Information society

　　Information society 信息社会

Gary:  [from Covent Garden in London]  I’ve chosen one of the hottest days of theyear to take a short stroll 1 from our BBC studios to nearby Covent Garden.  I’mvisiting Hakim Kahtan, who’s manager of Global Tele-Call.  This part ofLondon’s always popular with local office workers and with tourists.  Andwhether you’re in central London or Hong Kong (that’s where I first visited aninternet café), telephone and internet centres like this one are always busy.
　　They’re a powerful symbol of a revolution（革命） that’s taken place in the world oftechnology.
　　Hakim, what facilities（设施，设备） do you have here?
　　ClipWe have computers with a hard drive, we have scanners（扫描机）, we have international phone calls… [full transcript 3 is not available]
　　Gary: Who comes here - and why? What do they do?
　　ClipWell, being in the city, we have different kind of visitors … [full transcript is not available]
　　Gary: You say people come from all over the world and they come to you to communicate with their families. How do they do that?
　　ClipThrough the internet … [full transcript is not available]
　　Gary: Thank you very much.
　　[studio] In this series, we’re considering the major themes that appear in BBC World Service news programmes.  Today’s “big story” is the Information Society.  We’ll focus on some of the issues and, of course, the language behind the topic. “Information and communications technology”, the “information society”, the “digital divide” - these terms have become buzz 4 words（无意义的字） in the modern world.  But what do they all mean? Alf Hermida is technology editor for BBC News Online, and I asked him for some definitions 5 -- starting with the “information society” itself.
　　Clip 2 Alf Hermida, BBC News Online, Technology EditorThis is a way of looking how society has changed.  If we look back to a hundred years ago, we were talking about the Industrial Revolution - countries becoming economic powers, developing their businesses through the use of machines.  Now the emphasis 6 has shifted 7 to information, and technology is a tool by which people can gain that information - be it through computers, on the Internet, or maybe over a mobile 8 phone.  And that’s what we’re talking about here: using technology as a tool to get access to information, to find out what’s happening in the world.
　　Gary: And why is this such an important area? Why does it feature in the list of WS Big stories, do you think?
　　Alf: In industrialised countries, we have well-stocked libraries, we have computers in most offices, we have access to the Internet.  So a lot of the information we need to do business, to better ourselves through improving our careers is relatively 9 available.  In developing countries, that’s much more of a problem.  Say you are a farmer in Senegal, and you want to find out what the price is for the mangos or the pineapples that you’re growing.  When you come to sell them to the trader, you don’t know what the price of that pineapple is in the capital.  You have to take, at face value, what you’re offered for it.  But say you had a mobile phone, and that on that mobile phone, you could find out what the price of pineapples was in the capital, that would put you in a much stronger position when it came to selling your goods, and you would get a much better price for your crops. That would make a very big difference to how much money you earned every month.
　　Gary: So let’s say we’re talking about telephones and computers as you’ve suggested, what do we mean when we say there’s a “digital divide”?
　　Alf: This all comes down to having access to information - being able to find information about crop prices, about the latest research, even news about what’s happening in your country or in your part of the world easily.  In industrialised countries it’s all around us.  Apart from newspapers and radio stations, we now have the internet, or you can even get this sort of information on your mobile phone.  The problem for developing countries is that they don’t have access to that information.  If we look at, say, school pupils - people at school, in industrialised countries, you could have a wealth of information at your finger tips, using the internet and most schools will have computers and have access to the web.  If you’re living in Bangladesh, your school might not have any computers, might not have access to the internet, and that puts it at a big disadvantage when it comes to your education, when it comes to your future prospects 10, and your chances of getting a good career and a good job.
　　Gary: Success in the modern world depends on having access to up-to-date 11 information - whether for business, farming, education, healthcare - for every aspect of life.  And in this so-called 12 “information society”, there’s a digital divide between the haves and the have-nots - those who are able to access information and those who aren’t. But, as Alf Hermida explains, the ability to access information depends on more than just having the right technological 13 equipment.
　　ClipAlf Hermida, BBC News Online, Technology EditorThere are several big problems when it comes to internet access.  One of the big ones is that a lot of the material on the internet is in English, and that instantly 14 puts a barrier up to a lot of people in the world because they have to speak at least some English to understand the information there.  The other thing is just the connection.  To connect to the internet, you need to connect either through cables 15 or you can do it through radio waves.  But in many parts of the developing world, what you have is a very slow connection over a telephone line.  Telephone lines in a lot of these parts of the world are quite unreliable, they’re a bit crackly（容易破裂的）, they might have some interference（冲突，干涉） on the line.  So what you then have is an internet connection that, not only is slow, but could break at any moment. That is a huge problem for the developing countries.
　　Gary: We’ve talked a bit about the internet, then, the difference that that can make to people’s lives.  What about the phone? And particularly the mobile phone?
　　Alf: This is almost more revolutionary than the internet itself.  Because what you’re finding 16 now is that in countries like Nigeria, almost everybody will have a mobile phone.  In the past they would have had to rely on trying to get a normal landline, something connected with wires to the local exchange, and the problem is there wouldn’t be many of these telephones, they would be expensive.  But now mobile phones are opening the world of communication to just about everybody.  So, selling goods is easier; sharing ideas is much more possible now than in the past; or even just giving advice to colleagues or friends.
　　Gary: As a journalist working for the BBC, do you find that there are any language issues that you have to bear in mind when you’re preparing reports about this subject?
　　Alf: One of the big temptations（诱惑） with technology is always to lapse 17 into（陷入） jargon 18（行话）.  Because what you find when you talk to people who work in this area, researchers who have come up with new and interesting ideas, is that they use jargon all the time.  It’s a shorthand（速记） way of describing what they’re doing.  And your role as a journalist is almost to translate that, to translate their technical jargon into words that you and I will understand so that when you read a story, when you listen to a story, it makes sense to you.  And not only does it make sense, but you can see why it matters, why it’s important, and why it could make a difference to your way of life.
　　Gary: Slowly but surely, the new information and communication technologies are reaching even the remotest（遥远的，偏远的） corners of the globe.  A BBC radio series called E-Villages visited a group of imaginative 19 projects that are bringing the internet to rural 20 communities in the Indian sub-continent.  In one programme, Mukti Jain Campion travelled to a community radio station in Sri Lanka.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

点击收听单词发音  






1
stroll

  
 


n.闲逛，漫步；v.闲逛，漫步


参考例句：





We are ready to take a stroll in the village.我们准备到村里遛遛。
I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。












2
clip

  
 


n.夹子，别针，弹夹，片断；vt.夹住，修剪


参考例句：





May I clip out the report on my performance?我能把报道我的文章剪下来吗？
She fastened the papers together with a paper clip.她用曲别针把文件别在一起。












3
transcript

  
 


n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书


参考例句：





A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。












4
buzz

  
 


v.充满了激动或活动的声音，发出低沉的声音


参考例句：





My brain was in buzz.我的脑袋嗡嗡响。
A buzz went through the crowded courtroom.拥挤的法庭里响起了一片乱哄哄的说话声。












5
definitions

  
 


定义( definition的名词复数 )； 规定； 清晰（度）； 解释


参考例句：





Write clear definitions in order to avoid ambiguity. 释义要写清楚以免产生歧义。
Definitions in this dictionary are printed in roman type. 这本词典里的释义是用罗马体印刷的。












6
emphasis

  
 


n.强调，重点，重要性


参考例句：





The emphasis has shifted markedly in recent years.最近几年重点已经明显改变了。
Particular emphasis will be placed on oral language training.将会特别强调口语训练。












7
shifted

  
 


v.改变( shift的过去式和过去分词 )；去掉；摆脱掉；换挡


参考例句：





He shifted his position from the horizontal. 他从水平姿势变换成其他姿势。
He nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. 他很紧张，重心在双脚之间来回换。 来自《简明英汉词典》












8
mobile

  
 


adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体


参考例句：





The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。












9
relatively

  
 


adv.比较...地，相对地


参考例句：





The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。












10
prospects

  
 


n.希望，前途(恒为复数)


参考例句：





There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。












11
up-to-date

  
 


adj.现代化的，最新的；跟上时代的


参考例句：





The car is a beauty and quite up-to-date.那辆车子很漂亮是最新款的。
He bought an up-to-date textbook.他买了一本最新的教科书。












12
so-called

  
 


adj.所谓的，号称的


参考例句：





These were the so-called mainframe machines.它们被称为主机。
Let's see what this so-called button does.让我们来看看为什么这个按钮叫这个名字。












13
technological

  
 


adj.技术的；工艺的


参考例句：





A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。












14
instantly

  
 


adv.立即，立刻


参考例句：





She was used to having her orders instantly obeyed.她习惯了让人即刻服从她的命令。
Though he slept soundly,he awoke instantly.他虽然睡得很香，但是马上就醒了。












15
cables

  
 


n.电报( cable的名词复数 )；电缆；（系船用的）缆绳；（船只、桥梁等上的）巨缆


参考例句：





Use the crocodile clips to attach the cables to the battery. 用鳄鱼嘴夹把电缆接到蓄电池上。
Please don't touch these metal cables inside a plastic sleeve. 请不要碰那些套着塑料管的金属电缆。 来自《简明英汉词典》












16
finding

  
 


n.发现，发现物；调查的结果


参考例句：





The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。












17
lapse

  
 


n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效


参考例句：





The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。












18
jargon

  
 


n.术语，行话


参考例句：





They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.












19
imaginative

  
 


adj.富有想象力的，爱想象的


参考例句：





The imaginative child made up fairy stories.这个想像力丰富的孩子自己编神话故事。
Scott was an imaginative writer.司格特是位富于想象力的作家。












20
rural

  
 


adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的


参考例句：





He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。