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A Flat World Is Mostly a Better World 世界是平的

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

How did people communicate before the Internet? How did they work and live? Although in the past century phones and airplanes had made the world feel smaller, judging by current standards, it was still a big place. Today, computers and the Internet are able to digitize things and transmit them anywhere, instantly, making the world so small that it has become flat. This is Thomas Friedman’s main argument in his bestseller The World Is Flat.

因特网之前的时代，人们是如何交流的呢？他们是如何工作与生活呢？虽然在上一世纪，电话与飞机让世界感觉上变小不少，实际上它仍是很大的地方。现今，计算机与网络可以把事务数字化后立刻传输到任何地方，而使世界变得如此小，以致于它已经变平了。此即为托马斯．佛里曼在他的畅销书《世界是平的》的主要论点。

From the 1400s to around 1800, the world flattened as ships carrying trade and communication, connected the planet’s far-off regions. From around 1800 to 2000, the world became flatter as movement of goods and ideas spread deep inland via railroads and by air. The more recent flattening has been propelled by common computer languages and software that allow computers, anywhere in the world, to interact perfectly with one another. With these developments, outsourcing has migrated to virtually every industry.

自1400年代到1800年左右，当载运着贸易与通讯的船只链接了地球上遥远的区域时，世界变平了。从1800年左右到两千年，当货物与思想迁移，透过铁路与空运往内陆深处散播，世界变得更平。计算机语言与软件的普及，促成了最近的平面化现象，使得全世界任何地方的计算机，彼此间产生完美的互动。由于这些发展，外包几乎已经移入了每一个产业。

Here is how outsourcing works. An R&D team in Europe designs a new product and emails the plans to Asia, where it is manufactured. Accounting firms in the United States send routine tasks to companies in India. Hospitals anywhere in the world email x-rays and CAT scans to specialists who read them and email back the results. Countless processes can be broken down into their component parts and electronically transmitted to any part of the world. This offers the best economic advantage.

在此说明外包的运作模式。位于欧洲的研发团队（R&D team）设计了新产品，并把研究计划用电子邮件寄到亚洲进行生产。美国的会计公司把例行公事送到印度尼西亚的公司。世界各地的医院把X光照片与计算机断层扫描图（CAT Scan）用电子邮件寄给相关专家，待其判读完后再寄回分析结果。数不清的工作程序可以分解成各个组成成分，并且运用电子方式送到世界上任一角落。这给了公司最佳的经济优势。

Vocabulary

transmit [trænsˋmɪt] v. 传送，传达

via [ˋvaɪə] prep. 透过; 经由

propel [prəˋpɛl] v. 推进

migrate [ˋmaɪ͵gret] v. 迁移；移居

virtually [ˋvɝtʃʊəlɪ] adv. 差不多; 实际上，事实上

More Information

digitize [ˋdɪdʒə͵taɪz] v.（将数据）数字化

far-off [ˋfɑrˋɔf] adj.（时间、地点等）遥远的

outsourcing [ˋaʊt͵sɔrsɪŋ] n. 外包; 向国外采购零配件

accounting firm 会计公司

CAT scan (computerized axial tomography) 计算机化X射线轴向分层造影扫描图

component [kəmˋponənt] n. 构成要素；零件；成分

課文中英文講解

Though a flat world yield many benefits, it also has a flip side. A flat world may be filled with human and environmental exploitation as well as domestic and international discord. When outsourcing increases, the newly employed will benefit, but what about the newly unemployed? As they suffer economic hardships, their resentment may increase, leading to national instability.

虽然平坦的世界产生出许多好处，但是它也有负面。平坦世界可能不但充斥着人性与环境上的剥削情形，也有国内与国际间的争执。当外包增加时，新雇用的一方会受惠，但是刚被解雇的一方呢？当他们遭遇经济上的困难时，他们的怨恨也许会增加，因而导致全国不稳定。

With so much personal information stored on and transferred between computers, there has been an explosion of identity theft and other scams. And there are other kinds of explosions such as those resulting from terrorist attacks. The information available on the Web and the capabilities provided by computers allow anyone or any country to pose a grave threat.

保存并流通于各计算机之间的私人信息是如此多，窃取身分或从事其他骗局的数量剧增。其他方面的剧变，像是恐怖份子进行的恐怖活动，因而产生。网络上可以取得的信息与计算机所能提供的处理能力，让任何人或任何国家都能造成严重的威胁。

If our flat world can be shattered with the push of a button, what is the future? Friedman is very optimistic, but cautions rich countries to take up global responsibility. We cannot expect people living in poverty and disease to tolerate a world whose opportunities have passed them by. Countries with resources need to assist those in need. Nor can we ignore those who want to turn back the clock by using violence. To counter this threat, we must be watchful, often using the same technology that gave rise to this menace. It seems that a two-sided flat world is not unlike a double-edged sword.

如果我们平坦的世界可以因为按下一个按键就粉碎的话，它的未来在哪里？佛里曼乐观看待，但是警告富裕国家要负起全球性的责任。我们不能期待生活在充满贫穷与疾病的地区的人民，包容一个让机会与他们擦身而过的世界。坐拥资源的国家需要协助穷困的国家。我们也不能忽视这些藉由暴力让时光倒流的人。为了对抗这种威胁，我们一定要保持警觉，常常利用构成相同威胁的科技优势。似乎有两个面向的平坦世界就是一把具有双面利刃的剑。

−By Howard Weston

Vocabulary

yield [jild] v. 产生（效果，收益等）; 出产

discord [ˋdɪskɔrd] n. 不和，争吵

resentment [rɪˋzɛntmənt] n. 忿怒，怨恨

capability [͵kepəˋbɪlətɪ] n. 能力

pose [poz] v. 造成，引起

shatter [ˋʃætɚ] v. 粉碎，砸碎

caution [ˋkɔʃən] v. 警告，告诫，使小心

menace [ˋmɛnɪs] n. 威胁，恐吓

More Information

flip side: 对立面；相对立的人（或物）the opposite side

exploitation [͵ɛksplɔɪˋteʃən] n. 剥削

scam [ˋskæm] n.【俚】骗局﹐诡计﹐欺诈

grave [grev] adj. 重大的;  严重的

turn back the clock:  倒退;  把钟拨慢  to make things the same as they were at an earlier time

double-edged sword: 双刃剑 something that has or can have both favorable and unfavorable consequences

Reading Questions

1. Which is NOT a characteristic of Friedman’s “flat” world?

A. Better transportation of goods.

B. Increased outsourcing to more areas of the world.

C. Internet connections that allow for the transfer of electronic information.

D. Smoother roads for cars to drive on.

2. Why does Friedman believe that the world is “flatter” now than it was before?

A. Because today there are fewer restrictions on the transfer of goods.

B. Because the relationships between countries are always getting stronger.

C. Because our methods of transferring goods and ideas are improving.

D. Because computers are responsible for most aspects of our lives.

3. Which is a negative effect of a “flat” world?

A. Employees make more money than employers do, and wealth is drastically redistributed.

B. Anyone or any country can use the information available on the internet to cause great harm.

C. The price of technology goes up, so people’s living standards around the world go down.

D. Information on the Internet becomes less believable, resulting in chaotic online communication.

4. What can be done to ensure that a flat world is a better world?

A. Providing assistance to poorer countries.

B. Making sure that our computers are constantly updated.

C. Insisting that all companies use outsourcing to produce something.

D. Preventing poor countries from obtaining advanced nuclear weapons.

The World is Flat

Answer