【科學新知】情境範文:現代通訊

        1These days, email, which is short for electronic mail, is a huge part of our everyday lives. 2But it may surprise you to know that the history of email goes back a lot further than the great Internet boom of the early to mid nineties. 3Electronic mail actually predates the Internet itself, and in part inspired how the Internet was created.

        4People first began to send electronic mail way back in 1965. 5Back then, email systems required that multiple users log in to the same host computer at the same time. 6Only then could they send information back and forth. 7This system has certainly come a long way since those early days.

 

大意

闡述電子郵件(email)的發展過程。

第一段重點:電子郵件的歷史比網路發展還要來的更早。

第二段重點:從1965年開始就有電子郵件的傳送,而時至今日,電子郵件的系統較以前大有進展。

 

學習重點

1. 上下文的連結

第二段的重點在闡述電子郵件的沿革,所以時間信號(time signals)就是閱讀的重點,如“first”(首先)、“in 1965(在1965年)、“Back then”(在以前那個時候)、 “Only then”(直到那時)以及“since those early days”(從早期開始)。如第4句提到人們在1965年開始寄發電子郵件,為接續文意,第5句以 “Back then”延續與前一句相同的時間點,說明動作發生的時間。

讀者在閱讀時,不妨把這些時間信號圈起來,有助於清楚電子郵件發展的時間順序,了解上下文意的轉承。

 

2. 重要生字解析

inspire (v.) 給予(某人)啟示;賦予(某人)靈感

談到科技知識時,我們常會提到某事或某物給予某人靈感,然後才有新產品的發生,這個時候我們就可以使用 “inspire”這個動詞來造句。如以下例句:

1: A trip to the museum may inspire your new project. (一趟博物館之旅也許可以給你的新企劃案一些靈感。)

2: Her latest novel was clearly inspired by her marriage.(她最新的小說很明顯是受到她婚姻的啟示。)

 

其他相關字詞

boom n.)興起;熱潮                                      predate v.)發生於...之前

inspire v.)激起;賦予(某人)靈感             require v.)需要;需求

multiple a.)多部份的;多種的                      log in 登入(電腦系統)    

host computer        (網路的)電腦主機            back and forth 來回地                  

have come a long way 有大幅進度;大有改善 

 

小試身手-文意選填練習

    I still remember how things were in my childhood. ___1___, there were neither convenience stores nor Internet cafés. When I first saw an Internet café, I knew instantly that it was ___2___ by traditional coffee shops.

(A) inspired             (B) designed            (C) Back then          (D) Immediately

KEY: 1. (C)        2. (A)

 

97年綜合測驗試題

    1The telephone is widely considered as the most rapidly evolving technological device today. 2Many experts in the field believe that future phones will not only look very different—they may not even be   11  . 3They may be hidden in jewelry or accessories, or even embedded in the body. 4They will undoubtedly have a lot of additional features and   12   functions, and users may interact with them in new ways, too. (摘錄,全文請參閱大考中心網站)

11.   (A) heard         (B) sold            (C) changed             (D) seen

12.   (A) remote      (B) scarce                (C) novel                  (D) accidental

KEY: 11. (D) seen        12. (C) novel

 

試題說明:

本篇試題介紹電話快速演變的過程。要選出正確答案有兩個要點:

1. 讀懂上下文

        2句提到「未來電話的外觀將會大大不同」,接著又在第3句提到「他們很可能隱身於珠寶或配件中,或者裝在體內」,因此可以得知他們(電話)也許在將來是看不見的,所以第11題空格應填 “seen”

        4句的後半句提到「使用者可以用新的方式與未來的電話互動」,因此可呼應前半句提到電話將來會有許多其他的特色和「新奇的」(novel)功能,故第12題應填入 “novel”

 

2. 擴充字彙

        在【科技知識】的情境中我們可以多多涉獵相關的單字及片語,才能讀懂文章要傳達的意思。如與科技相關的字詞在這裡有 “technological”(科技的)、 “device”(精巧的裝置)、 “novel”(新奇的)等字。閱讀相同情境的文章有助於拓展你的字彙量。

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