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NEVER GIVE IN, NEVER, NEVER, NEVERWinston Churchill1Almost a year has passed since I came down here at your Head Master’s kind invitation in order to cheer myself and cheer the hearts of a few of myfriends by singing some of our own songs. The ten months that have passedhave seen very terrible catastrophic events in the world —ups and downs,misfortunes — but can anyone sitting here this afternoon, this October afternoon, not feel deeply thankful for what has happened in the time that has passed andfor the very great improvement in the position of our country and of our home?Why, when I was here last time we were quite alone, desperately alone, and wehad been so for five or six months. We were poorly armed. We are not so poorlyarmed today; but then we were very poorly armed. We had the unmeasuredmenace of the enemy and their air attack still beating upon us, and youyourselves had had experience of this attack; and I expect you are beginning tofeel impatient that there has been this long lull with nothing particular turningup!2But we must learn to be equally good at what is short and sharp and what is long and tough. It is generally said that the British are often better at the last.They do not expect to move from crisis to crisis; they do not always expect thateach day will bring up some noble chance of war; but when they very slowlymake up their minds that the thing has to be done and the job put through andfinished, then, even if it takes months — if it takes years — they do it.3Another lesson I think we may take, just throwing our minds back to our meeting here ten months ago and now, is that appearances a re often verydeceptive, and as Kipling well says, we must “…meet with Triumph andDisaster. And treat those two impostors just the same.”4You cannot tell from appearances how things will go. Sometimes imagination makes things out far worse than they are; yet without imaginationnot much can be done. Those people who are imaginative see many moredangers than perhaps exist; certainly many more will happen; but then they mustalso pray to be given that extra courage to carry this far-reaching imagination.But for everyone, surely, what we have gone through in this period —I amaddressing myself to the school — surely from this period of ten months this isthe lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never — in nothing,great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honourand good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparentlyoverwhelming might of the enemy. We stood all alone a year ago, and to manycountries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. All thistradition of ours, our songs, our school history, this part of the history of thiscountry, were gone and finished and liquidated.5Very different is the mood today. Britain, other nations thought, had drawn a sponge across her slate. But instead our country stood in the gap. There was no flinching and no thought of giving in; and by what seemed almost amiracle to those outside these islands, though we ourselves never doubted it, wenow find ourselves in a position where I say that we can be sure that we haveonly to persevere to conquer.6You sang here a verse of a school song: you sang that extra verse written in my honour, which I was very greatly complimented by and which you haverepeated today. But there is one word in it I want to alter — I wanted to do solast year, but I did not venture to. It is the line: “Not less we praise in darkerdays.”7I have obtained the Head Master’s permission to alter darker to sterner.“Not less we praise in sterner days.”8Do not let us speak of darker days: let us speak rather of sterner days.These are not dark days; these are great days — the greatest days our countryhas ever lived; and we must all thank God that we have been allowed, each of usaccording to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in thehistory of our race.SPACE INVADERSRichard Stengel1 At my bank the other day, I was standing in a line snaking around some tiredvelvet ropes when a man in a sweat-suit started inching toward me in his eagernessto deposit his Social Security check. As he did so, I minutely advanced toward thewoman reading the Wall Street Journal in front of me, who, in mild annoyance,began to sidle up to the man scribbling a check in front of her, whoabsent-mindedly shuffled toward the white-haired lady ahead of him, until wewere all hugger-mugger against each other, the original lazy line having collapsedin on itself like a Slinky.2 I estimate that my personal space extends eighteen inches in front of my face,one foot to each side, and about ten inches in back —though it is nearlyimpossible to measure exactly how far behind you someone is standing. Thephrase “personal space” invading myhas a quaint, seventies ring to it (“You’re space, man”), b ut it is one of those gratifying expressions that are intuitivelyunderstood by all human beings. Like the twelve-mile limit around our nationalshores, personal space is our individual border beyond which no stranger canpenetrate without making us uneasy.3 Lately, I’ve found that my personal space is being invaded more than everbefore. In elevators, people are wedging themselves in just before the doors close;on the street, pedestrians are zigzagging through the human traffic, jostling others,refusing to give way; on the subway, riders are no longer taking pains to c arve outlittle zones of space between themselves and fellow-passengers; in lines at airports, people are p ressing forward like fidgety taxis at red lights.and the4 At first, I attributed this tendency to the “population e xplosion” relentless M althusian logic that if twice as many people inhabit the planet now asdid twenty years ago, each of us has half as much space. Recently, I’ve wonderedif it’sthe season: T-shirt weather can make proximity more alluring (or much, much less). Or perhaps the proliferation of coffee bars in Manhattan — the numberseems to double every three months —is infusing so much caffeine into thealready jangling locals that people can no longer keep to themselves.5 Personal space is mostly a public matter; we allow all kinds of invasions ofpersonal space in private. (Humanity wouldn’t exist without them.) The logisticsof it vary according to geography. People who live in Calcutta have less personalspace than folks in Colorado. “Don’t tread on me” could have been coined only by someone with a spread. I would wager that people in the Northern Hemispherehave roomier conceptions of personal space than those in the Southern. To anEnglishman, a handshake can seem like trespassing, whereas to a Brazilian,anything less than a hug may come across as chilliness.6 Like drivers who plow into your parked and empty car and don’t leave a note,you. The decline of people no longer mutter “Excuse me” when they bump intomanners has been widely lamented. Manners, it seems to me, are about givingpeople space, not stepping on toes, granting people their private domain.7 I’ve also noticed an increase in the ranks of what I think of as space invaders,mini-territorial expansionists who seize public space with a sense of manifestdestiny. In movie theatres these days, people are staking a claim to both armrests,annexing all the elbow room, while at coffee shops and on the Long IslandRailroad, individuals routinely commandeer booths and sets of facing seats meantfor foursomes.8 Ultimately, personal space is psychological, not physical: it has less to do withthe space outside us than with our inner space. I suspect that the shrinking ofpersonal space is directly proportional to the expansion of self-absorption: peoplewhose attention is inward do not bother to look outward. Even the focus of sciencethese days is micro, not macro. The Human Genome Project is mapping theuniverse of the genetic code, while neuroscientists are using souped-up M.R.I.machines to chart the flight of neurons in our brains.wings in Japan may9 In the same way that the breeze from a butterfly’seventually produce a tidal wave in California, I have decided to expand thecontracting boundaries of personal space. In the line at my bank, I now refuse tomove closer than three feet to the person in front of me, even if it means that thefellow behind me starts breathing down my neck.ALIENATION AND THE INTERNETWill Baker1The Internet provides an amazing forum for the free exchange of ideas.Given the relatively few restrictions governing access and usage, it is thecommunications modal equivalent of international waters. It is my personalbelief that the human potential can only be realized by the globalization of ideas.I developed this position years before the Internet came into widespread use.And I am excited at the potential for the Internet to dramatically alter our globalsociety for the better. However I am also troubled by the possible unintendednegative consequences.2There has been much talk about the “new information age.” But much less widely reported has been the notion that the Internet may be responsible forfurthering the fragmentation of society by alienating its individual users. At firstthis might sound like an apparent contradiction: how can something, that is onthe one hand responsible for global unification by enabling the free exchange ofideas, alienate the participants?3I had a recent discussion with a friend of mine who has what he described as a “problem” with the Internet. When I questioned further he said that he was-line. He said that he felt like an “addicted,” and has “forced” himself to go offalcoholic, in that moderate use of the Internet was just not possible for him. Ihave not known this fellow to be given to exaggeration, therefore when hedescribed his Internet binges, when he would spend over twenty-four hours online non-stop, it gave me pause to think. He said, “the Internet isn’t real, bu was spending all my time on line, so I just had to stop.” He went on to say tha all of the time that he spent on line might have skewed his sense of reality, andthat it made him feel lonely and depressed.4The fragmentation of society has been lamented for some time now. It seems to me that it probably began in earnest after World War II when ageneration returned from doing great deeds overseas. They won the war, and byGod they were going to win the peace. Automobile ownership becamecommonplace and suburbs were created. “Progress” was their mantra. So evenwidespread popularity, folks were already becoming prior to the Internet’sdistanced from their extended families and neighbors. And when wefast-forward to today we see an almost cruel irony in that people can and oftendo develop on-line relationships with folks on the other side of the globe,without leaving their homes. But at the expense of the time that would haveotherwise been available for involvement in other activities which might foster asense of community in their villages, towns and cities.5Last weekend my wife and I invited our extended family to our home tobirthday. During the celebration my young nephew celebrate our daughter’sspent the entire time on my computer playing a simulated war game. Mybrother-in-law and I were chatting nearby and it struck us that in generationspast, his son, my nephew, would have been outside playing with his friends. Butnow the little fellow goes on line to play his games against his friends incyberspace.6It seems to me that the Internet is a powerful tool that presents an opportunity for the advancement of the acquisition and application ofknowledge. However, based on my personal experience I can understand how,as they surf the web some folks might be confronted with cognitive overload.And I can also understand how one might have his or her sense of realitydistorted in the process. Is the Internet a real place? Depending upon how a “realplace” is defined it might very well be. At the very least, I believe that when weuse the Internet, we are forced to ask fundamental questions about how weperceive the world about us—perhaps another unintended consequence. S omewould argue that the virtual existences created by some users who debate, shop,travel and have romance on line are in fact not real, while others would arguethat, since in practical terms, folks are debating, shopping, traveling and havingromance, the c onverse is true.7 All of this being said, I believe that the key to realizing the potential of theInternet is in achieving balance in our lives. This would allow us to maximize itspotential without losing our sense o f place. However, like most things, that iseasier said than done. It seems to me that we are a society that values immediategratification above all else, and what better place to achieve it than in cyberspace,where the cyber-world is your cyber-oyster. The widespread use of theautomobile forever changed our society and culture, and perhaps a similar sort ofthing is occurring now. I am not at all certain where the “informationsuperhighway” will lead us: some say to Utopia, while others feel it’s the ro hell. But I do know that we all have the ability to maintain our sense of place inthe world. Whether we choose to take advantage of this ability is another matter.THE TAPESTRY OF FRIENDSHIPEllen Goodman1It was, in many ways, a slight movie. Nothing actually happened. T here was no big-budget chase scene, no bloody shoot-out. The story ended withoutany cosmic conclusions.2Yet she found Claudia Weill’s filmGirlfriend gentle and affecting. Slowly, it panned across the tapestry of friendship – showing its fragility, its resiliency,its role as the connecting tissue between the lives of two young women.3When it was over, she thought about the movies she had seen this year –Julia，The Turning Point and now Girlfriends. It seemed that the peculiar eye,the social lens of the cinema, had drastically shifted its focus. Suddenly the MaleBuddy movies had been replaced by the Female Friendship flicks.rité.4This wasn’t just anotherbinge of trendiness, but a kind of cinema véFor once the movies were reflecting a shift, not just from men to women butfrom one definition of friendship to another.5Across millions of miles of celluloid, the ideal of friendship had alwaysof Butch Cassidys and been male –a world of sidekicks and “partners” Sundance Kids. There had been something almost atavistic about these visionsof attachments – as if producers culled their plots from some pop anthropologybook on male bonding. Movies portrayed the idea that only men, those directdescendants of hunters and Hemingways, inherited a primal capacity forfriendship. In contrast, they portrayed women picking on each other, the waythey once picked berries.6Well, that duality must have been mortally wounded in some shootout atNow, on the screen, they were at least aware of the You’re OK, I’m OK Corral.the subtle distinction between men and women as buddies and friends.7About 150 years ago, Coleridge had written, “A w oman’s f riendshipMen affect each other in the reflection borders more closely on love than man’s.of noble or friendly acts, whilst women ask fewer proofs and more signs andexpressions of attachment.”8Well, she thought, on the whole, men had buddies, while women had friends. Buddies bonded, but friends loved. Buddies faced adversity together,but friends faced each other. There was something palpably different in the waythings together; friends simply they spent their time. Buddies seemed to “do” “were” together.9Buddies came linked, like accessories, to one activity or another. People have golf buddies and business buddies, college buddies and club buddies. Menoften keep their buddies in these categories, while women keep a specialcategory for friends.10 A man once told her that men weren’t real buddies until they had been“through the wars” together –corporate or athletic or military. They had tocount themselves as soldier together, he said. Women, on the other hand, didn’tfriends until they had shared three loathsome confidences.11Buddies hang tough together; friends hang onto each other.12It probably had something to do with pride. You don’t show off to a friend;you show need. Buddies try to keep the worst from each other; friends confessit.13 A friend of hers once telephoned her lover, just to find out if he was home.She hung up without a hello when he picked up the phone. Later, wretched with-five-year-old embarrassment, the friend moaned, “Can you believe me? A thirtylawyer, making a chicken call?” Together they laughed and made it better.14Buddies seek approval. But friends seek acceptance.15She knew so many men who had been trained in restraint, afraid of each other’s judgment or awkward with each other’s affection. She wasn’t sure wh Like buddies in the movies, they would die for each other, but never hug eachother.16She had reread Babbitt recently, that extraordinary catalogue of male grievances. The only relationship that gave meaning to the claustrophobic life ofGeorge Babbitt had been with Paul Riesling. But not once in the tragedy of theirlives had one been able to say to the other: You make a difference.17Even now men shocked her at times with their description of friendship.Does this one have a best friend? “Why, of course, we see each other everyDoes that one call his most intimate pal long distance? “Why, February.” a real reason.” Do those two old chums ever have certainly, whenever there’sdinner together? “You mean alone? Without our wives?”18Yet, things were changing. The ideal of intimacy wasn’t this parallel playmate, this teammate, this trenchmate. Not even in Hollywood. In the doublestandard of friendship, for once the female version was becoming accepted asthe general ideal.19After all, a buddy is a fine life-companion. But one’s friends, as Santayana once wrote, “are that part of the race with which one can be human.”。
An Integrated English CourseBOOK4unit1-4课后题翻译及答案Unit1Never give in,Never,Never,NeverTranslationⅠ.Translate the following sentences into English,using the words or phrase given in the bracket.1.我安排他们在小酒吧见面，但那小伙子一直都没有来。
（turn up）2.你无法仅凭表象判断形势是否变得对我们不利。
（tell from appearance）3.那个士兵每次打仗都冲锋在前，从而赢得了国家最高荣誉。
（stand in thegap）4.主席讲话很有说服力，委员会其他成员都听从他的意见。
（yield to）5.他们现在生活富裕了，但也曾经历坎坷。
(ups and down)6.这次演讲我将说明两个问题。
(address oneself to)7.我们正在筹划为你举办一次盛大的圣诞聚会。
(in somebody's honour)8.听到那个曲子，我回想起了儿童时代。
(throw one's mind back)1.I had arranged for them to meet each other at the pub but the young man never turned up.2.You cannot tell merely from appearance whether things will turn out unfavourable to us or not.3.The soldier,who stood in the gap in every battle,gained the highest honors of the country.4.The chairman spoke so forcefully that the rest of the committee yielded to his opinion.5.They are well-to-do now,but along the way they had their ups and downs.6.There are two questions to which I will address myself in this lecture.7.We are planning a big Christmas party in your honour.8.Hearing that tune threw my mind back to my childhood.Ⅱ.Translate the following sentence into Chinese.They tell us that we are weak,unable to cope with so formidable an adversary.But when shall we be strong?Will it be the next week,or the next year?Will it be when we are totally disarmed?Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance,by lying supinely on our backs,and hugging the delusive phantom of hope until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?Sir,we are not weak,if we make a proper use of means which the God of nature hath placed in our power.Three millions of people,armed in the holy caused of liberty,and in such a country as that which we possess,are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. The battle is not to the strong alone it is to the vigilant,the active, the brave,.Sir,we have no selection.If we were base enough to desire it,it is now too late to retire from the contest.There is no retreat,but in submission and slavery!The war is inevitable---and let it come!I repeat,sir,let it come!KEY他们告诉我们，我们很弱小，无法对付如此强大的敌人。
Unit 3Alienation and the InternetWill Baker1. The Internet provides an amazing forum for the free exchange of ideas. Given the relatively few restrictions governing access and usage，it is the communications modal equivalent of international waters.1 It is my personal belief that the human potential can only be realized by the globalization of ideas. I developed this position2 years before the Internet came into wide spread use. And I am excited at the potential for the Internet to dramatically alter our global society for the better. However I am also troubled by the possible unintended negative consequences.2. There has been much talk about the“new information age.”But much less widely reported has been the notion that the Internet may be responsible for furthering the fragmentation of society by alienating its individual users.3 At first this might sound like an apparent contradiction：how can something，that is on the one hand responsible for global unification by enabling the free exchange of ideas，alienate the participants？3. I had a recent discussion with a friend of mine who has what he described as a“problem”with the Internet. When I questioned him further he said that he was“addicted，”4 and has“forced”himself to go off-line. He said that he felt like an alcoholic，in that moderate use of the Internet was just not possible for him.5 I have not known this fellow to be given to exaggeration，therefore when he described his internet binges，6 when he would spend over twenty-four hours on line non-stop，it gave me pause to think. He said，“the Internet isn‘t real，but I was spending all my time on line，so I just had to stop.”He went on to say that all of the time that he spent on line might have skewed7 his sense of reality，and that it made him feel lonely and depressed.4. The fragmentation of society has been lamented for some time now. It seems to me that it probably began in earnest after World War II when a generation returned from doing great deeds overseas. They won the war，and by God they were going to win the peace. Automobile ownership became commonplace and suburbs were created.“Progress”was their mantra.8 So even prior to the Internet‘s widespread popularity，folks were already becoming distanced from their extended families and neighbors. And when we fast-forward to today we see an almost cruel irony in that people can and often do develop on-line relationships with folks on the other side of the globe，without leaving their homes. But at the expense of the time that would have otherwisebeen available for involvement in other activities which might foster a sense of community in their villages，towns and cities.5. Last weekend my wife and I invited our extended family to our home to celebrate our daughter‘s birthday. During the celebration my young nephew spent the entire time on my computer playing a simulated war game. My brother-in-law and I were chatting nearby and it struck us that in generations past，his son，my nephew，would have been outside playing with his friends. But now the little fellow goes on line to play his games against his friends in cyberspace.6. It seems to me that the Internet is a powerful tool that presents an opportunity for the advancement of the acquisition and application of knowledge. However，based on my personal experience I can understand how，as they surf the web some folks might be confronted with cognitive overload.9 And I can also understand how one might have his or her sense of reality distorted in the process. Is the Internet a real place？Depending upon how a“real place”is defined it might very well be. At the very least，I believe that when we use the Internet，we are forced to ask fundamental questions about how we perceive the world about us—perhaps another unintended consequence. Some would argue that the virtual existences created by some users who debate，shop，travel and have romance on line are in fact not real. While others would argue that，since in practical terms，folks are debating，shopping，travelling and having romance，the converse is true.7. All of this being said，I believe that the key to realizing the potential of the Internet is in achieving balance in our lives. This would allow us to maximize its potential without losing our sense of place.10 However like most things that is easier said than done. It seems to me that we are a society that values immediate gratification above all else，and what better place to achieve it than in cyberspace，where the cyber-world is your cyber-oyster.11 The widespread use of the automobile forever changed our society and culture，and perhaps a similar sort of thing is occurring now. I am not at all certain where the“information superhighway”will lead us：some say to Utopia，12 while others feel it‘s the road to hell. But I do know that we all have the ability to maintain our sense of place in the world. Whether we choose to take advantage of this ability is another matter.因特网与人际之疏远威尔·贝克1 因特网为思想的自由交流提供了一个非凡的平台。
Unit 3Alienation and the InternetWill Baker1. The Internet provides an amazing forum for the free exchange of ideas. Given the relatively few restrictions governing access and usage，it is the communications modal equivalent of international waters.1 It is my personal belief that the human potential can only be realized by the globalization of ideas. I developed this position2 years before the Internet came into wide spread use. And I am excited at the potential for the Internet to dramatically alter our global society for the better. However I am also troubled by the possible unintended negative consequences.2. There has been much talk about the“new information age.”But much less widely reported has been the notion that the Internet may be responsible for furthering the fragmentation of society by alienating its individual users.3 At first this might sound like an apparent contradiction：how can something，that is on the one hand responsible for global unification by enabling the free exchange of ideas，alienate the participants？3. I had a recent discussion with a friend of mine who has what he described as a“problem”with the Internet. When I questioned him further he said that he was“addicted，”4 and has“forced”himself to go off-line. He said that he felt like an alcoholic，in that moderate use of the Internet was just not possible for him.5 I have not known this fellow to be given to exaggeration，therefore when he described his internet binges，6 when he would spend over twenty-four hours on line non-stop，it gave me pause to think. He said，“the Internet isn‘t real，but I was spending all my time on line，so I just had to stop.”He went on to say that all of the time that he spent on line might have skewed7 his sense of reality，and that it made him feel lonely and depressed.4. The fragmentation of society has been lamented for some time now. It seems to me that it probably began in earnest after World War II when a generation returned from doing great deeds overseas. They won the war，and by God they were going to win the peace. Automobile ownership became commonplace and suburbs were created.“Progress”was their mantra.8 So even prior to the Internet‘s widespread popularity，folks were already becoming distanced from their extended families and neighbors. And when we fast-forward to today we see an almost cruel irony in that people can and often do develop on-line relationships with folks on the other side of the globe，without leaving their homes. But at the expense of the time that would have otherwisebeen available for involvement in other activities which might foster a sense of community in their villages，towns and cities.5. Last weekend my wife and I invited our extended family to our home to celebrate our daughter‘s birthday. During the celebration my young nephew spent the entire time on my computer playing a simulated war game. My brother-in-law and I were chatting nearby and it struck us that in generations past，his son，my nephew，would have been outside playing with his friends. But now the little fellow goes on line to play his games against his friends in cyberspace.6. It seems to me that the Internet is a powerful tool that presents an opportunity for the advancement of the acquisition and application of knowledge. However，based on my personal experience I can understand how，as they surf the web some folks might be confronted with cognitive overload.9 And I can also understand how one might have his or her sense of reality distorted in the process. Is the Internet a real place？Depending upon how a“real place”is defined it might very well be. At the very least，I believe that when we use the Internet，we are forced to ask fundamental questions about how we perceive the world about us—perhaps another unintended consequence. Some would argue that the virtual existences created by some users who debate，shop，travel and have romance on line are in fact not real. While others would argue that，since in practical terms，folks are debating，shopping，travelling and having romance，the converse is true.7. All of this being said，I believe that the key to realizing the potential of the Internet is in achieving balance in our lives. This would allow us to maximize its potential without losing our sense of place.10 However like most things that is easier said than done. It seems to me that we are a society that values immediate gratification above all else，and what better place to achieve it than in cyberspace，where the cyber-world is your cyber-oyster.11 The widespread use of the automobile forever changed our society and culture，and perhaps a similar sort of thing is occurring now. I am not at all certain where the“information superhighway”will lead us：some say to Utopia，12 while others feel it‘s the road to hell. But I do know that we all have the ability to maintain our sense of place in the world. Whether we choose to take advantage of this ability is another matter.因特网与人际之疏远威尔·贝克1 因特网为思想的自由交流提供了一个非凡的平台。
Alienation and the InternetWill Baker 1.The Internet provides an amazing forum for the free exchange of ideas.Given the relatively few restrictions governing access and usage，it is the communications modal equivalent of international waters.It is my personal belief that the human potential can only be realized by the globalization of ideas.I developed this position years before the Internet came into wide spread use. And I am excited at the potential for the Internet to dramatically alter our global society for the better.However I am also troubled by the possible unintended negative consequences.2.There has been much talk about the“new information age.”But much less widely reported has been the notion that the Internet may be responsible for furthering the fragmentation of society by alienating its individual users.At first this might sound like an apparent contradiction：how can something，that is on the one hand responsible for global unification by enabling the free exchange of ideas，alienate the participants？3.I had a recent discussion with a friend of mine who has what he described as a“problem”with the Internet.When I questioned him further he said that he was“addicted，”and has“forced”himself to go off-line.He said that he felt like an alcoholic，in that moderate use of the Internet was just not possible for him.I have not known this fellow to be given to exaggeration，therefore when he described his internet binges，when he would spend over twenty-four hours on line non-stop，it gave me pause to think.He said，“the Internet isn’t real，but I was spending all my time on line，so I just had to stop.”He went on to say that all of the time that he spent on line might have skewed his sense of reality，and that it made him feel lonely and depressed.4.The fragmentation of society has been lamented for some time now.It seems to me that it probably began in earnest after World War II when a generation returned from doing great deeds overseas.They won the war，and by God they were going to win the peace.Automobile ownership became commonplace and suburbs were created.“Progress”was their mantra.So even prior to the Internet’s widespread popularity，folks were already becoming distanced from their extended families and neighbors. And when we fast-forward to today we see an almost cruel irony in that people can and often do develop on-line relationships with folks on the other side of the globe，without leaving their homes.But at the expense of the time that would have otherwise been available for involvement in other activities which might foster a sense of community in their villages，towns and cities.st weekend my wife and I invited our extended family to our home to celebrate our daughter’s birthday.During the celebration my young nephew spent the entire time on my computer playing a simulated war game.My brother-in-law and I were chatting nearby and it struck us that in generations past，his son，my nephew，would have been outside playing with his friends.But now the little fellow goes on line to play his games against his friends in cyberspace.6.It seems to me that the Internet is a powerful tool that presents an opportunity for the advancement of the acquisition and application of knowledge.However，based on my personal experience I can understand how，as they surf the web some folks might be confronted with cognitive overload.And I can also understand how one might have his or her sense of reality distorted in the process.Is the Internet a real place？Depending upon how a“real place”is defined it might very well be.At the very least，I believe that when we use the Internet，we are forced to ask fundamental questions about how we perceive the world about us —perhaps another unintended consequence.Some would argue that the virtual existences created by some users who debate，shop，travel and have romance on line are in fact not real.While others would argue that，since in practical terms，folks are debating，shopping，travelling and having romance，the converse is true.7.All of this being said，I believe that the key to realizing the potential of the Internet is in achieving balance in our lives.This would allow us to maximize its potential without losing our sense of place.However like most things that is easier said than done.It seems to me that we are a society that values immediate gratification above all else，and what better place to achieve it than in cyberspace，where the cyber-world is your cyber-oyster.The widespread use of the automobile forever changed our society and culture，and perhaps a similar sort of thing is occurring now.I am not at all certain where the“information superhighway”will lead us：some say to Utopia，while others feel it’s the road to hell.But I do know that we all have the ability to maintain our sense of place in the world.Whether we choose to take advantage of this ability is another matter.因特网与人际之疏远威尔·贝克1因特网为思想的自由交流提供了一个非凡的平台。
Unit 3Alienation and the InternetWill Baker1. The Internet provides an amazing forum for the free exchange of ideas. Given the relatively few restrictions governing access and usage，it is the communications modal equivalent of international waters.1 It is my personal belief that the human potential can only be realized by the globalization of ideas. I developed this position2 years before the Internet came into wide spread use. And I am excited at the potential for the Internet to dramatically alter our global society for the better. However I am also troubled by the possible unintended negative consequences.2. There has been much talk about the“new information age.”But much less widely reported has been the notion that the Internet may be responsible for furthering the fragmentation of society by alienating its individual users.3 At first this might sound like an apparent contradiction：how can something，that is on the one hand responsible for global unification by enabling the free exchange of ideas，alienate the participants？3. I had a recent discussion with a friend of mine who has what he described as a“problem”with the Internet. When I questioned him further he said that he was“addicted，”4 and has“forced”himself to go off-line. He said that he felt like an alcoholic，in that moderate use of the Internet was just not possible for him.5 I have not known this fellow to be given to exaggeration，therefore when he described his internet binges，6 when he would spend over twenty-four hours on line non-stop，it gave me pause to think. He said，“the Internet isn‘t real，but I was spending all my time on line，so I just had to stop.”He went on to say that all of the time that he spent on line might have skewed7 his sense of reality，and that it made him feel lonely and depressed.4. The fragmentation of society has been lamented for some time now. It seems to me that it probably began in earnest after World War II when a generation returned from doing great deeds overseas. They won the war，and by God they were going to win the peace. Automobile ownership became commonplace and suburbs were created.“Progress”was their mantra.8 So even prior to the Internet‘s widespread popularity，folks were already becoming distanced from their extended families and neighbors. And when we fast-forward to today we see an almost cruel irony in that people can and often do develop on-line relationships with folks on the other side of the globe，without leaving their homes. But at the expense of the time that would have otherwisebeen available for involvement in other activities which might foster a sense of community in their villages，towns and cities.5. Last weekend my wife and I invited our extended family to our home to celebrate our daughter‘s birthday. During the celebration my young nephew spent the entire time on my computer playing a simulated war game. My brother-in-law and I were chatting nearby and it struck us that in generations past，his son，my nephew，would have been outside playing with his friends. But now the little fellow goes on line to play his games against his friends in cyberspace.6. It seems to me that the Internet is a powerful tool that presents an opportunity for the advancement of the acquisition and application of knowledge. However，based on my personal experience I can understand how，as they surf the web some folks might be confronted with cognitive overload.9 And I can also understand how one might have his or her sense of reality distorted in the process. Is the Internet a real place？Depending upon how a“real place”is defined it might very well be. At the very least，I believe that when we use the Internet，we are forced to ask fundamental questions about how we perceive the world about us—perhaps another unintended consequence. Some would argue that the virtual existences created by some users who debate，shop，travel and have romance on line are in fact not real. While others would argue that，since in practical terms，folks are debating，shopping，travelling and having romance，the converse is true.7. All of this being said，I believe that the key to realizing the potential of the Internet is in achieving balance in our lives. This would allow us to maximize its potential without losing our sense of place.10 However like most things that is easier said than done. It seems to me that we are a society that values immediate gratification above all else，and what better place to achieve it than in cyberspace，where the cyber-world is your cyber-oyster.11 The widespread use of the automobile forever changed our society and culture，and perhaps a similar sort of thing is occurring now. I am not at all certain where the“information superhighway”will lead us：some say to Utopia，12 while others feel it‘s the road to hell. But I do know that we all have the ability to maintain our sense of place in the world. Whether we choose to take advantage of this ability is another matter.因特网与人际之疏远威尔·贝克1 因特网为思想的自由交流提供了一个非凡的平台。
