8 美國高技術(shù)學(xué)生(doc)
8. The High-Tech Student Remember the Stone Age days of research back in elementary school and middle school? We would spend countless hours digesting1 the information we could find on index cards. Do you recall using those ancient computers that ran with the Gopher program or some generic2 database whose name connoted3 a marmot4 that could take half an hour to find Moby Dick? 　　Well, all I have to say can be summed up5 in five words: Thank God For The Internet! Screw6 going to the library! I have access to dozens of databases, journals, and collections of literature right at my fingertips. I can complete all of my research at home and no longer must run amok7 in the library, stressing out while trying to find Shakespeare’s8 The Tempest9 or some other book, all the while trying to block out the noisy study groups who have forgotten what the “ silence policy of libraries” means. 　　If you recall the flood epidemic10 that hit Colorado State University just a couple summers ago, that natural disaster wreaked11 havoc12 all over campus. A large portion of journals and texts were located in our libraries’ basement which completely filled up with about 10 feet of rain water in a matter of hours. The Lory Student Center’s basement was also flooded and that was where the university bookstore was located. This forced almost every professor to order new textbooks and that really put a dent13 in our wallets. Many students here, myself included, still have to face the disappointment of searching for a particular book or journal for a last minute paper, only to find out that the certain item was a casualty14 of the flood. 　　Thanks to the Internet, the university implemented15 the Inter- Library Loan system. Several universities around Colorado have generously aided us in our research endeavors by loaning any resource we need for at least two to three weeks. All we have to do is type in a request and five other university libraries automatically search for that information. 　　Without this program, I may have failed several papers and projects. I would have had to spend my nights running from public library to public library around the state just to find a certain article or novel. The World Wide Web has also given us the capability to order any textbook at a much lower price than the university bookstores charge. Hey, we’re all college students and we’re usually broke16,so anytime we can find a deal or discount that will save us a few bucks17, we will gladly take it. And last but not least18, for those of us who are constantly homesick, have a special someone far away, or still want to keep in touch with pals, we have e-mail. Like most of you, I moved away from home to go to school and my high school friends spread out across the globe. Instead of wasting money on stationery and envelopes and stamps (which seem to increase in price about every year), I can chat with everyone through the Internet. Plus, scanning19 has allowed us to send pictures to our sweethearts, friends, and family who have forgotten what we look like. So, I’m asking everyone to get on their hands and knees and to pay homage20 to the tele- communications god, the Internet. 高技術(shù)學(xué)生 還記得上小學(xué)和中學(xué)時(shí)那種石器時(shí)代的研究方法嗎？我們得花數(shù)不清的時(shí)間去整理我 們?cè)谒饕ㄆ纤苷业降男畔?。你還記得使用那些古老的計(jì)算機(jī)，靠運(yùn)行黃鼠工具程 序，或者是一種名字意味著土撥鼠的某種數(shù)據(jù)庫，要花上半個(gè)小時(shí)的時(shí)間才能找到《大白 鯊》這本小說嗎？ 　　我所說的一切可以歸結(jié)為五個(gè)字：感謝互聯(lián)網(wǎng)！別了圖書館！我的手指一動(dòng)，就可 以輕而易舉地進(jìn)入很多數(shù)據(jù)庫，找到大量期刊和文學(xué)作品。我在家就能完成我的所有研 究，而不用再去圖書館緊張地去尋找莎士比亞的《暴風(fēng)雨》或其他的書，也不必去忍受那 些吵鬧的學(xué)習(xí)研究小組，他們常忘了“在圖書館要保持安靜”的規(guī)定。 　　你是否還記得幾年前襲擊科羅拉多州立大學(xué)的那場(chǎng)洪水，這場(chǎng)自然災(zāi)害使整個(gè)校園 遭殃。我們學(xué)校的圖書館地下室存放著大量期刊和教材，在幾個(gè)小時(shí)里都完全泡在深達(dá) 10英尺的雨水里。 　　洛里學(xué)生中心的地下室也被洪水淹了，那里是大學(xué)的書店所在地。這使幾乎所有教 授都要定購新的教科書，當(dāng)然是我們學(xué)生掏腰包。許多學(xué)生包括我自己，仍然要面對(duì)令 人沮喪的現(xiàn)實(shí)：在要完成一篇論文的最后一分鐘去查找某本書或某本期刊，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)這 本書或期刊已成為洪水的犧牲品。 　　幸虧有了互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，大學(xué)得以使用圖書館際租借系統(tǒng)?？屏_拉多州的幾個(gè)大學(xué)已經(jīng)為 我們的研究工作提供了很大的幫助，他們可以借給我們所需的任何資料至少兩三個(gè)星期 。我們所要做的只是將查詢內(nèi)容敲進(jìn)計(jì)算機(jī)，其他五所大學(xué)的圖書館會(huì)自動(dòng)地搜索這個(gè) 信息。 　　如果沒有這個(gè)程序，我可能就無法完成我的數(shù)篇論文和課題項(xiàng)目。僅僅為了找到一 篇文章或小說，我就不得不利用晚上的時(shí)間從州內(nèi)一個(gè)公共圖書館跑到另一個(gè)公共圖書 館。萬維網(wǎng)使我們能夠以比大學(xué)書店定價(jià)低得多的價(jià)格定購任何課本。嘿，我們這些大 學(xué)生常常是不名一文的，因此只要有這種能節(jié)省我們幾元錢的買賣和折扣，我們都樂意 接受它。 最后但卻是很重要的一點(diǎn)，對(duì)于我們這些常犯思鄉(xiāng)病的人來說，不是想遠(yuǎn)方那位特別 的人，就是想與哥們兒朋友保持聯(lián)系，電子郵件可以滿足我們的愿望。就像你們大多數(shù) 人一樣，我也是遠(yuǎn)離家鄉(xiāng)來上大學(xué)，我中學(xué)時(shí)的朋友遍布全球。不愿在信箋、信封和郵 票（其價(jià)格似乎每年都在上漲）上浪費(fèi)錢財(cái)，我可以通過因特網(wǎng)與每個(gè)人聊天。而且， 我們可以用掃描儀把自己的照片傳給那些已經(jīng)忘記了我們模樣的心上人、朋友和家人。 因此，我要讓每個(gè)人對(duì)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)這個(gè)電子通信的上帝誠心誠意地表達(dá)敬意。 1.digest[δι5δ
8 美國高技術(shù)學(xué)生(doc)