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《高级时事英语》第1、2单元辅导材料（1）
More Practice with the Video
Do you read English newspapers and magazines? We strongly recommend 21st Century to you. 21st century is an English education weekly designed to promote the use of English and the understanding of world current affairs among those who are learning and speaking English. It is intended to provide the most up-to-date information on the world’s cultural and social trends, English teaching services and educational opportunities at home and abroad. Besides its regular 16 pages, 21st Century carries an eight-page supplement focused on a different field of knowledge in each issue. You will find English Corner, another successful supplement, very useful and interesting. 21st Century is published by China Daily, the only national English language newspaper group in China. The video is about China Daily.  Read the transcription text with the following focus questions in mind.
1.       What are the 8 newspaper editions that make up the China Daily group?
2.       What does the Features Department of the newspaper do?
3.       How many people are involved in the process of writing a newspaper article?
Mr Zhu
China Daily was officially launched in 1981, so very soon we are expecting our 17th birthday, on the coming June the 1st which happens to be International Children’s Day, and actually the idea of having an English newspaper was initiated by our late Premier Zhou En Lai, who, returning from the Geneva conference in 1958, suggested that a country like China needs an English language newspaper. However, due to various reasons there couldn’t be such an English newspaper until the end of the Cultural Revolution, and until China adopted its reform and opening policy, so that’s how China Daily was started in 1981. When we started it was a daily paper with only 8 pages, now it is going to 12 pages, not only that, China Daily has been developing rather rapidly over the last 17 years into what we call an English newspaper group with a total of 8 English language publications, so besides China Daily, which is a daily newspaper with 12 pages a day, we also have a Business Weekly, an authoritative source of business information in China, and around the world, and then in Beijing we have the Beijing Weekend catering to the needs of foreigners in Beijing like you, and then in Shanghai we started our Shanghai Star, which is the country’s first regional or local comprehensive English newspaper and right now published twice a week and in North America we also started a newspaper called Reports from China which is inserted in the Washington Post Sunday paper and then for students and millions of English learners we have a newspaper called the 21st Century. In addition to that last year we launched China Daily Hong Kong edition which is quite different from our Beijing edition, and then finally China Daily has gone electronic and the paper was one of the first newspapers in China that went on the Web.
Web reporter
China Daily Web edition presents China Daily information over the Internet, which is the most promising media in this century and the century coming. We started in 1996.
This is our front page China Daily Web edition front page and here as you see we present China Daily full text China Daily newspaper and also we have the Business Weekly which is our Sunday edition, and the CBNet Business database.
We also have a special focus section, we just finished a report on the 9th NPC and CPPCC Conference, and also the Sino-US summit meeting, and just click on to China Daily you go into China Daily newspaper we have top news, home news, China Business, Mone , Opinion, Features and World News and also you can search, if you click here you can search, whatever you want over the past three months of information. And here you will see when you click on it, this is the front page story of today’s China Daily Newspaper. So you can see all these articles headlines and also the first paragraph of the article, if you click on that article it will bring you into the full text of this article.
So far we are enjoying over 2 million hitting rates every month, and by the end of this year we are expecting a large growth over this figure.
Foreign liaison girl
This part is the economic division, which covers the business life of China’s society. The most popular issue of China Daily, Business Weekly, was covered by them. Altogether 18 journalists and editors work here, but most of them have gone out to collect news, so only a few of them left.
Lady in red
Actually I’m not an expert in the economy and in the college I majored in English. So after graduation I was assigned a job in China Daily and I began to work in the Business Section so everything we start we just learned, we learned while we work and … I think it’s a good way to get progress.
Second young man
Specialist, actually I’m not a specialist although I’m trying to be a specialist in the economics side, you know in the college I graduated from the Beijing University, Beijing Broadcasting Institute, and majored in the Foreign Language Department in the International Journalism, actually journalism is you know my major, but during the work, I’ve been working for the China Daily for nine years and during the work I’m trying to learn things and trying to be an expert about the things I’m covering.
Mr Zhu
When we started the China Daily, our target readership were foreigners living in China, because China began to open its doors, a lot of foreigners, tourists, business people, diplomats, students, pouring into China, they were anxious to know more about China, so that was our first primary purpose of having an English language newspaper. And then gradually we discovered there was a large group of readers overseas who were interested in China, and thirdly there’s a growing number of Chinese readers who would like to read China Daily for information and also for using this as a channel to improve their English, so these are our readers, and the purpose of this paper we call it we are like a bridge builder, building a bridge between China and the rest of the world.
Features Editor
Well er this is the Features Department, I still feel the features Department is one of the major departments at the China Daily. We are in charge of two pages, of China Daily, two features pages, page 9 and page 10 and we cover a wide range of issues. Although in Chinese we’re called the culture and education department but actually we cover culture and education and science and technology, medicine, also a major part of our effort is life and people and if we talk about life and people then it’s also a wider range of topics, we go to interview artists, film directors, ballet dancers, scientists and doctors and we say that in our department we talk to a lot of experts, so we learn a lot about Chinese history, Chinese development in all these fields. So we love our job very much. Currently we may have ten people, so we have a lot of work. Besides these two pages we also help with Reports from China, a small supplement features newspaper published in the United States, so we have a lot of work to do.
American lady
This section of the newspaper is concerned primarily with copy editing the stories, polishing them, getting them into the final form for the reader. We receive stories from sub-editors, who have received them from desk or team editors. The reporters do all their reporting and writing in English. The stories move then to the desk editor, then to the sub-editor, then they come to us, and we copy edit them and try to see to it that the English is accepted conversational English, and then they go to a chief, a shift chief editor, who goes over them one more time and may have questions for us or for the sub-editor or for the reporter, and then they finally go to the Mackintosh and get turned into the newspaper.
Mr Zhu
Talking about circulation it has reached 300,000 and distributed to around 150 countries and regions in the world, and the paper is now printed in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an , Guangzhou, also in Hong Kong and in New York. Also another advantage of China Daily being an English language paper, it has become the most frequently quoted Chinese newspaper in the world, especially by wire services.
American lady
Well it’s always fun to know the news before anyone else does, that’s one of the reasons to go into this business - curiosity - and it’s also fun to work with people who are excited about their jobs, and the folks at China Daily are. They care a lot about the craft of journalism, and about the contribution they make to China’s society, and it’s always interesting to work with people who care that much about their work.
Mr Zhu
Early in the morning when I read the day’s paper and find the pictures are well-chosen and the stories well-written and we have not missed any big news and also we have lots of ads, good image-building advertisement, good opinions, and I do not find any major mistakes, which means that yesterday’s efforts had some good results.
American lady
Oh, the downside there is to journalism anywhere, you have to read a lot of stories you’d rather not have read. It’s never fun to realise that at 2 am a plane just fell out of the sky, and families are grieving and people are dying, and the hours get a little crazy, but the hours are always crazy in journalism so that’s about the only downside I can think of.
Mr Zhu
So I hope that a lot of young talented people that if they are interested in China Daily, working for China Daily, they can join us, and I would like to see this paper grow really steadily in to a strong source of information about China that is very well accepted throughout the world.
Words & Expressions
Geneva Conference      Switzerland has remained neutral in all major European and World conflicts in the last two centuries, and is thus often chosen as the site of international conferences; cf the Geneva Conventions, a series of humanitarian conventions signed by major powers between 1864 and 1949 to regulate war conduct.
on the web                    The Internet (the Net) is the network of interconnected computer systems that now spans the globe, started in the 60s by the American Defence system and joined by American universities; electronic mail (e-mail) is its largest single use, but it also contains a multimedia database called the World-Wide-Web, containing web pages or web sites that you can visit or surf.
hit rate                         the number of times users visit or open a particular web site
downside                       “Upside” and “downside” are colloquial Americanisms meaning the advantages and disadvantages of something.
Mackintosh                  a computer and software system used a great deal in printing, but overshadowed commercially by IBM and Microsoft
Answers to Focus Questions
Diagram 1

Diagram 2

Diagram 3

Some other possible comprehension questions
1.       Who initiated the idea of an English language newspaper in China?
2.       When did the China Daily start?
3.       How many pages are there in the China Daily?
4.       Who does the Beijing Weekend cater for?
5.       Which two other parts of China have their own English language edition?
6.       When did China Daily go on the Web?
7.       How many people visit the China Daily website every month?
8.       Which section provides the Reports from China which go to America?
9.       What do you call the final checking and polishing process?
10.   What are the circulation figures and number of countries where the newspaper is distributed?
Answers to the extra questions
1.       Zhou En Lai
2.       1981
3.       12 (8 on Sunday)
4.       foreigners living in Beijing
5.       Shanghai and Hong Kong
6.       1996
7.       2 million hits a month
8.       Features Section
9.       copy editing
10.   300,000 to 150 countries and regions
Topics for further discussion
1.       What are the major reasons for the existence of an English language newspaper group?
2.       Can you think of any area where the group might grow in the coming years?
3.       Are there good arguments for other foreign-language newspapers?
4.       Which area of the newspaper would you like to work in if you had to do, say, 6 months as a journalist?
5.       What is the reason for the high standard of English in the China Daily?
《高级时事英语》第1、2单元辅导材料（2）
The following is taken from Prof. Zhou Xueyi’s TV script for English in Current Affairs.
Reading tips:
It’s always very helpful to know the features of newspaper language. Read the following to get some idea about language features of newspaper articles.
Headline Features of Newspaper Articles
标题标得好， 有画龙点睛的作用。 下面就标题的在文字上的一些省略和修辞和手段的特点作一简要介绍；
A.   省略(omission)。 从句法上讲， 这是标题的一大特点/ 标题往往只标实意词而略去虚词。 省略最多的虚词是冠词、介词、连词及动词TO BE， 有时实意词甚至主句也省略掉， 但以不影响理解为前提。 例如：
Italian Ex-Mayor Murdered (An) Italian Ex-mayor (Was) Murdered.
B. 常用缩略词(abbreviations)， 尤其是首字母缩略词。 例如：
KGB----克格勃
CIA----中央情报局
C.     报刊文章的标题常引用或套用名言(famous quotations)、典故(allusions)、谚语(proverbs)和文学著作之名(titles of famous works)等。例如：
A Farewell to Arms
A Tale of Two Hearts
D.    运用各种修辞手法(figurative speech)。 如使用押韵、比喻。反语、夸张、双关等手段一求得生动、形象、幽默、讽刺等效果。 例如：
Can he do a Deng?
文章谈的是戈尔巴乔夫能否像邓小平一样在苏联高改革。 这里的DO 和DENG押头韵（ALLITERATION）
E．用一般现在时表述新闻。 新闻所叙述的事件多半是刚刚发生或已经发生， 按英语语法规则应用动词的过去时态或现在完成时态，但标题中的动词常使用一般现在时。 例如：
13 die as crowded van crosses M4
F. 在印刷形式上，美国报刊里的实意词， 有的连虚词也一样用大写字母， 而英国报刊的标题只是第一个字母大写。在这里我不多说了， 要是对报刊感性趣的读者可以买一本我编的英美报刊文选，我在每一课的第一个注释里都对标题的特点做了介绍。
Other requirements for reading newspaper articles:
* 扩大知识面，逐渐掌握读报必须具备的读报知识。例如：什么叫general election, The Democratic Party, The Republican Party, The Conservative Party, The Labour Party
* 扩大词汇量，其中包括一次多义。我们对许多词汇只知一两个意思， 如见到run, race, access, juice, measure, take a walk.往往就认为是“跑” “竞赛”，“进入”等意思， 须知在政治词语里就是“竞选”（RUN A RACE）影响/权利（ACCESS）， “力量或神通”（JUICE）， 法案（MEASURE）“退党”等意思。 从美英国内情况看， 政界人物成天热忠于党派斗争， 迷恋于竞选作官， 所以我们一定要掌握一定数量的政治，军事， 外交， 法律， 治安和情报等词语， 才能逐渐看懂时事文章。
Features of Journalistic language
为标新立异， 出语不凡，新闻语言中新造的词较多。 如ethnic cleansing，Watergate---Debategate, Koreagate, Irangate, Camilagate, Monicagate
由于记者追求用词新颖、词义的贴切和炫耀懂得多门语言，新闻语言中不乏外来语。 如俄语的SPUTNIK （卫星）， PERESTROIKA（改革）， GLASNOT（公开性；开放）；汉语中的YIN和YANG ， 说NBA球星Magic Johnson is yang and Michael Jordan is yin.
新闻词语中常见时髦词。 如access (influence), clout (political power0, juice (可能会代替clout), hopefully, ironically. 等等。 《纽约时报》撰稿人William Saffire认为这是记者的表现。
为了达到种种目的， 记者和政府官员好用委婉语。 1971年美国政府想举行一个全国性会议，讨论老年人问题， 对老年人到底用哪个词呢？ 用 elderly 太明显， 用sunset years 太悲观， senior citizens太俗。 最后决定用 aging用的很好， 只说他们正在上年纪， 而不是已经老了。一位评论家说， 如果你在国务院呆上一年， 你的修辞学比在大学英语系念几年书还强。 外交上很讲修辞， 有的三分大的事说成十分大， 有的十分大的事反而说得三分小。 比如在克索沃（KOSOVO）战争中， 侵略说成是humanitarian intervention人道主义的干涉。
新闻语言也有弊病。 如为渲染某件大事大词小用。 Breakthrough 是个相当有分量的词， 现在政治，军事， 商业，科学等方面取得任何进展都被称为“突破”。 再如big, large 常由MAMMOTH（巨大的）代替。 另外， 为了避免用词的重复， 有的词语用的很牵强附会， 因而词义不够准确,  。
我想以上这几点会使学生对新闻语言的一些特点有一个大致的了解。 当然， 新闻中有的文章也有出自名人，大家之手的， 专题报道和评论文章往往写得很精彩，文字也属上乘。 应该说， 美英各大报刊上的多数文章都是很有水平的， 有的堪称现代英语的代表作。
《高级时事英语》第1、2单元辅导材料（3）
Reading tips:
It’s always very useful to use tables to rearrange the information in a text, which will help you a lot with comprehension.
The following passage is chosen from English Language Learning (2000, 2)
TASKS:
Read the following passage and try to complete the following table with the information provided in the passage.
Friendship in Chinese Culture
Friendship in American Culture
What can you expect from your friend?
How long can friendship last?
How much can you depend on your friend?
How much can you expect from you friend?
Friendship in different cultures
By Linell Davis
In writing assignments in English classes my students frequently raise the topic of friendship. Reading what they write, I start to understand Chinese friendship obligations. For instance, once a student wrote that she understood that her friend wanted to go shopping. My student was busy and really had no time to do that, but she kept silent, put her work aside and went shopping with her friend, sometimes they write about middle school friends and describe the closeness they feel when they are together. Sometimes they write with great sadness when they feel they are no longer close to someone they considered a friend. All this is quite different from what American young people would say about friendship.
In the United States you can certainly ask a friend to do something with you, but you would not expect a friend to recognize and respond to your wishes without stating them. Nor would you expect a friend to drop everything to respond to a non-urgent need such as going shopping. In fact an American friend would feel that they had imposed too much if the friend gave up a real need to study to go shopping. There are limits to what you can expect from a friend. In the U.S. you feel free to ask your friend for help, but you recognize that the friend may say no, if they give you a reason. A friend in China is someone who, sensing that you are in need in some way, offers to assist you without waiting to be asked. In china there are few limits on what you can ask or expect of a friend. You can feel free to tell your friend what he or she can or should do to help you or please you.
Chinese expect friendships to be more lasting
Another difference is that my Chinese students seem to expect their friendships to stay the same over a long period of time maybe for a lifetime. A true friendship is a relationship that endures through changes in the lives of the friends. In the United States a person is likely to change even “best friends” several times over the years. Even this relationship in which people feel close emotionally and tell each other their secrets and personal problems may not survive life changes such as move to another city, graduation from a university, a significant change in economic circumstances, or the marriage of one of the friends. I think the reason is that friendship, like so many other relationships in the United States including marriage, depends on frequent interaction with the other person. If the people involved do not see each other and interact regularly, the relationship is likely to wither and die.
In the West people often have many friends at one time, but the friendships are usually tied to specific circumstances or activities. When a person changes circumstances and activities, he or she changes friends. A person may have work friends, leisure activity friends and neighborhood friends. Also two people who are friends usually have similar financial circumstances. This is because friendships in the West are based on equality. Friends shlould exchange similar activities and give similar things to one another. If one can afford to treat the other to a meal at an expensive restaurant and the other does not have enough money to do the same; it will cause a problem in the relationship.
Americans expect friends to be independent
As with so many other things in the West, people prefer to be independent rather than dependent, so they do not feel comfortable in a relationship in which one person is giving more and the other person is dependent on what is being given. For Westerners friendship is mostly a matter of providing emotional support and spending time together. Chinese friends give each other much more concrete help and assistance than Western friends do. A Chinese friend will use personal connections to help a friend get something hard to obtain such as a job, an appointment with a good doctor, an easier path through an official procedure or an introduction to another person who might also be able to give concrete help. Chinese friends give each other money and might help each other out financially over a long period of time. This is rarely part of Western friendships, because it creates dependence of one person on the other and it goes against the principle of equality.
American friends like Chinese friends give each other emotional support in times of trouble, but they do it differently. A Westerner will respond to a friend’s trouble by asking, “What do you want to do?” The idea is to help the friend think out the problem and discover the solution he or she really prefers and then to support that solution. A Chinese friend is more likely to give specific advice to a friend. For instance, if in a friendship between two Chinese women, one woman is arguing with her husband, the friend might advise and she says so directly. An American friend in a similar situation may want her friend to choose wise actions too, but she will be very cautious about giving direct advice. Instead she may raise questions to encourage her friend to consider carefully what may happen if she does one thing instead of another.
Chinese can usually expect more from their friends than Americans can
In the last chapter we noted that Chinese people often communicate indirectly while Westerners tend to be more direct. In close personal relationships as friendship, the opposite is often the case. Talk between Chinese friends would probably sound too direct to Western ears. As we have seen Chinese codes of etiquette require more formal and polite interactions with strangers or guests than is typical in the West, but in China relationships with friends are much more informal than similar Western relationships.
Americans apologize to their friends for minor inconveniences such as telephoning late at night or asking for dome specific help. Even in close friendships Americans use polite forms such as “could you…” and “would you mind…” Because Chinese do not use these polite forms in their close relationships, they probably do not use them when speaking English with Westerners they know well. As a result they may seem to be too direct or demanding to their Western friends. At the same time a Chinese person who is friends with an American continues to be formally polite after two have established their relationship.
《高级时事英语》第3、4单元辅导材料（1）
Reading Tasks:
Read the following passage with the following questions in your mind and try to find the answers to them when reading the passage.
1.  Why do some parents choose to home-school their children?
2.  Why do some Japanese students take courses online?
3.  What is the reason for so many students studying online at the college level?
4.  Who are the people studying online at the college level?
5.  Why do universities in some developing countries decide to go online?
6.  What kinds of courses are associated with the nontraditional type of online education?
7.  Why are some educators against online education?
The following passage is chosen from Reading Plus IV.
Education Online
Adapted from “Education’s Silver Screen” by Edward Miller from The WorldPaper,
December 1998. Reprinted by permission of The WorldPaper.
In a world that appears to be going virtual and interactive at break-neck speed, educators are also blasting into cyberspace so that they won’t be left behind. Virtual-reality technologies are beginning to be used in many regions of the world in schools and many predict interactive distance learning will be the future of education in the 21st century.
There are two main types of education available to online users today. Already traditional education – specific courses that lead to graduation certificates from elementary and high schools, to university degrees or to professional qualifications – is available online, and nontraditional learning opportunities are increasing as well.
Traditional or degree granting education available online includes courses that are normally offered in the ordinary classroom set up by boards of education at the elementary and secondary levels, or by institutions offering undergraduate, graduate and post graduate degrees at the tertiary level. So far, distance learning has been predominately a college level phenomenon. At the elementary and high school levels, its applications have been limited mainly to providing courses as an alternative to the formal educational setting, for the advanced students, and for reaching isolated, under-served students in rural and remote areas.
Students enroll in cyber-classes for a variety of reasons. One of them is the growing dissatisfaction parents have for their local schools these days. Claiming that the public education establishment is not addressing the social problems that exist within many schools, and is not focusing on the academic needs of today’s students, parents sometimes opt to home-school their children, and more and more of them are choosing online education to assjst them. A good example of this is the cyber-classes being offered for Japanese secondary students who, for reasons ranging from being bullied by peers to just being lazy, refuse to come to school. Although there are a limited number of classes on offer to students in this situation at the moment in Japan, the growing demand is putting pressure on the Japanese Ministry of Education to expand in this area. From 1998, the Ministry of Education has offered financial assistance to schools who want to set up and operate classes online, and has established more flexible guidelines in its academic accreditation system for students who choose to be educated online / in cyberspace.
Another reason for the growing popularity for online education at the elementary and secondary level is the lack of courses for the advanced student. Take for example Jonathan Tang of Bedford, Massachusetts. By 15-years-old, Jonathan had learned so much mathematics that he was ready to study differential calculus, an advanced high school course that was not offered at his small private school because of the lack of student numbers and also because none of the teachers had the time or the expertise to work with him one on one. Realizing the only way for Jonathan to take the course was through distance learning, his parents enrolled him in a cyber-class, Jonathan was able to work at his own pace and earned credit for his course in advanced calculus.
Perhaps the most important reason, however, that distance learning is taking off at the elementary and secondary level is due to isolated or under served environments. Many regions of the world cannot afford the infrastructure and teaching staff that are required to run a conventional school in some of the more remote areas where only a handful of children would or could attend. For some areas, transporting children is either too expensive or physically impossible due to the condition of roads or other geographical features. Cyber schools have become the only alternative. In Anchorage, Alaska, the Interior Distance Education of Alaska project supplies computers to families who live too far away from schools. Students have almost the same variety of courses to choose from as they would if they were in the traditional school setting, and have electronic links to teachers and the school library. The program is so popular that participation has mushroomed from three families to almost 3,000 elementary and secondary students in less than two years, according to a recent report.
Cyber classes are already commonplace at the college level in many parts of the world. In the US approximately 60 percent of universities offer courses online, and will continue to expand because of growing interest. The population seeking this type of education is comprised of individuals looking for alternative ways to complete an undergraduate or graduate degree, and companies who are interested in upgrading the qualifications of their employees.
Students opting for cyber education at the university level often do so for financial reasons or because of personal commitment. Some students cannot afford to enroll full-time in a program at a university, so they opt to take courses in cyberspace, one by one, as their budget allows. Others find cyberspace the best alternative when they are unable to relocate to attend the university of their choice. For still others, online education has been a savior. Because of physical, mental or emotional disabilities, some students cannot study in a traditional university setting — cyberspace provides them with the perfect solution.
A variety of companies are also using online education for their employees. Because of the globalization of the world economy and the technological revolution, there is a continual need for employees, particularly in the business, technological and professional fields, to upgrade their original degrees, to retrain or simply further their learning. Online education allows the employee to study on the job and does not interrupt his or her personal life due to commuting or relocation. It also makes it less expensive for the employer because there are no costs involved in moving and sustaining the employee where the university is located. In this way, both the employee and employer benefit.
Online education is also said to be the ideal solution for developing countries to achieve better university standards of education at a lower cost. Universities in these countries claim they can go “virtual” at much less cost than what a traditional campus infrastructure would cost. For example, one professor can sit in a small television studio that serves as a classroom and can teach his or her subject to and number of students online. There are no concerns about class size, student favouritism, or the overall class environment. Using specially designed tools such as the virtual library, tutorial interfacing, e-mail, and individual and group conferencing via satellite, these universities can develop high standards for a lot less money than they would spend in building and operating a conventional university.
The second type of online education is continual education and nontraditional learning. Although it may also include degree and diploma-granting courses, the most common type of learning focuses on continued learning for research, counselling or job upgrading or retraining purposes. Among the nontraditional offerings are teach-yourself courses in aromatotherapy, computer networking or auto mechanics. These online courses make it possible for anyone to increase his or her knowledge and expertise, without actually working for professional qualifications in the field. The courses are simply to increase the learner’s knowledge and expertise about an interest, hobby or more specialized area outside that traditionally offered in formal academic institutions. In many ways, they are simply an extension of the do-it-yourself books and correspondence schools that have been around for decades. But the application of computer technologies such as virtual reality and image editing means the student can actually “see” and “feel” how to do something, not just read about it.
Although there has been an explosion in growth for both traditional and nontraditional types of online learning, there are some who take a cynical view of online education. Traditional educators see it as a money-making venture. David F. Noble, a professor of history at York University in Toronto, Canada, does not see online education as a form of progress, but as “a regressive trend towards the rather old era of mass-production, standardization, and purely commercial interest.” He points out that the most active promoters of online education are the vendors of network hardware, software, and “edutainment.” A recent report from the investment house Lehman Brothers estimates the education market at several hundred billion dollars, and says “investment opportunity in the education industry has never been better.”
Mary Burgan of the American Association of University Professors, another critic, says distance learning severs the personal bonds between teachers and students, and often leads teachers “to abandon students to their own devices at exactly that stage in their learning when they most need guidance.” Distance instruction, she says, tends to amplify some of the worst habits of today’s students: an inability to concentrate in a sustained way, a tendency to read uncritically, and a willingness to believe that one interpretation of a text or topic is just as good as the next.
Many universities and technology advocates, however, dismiss these critiques as the whining of old-guard professors who are afraid of losing their jobs. But thoughtful educators, and even some luminaries from the computer industry, are highly skeptical of the assumption that “interactive” computers can ever be a substitute for real-life experience in the classroom.
Tang, the cyber-calculus student, is glad he had the chance to take his course, but he predicts that online teaching will never be more than a supplement for the real thing. “It was good to be able to work at my own pace,” he says, “but it got pretty lonely out there in cyberspace sometimes.
《高级时事英语》第3、4单元辅导材料（2）
Attracting more international students
to the United Kingdom
(吸引更多的外国学生来英国)
speech by the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at the London School of  Economics, 18 June 1999. 这是英国首相托尼·布莱尔1999年6月18日在伦敦经济学院所作的演讲。

Wherever I travel, I meet international leaders who have studied in Britain. Dynamic, intelligent people who chose Britain because we offer high quality further and higher education. This is good news for the UK. People who are educated here have a lasting tie to our country. They promote Britain around the world, helping our trade and our diplomacy. It is easier for our executives and our diplomats to do business with people familiar with Britain. British exports of education and training are worth some eight billion pounds a year. Money that feeds into our institutions and helps our goal to open up opportunities for more people to study. Our young people also benefit. They gain from the window on the world which contact with international students gives them. We can teach, but we can also learn from others. Today, we are launching a long-term strategy to reinforce the United Kingdom as a first choice for the quality of study and the quality of our welcome to international students. This will be a UK-wide and a Government-wide effort. We are introducing a package of measures to help encourage students from overseas to study in the UK. We will offer to international students a new welcome and more open doors.
First, a more open door at the outset -- we shall make sure that the system works for students who wish to study here. We will improve our service to help potential students meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules. A streamlined visa process for students with completed applications. And permission to stay granted for the whole course of study at the start. Easier to apply, easier to enter. Second, a door to information -- we will market education abroad more professionally, using the British Council offices overseas. We will create a new UK Education Brand for institutions to use, a clear definition of the excellence that UK education provides, building on our position as one of the world’s leading educators. New user-friendly information and processes. State-of-the-art electronic information systems to provide clear and practical advice for potential students. A virtual one-stop shop for marketing UK education. Easier to access, easier to use. Third, a door to finance. We will remove the requirement for students to seek permission from job centres before taking work. Those students guaranteed work by their institution will have their income taken into account at the entry stage as evidence of their ability to pay and support themselves. Easier to work, easier to study. Finally, to show our commitment to opening up opportunities for international students to study in the UK, we will expand our flagship Chevening scholarship scheme by up to 1,000 extra scholarships a year through Government and private funding. I hope our institutions will support this by waiving part of their fees for all Chevening Scholars.
We have the measures in place, but we are also setting tough targets for recruitment. We want to have 25 per cent of the global market share of Higher Education students and we want to increase the number of international students studying in Further Education institutions by 100 per cent. Our aim is to reach these targets by 2005. Tough targets, but deliverable. But, while giving these undertakings, I also want to lay down a challenge to others. To business – I ask you to work with the British Council overseas to market education and to match our commitment to Chevening scholarships providing funds for the scheme. Invest in education and overseas students, let education and business be partners in providing skills and opportunities, raising our profile and establishing links. And to universities and colleges -- I ask you to live up to your reputation, to professionalise your approach, to deliver a quality education to overseas students that encourages involvement and rises to the challenge of our competitors, to work as partners together. I am leaving from here for the G8 Summit in Cologne. There will be important problems to discuss there, including one that is high on our domestic agenda Education. We will discuss how G8 countries should equip themselves for the knowledge-driven society of the next century. And how we can share our educational strengths with one another and with the rest of the world. I hope that at Cologne we will issue a Charter on Lifelong Learning. But one of the most important contributions we can make is to ensure that our universities and colleges are open to able students from around the world. In a world of lifelong learning, British Education is a first class ticket for life. I want to see the benefits of that education, that ticket, given to as many as possible across the world. It is in our interests and it is in their interests that we should.《高级时事英语》第3、4单元辅导材料（3）
ENGLISH IN CURRENT AFFAIRS VIDEO 2
The Open University
Objectives
By the end of the programme we hope we will have attained the following objectives: we will have
·         analysed some Open University student opinions;
·         briefly described the history and structure of the British Open Univ.
In achieving those objectives we will have to practise the language and study skills of:
·         note-taking;
·         using those notes to write a brief description.
Focus Questions for Text
Here are three general questions to focus your attention while you’re watching and listening:
1.        Do the students think an OU degree is inferior or superior to a traditional degree?
2.        How did the Open University start and what are its statistics?
·         Which British politician started the Open University?
·         When did it start?
·         How many students per year?
·         How many undergraduate courses?
·         Any postgrad courses?
·         Any business studies?
·         How many business students?
·         How many full time staff?
·         How many tutors?
·         How many study centres?
3.        What does the speaker say about the future of the CRTVUs in China?
Text
I started OU because I wanted to stay in touch, I wanted to improve my career prospects when I went back to work, and I needed to do something for myself…
I wanted to have a professional qualification, I felt that if I was going to get as far as I was able to or wanted, then I was going to need a degree as well…
The Open University provides an alternative route, not just a second chance,  an alternative route for further education in this country…
In a word it was a little road I was able to walk down to move on to the next island. It was a bridge which I used to cross to enable moving on through the company and also probably through life as well …
Obviously their motto was to learn and Lever gave me the opportunity to do that I didn’t  have to go straight into the workplace, I didn’t  have to continue at the university, I was able to enjoy the benefits of both and take up both options…
Although I wanted to pursue a career in France, I didn’t  know whether I would stay there, and I always had the knowledge that wherever I went, that degree was portable enough to come with me…
The courses were fantastic, they were really well written, I really enjoyed studying them, and they were very up-to-date.
And you know it’s  not being a cliché or anything but it was almost disappointing when it came to the end because I felt how much I had learnt out of it and I didn’t  want to stop learning that and it was the interest of taking the different courses…
There isn’t really much of a boundary between my work, my everyday work, and my course. I find the two are very interlinked and they feed the one into the other so well that sometimes I think Now is this my OU work or is this my day-to-day work? And then I think well it doesn’t  really matter because each enriches the other…
These days we don’t want our staff to park their brains in their cars before they come into the organisation. An organisation has got to keep changing with the times, and an organisation can’t change if people don’t change. Either you change them by asking them to leave and you employ some different people, or you find different ways of helping them to train and develop themselves.
If I look at where I am now and where I probably would have been if I had taken a conventional degree, then I think this has definitely been the best route, because I’ve got a professional qualification and a degree, and I’ve got a career and at a level that I don’t  think without it I would have been at.
I feel that the degree that I have is much better than my colleagues because they sit it in the same way. They all sat their degrees. They went through the normal university situation, whereas my degree I sat on top of working. So I feel the OU degree is worth more than another degree because it shows that you’re committed to do it and you can work as well.
It seems to make them more confident in the way they approach the problems that we now present them with and the greatest tribute I suppose is that other people are now asking to do the same studying because they’re seen that difference as well…
The OU converted me from a bored housewife into a research scientist…
There’s certainly a determination that you see with people who’re studied with the OU.
Sir John Daniel
The political founder, Harold Wilson , I think really had two keys ideas, the first was he wanted to open up university study to a much larger number of people than had previously had access, and his second idea was that he believed that the new technology that of television was far too important just to be left for entertainment. He wanted to use this for education, so it was access to larger numbers of people and the use of new technologies. I think other people who got involved in it in its formative stages Jennie Lee was determined it should be a university as good as the best.
The Open University is the largest and most innovative university in the United Kingdom with a world-wide reputation for the quality of its courses  and the effectiveness of its teaching methods.
Distance teaching and open learning has always been a simple idea: the university that goes to its students. And, as an idea, it originated not long after the turn of the century as radio created a new teaching route into British homes. But even with the advent and spread of television years later, it still remained just an idea until 1969 when the Open University was finally established by Royal Charter.
It has pioneered a system of study that has aimed to bring affordable degree-level education within the reach of the entire adult population of the United. Its courses are being studied by more than 200,000 people every year throughout the United Kingdom and in other parts of the world
The university offers well over one hundred undergraduate courses and is developing a range of masters degrees.
It offers professional training in education, health and social welfare. And also many technology and computing courses, some of which are taught online.
The Open University Business School offers a range of short practical courses, professional certificates and diplomas in management and a full MBA degree course. Altogether the school has more than 20,000 students each year.
The OU headquarters at Milton Keynes accommodates the academic and administrative staff. There are more than 3,000 full time staff, 700 of whom are academics. They are grouped according to their subjects in faculties, schools or institutes each of which is headed by an elected dean or director. There are 900 administrators backed by 1,300 clerical staff.
As a major UK publisher, the OU has non-academic departments devoted to design, print, audio, video and computer disk production, warehousing and distribution, on the considerable scale needed to supply its many thousands of students. There are no undergraduate students on the actual campus, because of course most OU studying is done at home. Students are supported by a network of regional centres in the UK, each with a director and staff of academics and administrators. Their role is largely the admission, tuition, and counselling of students. Regional centres appoint and supervise part-time tutors and counsellors, linking them to groups of students both in the UK and abroad. Regional staff are responsible for study centres, introductory meetings and tutorials, and they also liaise with their colleagues at Milton Keynes in the organisation of day schools and examinations.
Local support and tuition is provided by more than 7,000 tutors based in some 150 study centres throughout the UK. These study centres are used for the students and their tutor counsellors to hold direct teaching sessions. Students may also attend residential schools, usually in the summer, where they have lectures, and field trips and laboratory sessions where appropriate, and very importantly can meet and talk with other students.
Sir John Daniel
All this was summarised by our first chancellor when he said that the purpose of the Open University was to be open as to people, open as to places, open as to methods, open as to ideas, and those ideas motivate us to this day
(Norman voiceover)
We asked Sir John if he saw any differences between the British Open University and the Chinese Radio and Television University system.
I think the big difference is that the Open University conceives itself… primarily aims its activities at the individual student at home, students do meet in groups, and there are all sorts of activities times on campus, but when we design the course we抮e trying to create the university on the students’ kitchen table, whereas the China TV University system was based on the idea of bringing students together in groups and delivering instruction to them. I think what抯 interesting is that the new technologies are leading both systems if you like to converge somewhere in the middle, we抮e using more group work and I think, in China, there is more focus on course materials for the individual, so I think that’s a considerable difference. I think also at the beginning there was a difference that is also being eroded in that from the beginning Open University students were nearly all working adults, middle age, I mean from 25 to 55, whereas I think in China at the beginning, many of the students were full time, younger students, not necessarily studying full time at a university, but attached to their factories. I understand that in China more and more of the students are now part time and they抮e working during the day, curiously at the OU we have got more and more young students now coming along, they抮e mostly still part time, but they抮e people who might until recently have gone full time to another university. So I think the student body is converging and I see this happening actually in all the big Open Universities around the world.
And finally we asked him what he saw as the future of the Radio and Television University.
I think that they have a very important future. I realise that other Chinese universities are beginning to teach at a distance as well, but the needs of China are absolutely massive, and I suspect that as China evolves very quickly into an electronic environment where there is more and more electronic equipment in the home, that the Chinese TV university, as it's doing at the moment, will use media that allow the university to go into people’s homes, to be more individually focussed. And because it can operate on such a massive scale, to be able to invest in doing the best study materials in China, probably working with some of the other universities in their area of speciality as you're doing in fact with the language university, combining forces with the expertise of a conventional university in academic staff and traditions, the expertise of the TV university to produce something of very high quality that can then you know reach millions of people. I think that’s a very exciting possibility.
Words & Expressions
motto                                      a sentence or phrase embodying a worthwhile sentiment that can be used as a rule of personal conduct (my motto is charity begins at home’) or on a badge (our school motto was play the Game!”)
Lever … opportunity           Many firms in the West now encourage their staff to follow distance training courses by giving them paid time off to study.
portable                                 You wouldn’t  normally use a word like portable” to describe a degree, but it is a very fresh way of describing the fact that you can study for a distance degree almost anywhere you like.
cliché                                     an old, tired expression that has lost its original force
Harold Wilson                     1916-1995, Labour Prime Minister 1964-70, 1974-76
Jenny Lee                             socialist politician and Minister of Education in 1st Wilson government
as good as the best    in 1999, for example, the OU was ranked 10th out of UK’s 100 universities
Royal Charter                      a written grant of rights by the sovereign (or the legislature) that allows a university, a borough, a company etc to be set up
online                                     ie on the Internet
MBA                                      Master’s  in Business Administration
major UK publisher            OU textbooks are used routinely by all campus universities because of their high standards and up-to-date relevance
conceives itself..                  thinks of itself as…  (the sentence is unfinished)
converge                                to meet
eroded                                    worn away, ie the difference  is no longer so distinct
Answers to Focus Questions
1.        The students think that the OU degree provides an alternative route, not just a second chance, and that the OU degree is worth more than another degree.(Certainly in Britain today it is recognised that if you have an Open University degree, you have shown a greater commitment, greater personal sacrifice, and greater personal organisation just to get there. And so employers prefer people with OU degrees.)
2.        Answers in detail
Which British politician started the O U?
Harold Wilson.
When did it start?
1969.
How many students per year?
200,000.
How many undergraduate courses?
Over 100.
Any postgrad courses?
A range of masters degrees.
Any business studies?
Yes - many courses, including an MBA.
How many business students?
20,000.
How many full time staff?
3,000, of whom 700 are academic.
How many tutors?
7,000, part-time.
How many study centres?
150.
3.       Key phrases from Sir John Daniel’s answer are: electronic environment … university to go into people抯 homes … more individually focussed … best study materials in China. (Can you make this into a longer answer yourselves?)
Paragraph from Answer 2
The Open University was founded by Sir Harold Wilson in 1969. Today it has 200,000 students studying in more than 100 degree courses, a range of masters degrees, and many other courses including business studies. There are 20,000 business students alone.
The full time staff number 3,000 of whom 700 are academic and there are 7,000 part time tutors operating from 150 study centres.
Since the video contains so many comprehension questions, extra questions are probably unnecessary.
Topics for further discussion
1.       Compare your feelings about your distance degree with those of the speakers at the beginning of the video - are they the same, or different?
2.       Do you think the argument that a distance degree is not just a second chance but an alternative route is an argument that holds for China?
3.       What do you think of the official employer’s  attitude towards their staff following distance courses? Is it similar to your employer’s  attitude?
4.       How far do you think your distance studying is affecting the way you actually carry out your daily work?
5.       How do you think the CCRTVU system compares with the British OU?
6.       Do you think there will be online teaching/tutoring in the future for students like yourselves in China? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
7.       How far do you think the degree you are taking might be a model for other subject degrees in the future? What do you see as the advantages/disadvantages of this degree?
《高级时事英语》第5、6单元辅导材料（1）
The following passage is chosen from Oral Workshop: Discussion。
Tasks:
Scan the following passage and try to find the answers to the following questions:
1.  What is the text about?
2.  Why did Sara feel sorry for her parents?
3.  Why didn’t she hope that her parents would get back together?
4.  What was her parents’ life like before they separated?
5.  How are her parents now?
6.  What has she observed about her parents’ private life?
7.  What is her attitude toward her parents’ way of life?
8.  Why does she feel lucky that her parents are still friends though divorced?
How It Feels When Parents Divorce
Sara, age twelve
I guess the main reason I was mad at Daddy was because it all made my mother so unhappy, and I ended up feeling sorry for both of them – my mother because she was struggling to make ends meet, and my Dad because he couldn’t really do much about it.
Even though my parents separated more than three years ago, it’s still very vivid in my mind and I doubt if I’ll ever forget the way I felt at the time. Yet, as awful as it was, I never hoped they’d get back together. And now I think I’d die if they did, because it would be so awkward for me. I think they’re both much happier now, and it’s obvious to me that they both lead totally different lives. Since the breakup I’ve been able to see my parents’ true colors’ especially my mother’s. I’ve seen a side of her that I never saw before. When she was married, she and Daddy were the perfect couple, always quiet, talking about dignified things, and they would never laugh or anything. Nowadays my mother is always happy and gay. Another way she’s changed is that she always used to hide her problems from me but now she’s more apt to discuss things. I think she’s more relaxed – and so’s my Dad.
Both of my parents started dating other people right away, and I think they’ll both get remarried eventually, which is fine with me. They don’t discuss their love lives with me all that much, but of course I’m not blind, for example, one night I had a sleep-over at a friend’s house and the next morning I came home earlier than I’d planned to. Well, I just stormed into my mother’s bedroom, and there was this guy in her bed – she was somewhere else, in another room. I started crying and everything, and my mother tried to convince me she had slept on the couch. Now that I look back, it was pretty hilarious, and of course I don’t care – I mean, I understand about those kind of arrangements. In the beginning, when my father had a girlfriend sleep over, he didn’t know how to tell me – he just sort of said, “Oh, you’re sleeping on the couch tonight,” because at that point I didn’t have my own room at his house and shared the bedroom. It’s still hard for my Dad to level with me about this part of his life, but he’s getting better. Anyhow, neither of them should worry about my getting upset, because I’m old enough to understand that grown-ups are allowed to have private lives, which includes other people. But if someone’s going to spend the night, I think it’s better and less awkward if I know about it beforehand, so I’m not taken by surprise.
I still want to get married and have kids, but I have a lot of friends who don’t want to. I was discussing marriage with one boy I know, and he said, “I’m never ever getting married.” He took his parents’ divorce really badly because his mother and father weren’t friends afterwards – they were enemies, screaming on the phone to each other. I’m glad my parents are good friends, having lunch together and stuff. I think it’s so much easier for the child if the parents are friendly. If they aren’t it’s really difficult because there’s always a right side and a wrong side and the kids are just caught in the middle.
I think I’ve grown up a little faster because of my parents’ divorce. It’s made me realize more about the problems of life and helped me to understand my parents – and appreciate them as individuals. It’s just too bad they couldn’t have been as happy and productive as a couple as they’ve been since they’ve been on their own. And I also wish that the next time my mother has tickets for a Rolling Stones concert, she takes me instead of her boyfriend, which is what she did the last time!
《高级时事英语》第5、6单元辅导材料（2）
The following passage is taken from Oral Workshop: Discussion.Tasks:
* Scan the following passage and try to find the answers to the questions below:
1.  What is the text about?
2.  What was the crime that the speaker was connected with?
3.  What woke him up?
4.  What did she see?
5.  What did he do when he was certain it was a burglar?
6.  Why did he return to his house?
7.  What does the speaker think worries people?
8.  What crimes are usually committed by young people?
9.  What does the speaker think is the first major cause of juvenile delinquency?
10.     What is the second cause according to the speaker?
11.     What is the last cause of juvenile crimes?
*Try to retell the story based on your answers to the above questions.
Juvenile Delinquency
The only crime I have ever been connected with was unsuccessful. One summer night I went to bed, leaving my bedroom door open because it was very hot. During the night I was woken up by the sound of a match being struck. For a moment I thought it must be the friend I lived with, but then I remembered he was away. I felt certain there was someone in the room. I saw the outline of a man standing near the door. I was almost certain the man was a burglar. Without thinking what I was doing, I shouted loudly and jumped out of bed to catch the man. As I ran across the garden, I suddenly realized I was doing something very foolish. The burglar I was chasing might be carrying a knife. I went straight back into the house and locked all the doors to protect myself.
This was a very small crime which did not succeed, but crime is a serious problem in Britain. One sort of crime which particularly worries people is juvenile delinquency – that is, crimes committed by young people. For some years, juvenile delinquency has been increasing. There are two main sorts of juvenile crime: stealing and violence. Most people do not understand why young people commit these crimes. There are, I think, a large number of different reasons.
These crimes are not usually committed by people who are poor or in need. Young people often dislike and resent the adult world. They will do things to show that they are rebels. Also in Britain today it is easier for young people to commit crimes because they have more freedom to go where they like and more money to do what they like.
There are two other possible causes which are worth mentioning. More and more people in Britain live in large towns. In a large town no one knows who anyone else is or where they live. But in the village I come from crimes are rare because everybody knows everyone else.
Although it is difficult to explain, I think the last cause is very important. Perhaps there is something wrong with our society which encourages violence and crime. It is a fact that all the time children are exposed to films and reports about crime and violence. Many people do not agree that this influences young people, but I think that young people are very much influenced by the society they grow up in. I feel that the fault may be as much with our whole society as with these young people.
《高级时事英语》第5、6单元辅导材料（3）
The following passage is taken from An English Reading Course For Comprehension & Speed.
Tasks:
l       Read the title and try to predict what the text might be about?
l       Scan the passage below and try to find answers to the following questions:
1.  What is the text about?
2.  What’s the author’s attitude toward hippo protection?
l       Have you ever read or heard of anything similar to that described in the following passage.  Try to relate it to yourself or your partner.
The House That Hippo Built
“This is the house that Jack built!” Nearly everyone knows the story of “the dog that worried the cat that caught the rat that ate the grain that lay in the house that Jack built”… but in this story, Jack is a hippopotamus.
Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the finest places in Africa for viewing hippos in large numbers and at very close quarters. Dominated by the peaks of the “Mountains of the Moon,” Lakes Edward and George and the Kazinga Channel that connects them provide a home for thousands of hippos.
Sixty years ago the inhabitants of small fishing hamlets lived by these waters. Armed only with primitive weapons, the fishermen organized annual hippo hunts to obtain the meat and hides they used for food and for making shields, spear bindings, and other articles.
The hippo hunts were common and were looked upon as social occasions. One man, armed with a spear to which was attached a length of bark or creeper rope, would be paddled in a dugout  canoe up to a wallowing hippo. He would plunge the spear into the animal and retreat as quickly as possible. The progress of the submerged hippo would be marked by the movement of a piece of
floating wood attached to the end of a spear rope. When the hippo surfaced, another canoe would approach and another spear would be driven home. This process would be repeated until the hippo had fifteen or twenty spears in its hide. Then the floats would be gathered, the ropes twisted together to form a stout cable, and the hippo hauled ashore and killed with spears and axes.
This method of hippo hunting, which is still practiced in some parts of the Congo, has always been regarded as the harvesting of a crop. The number of hippos remained constant because there was an ecological balance between man and wild animals.
When the Europeans arrived on the scene, however, they decided to make eternal the great variety of wildlife in this beautiful region by protecting it. First they made the area a game reserve, and later a national park. As a result of this protection from hunters, the hippos increased and increased until eventually, in an area that could support no more than four thousand, there were  approximately fourteen thousand hippos.
The hippo feeds only on grass, and a normal, healthy animal requires up to four hundred pounds of fresh grass every night. (It spends the daylight hours wallowing in water holes, and comes ashore to graze during the hours of darkness.) Soon much of the grassland along the shores of the lakes and the Kazinga Channel was destroyed, and great bare stretches of eroding ground could be seen. Thorn scrub started to spread into the eroded areas, and the hippos moved into valuable pastures within a mile or two of the water’s edge. These pastures had always been grazed by elephant, buffalo, and bucks. As a result there was a shortage of grass and the hippos suffered from malnutrition, some weighing a thousand pounds less than a normal, healthy hippo should.
In the meantime, enormous quantities of hippo dung were being deposited in the waters of the lakes, resulting in an increase in the number of fish. Soon the lakes were full of these fish, which were netted in great quantities. A fishing industry developed and, just as gulls gather at fishing ports on other continents, storks clustered round the fishermen’s villages and landing places, feeding on useless fish guts. With a plentiful supply of food, the number of large African storks increased dramatically.
With the storks came another problem. A very rare species of the cactuslike tree called Euphorbia dawii grows along the banks of the Kazinga Channel. Its branches grow at right angles to the main trunk, forming convenient resting places for the marabou storks. When the storks gathered to rest, their weight caused the small branches to break and their droppings burned the trees. Groups of these rare trees, found nowhere else in the world, have been either destroyed or severely injured, and all because of the increase in the hippo’s numbers.
The hippos soon ate all the grass in the vicinity of the lakes and channel and wandered some distance farther to grassland valley bottoms. There they crowded into the soft ground and mud baths, since the distance from the lakes was now too great to cover each day. Wherever they found a moist hollow, the hippos would form new wallows, and gradually the area they covered grew larger and larger.
The large quantities of dung deposited in the newly formed wallows supplied food for aquatic insects, which in turn supplied food for frogs and tadpoles, whose number also increased. The pools were then visited by large herons and yellow-billed storks, while hammerheads gathered to shuffle their feet in the shallows and disturb the amphibians on which they feed. Sometimes a hammerhead would sit on the back of a hippo, and the beast would do the disturbing under the water while the bird ate up the small aquatic creatures that surfaced.
Soon the floating aquatic plants known as water cabbages also colonized the hippo wallows. Nourished by the hippo dung, the cabbages multiplied until many of the pools were completely covered with these floating plants. Over them ran quickly black crakes and other birds.
A large water snail that is partial to water cabbage appeared in the wallows, where it thrived and increased. Open-bill storks, whose bills are designed for extracting the snails from their shells, then began to gather at the pools, often using the backs of wallowing hippos as platforms from which to catch snails.
And so it was that the innocent wish to protect hippos from what appeared to be cruel hunters using crude methods resulted in a seemingly endless chain of events. The hippos, by depositing dung in the water, fed the fish that support the storks that destroy the rare trees. The fround eroded by the hippos was colonized by thorns. The number of hippos increased so dramatically that they suffered from a shortage of food. Hippo wallows formed in new pastures supported the floating water cabbages, which attracted more birds, and supported the water snails, which supported the open-bill storks, which used the backs of the hippos as platforms from which to catch snails. The balance of nature was totally upset by a single act – the unnecessary, and finally even undesirable, protection of the hippo. Hippos were allowed to multiply beyond the point at which the resources of the region could support them without the region itself being extremely changed and even damaged.
《高级时事英语》第5、6单元辅导材料（4）
More Practice with the Video
Unit 5 deals with a very important issue, our environment. The present situation is very worrying.  Do you remember the listening passage in which the speaker talks about her personal experience of watching one place change from what was really a beauty spot to something that resembled a rubbish dump? As an individual, what do you think you can contribute to the environmental protection in everyday life? Always remember the quotation starting off this unit: We should be good guests on earth, neither too demanding nor disturbing its delicate balance. We should allow it to renew itself for those who are to follow.
1.        What are the “greenhouse gases”?
2.         How does the “greenhouse effect” operate?
·        What do the greenhouse gases absorb?
·        What does this do to the temperature?
3.        Is the “greenhouse effect” a natural phenomenon or a man-made phenomenon?
Text
We are quite concerned… it’s spoiling the atmosphere, isn’t it? It’s very bad.
Basically it’s a lot of polluting of the atmosphere…
Many things that have happened … wars … I think these things are having an influence.
Something to do with the earth’s weather… the bad weather … the ozone layer.
… the burning of fossil fuels like oil and coal.
Do you know what the greenhouse effect is? No, not really!
It’s the er … introduction of pollutants into the atmosphere which traps the CO2 and the sun’s rays, building up heat, melting the ice caps - supposedly - they don’t have any real scientific proof…
Pollution forms a kind of layer which prevents the carbon dioxide, or the sun’s rays which enter, from escaping. And this means that in the future it’ll get very hot on earth.
The sun is our only external source of heat and energy. The earth’s temperature is maintained by a balance between heating from the sun’s rays and cooling caused by energy escaping to space from the earth’s warm surface and atmosphere. This natural balance between incoming and outgoing energy is essential to life on earth.
On a clear day most of the energy arriving from the sun in the form of short-wavelength radiation passes through the atmosphere to warm the earth’s surface. This energy must be got rid of to maintain the energy balance. It escapes in the form of longer-wavelength, infra-red radiation.
But if infra-red radiation could escape directly into space, then the earth would be thirty degrees colder than it is today - it would be uninhabitable. Fortunately much of this radiation is absorbed in the atmosphere by the so-called “greenhouse gases”, making the world much warmer than it would be without them. These gases act rather like the glass in a greenhouse which allows sunlight to enter, provides shelter from the wind, and prevents most of the infra-red energy from escaping, keeping the temperature warm.
So the Greenhouse Effect is not a man-made phenomenon - in fact it is perfectly natural! It has influenced the development of all our eco-systems by stabilising atmospheric temperatures at levels conducive to plant, animal, and human life.
But for this kind of life to survive on earth it is essential that the right balance be maintained between incoming and outgoing energy. By increasing greenhouse gas emissions we are disturbing this age-old balance. Many of us think of greenhouse gases as being only the dirty emissions of car exhausts and industrial smoke stacks, but in fact there are six important gases occurring randomly in the atmosphere in small quantities. These gases are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide and, more recently, chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs. Apart from CFCs, all of these gases occur naturally, but human activity is increasing their concentrations. This increase is causing the “enhanced greenhouse effect”, a man-made and potentially dangerous phenomenon.
Carbon dioxide is by far the most significant of the man-made greenhouse gases. Although it occurs naturally, it is also the one we produce in the greatest quantity. Industrialisation has meant a greater use of fuels extracted from the ground, such as coal, gas, and oil - these are known as “fossil fuels”, and, when burned, they produce large amounts of CO2.
Transport and the generating of electricity alone account for about 45 per cent of fossil fuel CO2 emissions. It is estimated that during the last two hundred years the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by twenty-six percent. Levels have never been this high since humans inhabited the planet. Carbon dioxide now accounts for about fifty-five percent of the enhanced greenhouse effect. Ice core samples have provided accurate data on the atmosphere going back thousands of years. This data, together with modern observations, shows a clear rise, not only in carbon dioxide levels, but also in those of methane and other greenhouse gases.
The rising levels of methane are at least partly due to increased rice production, waste disposal, mining, cattle ranching, and the large scale extraction and transportation of natural gas. All of them produce significant quantities of methane, and all of them are on the increase.
Ozone is familiar to all of us by now as the substance which protects us from the sun’s harmful ultra-violet rays. The highest concentrations exist in the upper atmosphere and form what is know as “the ozone layer”. It is damage to this protective layer that has caused so much concern in recent years. But ozone also plays a significant role as a greenhouse gas. Due to a complex chemical reaction in the lower atmosphere a number of substances (most of them man-made) come together and ozone is formed. The amount of ozone produced depends largely on weather conditions and sunlight, but it is on the increase.
Natural vegetation emits large quantities of nitrous oxide, but the increased concentrations of this gas are thought to come mainly from agriculture and the burning of “biomass” such as wood and other vegetation.
Chlorofluorocarbons are the only greenhouse gases to be exclusively man-made. They are non-toxic and inert which makes them safe and useful as aerosol propellants, refrigerants and insulators. They are also used in the manufacture of foam rubber and for cleaning electronic components. CFCs are well known to most of us as the gases blamed for depleting the ozone layer. But they are also a powerful greenhouse agent contributing to the enhanced greenhouse effect. They are particularly significant because they absorb infra-red radiation not absorbed by the other gases.
Water vapour is undoubtedly the most important greenhouse gas, but it is also perhaps the least well understood. It occurs naturally, is invisible, and is not directly affected by human activity. However, it is affected indirectly through an important “feedback mechanism”: warming brought about by other greenhouse gases increases evaporation and allows the atmosphere to hold more water vapour. This may, in turn, enhance the warming.
Some gases are more stable in the atmosphere than others. So it’s not just the amount we pump out that’s important. The quantity of any gas in the atmosphere is determined by a balance between its emissions and the size and strength of its available “sinks”. Sinks are processes which remove substances from the atmosphere by absorbing them. In the case of carbon dioxide, for example, the main natural sinks are absorption by the oceans and photosynthesis, occurring both on land and at sea. The sun’s rays strike green plants, driving a process in which carbon from the atmosphere is captured and fixed in the plant itself whilst oxygen is emitted. But often, even this carbon is not removed from the atmosphere for long. Only plant and marine life which dies and becomes fixed in the earth or sea bed to eventually fossilise removes carbon permanently from the climate system. If it is not subsequently burned as fuel. Although we increase CO2 levels by burning ever greater quantities of fossil fuels, the effect of the increase is further exacerbated by the fact that we are also reducing the size of the world’s natural sinks such as forest cover. In fact, deforestation usually adds to both sides of the equation.
The world’s climate is a complex system governed by an interaction between the atmosphere, the ocean, land, ice caps, glaciers, and sea ice. These elements form a carefully balanced equilibrium into which we have introduced a new and potentially destabilising element.
The excess energy trapped by man-made greenhouse gases will cause our climate to change, although we don’t know exactly how. The social and political consequences of climate change will be especially acute for people whose lives depend most critically on the present climate patterns. Human hunger and poverty are already on the increase. If food supplies fail, migrants from degraded areas, in search of arable land and fresh water, could aggravate social and political conflict.
Details are often disputed, but the fundamental problem is clear: our current rates of greenhouse gas emissions amount to nothing less than a world-wide, uncontrolled, and potentially catastrophic experiment with the earth’s climate.
The dangers are proven. We know that it’s disastrous - we can fight against it. Each of us can do something, regardless of who creates the most pollution… that’s what I think!
Words & Expressions
infra-red radiation visible light is simply that part of the electro-magnetic spectrum that the human eye can detect; ultra-violet(outer blue) and infra-red (below red) are on either side of the visible spectrum
smoke-stacks             chimneys, especially in factories and furnaces
chlorofluorocarbons any of a group of exceptionally stable compounds containing chlorine, fluorine, and chlorine
fossil fuels                   any fuel, as coal or petroleum, formed below ground from the remains of plants and animals during the geological past
ice core samples For exploration of the earth’s  interior, scientists use a long, hollow drill which drills out a long column of earth (or ice) called a core. This core has layers or strata whose depth indicate their age.
cattle ranching the breeding of cows on large open farms, called ranches, in the Americas (methane is produced by cattle dung)
biomass                       a technical word used in biology and agriculture - it refers to the total amount of organic material in any given area
non-toxic                     non-poisonous
inert                             without active properties (ie they don’t react with other chemicals or gases)
aerosol propellants the gases that carry the perfume or insecticide from a spray can
refrigerants                 the gases that make your refrigerator cold
insulators                    materials that prevent the transfer of heat or cold or electricity
foam rubber                light sponge-like rubber
exacerbate                  to make things worse
photosynthesis the photochemical process in which the energy of sunlight is used by green plants to synthesise carbohydrates (eg starch, sugar) from carbon dioxide and water
equation                      a mathematical or chemical formula eg x + y = z
glaciers                       huge sheets of ice covering many high mountains
equilibrium                  a state of equal balance
destabilising element any factor which unbalances a situation
migrants                      people who move from one place to another (nomads are migrants - many birds migrate in the winter)
aggravate                    like exacerbate - to increase the gravity of a situation or a sickness
Drill
Table 1.
GREENHOUSE GASES
English Name
Scientific Symbol
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Table 2.
Greenhouse Gas
Cause
Significance
1.
2.
Answers to Focus Questions
1.      There are six important gases occurring randomly in the atmosphere in small quantities. These gases are water vapour(H2O) carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), ozone (O3), nitrous oxide (NO2)and, more recently, chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs. (you can fill in table 1 from this answer)
2.      The greenhouse gases absorb the infra-red radiation, thus preventing it from escaping and keeping the temperature warm.
3.      We human beings didn’t cause the greenhouse effect, but we have increased the concentrations of greenhouse gases, thus causing an enhanced greenhouse effect.
Answers to drill (fill in Table 2 from this answer)
1.      OK, let’s fill in the first box level: The gas is carbon dioxide. It is produced largely by burning fossil fuels, and its significance is that it causes about 55% of the enhanced greenhouse effect. Now for the next one, CFCs:
2.      So CFCs are used as aerosol propellants – that’s the gas that carries the substance you want to spray, like mosquito killer and so on, as refrigerants, that’s the gas that makes your refrigerator cold, and in insulation. The significance of CFCs in the atmosphere is twofold - firstly they deplete the ozone layer, and secondly they absorb infra-red radiation, thus keeping in a lot more heat than before.
Some other possible comprehension questions
1.      How is the earth’s temperature maintained?
2.      What would happen if infra-red radiation escaped easily?
3.      Do CFCs occur naturally?
4.      What is the most common greenhouse gas?
5.      How do we know what atmospheric levels were like thousands of years ago?
6.      What are the causes and significance of increased methane?
7.      What are the causes and significance of increased ozone?
8.      what are the causes and significance of increased nitrous oxide?
9.      What is the effect of the feedback mechanism on water vapour?
10.  What determines the quantity of any gas in the system?
11.  Explain exactly how deforestation adds to both sides of the equation.
12.  What is the danger from land- and water-migrants?
Answers to the extra questions
1.      a balance between heating from the sun and cooling by radiation
2.      Earth would cool by 30 degrees - become uninhabitable.
3.      No – they’re man-made as compounds (though the elements occur naturally, of course).
4.      CO2
5.      by drilling ice-core samples and analysing the layers
6.      rice production, waster disposal, mining, ranching, gas extraction - increased greenhouse effect
7.      formed by a combination of substances plus sunlight - increased greenhouse effect
8.      agriculture and burning of wood and crops - increased greenhouse effect
9.      Warming allows more water vapour to be carried in the atmosphere which leads to more warming.
10.  the balance between gas emission and the natural sinks for the gas
11.  The trees are burned, which adds to the nitrous oxide/CO2, and their loss lessens the size of the sink.
12.  social and political conflict (ie war)
Topics for further discussion
1.      What are governments doing about global warming? Is it enough, and is it soon enough?
2.      What can individuals do about the greenhouse effect and excessive emissions of harmful gases?
3.      How does China compare with the rest of the world in terms of pollution and greenhouse effect?
4.      Can you think of any recent conflicts that have as their base the scarcity of water or other natural resources?
5.      What are the long-term solutions to these problems?
“高级时事英语”第7, 8单元学习辅导（1）
More Practice With the Video
Being able to see this on-line tutorial  means that you have access to the Internet, what do you normally do when you get on-line? Do you sometimes search for solutions to some personal problems as the students in New York’s University do? Can you write about one example of the use of the Internet? When you read the following text, bear these two questions in mind.
1.      Who or what is “Alice”?
2.      What is the advantage of “Alice”?
Narrator
Each year , New York’s Columbia University moves elements of its health services unit out on to the campus center for a day-long Health Fair…
Members of the campus community by the hundreds drop by for free testing … demonstrations on first aid … and basic information on health and nutrition. Those with specific concerns are advised to consult a clinician … but many shy away from such encounters according to health educator Deborah Levine:
Deborah Levine
I think people are often too embarrassed in a face-to-face interview, or they are afraid they are going to sound stupid.
Narrator
That’s especially true when it comes to questions about personal relationships, sexual habits, or substance abuse - areas where ignorance and misinformation can lead to serious consequences. So to provide students with the information they need, while safeguarding their anonymity, Columbia has established an on-line, interactive health information service called “Go Ask Alice”.
Deborah Levine
The fact that we can’t trace the questions really allows people to ask things that … very personal things that they might not be able to ask otherwise.
Narrator
There is in fact no one named “Alice” – that’s simply the name of the project. Deborah and her staff answer the questions.
Deborah Levine
“Alice” allows me to answer questions that I’ve wondered about my whole life - um and I get paid to sit there and do the research.
Narrator
Here’s how it works: students send questions to “Alice” from the privacy of their dormitory rooms, and in return receive carefully researched, non-judgemental responses. A cumulative record of answers is stored on “Alice” - it now runs to several hundred responses in half a dozen categories.
Deborah Levine
You’ll see sexuality and relationships, you’ll also see fitness and nutrition, general health, emotional health and well-being, and drugs and alcohol information.
Narrator
Adam Sinclair, a senior engineering students, consults “Alice” frequently, and finds comfort in the fact that the questions he has are on the minds of other students as well.
Adam Sinclair
You can find out that your problems aren’t really so strange after all. A lot of times people have problems and they feel isolated, they feel like, gee I’m the only one who has this problem.
Narrator
And that’s true not only for Columbia’s students. “Go Ask Alice” is widely available on the Internet.
Deborah Levine
Once you put something on the World-Wide-Web, it’s available to anybody who has a computer and a modem and we couldn’t have predicted the immense success.
Narrator
Columbia University is home to one of the most highly-respected academic communities in the world - but for all its emphasis on innovation and academic achievement, Columbia has made an equally strong commitment to the social needs of its campus community.
Words & Expressions
Health Fair                 a fair was originally a special market day with added attractions like music or drama or side-shows; here it is used for an exposition publicising health matters
clinician                       a specialist or doctor (American)
shy away                     to react suddenly with fright (used especially of a horse)
substance abuse a euphemism for drug taking
safeguarding anonymity preserving privacy
on-line interactive Online means on the Internet and interactive means you can ask questions and receive personalised answers.
non-judgemental advice that does not criticise or blame anybody for the situation
Answers to Focus Questions
1.      There is in fact no one named “Alice” – that’s simply the name of the project.
2.      The advantage of Alice is that students can ask very personal things that they might not be able to ask otherwise.
Some other possible comprehension questions
1.      Why are many people hesitant about consulting a clinician?
2.      What does Alice protect?
3.      What does Alice do for students who feel isolated?
4.      Is Alice only for Columbia students?
Answers to the extra questions
1.        They are often too embarrassed in a face-to-face interview, or they are afraid they
are going to sound stupid.
2.    anonymity
3.    Alice makes them find out that their problems aren’t really so strange after all.
4.    No, Alice is widely available on the Internet.
Topics for further discussion
1.      Can you see any applications of this type of online service for poor communities around the world, for example?
2.      Since most universities in China are already connected to the Internet, what sorts of campus services can you think of that might help campus students?
3.      Can you think of any on-line services that might help you as a distance student?
“高级时事英语”第7, 8单元学习辅导（2）
The following passage is taken from Oral Workshop: Discussion.
Tasks:
*     Read the title and judge what sex is the writer of the following passage, a male or a female?
*     Scan the following passage and try to answer the following question:
Why do you think the writer also wants a wife? List as many reasons as possible.
*     Would you agree with the writer’s opinion? Why or why not?
I Want a Wife
I belong to that classification of people known as wives, I am A Wife. And, not altogether incidentally. I am a mother.
Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He had one child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is obviously looking for another wife. As I thought about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly occurred to me that I, too, would like to have a wife. Why do I want a wife?
I would like to go back to school so that I can become economically independent, support myself, and if need be, support those dependent upon me. I want s wife who will work and send me to school. And while I am going to school I want a wife to take care of my children. I want a wife to keep track of the children's doctor and dentist appointments. And to keep track of mine, too. I want a wife to make sure my children eat properly and are kept clean. I want a wife who will wash the children's clothes and keep them mended. I want a wife who is a good nurturant attendant to my children, who arranges for their schooling, makes sure that they have an adequate social life with their peers, takes them to the park, the zoo, etc. I want a wife who takes care of the children when they are sick, a wife who arranges to be around when the children need special care, because, of course, i cannot miss classes at school. My wife must arrange to lose time at work and not lose the job. It may mean a small cut in my wife's income from time to time, but I guess I can tolerate that. Needless to say, my wife will arrange and pay for the care of the children while she is working.
I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my house clean. A wife who will pick up after me. I want a wife who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when need be, and who will see to it that my personal things are kept in their proper place so that I can find what I need the minute I need it. I want a wife who cooks the meals, a wife who is a good cook. I want a wife who will plan the menus, do the necessary grocery shopping, prepare the meals, serve them pleasantly, and then do the cleaning up while I do my studying. I want a wife who will care for me when I am sick and sympathize with my pain and loss of time from school. I want a wife to go along when our family takes a vacation so that someone can continue to care for me and my children when I need a rest and change of scene.
I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife's duties. But I want a wife who will listen to me when I feel the need to explain a rather difficult point I have come across in my course of studies. And I want a wife who will type my papers for me when I have written them.
I want a wife who will take care of the details of my social life. When my wife and I are invited out by my friends, I want a wife who will take care of the babysitting arrangements. When I meet people at school that I like and want to entertain, I want a wife who will have the house clean, will prepare a special meal, serve it to me and my friends, and not interrupt when I talk about the things that interest me and my friends. I want a wife who will have arranged that the children are fed and ready for bed before my guests arrive so that the children do not bother us. I want a wife who takes care of the needs of my guests so that they feel comfortable, who makes sure that they have an ashtray, that they are passed the hors d'oeuvres, that they are offered a second helping of the food, that their wine glasses are replenished when necessary, that their coffee is served to them as they like it. And I want a wife who hnows that sometines I need a night out by myself.
I want a wife who assumes the complete responsibility for birth control, because I do not want more children. I want a wife who will remain sexually faithful to me so that I do not have to clutter up my intellectual life with jealousies. And I want a wife who understands that my sexual needs may entail more than strict adherence to monogamy. I must, after all. Be able to relate to people as fully as possible.
If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Naturally I will expect a fresh, new life; my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so that I am lift free.
When I am through with school and have a job, I want my wife to quit working and remain at home so that my wife can more fully and completely take care of a wife's duties.
My God, who wouldn't want a wife?
“高级时事英语”第7, 8单元学习辅导（3）
The following is chosen from the 21st Century June 1, 2000.
Tasks:
*Scan the following passage and note down all the sentences which contain the structures that can be used to describe changes in number.
* Scan the passage again and try to find answers to the following questions.
1.  What do Americans use Internet for?
2.  According to the passage, what are the reasons for the Internet growth?
Online growth continues
New issues arise with the spread of the Internet
WASHINGTON--In just five years, the World Wide Web has become a powerful new medium for sharing information, transacting business and communicating with people across the room or across the globe.
The United States in particular has experienced phenomenal growth in Internet usage. An estimated 44.4 million US households will be online by the end of 2000, an increase of nearly 250 per cent since 1995.
Everyday, roughly 55 million Americans log onto the Internet to use e-mail. Receive news and information or conduct business.
Industry experts estimate that traffic on the Internet doubles every 100 days. Statistics from popular US-based websites also reflect this trend.
America Online Inc now claims more than 22 million members, up from 2 million in 1995.
And the number of items listed for sale on eBay, an auction site, has soared from 443,000 in early 1997 to more than 53 million in the first quarter of this year.
The online world is increasingly merging with the "real" world, influencing nearly every aspect of life.
Email allows families and friends around the world to communicate cheaply and more frequently.
The Internet's ability to provide a constant flow of news and information has sped up an already frantic pace for most Americans.
It also allows them the freedom to shop and conduct other business at their own convenience.
These benefits, however, have not come without a price. Wired life has also brought about growing concern regarding privacy and protection of identities online.
And as with most innovations, the less wealthy and less educated in American society have had much less access to the Web and its respective benefits, creating what some call a "digital divide."
Despite these issues, the rate of online expansion does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
Network Solutions Inc, the US company that registers new domain names for websites, estimates that out of the 14 million domain names already claimed, a full 33 per cent were registered in just the first three months of this year.
What's fueling the online rush?
Jonathan Palmer, an Internet expert from the University of Maryland, said America Online Inc (AOL) has been a large factor in Internet growth.
The company's "ability to bring together access, content and selling in a fairly user-friendly package has certainly spurred growth," Palmer said.
Another factor is links to the Internet are steadily improving, with broadband connections such as digital subscriber lines (DSL) and cable modems providing speeds previously unimaginable. This new technology, originally used by offices and larger organizations, is rapidly becoming more available to US customers in their own homes.
Insight Research Corp, a telecommunications market research firm, said that by the end of this year, 3.1 million US residences will be connected to the Internet via broadband connections.
As Internet use grows, so does computer-related crime, such as fraud, hacking and the creation of computer virus. "Love Bug" virus spread around the world in a matter of hours and resulted in billions of US dollars of damage. What's more, complications with e-commerce also raise another issue.
The US Federal Trade Commission received more than 18,600 Internet-related complaints in 1999, primarily regarding business transactions done through auction websites. The US Securities and Exchange Commission established an online complaint centre in June 1996, and it a averages 200 to 300 complaints per day. Although most of these complaints are ultimately found to be invalid, there have been 125 enforcement actions that have resulted from this forum.
Many of these useful online tips have been reports on suspicious activity in chat rooms and on message boards.
“高级时事英语”第7, 8单元学习辅导（4）
The following words are taken from 硅谷商战 by Li Yanhong.
The following are some specialised computer-related words, most of which crop up as the result of the development of Information technology. It will definitely help you with your reading comprehension if you have a large store of such vacabulary. Try to learn them by heart. But at the same time, remember to accumulate such kind of words when you come across them in your daily life.
搜索引擎                     Search Engine
浏览器                  Browser
因特网                  Internet
链接                            Hyperlink
超文本                  Hypertext
万维网服务器              Web Server
工作站                  Workstation
客户软件                     Client Software
公共区域                     Public Domain
网页                            Web Page
内联网                  Intranet
桌面                            Desktop
平台                            Platform
因特网供应商              ISP, Internet Service Provider
因特网探索者              IE, Internet Explorer
联网服务                     Online Service
万维网网站           Web Site
万维网                  World Wide Web, or Web, or WWW
网络搜索                     Net Search
网上聊天                     Chat
网民                            Netizen
网络之门                     Portal
自由软件                     Freeware
网络中心                     Netcenter
有线电视新闻网    CNN
国际商用机器公司IBM
英特尔公司           Intel Corp.
惠普公司                     Hewlett-Packard
微软公司                     Microsoft Corp.
全国广播公司              NBC
雅虎公司                     Yahoo! Inc.