Active English for Postgraduates

Unit 1 Cyberspace: If you don’t love it, leave it.

What will come to your mind when you hear the word “cyberspace”?

Understand the Title Question: Can you sense the author’s attitude towards cyberspace from the title?

How is this article organized? Hints: The article mainly answers three questions: What is the nature of cyberspace? What does cyberspace comprise? Should cyberspace be regulated? If so, how should it be regulated?

Structure Part I (Para. 1-5) Part II (Para. 6-9) Part III (Para. 10-12) Part IV(Para. 13-16) Main idea: The introduction of cyberspace and its nature Main idea: The feature and composition of cyberspace Main idea: The evolvement of cyberspace communities and their internal management mechanism Main idea: People need to define and identify space communities so as to avoid undesirable materials

Para. 1-5 What do Americans love to do? What do they complain about? What are people worried about concerning cyberspace? What is cyberspace compared to? In what aspects are they comparable? What is the nature of cyberspace? Can you explain it?

Para. 1 L1: we hanker after wide-open spaces. hanker after: feel strongly that you want sth. E.g. She got bored with her routine life and hankered after a new life in a different place. Similar phrases : be dying for, be hungry for, be thirsty for,long for, yearn for, L3: …and be yourself without worrying about…. Meaning: …and enjoy oneself without disturbing others.

Para.2 L2: …now embraces every conceivable constituency:…. constituency: a group of people with similar interest. E.g. In France, farmers are a powerful political constituency. A political constituency is a section of society that may give political support to a particular party. L4:…provoke a crackdown? The police are launching a crackdown on/against drug trafficking.

Para.3-4 L1 The first order of business is to … The first order of business: 第一笔订单，the most important/urgent thing E.g. The first order of business for the government is to control the price of the house. L1: It might help to leave behind metaphors of highways and frontiers and to think instead of real estate. (Para. 3, Line 1) leave behind: choose not to take sth. or sb.; forget

Metaphor: （暗喻） All the world’s (like) a stage, and all the men and women are merely (like) players. Paraphrase: It might help us (to understand what cyberspace is) if we think of it as real estate rather than as highways and frontiers. 译文： 我们可以抛开高速公路、前沿新领域等比喻，把信息空间看作一个巨大的庄园。

To maintain a balance and create a structural beauty Analogy (类比） real estate cyberspace parkland, church shopping mall, drugstore red light zone school district common land places privately owned and rented out places to be avoided places suitable for children This writing technique makes sth. new or difficult more easily understood. parallelism Some property is …; other property is …; Some places are …, and others are …. To maintain a balance and create a structural beauty

Para.5 VS The nature of cyberspace: Wicked people can grab unsuspecting children; A giant television system beams offensive messages at unwilling viewers. Users have to choose where they visit, what they see, what they do. VS forced, compulsory optional, voluntary

Para. 6-9 1. What are some of the main areas of cyberspace that the author defines? 2. How should these areas be regulated?

Para.6-9 comparison private email conversations telephone conversations private, consensual, no regulation bookstores, malls, movie houses information, entertainment services upon request bars, restaurants, bathhouses cyberspace communities supervised, moderated, imposed rules

Para.8 译文：人们可以从中下载各种信息，从法律文件、“大型新饭店”名单，到游戏软件、下流图片，无奇不有。 (Para. 8, Line 1)... people can download anything from legal texts and lists of “great new restaurants” to game software or dirty pictures.) “anything from ... to...” means a wide variety of something. 译文：人们可以从中下载各种信息，从法律文件、“大型新饭店”名单，到游戏软件、下流图片，无奇不有。

Para. 8 Bill: 1. 帐单[(+for)] The store sent me a bill for $50. 那家商店寄给我一张五十美元的帐单。 2. 议案, 法案 The House of Commons has not yet passed the bill. 下议院尚未通过该议案。 vt. 1. 给……开帐单; 要……付款 Please bill me later. 请以后开帐单给我。

Para. 10-12 1. In what ways are cyberspace communities similar to the terrestrial communities? 2. In what ways are they different from each other? 3. What kind of regulation concept is proposed in para. 12? How many different kinds of communities are mentioned in the latter part of this paragraph?

Para. 10 People with like-minded interests band together. CompuServe: more professional America Online: affluent young singles Prodigy: family-oriented Echo: independents Women’s Wire: for women

Para. 11 The difference between rules of a terrestrial government and those of a cyberspace community differ: Terrestrial Government Cyberspace Community 1. No freedom of choice 1. Freedom of choice 2. Legal authority 2. Moral authority

Para. 11 L2: in cyberspace, communities are …, not forced on them by accidents of geography. Meaning: In the real world, people belong to a community because they are born to or live in it, even though they are unwilling to. In the cyberspace, however, people are free to choose any community regardless of their birth or nationality.

(Para. 11, Line 3) This freedom gives the rules that preside in cyberspace a moral authority that rules in terrestrial environments don’t have. preside: vi. exercise control or authority 管辖，掌管 e.g. The manager presides over the business of this store. 经理管理这店业务。 译文：这种自由赋予主宰信息空间的准则一种道义上的权威，这种权威是地球空间里的准则所没有的。

Para. 12 Regulation concept: The possibility of a real market-style evolution of governance is at hand. In cyberspace, we will be able to test and evolve rules governing what needs to be governed…

Para. 13-16 How can people make the cyberspace a friendly place for all of us? Community: put in place and accept their own local governments apart from terrestrial governments Undesirable material: labelling, besides banning questionable material

Para. 16 What is the author’s viewpoint about the prospect of cyberspace? We haven’t created a perfect society on earth, and we won’t have one in cyberspace either. We can have individual choice and individual responsibility.

What is this article about?

Main Idea This text defines the nature of cyberspace and holds that it is a voluntary destination. Cyberspace features free communication, a large variety of information and service, and communities. These communities evolves just the way terrestrial communities do and only those self-sustaining will prosper. To make cyberspace a better place, people need to define and identify different communities, and to label undesirable material. While enjoying individual choices, people should also undertake individual responsibilities.

Formerly Embrace Artificial Regulate Precisely Unwanted Extraneous Passionate Targeted to At hand Be sued for

Tips for Exercises 1. Grammar： collocation (prep. pron.) 2. Meaning: context 3. The best one （Exclusive method 排除法）

Embrace: 1. 拥抱 They embraced each other warmly. 他们相互热烈拥抱。 2. 包括,包含 The cat family embraces lions and tigers. 猫科包括狮和虎。

Involve: 1. 使卷入,连累;牵涉[(+in/with)] Don't involve me in your quarrel! 不要把我牵扯进你们的争吵中! 2. 需要,包含,意味着[(+in)][+v-ing] His work involves occasional journeys. 他的工作偶尔需要出差旅行。

Refrain: 忍住;抑制,节制;戒除[(+from)] Please refrain from spitting on the sidewalk. 请不要在人行道上吐痰。 Restrain: 1. 抑制,遏制 I couldn't restrain my laughter. 我禁不住笑了出来。 2. 控制,限制;约束,阻止[(+from)] We restrained the children from playing by the railroad. 我们阻止孩子们在铁路旁边玩耍。

Preference: 1. 偏爱的事物(或人)[C] Which is your preference, tea or coffee? 你喜欢喝哪一样,茶还是咖啡? 2. 偏袒[U][(+for)] Parents should not show preference for any one of their children. 父母不应流露出对任何一个孩子的偏心

Inclination: 1. (性格上的)倾向;意向;爱好[C][U][(+for/to/toward)][+to-v] He had an inclination to talk. 他喜欢高谈阔论。 2. 趋向,趋势[C][S1][(+to)][+to-v] He has an inclination to become fat. 他有发胖的趋势。

Favor: 1. 赞成,赞同[U] They will look with favor on your proposal. 他们将会赞同你的建议。 2. 偏爱;偏袒[U] A mother shouldn't show too much favor to one of her children. 做母亲的不应过分偏爱某一个孩子。

Enforce: 1. 实施,执行 The police department enforces the law. 警察部门执行法律。 2. 强制;强迫[(+on/upon)] Don't enforce your will on the child, please. 请别把你的意愿强加给这孩子。

Impose: 1. 征(税);加(负担等)于[(+on/upon)] The government imposed a heavy tax on luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品课以重税。 2. 把...强加于[(+on/upon)] Don’t impose your will on him.

Bill: 给...开帐单;要...付款 Please bill me later. 请以后开帐单给我。 Afford: 买得起;有足够的...(去做...)[+to-v] We can't afford to pay such a price. 我们付不起这个价钱。 Charge:索价;对...索费;课(税)[(+for)] This store often charges only 65 US cents a dozen for large eggs. 一打大鸡蛋在这家店里常常仅卖六十五美分。

Leave about: 乱扔 Don't leave your books about. 别把你的书到处乱丢。 Leave alone:避免打扰 Leave me alone. leave over: 暂时不去解决

Set forth: 提出 Is this condition set forth in the agreement? 这一条件协议中提到了吗? Set about: 着手,开始(做) He set about learning Chinese at age ten. 他在十岁时开始学中文。

Set apart: 拨出 One day of the week should be set apart for relaxation. 每周应该拨出一天时间休闲。 Set aside: 留出 He set aside a little money each week. 他每周都留出一些钱备用。

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