police, who responded by donning riot gear. gawk: To gawk at someone or something means to stare at them in a rude, stupid, or unthinking way. (INFORMAL) The youth continued to gawk at her and did not answer... Don’t just stand there gawking at those girls!

24. nerd: someone who seems only interested in computers and other technical things — used to show disapproval a computer nerd = geek gadget: A gadget is a small machine or device which does something useful. You sometimes refer to something as a gadget when you are suggesting that it is complicated and unnecessary. ...the latest gadget for the technology

25. clunky:If you describe something as clunky, you mean that it is solid, heavy, and rather awkward. ...a clunky piece of architecture. contraption: You can refer to a device or machine as a contraption, especially when it looks strange or you do not know what it is used for. ...a strange contraption called the General Gordon Gas Bath. = gadget

26. CeBIT:原意是办公及信息技术中心，这里指国际信息及通信技术博览会。CeBIT:原意是办公及信息技术中心，这里指国际信息及通信技术博览会。 peripheral: Peripherals are devices that can be attached to computers. (COMPUTING) ...peripherals to expand the use of our computers. turquoise: a valuable greenish-blue stone or a jewel that is made from this 绿松石; 绿松石宝石 turquoise earrings

27. nifty: If you describe something as nifty, you think it is neat and pleasing or cleverly done. (INFORMAL) Bridgeport was a pretty nifty place... It was a nifty arrangement, a perfect partnership. a nifty little gadget for squeezing oranges

28. unobtrusive: If you describe something or someone as unobtrusive, you mean that they are not easily noticed or do not draw attention to themselves. (FORMAL) The coffee-table is glass, to be as unobtrusive as possible... ≠ conspicuous

29. lead scientist: the most important scientist GSM: Global System (Standard) for Mobile, a standardized international system for digital mobile telecommunication 全球数字移动电话系统（标准） There has been consistent growth in GSM mobile.

30. Hitachi: n. 日立公司 proactive: making things happen or change rather than reacting to events handheld: A hand-held device such as a camera or a computer is small and light enough to be used while you are holding it. He shot the entire film with a hand-held camera.

31. pedometer: an instrument that measures how far one has walked consortium: A consortium is a group of people or firms who have agreed to co-operate with each other. The consortium includes some of the biggest building contractors in Britain.

32. conducive: If one thing is conducive to another thing, it makes the other thing likely to happen. Sometimes the home environment just isn’t conducive to reading. infrastructure: the basic systems and structures that a country or organization needs in order to work properly, for example roads, railways, banks etc Some countries lack a suitable economic infrastructure.

33. up and running: If something such as a system or place is up and running, it is operating normally. We’re trying to get the medical facilities up and running again. There could well be a few problems before your new computer is up and running properly.

34. junkie: You can use junkie to refer to someone who is very interested in a particular activity, especially when they spend a lot of time on it. (INFORMAL) ...a computer junkie.

35. Check Your Vocabulary B • The story of Starner’s manifests the development of wearable computers. 2. Many high-tech firms were investigating the tentative market for wearable computers at last week’s CeBIT. 3. IBM showed a special ring that the elegant greenish-blue stone on the ring can function as an effective mouse as well.

36. Check Your Vocabulary B 4. She anticipates the possibilities of always-on wireless devices, and programs such as “buddy alerts” that send you a signal when your friends are nearby. 5. It will take some time before the new kind of infrastructure starts functioning.

37. New words and expressions for Reading Three: strip-mine: v. Strip-mining is a method of getting metal, coat, etc. by bulldozing all the vegetation and removing the earth from the surface of the ground, rather than by digging a passage under the ground. implicate: to show or suggest that someone is involved in a crime or dishonest act The allegations implicated Abe to such an extent he was forced to resign. Three police officers are implicated in the cover-up.

38. seduce: If something seduces you, it is so attractive that it makes you do something that you would not otherwise do. The view of lake and plunging cliffs seduces visitors... Clever advertising would seduce more people into smoking.

39. monetary: Monetary means relating to money, especially the total amount of money in a country. (BUSINESS) Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation... supersede: If something is superseded by something newer, it is replaced because it has become old-fashioned or unacceptable. Hand tools are relics of the past that have now been superseded by the machine.

40. resent: If you resent someone or something, you feel bitter and angry about them. She resents her mother for being so tough on her... I resented having to work such long hours. She bitterly resented his mother’s influence over him. Paul resented the fact that Carol didn’t trust him.

41. assertion: something that you say or write that you strongly believe assertion that There is no concrete evidence to support assertions that the recession is truly over. assertion of her assertion of independence assertion about her assertions about the murder of her father She makes very general assertions about marriage in the poem.

42. demonstrably: obviously, conspicuously These conclusions are demonstrably wrong. disrupt: If someone or something disrupts an event, system, or process, they cause difficulties that prevent it from continuing or operating in a normal way. Traffic was disrupted by a hoax bomb. Climate change could disrupt the agricultural economy.

43. Check Your Comprehension A • How does the author do his farming work? He does almost all his farming work with horses. • How does he do his writing? He writes with either a pen or a pencil and he writes on a piece of paper.

44. 3. What have some of his friends told him about the use of the computer in his writing and what does he think of it? They have told him that a computer would help him greatly in his writing. However, he doesn’t agree as he doesn’t anticipate that he will be closer to things such as peace, economic justice, ecological health, political honesty, family and community, stability, and good work. To him, those are the things that matter. Besides all these, he thinks a computer will cost him not only money but also a close human relationship.

45. Check Your Comprehension B • I think our family industry of writing has been going on very well. • I really don’t like the idea that I can’t do my writing unless I use a computer and a printer. • I would not be able to write seriously and honestly against the distortion of nature if my own writing itself were distorting the nature.

46. New words and expressions for Reading Four: millennium: A millennium is a period of one thousand years, especially one which begins and ends with a year ending in ‘000’, for example the period from the year 1000 to the year 2000. (FORMAL) jet: A jet is an aircraft that is powered by jet engines. Her private jet landed in the republic on the way to Japan...

47. sip: If you sip a drink or sip at it, you drink by taking just a small amount at a time. Jessica sipped her drink thoughtfully... He sipped at the glass and then put it down... He lifted the water-bottle to his lips and sipped. under the covers: having a nice comfortable sleep

48. glitch: A glitch is a problem which stops something from working properly or being successful. (INFORMAL) Manufacturing glitches have limited the factory’s output. = hitch, problem apocalypse: the total destruction and end of the world anti-nuclear protestors who fear the apocalypse

49. assorted: A group of assorted things is a group of similar things that are of different sizes or colours or have different qualities. ...swimsuits, sizes 12-18, in assorted colours. = various visionary: If you refer to someone as a visionary, you mean that they have strong, original ideas about how things might be different in the future, especially about how things might be improved. An entrepreneur is more than just a risk taker. He is a visionary.

50. catatonic: not able to move or talk because of an illness, shock etc Andrew was in a catatonic state for several months. ballistic missile:a powerful weapon that can travel extremely long distances, and that flies very high up into the sky and then back down to earth where it explodes buster: A “buster”, especially as used in “bug-buster” is someone or something that destroys enemies or resolves problems.