1.It is impossible that old prejudices and hostilities should longer exist, while
such an instrument has been created for the exchange of thought between all the nations of the earth.
im possible … longer/while/such an instrument
译文：在1858年第一根横穿大西洋的通讯电缆铺设成功时，维多利亚时代的积极分子们曾欢呼说：“像电报这种为世界各国交流思想的工具诞生之后，那些根深蒂固的偏见与敌意不可能再长时间存在了。”
2.However, although the Internet is still young enough to inspire idealism, it has
also been around long enough to test whether the prophets can be right. young enough to …long enough to…/be around: be existing
译文：然而，尽管因特网出现的时间不长，依旧足以激起理想主义的灵感，但它存在的时间也已长得足以判断预言家的预言正确与否了。
3.The idea is that improved communications will reduce misunderstandings and
avert conflict.
译文：他的理念是改进了的通信手段将减少误解；避免冲突。
4.Home computers are becoming part of the fabric of everyday life, and are
increasingly left switched on all the time.
译文：家用电脑正在成为日常生活结构中的一部分，而且其中越来越多的电脑始终处于开机状态。
5.The construction of vast ”server farms”----warehouses full of computers and
their attendant cooling systems----has contributed to the overloading of the electrical power network that has caused brown-outs in Silicon Valley.
“server farms”: metaphor→ an implied/implicit comparison
contributed to: increase, improve
译文：建设好的一些规模宏大的“服务器场区”--- 摆满计算机及其辅助冷却设备的库房--- 已经导致电力网络的超负荷运转，这种状况已经引起了硅谷地区的用电紧张。
6.What about the belief that the Internet will reduce inequality? According to a
study carried out by America’s Department of Commerce, households with annual incomes above $75,000 are more than 20 times as likely to have Internet access as the poorest households.
according to/carried out/more than 20 times as likely to have Internet /access as…: … 20 times more likely to have … than…
译文：美国商业部的一项研究表明：年收入在7.5万美元以上的家庭与最贫困的家庭相比，前者上网率是后者的20倍还多。
7.The poor are not shunning the Internet because they cannot afford it: the
problem is that they lack the skills to exploit it effectively.
▪not… because: 原因状语的否定：句中not不是否定动词shunning，而是否定because引导的原因状语从句
→ The poor are shunning the Internet not because they cannot afford it; …
▪shunning: avoiding using, keeping away from…
▪exploit: make use of, use
译文：穷人不用因特网并不是因为他们买不起，问题是他们缺乏必要的技能来有效地利用它。
8.国庆节期间不出去旅游
9.Even inequality may, in some cases, be reduced thanks to the Internet.
译文：在某些情况下，由于有了因特网，不平等现象也有可能会减少。
10.T he effect is to reduce income inequality between people doing similar jobs
in different countries, but to increase the inequality between information workers in poor countries and their poorest compatriots.
is to…, but to…/information workers /compatriots
译文：其效果是减少在不同国家从事类似工作的人们之间收入上的不平等，但这么做却拉大了贫穷国家中从事信息产业的人们和他们最贫穷同胞收入上的差距。
11.（全段选择或翻译）The extent to which the Internet will transform other
fields of human endeavor, however, is less certain. Even when everyone on the planet has been connected to the Internet, there will still be wars, pollution, and inequality. As new gizmos come and go, human nature seems to remain stubbornly unchanged; despite the claims of the techno-prophets, humanity cannot simply invent away its failings. The Internet is not the first technology to have been hailed as a panacea and it will certainly not be the last.
译文：然而，我们还不清楚因特网能够在多大程度上改变人类其他领域的活动．即使地球上的每个人都与因特网相连；战争、污染和不平等依然会存在、随着新鲜事物的交替更迭，人类的本性看来还会固执地保持不变不管科技预言家的预言是什么，人类的发明绝对不能克服其自身的缺陷。因特网不是第一种被人们视为万能药的技术，也肯定不会是最后一种。12.（句型）It is generally accepted that the experiences of the child in his first years largely determine his character and later personality.
句型：It is generally/usually/often, etc. accepted/thought/assumed/said/believed, etc. that … 主语一般是泛指“人们”，it 为形式主语；此句型表示：”人们一般/普遍……认为……”、“据说……”
