Next Generation Internet Addresses Gets Test Flight

    On Wednesday, Google, Facebook, Yahoo! and other major Internet companies will participate in what is being called IPv6 or Internet Protocol¹ Version 6 Test Day. The 24-hour trial run is being held to test a new communication system for the Internet, which computer experts say is needed as more and more devices go online and the Web is quickly running out of addresses.
    It’s likely that you may not even notice it, but on Wednesday, across the globe, the Internet will be taking a test flight to try out a new system that will eventually lead to a dramatic increase in the number of addresses on the World Wide Web.
    “We now have a tremendous（巨大的，极大的） number of users on the internet. And the Internet protocol or think of it as the Internet telephone number that exists for everybody on the Internet is kind of running out,” said David Gewirtz, an Internet expert at the U.S. Strategic Perspectives Institute.
    “When this stuff came into play 30 some odd years ago, people never expected that everybody on a cell phone would have an Internet address, everybody with a video game console would have an Internet address and so and so forth².  And so now as the Internet becomes the wiring that connects everybody in the world, there’s not enough Internet phone numbers or IP addresses for all of those devices.”
    The Internet Society, a non-profit organization based in Reston, Virginia that focuses on Internet standards, policy and education is promoting the trial run.
    Leslie Daigle, is the group’s chief Internet Technology Officer. “Once it escaped the research lab (IPv4) and started becoming an important component³ of everyday life.  It was pretty clear that IPv4, which only has four billion addresses, would not be enough to serve the needs of the world. I mean, do the math. There are fewer IPv4 addresses than there are people on the face of the earth.”
    In a blog posting this week, Google called the test run an important milestone⁴, adding that the deployment⁵ of IPv6 is crucial to the continued growth of the Internet.
    Organizers hope Wednesday’s event will boost awareness⁶ and promote what has so far been a slow shift to the new system.
    Daigle says it would be valuable if the new system accounted for 20 percent of the Internet’s traffic by next year.
    “In terms of actual numbers, we still see almost vanishingly small amount of IPv6 traffic on the Internet. It’s on the order of one and a half to three percent of the traffic that comes over IPv6 depending on whose measurements you use,” Daigle said.
    Daigle says more than 400 organizations from across the globe are participating in the IPv6 Test Day. Internet service providers and government's including the European Commission and U.S. government websites will join in the test.
    China has been aggressively positioning itself to make the transition to IPv6.  During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China showcased the IPv6 infrastructure⁷.
    China has set up a website to mark IPv6 Test Day, which includes a list of more than 100 sites that it says are running on the next generation system.
    Gewirtz says China’s aggressive approach highlights its desire to promote technological⁸ development and the reality that it has a huge population.
    “They have 1.2 billion people, which is pretty much the number of IPv4 addresses total. So for China to be fully⁹ on the Internet, in it’s full glory moving into the 21st century it needs more phone numbers or essentially¹⁰ more Internet addresses,” Gewirtz said.
    According to statistics in China, the country already has more than 450 million Internet users and 66 percent of Chinese access the Internet using cell phones.
    During Wednesday's test, Google says most users will be unaffected, but that it will place a prominent a notice on Google Search's main page for those who may not be able to connect and direct them to a test page to see if the connection is working.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)
 

1 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

3 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

4 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

5 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 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。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。