1、21世紀大學英語讀寫教程第一冊課文Foreword導語：前言是指寫在書籍或文章前面的文字，下面是一篇講述作者正在寫一本“未來之路”的書的前言，歡迎大家閱讀!ForewordBill GatesThe past twenty years have been an incredible adventure for me. It started on a day when, as a college sophomore, l stood in Harvard Square with my friend Paul Allen and pored over the description of a ki

2、t computer in Popular Electronics magazine. As we read excitedly about the first truly personal computer, Paul and I didn't know exactly how it would be used, but we were sure it would change us and the world of computing. We were right. The personal computer revolution happened and it has affec

3、ted millions of lives. It has led us to places we had barely imagined.We are all beginning another great journey. We aren't sure where this one will lead us either, but again I am certain this revolution will touch even more lives and take us all farther. The major changes coming will be in the

4、way people communicate with each other. The benefits and problems arising from this upcoming communications revolution will be much greater than those brought about by the PC revolution.There is never a reliable map for unexplored territory, but we can learn important lessons from the creation and e

5、volution of the $120-billion personal-computer industry. The PC its evolving hardware, business applications, on-line systems. Internet connections, electronic mail, multimedia titles, authoring tools, and games is the foundation for the next revolution.During the PC industry's infancy, the mass

6、 media paid little attention to what was going on in the brand-new business. Those of us who were attracted by computers and the possibilities they promised were unnoticed outside our own circles.But this next journey, to the so-called information highway, is the topic of endless newspaper and magaz

7、ine articles, television and radio broadcasts, conferences, and widespread speculation. There has been an unbelievable amount of interest in this subject during the last few years, both inside and outside the computer industry. The interest is not confined only to developed countries, and it goes we

8、ll beyond the large numbers of personal-computer users.Thousands of informed and uninformed people are now speculating publicly about the information highway. The amount of misunderstanding about the technology and its possible dangers surprises me. Some people think the highway is simply today'

9、s Internet or the delivery of 500 simultaneous channels of television. Others hope or fear it will create computers as smart as human beings. Those developments will come, but they are not the highway.The revolution in communications is just beginning. It will take place over several decades, and wi

10、ll be driven by new "applications" new tools, often meeting currently unforeseen needs. During the next few years, major decisions will have to be made. It is crucial that a broad set of people not just technologists or those who happen to be in the computer industry participate in the deb

11、ate about how this technology should be shaped. If that can be done, the highway will serve the purposes users want. Then it will gain broad acceptance and become a reality.I'm writing this book The Road Ahead as part of my contribution to the debate and, although it's a tall order, I hope i

12、t can serve as a travel guide for the forthcoming journey. I do this with some misgivings. We've all smiled at predictions from the past that look silly today. History is full of now ironic examples the Oxford professor who in 1878 dismissed the electric light as a gimmick; the commissioner of U

13、.S. patents who in 1899 asked that his office be abolished because "everything that can be invented has been invented." This is meant to be a serious book, although ten years from now it may not appear that way. What I've said that turned out to be right will be considered obvious and

14、what was wrong will be humorous.Anyone expecting an autobiography or a treatise on what it's like to have been as lucky as I have been will be disappointed. Perhaps when I've retired I will get around to writing that book. This book looks primarily to the future.Anyone hoping for a technolog

15、ical treatise will be disappointed, too. Everyone will be touched by the information highway, and everyone ought to be able to understand its implications. That's why my goal from the very beginning was to write a book that as many people as possible could understand.The process of thinking abou

16、t and writing the present book took longer than I expected. Indeed, estimating the time it would take proved to be as difficult as projecting the development schedule of a major software project. The only part that was easy was the cover photo which we finished well ahead of schedule. I enjoy writin

17、g speeches and had thought writing a book would be like writing them. I imagined writing a chapter would be the equivalent of writing a speech. The error in my thinking was similar to the one software developers often run into a program ten times as long is about one hundred times more complicated t

18、o write. I should have known better.And here it is. I hope it stimulates understanding, debate, and creative ideas about how we can take advantage of all that's sure to be happening in the decade ahead.New Wordsforewordn. a short introduction at the beginning of a book 序言，前言incrediblea. unbeliev

19、able; extraordinary 難以置信的;了不起的sophomoren. a student in the second year of college or high school(中學、大學)二年級學生porevi. (over) study with close attention 專心閱讀;鉆研descriptionn. saying in words what sb. or sth. is like 描寫，描述kitn. a set of all the parts needed to assemble sth. 配套元件*computev. calculate ( a r

20、esult, answer, sum, etc.) esp. with a computer(尤指用計算機)計算barelyad. only just; hardly 僅僅;幾乎不upcominga. about to happen 即將來臨的PC (abbr.)personal computer 個人計算機reliablea. that can be relied on; dependable 可靠的; 確實的territoryn. (an area of) land, esp. ruled by one government 領土*creationn. the act or process

21、 of creating sth. 創造; 創作evolutionn. 1. the gradual change and development 演變，發展2. (the theory of) the development of the various types of plants, animals, etc., from earlier and simpler forms 進化(論)evolvevt. 演化，發展，逐步形成;進化applicationn. 1. (an instance of) putting to practical use 應用，運用2. a computer so

22、ftware program 應用軟件程序on-linea. 聯機的，聯線的Internetn. 因特網，國際互聯網connectionn. 連接，連結;聯系，關系electronica. 電子的multimedian.& a. 多媒體(的)titlen. (多媒體)題標;標題;題目authorvt. 寫作;創造n. 作者foundationn. 基礎infancyn. 嬰兒期;幼兒期;初期attractvt. cause to like, admire, notice, or turn towards; arouse (interest, etc.); prompt 引起的注意(或興

23、趣等)，吸引;引起(興趣等);激起possibilityn. 1. (often pi.) power of developing, growing, or being used or useful in the future 常用復數 發展前途，潛在價值2. the state of being possible; likelihood 可能;可能性so-calleda. called or named thus but perhaps wrongly or doubtfully 所謂的，號稱的endlessa. without end, or seeming to be without e

24、nd(似乎)無窮盡的;沒完沒了的conferencen. a meeting for discussion 會議，討論會confinevt. (to) restrict or keep within certain limits 限制，使局限speculatevi. 猜測;投機amountn. 量，數量;總數，總額misunderstandingn. 誤解，曲解misunderstandv. 誤解，誤會deliveryn. 傳送;投遞;運載*simultaneousa. happening or being done at the same time 同時發生的，同時進行的channeln.

25、頻道;水道;海峽createvt. cause (sth. new) to exist; produce (sth. new) 創造;創作unforeseena. not known in advance; unexpected 未預見到的'意料之外的cruciala. (to, for) of deciding importance 決定性的;至關重要的technologistn. an expert in technology 技術專家contributionn. 捐款;捐獻;貢獻debaten. a formal argument or discussion(就)進行辯論v. h

26、ave a debate about; take part in a debate 辯論;討論purposen. that which one means to do, get, be, etc.; intention 目的;意圖acceptancen. 接受*forthcominga. happening or appearing in the near future 即將到來的，即將出現的misgivingn. 復數 疑慮，擔憂predictionn. sth. that is said or described in advance 預言gimmickn. (騙人的)玩意兒*commis

27、sionern. (政府廳、局、處等部門的)長官;委員;專員*patentn. 專利;專利權*abolishvt. put an end to, do away with 取消，廢除humorousa. funny and amusing; having or showing a sense of humour 幽默的;滑稽的;富有幽默感的autobiographyn. a book written by oneself about one's own life 自傳treatisen. 專著;(專題)論文retirevi. stop working at one's job, profession, etc., usu. because of age 退休，退職primarilyad. mainly; chiefly 主要地;首要地technologicala. of or related to technology 技術的;工藝(學)的implicationn. 含意，暗示processn. 過程;進程estimatevt. 估計，估量n. 估計projectvt. make plans for 設計，規劃n. 規劃，計劃;(工程