语篇练习-1

岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤；热忱抛却，颓废必 致灵魂。忧烦，惶恐，丧失自信，定使心灵扭曲， 意气如灰。 无论年届花甲，拟或二八芳龄，心中皆有生命 之欢乐，奇迹之诱惑，孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人 心中皆有一台天线，只要你从天上人间接受美好、 希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号，你就青春永驻， 风华常存。 一旦天线坠下，锐气便被冰雪覆盖，玩世不恭、 自暴自弃油然而生，即使年方二十，实已垂垂老矣； 然则只要树起天线，捕捉乐观信号，即使八十高龄， 行将告别尘寰，你也会觉得年轻依旧，希望永存。
当媒体、通信、IT和互连网的领袖们聚到一起， 谈到新技术、新成就，大家总是兴致勃勃，但 说到近期行业遭受的磨难，大家便默不做声， 就像近期在达沃斯(Davos)出现的情况一样。业 内各个领域都遭遇难关：网络公司泡沫、电信 公司破产、音乐产业萧条、广告业低迷、电子 出版业营收停滞、个人电脑业发展放缓、无线 市场饱和、半导体业衰退、报业不景气、研发 费用削减。而问题在于，为什么整个信息产业 会如此一致地陷入困境？
语篇练习
Practice 1
Market Failure in the Media Sector Professor of Economics and Finance at Columbia University and director of its Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
当它的天线折断，当玩世不恭的冷雪和悲观厌 世的寒冰覆盖了你的心灵，即便你年方20也未 老先衰；当它的天线久立，当它捕捉到乐观主 义的电波，纵然你80而逝也青春永在。
Reference 2

青春不是年华，而是心境；青春不是桃面、 丹唇、柔膝，而是深沉的意志，恢宏的想象，炙 热的恋情；青春是生命深处的自在涌流。 青春气贯长虹，勇锐盖过怯弱，进取压倒苟 安。如此锐气，二十后生而有之，六旬男子则更 多见。年岁有加，并非垂老，理想丢弃，方堕暮 年。


男人和女人可能终究来自同一个星球。美国一位心 理学家说两性之间并没有那么多差异。 威斯康新州立大学的女性研究专家珍妮特-谢博利海德说男性和女性并不像大家所认为的差距那么大， 其实他们很相近。 她强调说研究表明男人和女人在 个性、交流和领导能力等方面非常接近.但是，英国 的一位心理学家说两性之间确实有很多差异，我们 应该认识到这一点。

The prevalence of these problems points to fundamental issues beyond a specific industry or short-term period. Instead, we need to recognize that the entire information sector - from music to newspapers to telecoms to internet to semiconductors and anything in-between - has become subject to a gigantic market failure in slow motion. A market failure exists when market prices cannot reach a self-sustaining equilibrium. The market failure of the entire information sector is one of the fundamental trends of our time, with farreaching long-term effects, and it is happening right in front of our eyes.
The conclusion is, therefore, that as countries rely more on information-based activities, their economies become more volatile.

和从前相比，信息业内各种次级产业相互影响的程 度更大、速度更快。举例来说，“旗帜广 告”(banner ads)的过度采用导致很多网站的业务 模式失败，转而又损害了科技杂志、电信网络、互 联网骨干企业、设备制造商和研发业务。 因此结论就是，随着各国越来越倚重以信息为基础 的活动，它们的经济状况就会变得越来越不稳定。
这一问题基本的结构性原因在于，信息产品的特 点就是固定成本高，而边际成本低。它们的生产 成本高昂，但再生产和销售的成本低廉，因而展 现出强大的规模经济效益，并容易诱发供应过量。 另外，有越来越多的信息产品正源源不断地提供 给用户，而信息产品和服务正变得愈加“商品 化”、愈加开放，彼此竞争愈加激烈。而且接下 去还有更多麻烦。
源自文库
The basic structural reason for this problem is that information products are characterised by high fixed costs and low marginal costs. They are expensive to produce but cheap to reproduce and distribute, and therefore exhibit strong economies of scale with incentives to an over-supply. Second, more information products are continuously being offered to users. And information products and services are becoming more "commodified", open, and competitive. And there is more trouble ahead.


When the leaders of media, telecommunications, IT and internet companies congregate, as they did recently in Davos, the talk is upbeat about new accomplishments but subdued about recent ordeals: the dotcom bubble; the telecoms crash; the music industry bust; the advertising downturn; the e-publishing revenue stagnation; the PC slowdown; the wireless saturation; the semiconductor slump; the newspaper recession; the R&D retrenchment. And the question is, why do these predicaments sweep over the information sector so regularly?
The various sub-industries of the information sector affect each other more, and faster, than ever before. For example, the excess availability of banner ads leads to the collapse of the business model for many websites, which in turn harms tech magazines, telecoms networks, internet backbones, equipment makers and R&D.



Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, selfdistrust bows the heart and turns the spirit to back to dust. Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.
上述低迷状况如此普遍，说明出现了一些根本 性的问题，这些问题不仅限于某个行业、也 不仅是短期内存在。相反，我们需要认识到， 整个信息产业，从音乐、报纸、电信、互联 网、半导体到业内任何领域，都已逐渐受到 一个巨大的市场缺陷的影响。当市场价格不 能达到自我持续的平衡时，市场就存在某种 缺陷。整个信息业的市场缺陷是我们这个时 代的根本趋势之一，这种缺陷具有长期、深 远的影响，而且正在我们眼前发生。
Practice 3 Women and Men
Men and women may be from the same planet after all. A US psychologist says there are not that many dif ferences between the genders. Janet Shibley-Hyde, women's studies specialist from the University of Wisconsin, says men and women are more similar than the popular perception. She highlights studies showing similarities in personality, communication, and leadership. But a U K psychologist said there were differences which shou ld be recognized.
流年的时光可以使皮肤起皱，而熄灭热情却叫心灵起 皱。 忧虑、胆怯和自疑只会狭限心胸，消沉意志。 不管你是60岁还是16岁，那种生命之心－好奇心、不 泯的童心和生活的乐趣的欢心， 人皆有之。 你我心灵 深处，都有一部无线电台：只要它从他人和造物主那 里接受美好、希望、鼓励、勇气和力量的电波永不消 失，你的青春就永远燃烧。

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.