VOA慢速英语:South Korea Tops 'Information Society' Report

Falling prices are fueling growth in high-speed Internet services, especially in developing countries. Last week the International Telecommunication Union released its "Measuring the Information Society 2011" report. The ITU, part of the United Nations, compared access, use and skills in one hundred fifty-two countries.
价格的下降推动了高速互联网服务的增长，特别是在发展中国家。上周，国际电信联盟发布了《2011年信息化社会测度报告》。国际电信联盟是联合国的一个机构，比较了152个国家互联网的使用和技能等内容。

The report says South Korea has the world's most developed economy in information and communication technology, or ICT. Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Finland were also among the top five in the ICT Development Index. The index compares two thousand eight and two thousand ten scores.
该报告称，韩国在信息和通信技术或ICT方面是最发达的经济体。瑞典，冰岛，丹麦和芬兰在信息与通信技术发展指数(ICT Development Index)也排名前五位。该指数比较了2008年和2010年的分数。

Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Vietnam and Russia had some of the biggest improvements between those years.
沙特阿拉伯，摩洛哥，越南和俄罗斯等国在这几年间改进最大。

Susan Teltscher is head of the ICT Data and Statistics Division at the International Telecommunication Union in Switzerland. She says most of the growth in this industry has come from one source.
Susan Teltscher是瑞士国际电信联盟ICT数据与统计的负责人。她说，这个行业中的大部分发展都是由于同一个来源。

SUSAN TELTSCHER: “Mobile broadband is now leading the growth race among the different ICT indicators -- much higher than the other key indicators that we look at, like regular mobile phone subscriptions, fixed telephone or fixed broadband. Mobile broadband is really the most dynamic sector right now. And the good news is that it’s also starting to grow in developing countries.”
Susan Teltscher：“移动宽带的增速在不同的ICT指标中是最快的，远远高于我们所观察的其他指标，例如常规手机订阅，固定电话或固定宽带。移动宽带是目前最有活力的部门。而好消息是，它也开始在发展中国家的增长。”

Mobile broadband subscriptions reached eight hundred seventy-two million by the end of last year. Three hundred million of those are in developing countries. Ms. Teltscher says growth in these countries can help reduce the digital divide with wealthier societies.
去年年底，移动宽带订阅用户达到8.72亿人，其中3亿人在发展中国家。Teltscher称，这些国家的经济增长可以帮助减少与发达国家的数字化差距。

SUSAN TELTSCHER: “If we can bring Internet over the mobile phones, then we can really make a difference in terms of improving Internet access also in developing countries.”
SUSAN TELTSCHER：“如果我们可以使用手机上网，那么我们就能在改善发展中国家的互联网接入方面取得明显成效。”

She says falling prices are adding to the growth.
她说，价格的降低进一步促进了增长趋势。

SUSAN TELTSCHER: “Especially in the broadband area, the prices dropped by over fifty percent between two thousand eight and two thousand ten -- which is a very encouraging finding because this was primarily drops in the developing countries."
SUSAN TELTSCHER：“特别是在宽带领域，2008年至2010年间价格下降了超过50%，这是一个非常令人鼓舞的发现，因为这主要是由于发展中国家宽带价格的降低。”

Even so, the report says people in many low-income countries are still paying too much for high-speed Internet connections. In Africa, for example, broadband service for a home or office cost almost three times an average monthly income last year. That was down from six and a half times as much in two thousand eight.
尽管如此，该报告表示，许多低收入国家的人们仍然必须支付很高的价格来使用高速互联网连接。以非洲为例，去年家庭或商业宽带服务的费用几乎是月平均收入的三倍。而2008年宽带费用是月平均收入的6.5倍。

Also, there are big differences in broadband speed and quality from country to country.
另外，各国之间的宽带速度和质量也有所不同。

National levels of technology development have traditionally been closely linked to national income levels. But Susan Teltscher at the ITU says a strong public policy on technology has made a difference in South Korea.
一个国家的技术发展水平一向与国家收入水平有着密切的关系。但是国际电信联盟的Susan Teltscher称，科技方面强有力的公共政策使得韩国取得了长足进步。

SUSAN TELTSCHER: “If you look at their income level and what they have been achieving in terms of ICT development, it’s actually higher than what you would expect given their national income.”
SUSAN TELTSCHER：“如果你看一下他们的收入水平和他们在信息通信技术发展方面取得的进步，实际上它远远超出其国民收入所对应的水平。”

South Korea has the fourth largest economy in Asia.
韩国是亚洲第四大经济体。