时间:2018-12-11 作者:英语课 分类:英语解说豆知识2009年


英语课
If you’re like most people, computers are becoming a part of your life, and it helps to know how they work. They seem complicated 1 inside. But by understanding just a few parts, you can see a simpler side of computers. 
 
This is Computer Hardware 2 In Plain English. 
 
You’ve seen them. They come in all shapes and sizes, but work pretty much in the same ways. In fact, if you could look inside these computers, they’d have the same basic parts. It’s these parts, the hardware, that do a lot of the work in computers. 
 
To explain, let’s look at something you already know: a house. One of the great things about living in a house is that you have room for all of your stuff 3. In fact, many houses have basements that become the perfect place for storing things you want to use later. And the bigger the basement, the more you can store. The same thing is true for computers. Instead of boxes and bicycles, we need a place to store things like photos, music, documents and software. In a computer, it’s not the basement but a hard drive. A computer’s hard drive is where you keep all the things you want to use later, and like basements, the bigger the hard drive, the more you can store. 
 
The basements aren’t perfect. Going to the basement takes too much time whenever you need something. Closets on the main floor can help. They’re small and make things easier to access when you need them. You don’t need to go all the way downstairs. It’s the same with computers. Some of the information stored on computers is hard for the computer to open quickly because it needs to take the long way. To solve this problem, computers use RAM 4 or Random 5 Access Memory. It makes information easier for the computer to access. This means RAM makes computers faster. Plus, this kind of closet gets cleaned out every time you restart 6 your computer. 
 
Of course, houses have all kinds of parts that need to work together. It will help to have someone like a butler in the house, making sure the house is always in working order. If it’s too hot, maybe the air conditioning needs adjustment; when it’s dark, lights are needed. Computers need this too. Something has to make sure all the parts run smoothly 7. In computers, this is called the processor. It’s a tiny part that’s like the butler of the computer. It sends and receives information, completes tasks and puts the software to work. And the faster it can complete tasks, the faster your computer will be. 
 
So, let’s review. The hard drive is like a basement. It stores all the things you need for later. RAM is like a closet on the main floor. It makes some information quick and easy to access. And the processor is like having a butler around, always completing tasks and making things work together. 
 
The next time you use a computer, think about what’s happening under the hood 8. Computer hardware is working together to help you get things done.

1 complicated
adj.错综复杂的,麻烦的,结构复杂的
  • The poem is so complicated that I cannot make out its meaning.这首诗太复杂,我理解不了它的意思。
  • This is the most complicated case I have ever handled.这是我所处理过的最为复杂的案子。
2 hardware
n.重型武器;五金器具;硬件
  • He bought a pot and other hardware at the store. 他从商店买了一个壶和其他金属制品。
  • That family has carried on a hardware business for five generations.那家已经经营五金生意五代了。
3 stuff
n.原料,材料,东西;vt.填满;吃饱
  • We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
  • He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。
4 ram
(random access memory)随机存取存储器
  • 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存,640K内存则更佳。
5 random
adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动
  • The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
6 restart
vt.重新开始,重新启动;vi.重新开始,重新启动
  • Restart the computer in Safe mode or VGA mode.重新启动计算机在安全模式或VGA模式。
  • After the restart the program continues to run automatically.重启后,程序仍然自动运行。
7 smoothly
adv.平滑地,顺利地,流利地,流畅地
  • The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作,所以工作进展顺利。
  • Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
8 hood
n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖
  • She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
  • The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。
学英语单词
accompanying sound
aislabies
aniston
annoyaunce
arcus pedis transversalis
artillery prime mover
atigi
auxochromous group
axillary sheath
Bannertown
Borate minerals
buttfucking
caseros
cemetery garden
civilianising
colonnas
come on strike
consulting work
cowcumber
debriefed
decision speed
declination constant
diamond-impregnated tool
Dipher
distributable surplus
distributed-emission photod
dotted quaver
egg-and-tongues
enamel lamp-shade
enterococcus faecalis
European Arum
evaporator tank
everlastin'
exception list
excessive issuance of bank notes
fenprinast
fillet welding machine
flavicomous
Floyd Bennett Field
fractional (deposit) banking
Fulsed
genus clinopodiums
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
groove-iike invagination
Habibābād
hammer throws
have young
Hevea brasiliensis Muell.-Arg.
hostiers
Hung's modified filtration counting method
inclined wharf
inertial lag
Intel Technology Provider
kentwood
Kerr effect self-focusing
Khetlāl
kinmonds
lambruscoes
lani
le massacre des amazones
legspinners
memabtine
monosomatous
most significant position
multi start screw thread
neat not gaudy
nephelo-
nondeserving
nonlobbying
nonsingular curve
notra
paytamine
pittosporum brevicalyx(oliv.)gagnep.
pooper-scoopers
pound-keepers
pseudocontrol vector
quick-acting spring switch
red infarct
rejectable process level
revenue accounts
rhabdornises
rilutek
ripply
roentgenograph
Rufus L.
sex-age specific death rate
slow belly
snowy tree-cricket
sorned
spoligotyping
standby emergency mode
Swift's disease
TATG
ten-year series
Thomas Moore
traffic accident prediction
unit separator
universal structural mill
vehicle leasing
verbalisable
wakeys-wakeys
whipped through