英语听力精选进阶版 7185

Background: 英国科学家蒂姆·伯纳斯（Tim Berners-Lee）20年前创造了第一个网页。发展到今天，万维网已经拥有一万亿左右的网页。万维网彻底改变了我们人与人之间的交流方式，很多人甚至无法想象没有网络的生活。你觉得呢？你通常使用网络都做些什么呢？

On Christmas Day 1990, in a laboratory in Switzerland, British physicist¹ Tim Berners-Lee finished developing the tools to create the World Wide Web. He was working at the European Organisation² for Nuclear Research, Cern, in Geneva.

His boss gave him the green light to work on the project during his spare time and together with the help of his Belgian colleague Robert Cailliau, Tim Berners-Lee produced the world's first webpage.

The experiment heralded⁴ a new era because it demonstrated how computers could talk to each other through a new language they created called Hyper-Text Markup⁵ Language, or HTML.

Currently there might be anything up to a trillion webpages with all sorts of content. People buy and sell products and services, make friends through these pages, learn and teach. We found many enthusiasts⁶ of the web in the streets of London.

Man 1: “It means having information in your home with easy access which in the past would have only been available in thousands of libraries. So it’s information at your fingertips.”

Woman: “Access to a lot of people really. We’ve got a lot of family overseas so we use Skype quite a bit.”

Man 2: “Information, news, social groups.”

Man 3: “I’m just using it usually for emails and social networking with my friends and well, reading newspapers and information. Basically everything!”

Fortunes were made in the World Wide Web. Many say that Tim Berners-Lee could have been a billionaire through his invention but he said that all he wants is to keep the egalitarian spirit of the web intact and the medium free to use. Many users share the same ideals.

Man 1: “I think that today it is essential to have an internet connection and that’s going to be a real problem in terms of you know, digital divide when some people in the world can’t access the internet or when the speed (connection speed) is not enough.”

And there are other concerns.

Woman: “I’m not very keen on that because of all the privacy issues and everything, I’m very aware of it. So I try to keep private things private as much as I can.”

And there are the diehards, who shy away from technology.

Man 2: “I leave it all to my wife, I hate computers.”

Glossary⁷ 词汇表

physicist 物理学家 

tool 工具 

the green light 许可，绿灯 

spare time 业余时间 

to herald³ 预示 

content 内容 

egalitarian 平等主义 

digital divide 数码鸿沟 

diehard 顽固分子（追随一个在他人眼里看来已经过时的信念或看法） 

to shy away 回避

Questions and Answers

1. What did Tim Berner-Lee's experiment prove? 

That computers could communicate with each other through a language that the scientist created.

2. What does the British scientist want the web to be? 

A space that everybody has the same right and opportunity to use.

3. True or false? The web made Tim Berners-Lee a billionaire. 

False. Rather than commercialising his invention, the British scientist opted⁸ for offering it to users for free.

4. True or false? Webpages need HTML to work. 

True. The first webpage was possible because Tim Berners-Lee created HTML.

1 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

2 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

3 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

4 heralded   

v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The singing of the birds heralded in the day. 鸟鸣报晓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 markup   

n.加价，涨价，利润

参考例句：

• This mean that international delivery will line markup from today.这意味着国际快递将从今天起全线涨价。
• Our products are expensive,and distributors and retailers always want a large markup.我们的产品很贵，经销商和零售商总是要求高额利差。

6 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

7 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。

8 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。