8 美國校園生活 (doc)
8. The Virtual College 　　In the fall of 1994, I arrived at my freshman dorm in my old station wagon filled with new clothes, too many shoes, and my proudest possession: a computer the size of a small refrigerator. Fortunately, I only had to lug1 my 50-pound treasure to the second floor; the awkward (but color!) monitor 2 and dot matrix printer3 required two more trips. My gargantuan4, pristine5 machine was good for writing papers and playing solitaire6, and that was all. 　　By the time I was a senior, my school had become an IBM ThinkPad University. Every dorm, classroom, and office was wired with Ethernet connections, and I was sending homework to my professors in e-mail attachments. 　　Today, it’s hard to go 12 hours without seeing my beloved Hotmail inbox. The transition during those four years was revolutionary. Somehow, though, the whole thing seemed like a magical blur7. It was almost as if the Internet appeared overnight as the undeniably integral8 part of college life that it now is. Once upon a time, professors used overhead projectors without LCD panels and laptops. Once (I think), students led discussions without PowerPoint presentations9. And there was a day that a campus visit was the best way to gather facts about an institution. 　　Now, virtual visits and web wizards10 are increasingly normal parts of college. The extent to which technology has changed college life and the speed with which it has done so is quite remarkable. Now, my alma mater11 hosts an interactive virtual community, complete with sports scores, activities, a live webcam, preview video, and a spring finals schedule. 　　E-mail has made faculty easier to reach--we no longer have to wait for their single office hour in order to establish communication. And it’s much easier for them to let us know that class has been cancelled. Commuter students live easier lives through helpful computer connections, and distance education is booming12 as technology continues to make astounding advances. 　　Is there a caveat13 in all this bustle14? Have colleges simply succumbed to15 the mandatory16 technology trend to avoid being buried in the dust of the 20th century? I must wonder how far is too far when venturing into a virtual reality. I sometimes worry that the e-mail culture will injure the important development of writing and interpersonal skills. 　　The technology influx17 has, most certainly, made college life more informal. Less and less is it necessary to stand in a line or talk to a real person. And while the Internet is wonderful and amazing, I pray that this convenience won’t develop into a curse18. 　　What would happen, for instance, if in 10 years, the college student culture (those current youths who now worship the WB and live in pre-teen chat rooms) were to degenerate into a virtual existence of online communities and cohorts19? I am slightly frightened by the fact that I have myself spent extended moments of silence on the phone with friends while we both wrote/checked our e-mail. 　　When we consider the distance that technology has come in the past five years, a further drift from classic communication is not improbable. Technology and “ online-ness” is most certainly an undeniable part of life, and a crucial part of the college experience. But in order to preserve meaningful relationships, I think it’s also important for the university to prioritize20 the personal contact and group dynamics that shape student development. Also, students should take initiative to maintain such ties to beings that function sans21 Pentium chip. 　　Thus, I leave a few important tips: enjoy the Internet, but call your mother. Refrain from e-mailing your roommate. Drop in on a professor. Attend a concert instead of downloading the MP3. And please, please don’t get a sunburn from the warm glow of your monitor! 虛擬大學(xué) 1994年秋天，我開著一輛老式旅行車到達(dá)我的大學(xué)新生宿舍，車?yán)镅b滿了我的新衣服 、好多雙鞋子和我最為得意的一臺(tái)小冰箱大小的計(jì)算機(jī)。幸運(yùn)的是，我只需將我50磅重 的寶貝拖到二樓；而搬笨重的（卻是彩色的）顯示器和點(diǎn)陣打印機(jī)還要跑兩趟。我那龐 大的、早期的計(jì)算機(jī)只適合寫文章和玩紙牌游戲，就這些。 　　到我四年級時(shí)，我的學(xué)校變成了一個(gè)國際商用機(jī)器公司的筆記本電腦大學(xué)。每個(gè)宿 舍、每個(gè)教室和每個(gè)辦公室都與以太網(wǎng)連接，而我用電子郵件附件向我的教授交家庭作 業(yè)。 　　而今，要是12個(gè)小時(shí)看不到我那心愛的電子信箱里的郵件我會(huì)很難受。四年中的變 化是革命性的。但不知何故，整個(gè)事情看起來簡直像個(gè)奇跡。幾乎像是在一夜之間，因 特網(wǎng)就變成了大學(xué)生活中不可或缺的組成部分。從前，教授們使用高架幻燈機(jī)而沒有液 晶顯示投影儀和手提電腦。從前，（我想）學(xué)生們進(jìn)行討論也不用PowerPoint演示文稿 軟件。那時(shí)要了解一個(gè)學(xué)校的情況，最好的方法是參加校園游。 　　現(xiàn)在，虛擬訪問和網(wǎng)絡(luò)天才日益成為大學(xué)中通常的組成部分。技術(shù)改變大學(xué)生活的 程度和速度相當(dāng)顯著?，F(xiàn)在，我的母校主辦了一個(gè)交互式的虛擬社區(qū)。虛擬社區(qū)里有運(yùn) 動(dòng)比賽、各種活動(dòng)、實(shí)況校園網(wǎng)站、電視預(yù)覽和春季期末考試安排。 　　電子郵件使得與老師聯(lián)系更容易——我們不必為了與他們建立聯(lián)系再坐等他們那單一 的辦公時(shí)間了。而他們也更容易通知我們哪一節(jié)課取消了。通過計(jì)算機(jī)連接，往返于學(xué) 校和住處間的學(xué)生的生活可以過得輕松些。由于技術(shù)不斷突飛猛進(jìn)，遠(yuǎn)程教育正在迅速 發(fā)展。 　　所有這些急劇的變化有什么警示嗎？為了避免被20世紀(jì)的塵埃覆蓋，大學(xué)就這么輕 易地屈服于這種咄咄逼人的技術(shù)潮流嗎？我很想知道當(dāng)冒險(xiǎn)進(jìn)入一個(gè)虛擬的現(xiàn)實(shí)時(shí)走多 遠(yuǎn)才算不過分。有時(shí)我擔(dān)心電子郵件文化會(huì)危害重要的書寫和人際交往技巧的發(fā)展。 　　更確定地說，技術(shù)的涌入使大學(xué)生活更不正規(guī)。越來越?jīng)]有必要排隊(duì)或與一個(gè)現(xiàn)實(shí) 中的人講話。雖然因特網(wǎng)很奇妙也很驚人，但我仍祈求這種便利不要發(fā)展成一種禍根。 　　會(huì)有什么情況發(fā)生呢？比如，10年內(nèi)大學(xué)生文化（目前崇尚寬帶并且在少年聊天室 生活的年輕人）是否會(huì)退化成在線群體和同伴的虛擬存在？我有點(diǎn)害怕這樣的事實(shí)：就 是我與朋友都在忙著發(fā)送或查看我們的電子郵件，很少花時(shí)間打電話。 　　當(dāng)我們考慮過去5年的技術(shù)進(jìn)步時(shí)，可以看出進(jìn)一步偏離傳統(tǒng)的交流是完全可能的。 技術(shù)和“在線”肯定是生活中不可或缺的一個(gè)組成部分，也是大學(xué)經(jīng)歷中的一個(gè)至關(guān)重要 的部分。但是為了保持有意義的人際關(guān)系，我認(rèn)為大學(xué)里把促進(jìn)學(xué)生發(fā)展的人際交往能 力和團(tuán)隊(duì)精神放在首位也是很重要的。而且學(xué)生應(yīng)采取主動(dòng)保持這種“奔騰”芯片所沒有 的功能，即人與人的聯(lián)系。 　　所以，我在這里留下幾條重要的建議：享受因特網(wǎng)，但要給你媽媽打電話。要節(jié)制 給你的室友發(fā)電子郵件。拜訪一位教授。去聽一場音樂會(huì)而不是下載MP3。還有，請千萬 別讓發(fā)熱又閃爍的顯示器將你烤黑。 1.lug[λΘ⊥]vt.用力拖，使勁拉 2.monitor[5μΧνιτΕ]n.監(jiān)視器，顯示器 3.dotmatrix[5μειτρικσ]printer點(diǎn)陣式打印機(jī) 4.gargantuan[⊥Β:5⊥“ντφυΕν]adj.巨大的，龐大的 5.pristine[5πρισταιν]adj.原始的，早期的 6.solitaire[7σΧλι5τΖΕ]n.單人紙牌戲 7.blur[βλΕ:]n.模糊的東西 8.integral[5ιντι⊥ρΕλ]adj.構(gòu)成整體所必需的 9.presentation[7πρεζεν5τειΦΕν]n.呈現(xiàn)，演示 10.wizard[5ωιζΕδ]n.[口]能手，行家 11.almamater[(((((((((((]母校 12.boom[β((μ]vi.繁榮，迅速發(fā)展 13.caveat[5κειπι“τ]n.警告，告誡 14.bustle[5βΘσλ]n.喧鬧，奔忙 15.succumb[σΕ5κΘμ]vi.(與to連用)屈從，屈服 16.mandatory[5μ“νδΕτΕρι]adj.強(qiáng)制的 17.influx[5ινφλΘκσ]n.涌入，注入 18.curse[κΕ:σ]n.禍因，禍根 19.cohort[5κΕυηΧ:τ]n.一幫(人)，一批(伙伴) 20.prioritize[ πραΙ?ΧρΙταΙζ]vt.優(yōu)先考慮 21.sans[σ“νζ][法]prep.無，沒有
8 美國校園生活 (doc)