VOA慢速英语:Shortage of Internet Addresses, but a Slow Move to New System

短语讲解：

1. This new numbering system for Internet addresses has been available for years.

be available for有效, 可以加以利用的
例句：The passport is available for 5 years.
本护照5年有效。

2. But very few companies have switched to it.

switch to切换到;转到,转变成
例句：Shall we switch to another channel?
我们换一个频道好吗？

3. Yet the old system could run out of addresses this year because of all the growth in online devices.

run out of用完，耗尽
例句：They have run out of typing paper.
他们的打字纸用完了。

4. It’s sort of like the post office of the Internet. It tells you how to get information from one computer to another.

sort of有几分地
例句：I feel sort of cold.
我感到有点冷。

5. So it’s almost as if, when a new house is built, you can’t give it an address because you don’t have any more.

as if好像, 似乎, 仿佛
例句：Why doesn't she buy me a drink? It isn't as if she had no money!
她为什么不给我买一点饮料?好像她没钱似的!

6. At the time that IP version 4 was designed, the designers were anticipating perhaps thousands of users of the Internet someday, and certainly thinking that four billion addresses was many more than we would ever need.

at the time在那时, 在那段时间
例句：You pay for it at the time you order it.
订购时就得付款。

7. Yet now, not just computers but smartphones, cars, televisions, game systems and plenty of other devices all connect to the Internet.

plenty of许多；大量的
例句：There is plenty of coal in this area.
这个地区有丰富的煤。
例句：connect to使与…连接
Connect the hose to the tap and turn on the tap.
把水管接在龙头上, 打开水龙头。

8. Doug Szajda says its most important feature is the ability to provide what seems like an unlimited number of IP addresses. Well, there is a limit -- three hundred forty trillion trillion trillion in fact, or three hundred forty undecillion.

in fact实际上, 其实
例句：They hope, in fact, to kill two birds with one stone.
他们实际上是想一举两得。

9. The group talked to more than four hundred information technology and business leaders in the United States.

talk to同(某人)谈话
例句：I really enjoy talking to you.
同你谈话我十分高兴。