科技英语阅读1-10篇原文word版.doc

科技英语阅读1-10篇word版

I - 1 Safe Sex[1] for Your Computer
I hate to sound preachy[2], but if you come down a computer virus, it's probably your own fault. Dodging most of these electronic infections isn't very hard.
The creations[3] of a small coterie of malicious hackers who invent toxic software for the sheer deviltry of it[4], viruses are short strings of software code that have three properties: First, they conceal themselves in legitimate files or programs; second, they replicate like bacteria to spread from machine to machine; and third, they do things to your computer that make you want to tear your hair out[5]. Viruses have been around[6] longer than PCs, and are not without a certain mathematical and[7] scientific interest. Indeed, not all viruses are malignant. Used properly[7] , viral techniques are a valuable programming tool. Used improperly, they are pestilentially destructive.
There's no perfect cure. Like the flu, computer viruses evolve. Last year's immunization isn't any good for this year's disease because every time[8] someone invents a new medication, someone else invents a new malady. Nonetheless, a few simple precautions will buffer you against all but[9] the cleverest hacker.
Rule one: Use good virus-checking software. Outfits like Network Associates-McAfee[10] and Symantec sell strong virus medicine, keeping their cures up-to-date by posting revisions at their Web sites[11]--which you should check often. Further, there are more than a dozen public domain virus checkers[12] that you can download for free. A is a good place to find them. You can also get virus repellents from services like America Online[13]. But a word of caution[14]: Not every program fixes every virus, and when a new bug hits, the remedy takes a while to reach the market[15]. Rule: Back up[16] your data. Anyone who doesn't have a backup drive is begging for trouble[17]--and not just because of viruses. I keep a square 6.2-gigabyte disk drive hooked to my PC, religiously saving redundant copies of everything--but only after performing a virus check Storage is cheap, and I'd rather be safe than sorry[18]. Rule three: Whenever you load a new file or application software onto your computer, immediately pass it through antivirus software. Most viruses aren't activated--and will not spread --until you use the stuff in which they're hiding. You can catch them and kill them before they do any harm. Rule four: Don't take candy from strangers--or careless friends. These days most viruses and their cousins[19], network-infecting worms[20], are spread through files attached to e-mail or downloaded from the Web. If you receive mail with a file hooked to it from someone you don't know, then do not open that file. (If your e-mail program automatically opens attachments, get a new e-mail program.) Instead, do what I do: Write a polite note to the sender saying you don't accept downloads, but will be more than happy[21] to look at a plain-text version[22] of the document he or she is trying to send you. Slightly more risky, you can open a file as plain ASCII text[23]; most executable commands within it simply become hieroglyphics on your screen. By the same token[24], avoid downloading anything from dubious sites. Even the most innocuous-seeming document can be a viral carrier. But don't be paranoid, either; Web sites run by reputable outfits (especially the ones that certify they've checked material for downloading with a well-known antivirus program) generally can be trusted.
Rule five: Postpone that upgrade[25]. New versions of the most popular operating systems and application software attract virus writers like[26] sugar attracts flies. I haven't upgraded my e-mail program since 1995 or my word processor since 1996; they work just fine and are too old to attract hackers.
Last role: Don't panic. If you get zapped by a virus[27] and don't have an uncorrupted spare hard drive to reboot from[28], then use a friend s computer to search the Web[29] for a cure.Odds are, if the virus has exploited a weakness in a major software vendor's product, that vendor will have a remedy at its Web site[30].
Where viruses are concerned, what grandma used to tell you is extremely relevant: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure[31].

I - 2 Caught iii[32] the Web of the Internet
It's[33] the equivalent of inviting sex addicts to a brothel or holding an Alcoholics Anonymous[34] (AA) meeting at the pub. Intemet addicts tired of[35] their square-eyed, keyboard tapping ways[36] need look no further than[37] the Web for counseling. There is now an online counseling service at www.relate.org.nz for Intemet obsessives. Just e-mail the details of your Intemet-induced crisis and help comes direct to your inbox. The new breed of cybertherapists see nothing strange about offering help through the very medium that is swallowing their clients' free time and splitting their marriages.
Sue Hine, of Relationship Services, says: "Intemet obsession has become a more noticeable problem over the last 18 months. At least this[38] is an area addicts are familiar with and they'll be able to use it as a tool to overcome their obsession." Nor do experts worry that the Relate Website[39] might become a favourite--a place to spend hours online in the name of Intemet therapy. Dependency is always a risk with any form of counseling[40]. There are various strategies we can adopt to keep that in perspective[41], says Hine.
Though some may regard Intemet addition as another dubious ailment dreamed up to keep therapists in work[42], Relationship Services says the problem is real.
Intemet usage is up to four-and-a-half hours on the Web each week, compared to three-and-a-half hours a year ago. Therapist Robin Paul says there tend to be two scenarios[43]. Some people meet through chatrooms and fall in love. It's like having an affair[44], then they meet and it's like a whirlwind honeymoon. It's devastating for the person left behind[45] and quite often it has no real foundation.
"I saw one couple who were still together but it was very rocky[46]. He met someone on the Net and went overseas to meet the woman. Then he left his wife and children to be with her. In another case I saw recently, a man left his three children to be with a woman (who was) leaving her four children. It's terribly hard on the kids[47] when this happens."
"The second scenario is that a person starts spending more and more time on the Net. They may not meet someone else but they don't spend any time with their partner and of course the relationship suffers."
Such stories may appear to be almost urban legends, so ashamed ares Intemet addicts and their partners[48]. After all, who wants to admit they have a 100 a day habit (e-mails, that is) or are somehow less alluring than a piece of hardware? But in America, which has long had a love affair with[49] both therapy and the Net, these stories are common.
A recent survey of 17,251 Intemet users found nearly 6 per cent had some sort of addiction to the medium[50]. They revealed that their online habit contributed to disrupted marriages, childhood delinquency, crime and overspending.
Tap into online addiction sites and[51] you'll find messages such as: "Hello, my name is Bob and I'm a Webaholic."
Witness the plight of Ohio woman Kelli Michetti, who literally became a computer hacker because of her husband's constant online chatting. When she crashed a meat cleaver[52] through her husband's computer terminal that[53] solved the problem, although naturally it led to difficulties with the police.
Or take the classic Intemet addiction story of Ingrid Parker, a woman who became such a slave to the Intemet--especially chat rooms--that it took over her life[54]. She made do[55] with two hours' sleep a night, had marathon weekend computer sessions[56] of up to 17 hours and fell in love with a married man in the US state of Oregon.
Her computer dream turned to nightmare when she sold up and moved to be with her cyberpal (who had just left his wife), only to be told[57] a week later that the couple were getting back together.
The heart-breaking turn of events gave her the motivation to control her addiction--and write the book Caught in the Web.
Dr Kimberly Young, who set up The Center for Online Addiction[58] () in America, studied 396 people whom she considered were psychologically dependent on the Net. They ranged in age from 14 to 70 and spent an average of 38.5 hours a week on the Web.
Her study, backed by further research in Britain, found that women were more likely to become addicts. So while the old stereotypical addict was a young man who spent hours playing games, downloading software or reading messages on newsgroups, the new image is of a young woman who fritters away hours e-mailing friends, buying books and CDs online, talking in chatrooms and looking for information for next year's holiday[59]
"I guess I was a typical example of someone hooked on the Intemet," says Parker, who now spends just an hour a day online. "I was coming home at lunchtime to get on the computer. At 6 p.m., I'd feed my son and put him to bed but all the time I was going backwards and forwards to the computer. Then I'd stay up until 5 a.m. or 6 a.m., typing away[60] 'chatting' on my computer screen all night."
"I learned from my experience with romance on the Net that people aren't always what they seem. The guy I met, for example, was very nice but also quite mixed up[61]. The trouble is you get[62] lonely housewives talking to someone and they think, 'This guy sounds nice compared to what I've got."[63]
But I don't think anyone who is married or in a sound relationship should really be spending hours talking to someone else and ignoring their nearest and dearest. While Parker provided her own therapy by putting her experiences down on paper, she recommends others take up the online counseling offer, or log off from the Worldwide Web gradually.
"It is like smoking. It's not a good idea to suddenly go cold turkey[64]. People often e-mail me about the problem and I tell them to gradually wean themselves off and not to switch to a scheme where you pay per hour for online time[65]. If they break their resolution, all[66] they end up with then is the same old problem plus money difficulties for the long hours they have spent log
ged in to[67] the Intemet."
Computer whizz Steve Phillips grins at the mention of[68] Intemet Addiction Disorder (IAD)[69]--he's been there, done that[70] Now 28, and a seven-year veteran on the Intemet[71], he spends a mere 10 to 15 hours "for entertainment" on the Web each week. A few years ago, when he was in the grip of his addiction[72], that was the amount of time--10 to 15 hours--he spent online each day.
"I'd go to polytechnic and log on[73] at 9 a.m. and sometimes I'd stay online until 9 at night. Then I'd go home and plug in the laptop and stay online until 4 or 5 a.m.," says the Intemet systems maintenance expert.
You always hear about Intemet addicts being isolated but in fact the Web was very social. I wasn't addicted to the/Net. I was addicted to the social side of meeting and talking to people every day."
While other Intemet junkies spend their hours searching for nuggets[74] of information or downloading MP3 music programmes, the lure for Phillips was the chat service Intemet Relay Chat.
"I was doing a computer course and a lot of people on the Net at the time were in computing[75] It helped a lot."
It didn't help enough, however, for him to pass all his tests. He cheerily admits he failed exams two years in a row because of his Intemet addiction. Later, he also lost a girlfriend who felt the computer was his first love.
"I justified it by saying I was building up a business[76], but in fact I was just too keen on the Intemet."
The habit started hitting hard[77] when he finished his studies in the big city and moved back home. Without the support of a school paid computer, he racked up hundreds of dollars in ntemet-related toll bills[78]. The huge expense, followed by a few months offiine while he searched for a job, was the wake-up call he needed.
"When I got access again it didn't have the same appeal any more. Now I use it more as a tool, but I would say a lot of my friends are addicts. One friend was talking about a deal with a set rate for 200 hours of Intemet access a month. He said that wouldn't be enough. I end up counseling people about it because I've been through it. It definitely isn't worth neglecting real-life relationships for romances on the Net[79]. Often they don't work out." [80]
Phillips should know. A few years ago he became heavily involved with an American woman he had spent a couple of years chatting to. Wisely, they decided not to make any commitment to marriage until they had met face-to-face. Phillips spent a month in the United States before they agreed the relationship wouldn't work. "Because I've been on the Net so long I've got some good friends that I've been chatting to for years. I occasionally meet people I've talked to online at the pub, and I could certainly travel through America on a budget[81] know so many people there."
"The Intemet is definitely addictive but if you can keep it in control it has.advantages, too. Using it can be a steep learning curve so it helps you become very quick at learning. Also there is a huge demand for people in the field of Information Technology (IT) and hours on the Intemet are great training."[82]

I - 3 Why Cloning of Humans Must Forever Be Seen as Unethical
In February 1997, my colleagues and I announced the arrival of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell. The reaction of the scientific community was, on the whole, friendly, if[83] somewhat incredulous. In contrast, the public's reaction was extremely negative, primed partly by a media weaned old a diet of cloning scare stories and pulp fiction [84].
The issue was not that this new technology created an abomination, a freak animal; after all, Dolly was,and remains, a rather handsome sheep. It[85] was the fear that the techniques could, and some said would, be applied to humans that provoked the//enzied debate
The first old chestnut[86] raised was that there would be the clomng of dictators, followed by[87] these possibilities,positive and negative: celebrity cloning,self-cloning,the pre-selection of citizens by the state with its echoes of[88] Aldous Huxley's futuristic novel Brave New World,the reincamation of dead loved ones, treatment for infertile couples, a route to avoid parental genetic disease being passed on to children and a way to cure terminal ill