外联网 The Outernet

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Neil…
大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语。我是尼尔。
… and I’m Catherine. Hello.
大家好，我是凯瑟琳。
Hello, Catherine!Now, how was your holiday?
你好，凯瑟琳。假期过得怎么样？
My holiday was lovely, Neil. I was staying on a beautiful island. It was very remote and there was actually no internet access.So, I did feel quite cut off actually.
假期很美好。我待在一座美丽的小岛上。小岛很偏僻，也没有网络。真的有一种与世隔绝的感觉。
And cut off means isolated. How did you survive, Catherine?
隔绝也就是孤远偏僻。你怎么能坚持下来呢？
Well, it wasn’t easy.But I had my e-reader - that’s an electronic device which lets you store and read lots of books from the internet.And I read a lot of Harry Potter...
是不太容易。我带了电子阅读器，一种电子设备，可以从网上储存很多书以供阅读。我读了《哈利波特》。
Harry Potter? I know you like wizards, Catherine, but shouldn’t you have downloaded some classic literature?How about Shakespeare’s The Tempest?That’s got a wizard in it too.
《哈利波特》？我知道你喜欢巫师之类的，但是你不是应该下载一些经典文学作品来读吗？像莎士比亚的《暴风雨》，里面也有巫师。
Well, yes indeed.But Shakespeare on the beach isn’t quite right for me, Neil.
确实。但是在沙滩上读莎士比亚实在不适合我。
Right. Well, today we’re talking about how the poorer and more remote - or distant - parts of the world can get access to learning.
好吧。今天我们要谈论世界上贫穷遥远的地方是怎么学习的。
That’s right.But before we start, Neil, I believe you have a quiz question for us.
好的。开始前，相信你已经准备好了今天的问题。
Yes, I do.I would like to know what the proportion of the world’s population that still has no internet access is.Is it...a) a quarter?b) half?or c) two thirds?
没错。我想知道世界上多少人口接触不到网络？a) 四分之一?b) 二分之一?还是 c) 三分之二?
I’m going to go for c) two thirds.
我选c) 三分之二。
Well, we’ll find out if you’re right or wrong later on in the programme.So Catherine, how can these people get connected to the internet and start surfing?
节目最后我们再看你回答的是否正确。凯瑟琳，这些人是怎么连接网络上网的呢？
By using the Outernet.
通过外联网。
The Outer what?
外联什么？
The Outernet. That’s the idea of entrepreneur Syed Karim and its goal is to give people in unconnected communities access to information without having to use expensive mobile phones or two-way satellite networks.
外联网。这是企业家卡里姆的想法，目的在于让与外界隔离的群体不需要使用昂贵的电话和双向卫星网络，就可以获取信息。
I see.And an entrepreneur, by the way, is a person who makes money by starting their own business that typically involves some financial risk.
我明白了。企业家，就是通过经营自己的生意赚钱的人，生意中通常涉及一些财务风险。
Yes, I’ve always fancied myself as a bit of an entrepreneur.
是的，我经常想象自己也是一名企业家。
Well, you’ll need money and ideas, Catherine.Have you got either of those?
那你需要钱和想法。你有任意一个吗？
I’ve got ideas.
我有好点子。
Right. OK. I get it.
好吧，我明白了。
So, can you tell us how the Outernet works, Neil?
你能解释一下外联网是怎么运作的吗？
Yes, I can. The Outernet uses existing communications satellites to store and broadcast data- broadcast means to send out signals or programmes.Special equipment on the ground picks up - or receives - the data, and this can be copied to phones and computers.
可以。外联网利用现有的通信卫星，储存并广播数据，广播意思是发送信号或节目。地上的特殊设备会接收到数据，将其复制到手机或电脑上。
But the Outernet broadcasts data offline - which means it’s not connected to the Internet. There’s no communication with the internet for user - so, no emails, no chat forums.And that can be a big drawback - or disadvantage.
但是外联网广播离线数据，也就是说不联网。用户无法用网络交流，所以没有邮件，也没有聊天论坛。这是一大缺点或者说不足。
Yes. The Outernet doesn’t provide two-way communication. But let’s hear Syed Karim discussing why one-way access has some advantages.And see if you can spot another word meaning ’two-way’.
是的。外联网不提供双向通信。让我们听听卡里姆所说的单向通信的好处。看你是否能听出一个词，表示“双向”的含义。
Anything that is related to bi-directional communications, the internet, to be able to provide that to the entire world,those are billion dollar projects, multi-billion dollar projects with huge time horizons and enormous complexity.And, you know, our solution that we are offering is instantaneous, I mean, it exists right now.
与双向通信有关的技术，如互联网，可以将信息传至整个世界。那些都是好几十亿元的项目，需要花费大量时间，很复杂。我们的解决办法是提供即时的信息，也就是已经存在的信息。
Did you get it?Another way of saying two-way is bi-directional.So what are the advantages of one-way communication, Catherine?
你听出那个词了吗？表达双向的另一种方式就是双指向性的。那单向通信有什么好处呢？
It’s significantly cheaper.Bi-directional communications are multi-billion dollar projects.But the Outernet allows poorer communities to benefit from access to information.
单向通信非常便宜。双向通信是花费好几十亿的项目。但是外联网使得贫穷区域的人们也能够得到信息。
Yes, it does.And the other big problem is the time it would take to establish two-way access.Syed says these projects have huge time horizons- and this means the length of time it takes to complete a project - they’re huge, so very big.
确实如此。还有一个问题就是时间，建立双向通信的时间很长。卡里姆说这些项目时间跨度很大，意思说要完成这个项目需要花费很长的时间，项目非常庞大。
But the Outernet is already providing access to some of the world’s most valuable knowledge.
外联网提供了接触世界最重要知识的方式。
That’s right.The project aims to create a library of information taken from websites including Wikipedia and Project Gutenberg, which is a collection of copyright-free e-books.Copyright-free means the right to use material without paying any fees.
没错。该项目致力于建立一个信息库，从维基百科、古腾堡项目这些网站中提取信息，古腾堡项目的电子书都是免版权的。免版权就是说有权使用某材料，而不需要支付任何费用。
That sounds good.But let’s go back to the internet and hear from a BBC reporter talking about another project which aims to get people connected.
这听起来很棒。我们回到互联网，听一听BBC记者谈论的另一个将人们联系起来的项目。
Google for example is working on Project Loon, a network of high-altitude helium balloons,which will boost Internet connections across much wider areas beyond coverage from conventional masts.
谷歌正推出一个热气球计划，利用高空氢气球，而不是局限于传统的天线杆，促进网络连接覆盖到更偏远地区。
It’s called Project Loon - meaning crazy - because Google thought it was such a crazy idea, and loon sounds like balloon!
这就是所谓的热气球计划，意思是疯狂，因为谷歌认为这是一个疯狂地想法，发音听起来很像气球。
The idea is that users will connect to the balloon network - or group of interconnected balloons - using an antenna attached to their building.The signal travels through the balloon network from balloon to balloon, and then to a station on the ground that’s connected to the Internet.
用户连接到气球网络，或一组互相连接的气球，使用天线连至他们的家。信号通过气球网络从一个气球传至另一个气球，然后到达地面接收站，与互联网相连。
The balloons will boost - or increase - the number of people who will be able to access the Internet.
这些气球会促进也就是说增加使用互联网的人数。
Yes, it will. And that’s because there will be lots of them - compared to the number of masts - or tall metal towers that send and receive signals - that are currently used.
会的。相比如今使用的天线杆，也就是接受信息的金属高塔，未来会使用越来越多的气球来发送和接收信号。
OK, let’s have the answer to the quiz question I asked:What proportion of the world’s population still has no internet access? Is it ... a) a quarter? b) half? or c) two thirds?
好的，我们来看看今天问题的答案。世界上多少人口接触不到网络？a) 四分之一?b) 二分之一?还是 c) 三分之二?
And I said c) two thirds.
我选的是c) 三分之二。
And you were right!The answer is two thirds.Well done, Catherine.
回答正确！答案就是三分之二。做的不错，凯瑟琳！
Thank you.
谢谢。
Now just time to listen to today’s words once again. Catherine.
现在我们再回忆一下今天的单词。
OK. We heard:
好的，我们今天听到的单词有：
e-reader
电子阅读器
Remote
遥远的
Entrepreneur
企业家
Broadcast
广播
picks up
接收
Drawback
缺点
bi-directional
双向的
one-way
单向的
time horizons
时间范围
copyright-free
免版权
balloon network
气球网络
Boost
促进
masts
天线杆
Well, that’s the end of today’s 6 Minute English.I hope you enjoyed connecting with us today!Please join us again soon.
今天的六分钟英语就到这里。希望你能从与我们的互动中收获快乐。下次节目再会！
Bye.
再见。