Unit3AlienationandtheInternet课文翻译综合教程四

1、Unit 3Alienation and the InternetWill Baker1. The Internet provides an amazing forum for the free exchange of ideas. Given therelatively few restrictionsgoverningaccess and usage ， it isthe communications modalequivalent of international waters.1 It is my personal belief that the human potential can

2、only be realized by the globalization of ideas. I developed this position2 years before theInternet came into wide spread use. And I am excited at the potential for the Internet todramaticallyalter ourglobal society for the better. HoweverI am also troubledbythepossible unintended negative consequen

3、ces.2.Therehas beenmuch talk aboutthe “new informationage.”Butmuch less widelyreported has been thenotion thattheInternetmaybe responsiblefor furtheringthefragmentation of society by alienating its individual users.3 At first this might sound likean apparent contradiction： how can something， that is

4、 on the one hand responsible forglobal 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 asa“problem ”withtheInternet.WhenIquestionedhimfurtherhe saidthathewas“addicted ， ”4 andhas “forced ”himse

5、lfto go off-line.He saidthathefeltlikeanalcoholic ，in that moderate use of the Internet was just not possible for him.5 I have notknown this fellow to be given to exaggeration， therefore when he described his internetbinges ，6 when he would spend over twenty-four hours on line non-stop，it gave me pa

6、useto think. He said，“the Internet isntreal ，but I was spending all my time on line，so I justhad to stop. ”Hewenton to saythatallof the timethathe spentonlinemight haveskewed7 his sense of reality，and that it made him feel lonely and depressed.4. The fragmentation of society has been lamented for so

7、me time now. It seems to methat itprobablybeganin earnestafterWorldWar II when a generationreturnedfromdoing great deeds overseas. They won the war， and by God they were going to win thepeace.Automobileownershipbecamecommonplaceandsuburbswerecreated. “Progress ”wastheir mantra.8So evenpriortotheInte

8、rnets widespreadpopularity ， folkswerealready becoming distanced from theirextended familiesandneighbors. And when we fast-forward to today we see an almost cruel irony in that peoplecan and often do develop on-line relationships with folks on the other side of the globe，withoutleaving their homes.

9、Butat the expense ofthetimethatwouldhave otherwisebeenavailableforinvolvementinotheractivitieswhichmightfosterasenseofcommunity in their villages，towns and cities.5. Last weekend my wife and I invited our extended family to our home to celebrate our daughter sbirthday. During the celebration my youn

10、g nephew spent the entire time on my computer playing a simulated war game. My brother-in-law and I were chattingnearby and it struck us that in generations past， his son ， my nephew ， would have beenoutside playing with his friends. But now the little fellow goes on line to play his gamesagainst hi

11、s friends in cyberspace.6. It seems to me that the Internet is a powerful tool that presents an opportunity forthe advancement of the acquisition and application of knowledge. However，based on mypersonalexperienceI can understandhow ， as they surf thewebsomefolks mightbeconfronted with cognitive ove

12、rload.9 And I can also understand how one might have hisor her sense of reality distorted in the process. Is the Internet a real place？Dependingupon how a “real place ”is defined it might very well be. At the very least， I believe thatwhen weusethe Internet ， we are forced to ask fundamentalquestion

13、sabout howweperceivetheworldabout usperhaps another unintendedconsequence. Some wouldargue that the virtual existences created by some users who debate，shop ，travel and haveromanceon line areinfact not real.While others would argue that ，since in practicalterms ，folks are debating，shopping ，travelli

14、ng 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 withoutlosing our sense of place.10 However like most things that is easier sai

15、d than done. Itseems to me that we are a society that values immediate gratification above all else， andwhatbetter placeto achieveitthanincyberspace ， wherethe cyber-worldis yourcyber-oyster.11 Thewidespreaduse oftheautomobile foreverchanged our societyandculture，and perhaps a similar sort of thing

16、is occurring now. I am not at all certain wherethe “information superhighway”will lead us：some say to Utopia， 12 while others feel itsthe road to hell. But I do know that we all have the ability to maintain our sense of placein the world. Whether we choose to take advantage of this ability is anothe

17、r 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。由于登录和使用互联网的限制相对较少，它的作用就等同于通讯传播中的公海。我个人认为人类潜能只有通过思想的全球化才能实现。在因特网广为应用之前许多年我就有了这样的立场。我为因特网给全球社会的更好发展带来的巨大变化振奋不已。然而，我也为预料之外的负面后果感到困扰。2 关于 “新的信息时代 ”人们谈论得很多。 但是， 互联网使网民之间彼此疏远，从而导致社会的进一步土崩瓦解， 对这方面的报道却少得多。 乍听起来这似乎相互矛盾： 一种东西怎么会既能让人们自由地交流思想，从而使全球融为一体，同时又让参与者彼此疏远呢？

18、3 我一位朋友自称使用因特网出了 “问题 ”，最近我和他讨论了这个问题。 我进一步追问时他说他有 “网瘾 ”，经常得 “强制 ”自己离线下网。他觉得自己像个酒鬼，因为他就是无法有节制地上网。 据我所知，此人不喜欢夸大其词，因此当他描述自己的网瘾，说常常连续泡网一天一夜时，这引起了我的思考。他说：“网络世界不是真实的，但我还偏偏把自己所有时间花在网络上，所以我不得不悬崖勒马。 ”他接着说他在网上花的那么多时间使他扭曲了现实感，让他觉得孤单压抑，郁郁寡欢。4 大家哀叹社会的四分五裂由来已久。在我看来，这种分裂真正始于第二次世界大战结束后， 当时一代人在海外完成宏伟事业之后荣归故里。他们打赢了战争，面对上帝，他们还要赢得和平。小汽车变得普及，人们建起了郊区。“进步 ”是时常挂在他们嘴边的口号。于是甚至早于因特网大行其道之时， 人们早就疏远了大家庭的其他成员和左邻右舍。我们把场景快进到今天， 见到的情景几乎可以说是残酷的讽刺：人们足不出户就经常能和远在地球另一端的人建立网络关系，但这样做的代价是：他们花掉了很多时间，而这些时间本来可以在他们自己的村子和城镇里投身于各项活动，从而培养社区观念。5上周末我们夫妻邀请大家庭的其他成员来家里庆祝我女儿的生日。整个庆祝过程中， 小外甥把全部时间都花在我电脑上玩一个模拟战争的游戏。我和妹夫就坐在边上聊天