Lesson 10 Silicon valley 硅谷

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First listen and then answer the following question.

听录音,然后回答以下问题。

What does the computer industry thrive on apart from anarchy?

Technology trends may push Silicon Valley back to the future. Carver Mead, a pioneer in integrated circuits and a professor of computer science at the California Institute of Technology, notes there are now workstations that enable engineers to design, test and produce chips right on their desks, much the way an editor creates a newsletter on a Macintosh. As the time and cost of making a chip drop to a few days and a few

5 hundred dollars, engineers may soon be free to let their imaginations soar without being penalized by expensive failures. Mead predicts that inventors will be able to perfect powerful customized chips over a weekend at the office-spawning a new generation of garage start-ups and giving the U.S. a jump on its foreign rivals in getting new products to market fast. 'We've got more garages with smart people,' Mead observes. 'We really thrive on anarchy.'

And on Asians. Already, orientals and Asian Americans constitute the majority of the engineering staffs at many Valley firms. And Chinese, Korean, Filipino and Indian engineers are graduating in droves from California's colleges. As the heads of next-generation start-ups, these Asian innovators can draw on customs and languages to forge tighter links with crucial Pacific Rim markets. For instance, Alex Au, a Stanford Ph.D. from Hong Kong, has set up a Taiwan factory to challenge Japan's near lock on the memory-

15 chip market. India-born N. Damodar Reddy's tiny California company reopened an AT&T chip plant in Kansas City last spring with financing from the state of Missouri. Before it becomes a retirement village, Silicon Valley may prove a classroom for building a global business.

US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, October 2, 1989

New words and expressions 生词和短语

silicon (title) / ’sɪlɪkən/ n. 硅

integrated (1.1) / intIgreItId/ adj. 综合的

circuit (1.1) $/$ ’s3ːkɪt $/n$ . 线路,电路

California (1.2) ${/}_{1}$ kælɪ'fɔ:niә/n. 加利福尼亚(美国

州名)

workstation (ll.2-3) /’wɜːkˌsteɪʃən/n. 工作站

chip (1.4)/tf.p/n. 芯片, 集成电路片, 集成块

newsletter (1.4) $/$ ’njuːzˌletə $/n$ . 时事通讯

Macintosh (1.4) /’maekɪntɒʃ/ $n$ . 苹果机,一种个人电脑

penalize (1.5) $/$ piːnəlaɪz $/v$ . 处罚,惩罚

customize (1.6) $/’\mathrm{k}\Lambda$ stamaIz $/v$ . 按顾客具体需要制造

spawn (1.7)/spɔːn/v. 引起, 酿成

thrive (1.9) $/\theta$ rarv/v. 兴旺,繁荣

anarchy (1.9) $l$ ’ænòki/ $n$ . 无政府状态,混乱

oriental (1.10) ${}_{1,2}$ :ri’ent $1/n$ . 东方人

constitute (1.10) /’kɒnstɪtjuːt/v. 构成

drove (1.11) $/\mathrm\partial \mathrm{v}/n$ . 群

innovator (1.12) /’inəvertə/ $n$ . 发明者

forge (1.13) $/$ for $\alpha$ z $/v$ . 发展

memory-chip (l.14) /'memərɪ-'tfɪp/ $n$ . 内存条

AT&T (I.15) 美国电话电报公司 (American

Telephone and Telegraph)

Kansas (1.15)/’kænzəs/ $n$ . 堪萨斯(美国州名)

Missouri (1.15)/m1’zʊəri/n. 密苏里(美国州名) Unit 2 Lesson 10

Aerial view of Silicon Valley

Notes on the text 课文注释

1 much the way an editor creates a newsletter, 就像一位编辑编出一份时事通讯一样。

2 be free to, 可以做……。

3 in droves, 一批批, 成群地。

4 draw on, 依靠, 凭借。

参考译文

技术的发展趋势有可能把硅谷重新推向未来。卡弗·米德——集成电路的一位先驱,加州理工学院的计算机教授——注意到,现在有些计算机工作站使工程技术人员可以在他们的办公桌上设计、试验和生产芯片,就像一位编辑在苹果机上编出一份时事通讯一样。由于制造一块芯片的时间已缩短至几天,费用也只有几百美元,因此,工程技术人员可能很快就可以充分发挥他们的想像力,而不会因失败而造成经济上的损失。米德预言发明者可以在办公室用一个周末的时间生产出完美的、功能很强的、按客户需求设计的芯片——造就新一代从汽车间起家的技术人员,在把产品推向市场方面使美国把它的外国对手们打个措手不及。“我们有更多的汽车

Unit 2 Lesson 10

间,而那里有许多聪明人,”米德说。“我们确实是靠这种无政府状态发展起来的。” 靠的是亚洲人。硅谷许多公司中工程技术人员的大多数是东方人和亚裔美国人。中国、韩国、菲律宾和印度的工程师一批批地从加州的大学毕业。作为新掘起一代的带头人, 亚裔发明家可以凭借他们在习惯和语言上的优势, 与关键的太平洋沿岸市场建立起更加牢固的联系。比如说, 亚历克斯·奥, 一位来自香港的斯坦福大学博士, 已经在台湾建厂, 对日本在内存条市场上近似垄断的局面提出了挑战。印度出生的N,达莫达·雷迪经营的小小的加州公司在堪萨斯城重新启用了美国电话电报公司的一家芯片工厂,并从密苏里州获取了财政上的支持。在硅谷变成一个退休村之前, 它很可能成为建立全球商业的一个教学场地。

Comprehension 理解

Give short answers to these questions in your own words as far as possible. Use one complete sentence for each answer.

1 Why, in future, will chip engineers be able to 'let their imaginations soar'?

2 What do you think is meant by the phrase 'garage start-ups' (I.7)?

3 What additional non-computer skills can Asian computer engineering staffs provide that are important in Pacific Rim markets?

Vocabulary 词汇

Refer to the text to see how the following words have been used, then write sentences of your own using these words: trends (1.1); soar (1.5); penalized (1.5); a jump (1.7); rivals (1.7); thrive (1.9); links (1.13); crucial (1.13); set up (1.14); near lock (1.14); global (1.17).

The paragraph 段落

A Which of these statements best expresses the main idea in the first paragraph of the passage? Give reasons for your answer:

1 Computer engineers can design computer chips on their desks.

2 The cost of producing chips has dropped to a few hundred dollars.

3 As the cost of producing chips falls, engineers will be free to make more mistakes.

4 Chip engineers thrive on anarchy.

B Which of these statements best expresses the main idea in the second paragraph of the passage?

Give reasons for your answer:

1 Most chip engineers are Oriental and Asian Americans.

2 Oriental and Asian American chip engineers can help the US beat the competition.

3 Alex Au has set up a factory in Taiwan.

4 Silicon Valley is a global business.

C What idea do the two examples quoted in the second paragraph (II.10-17) illustrate? (*For instance, Alex Au...' 11.12-14)

Unit 2 Lesson 10

Key structure 关键句型

A Supply $a$ , an or the only where necessary in the following paragraph. Do not refer to the passage until you have finished the exercise:

_____ technology trends may push Silicon Valley back to _____ future. Carver Mead, _____ pioneer in _____ integrated circuits and _____ professor of computer science at _____ California Institute of Technology, notes there are now _____ workstations that enable _____ engineers to design, test and produce _____ chips right on their desks, much _____ editor creates _____ newsletter on _____ Macintosh. As _____ time and cost of making drop to _____ few days and _____ few hundred dollars, _____ engineers may soon be free to let their imaginations soar without being penalized by _____ expensive failures. Mead predicts that _____ inventors will be able to perfect _____ powerful customized chips over _____ weekend at _____ officer spawning _____ new generation of garage start-ups and giving _____ U.S. _____ jump on its foreign rivals in getting new products to market fast. 'We've got more garages with _____ smart people,' Mead observes. 'We really thrive on _____ anarchy.' (ll.1-9)

B Note the use of the -ing form after the preposition without:

Engineers may soon be free to let their imaginations soar without being penalized by expensive failures. (II.5-6) Complete the following sentences:

1 A lot of people are afraid of _____(speak) in public.

2 I always believe in _____(tell) the truth.

3 Poor eyesight prevents me from _____ (drive) a car.

4 Would you be interested in _____ (buy) a second-hand car?

5 A lot of people object to _____ (smoke) these days.

C Note the form of the verb after before:

Before it becomes a retirement village, Silicon Valley may prove a classroom for building a global business. (ll.16-17)

Complete these sentences with the right form of the verbs:

1 As soon as your sister _____ (arrive) please give me a call.

2 We'd better tidy the house up before my mother _____ (get) back from work.

3 I'm going to wait here until he _____ (arrive).

4 We go through Customs after we _____ (collect) our luggage.

Special difficulties 难点

A Note the use of the following verb:

Carver Mead notes there are now workstations that enable engineers to produce chips right on their desks. (ll.1-3)

Write sentences using each of these verbs:

notice, observe, remark. Unit 2 Lesson 10

B There are now workstations that enable engineers to produce chips right on their desks. (II.2-3) Write a sentence using the noun chips with an entirely different meaning.

C Note the use of set up in this sentence:

Alex Au has set up a Taiwan factory. (ll.13-14)

Suggest meanings for these combinations with set:

1 The explorers set off at dawn.

2 Winter has set in early this year.

3 We'll have to set by some money if we want to buy a car.

4 What time do you set out tomorrow morning?

5 If we all set to, we can finish this job in no time.

Multiple choice questions 多项选择题

Choose the correct answers to the following questions.

Comprehension 理解

1 Engineers can now _____.

(a) create chips at the California Institute of Technology

(b) pioneer integrated circuits in garages

(c) create chips on computers without having to manufacture them

(d) create newsletters whenever they want to

2 The important thing about this new technology is that _____.

(a) it doesn’t matter whether inventors make mistakes

(b) there will be more people working in garages

(c) the computer industry is in a state of anarchy

(d) people will be able to buy chips for a few hundred dollars

3 One great advantage of employing Asian American engineers is they _____

(a) have an advantage over others in the Pacific Rim markets

(b) are graduating in large numbers from California's colleges

(c) are now more widely employed than engineers with other backgrounds

(d) are more able than other graduates in the computer industry

4 Japan almost has a monopoly of the memory-chip market which _____ .

(a) is now being challenged by a Taiwanese

(b) is now facing real competition

(c) is about to end

(d) an AT&T chip plant in Kansas is going to take over

Structure 句型

5 It is _____ that engineers will soon be free to let their imaginations soar. (1.5)

(a) certain (b) true (c) necessary (d) possible

Unit 2 Lesson 10

6 Carver Mead predicts that inventors will be capable _____ powerful chips. (1.6)

(a) to perfect (b) to perfecting (c) of perfecting (d) perfecting

7 _____ engineering staffs at Valley firms are orientals and Asian Americans. (II.10-11)

(a) The most (b) Most (c) Many (d) The greatest

$8\mathrm{;N}$ . Damodar Reddy, who _____ in India, has a tiny California company. (I.15)

(a) is born (b) was born (c) born (d) has borne

Vocabulary 词汇

9 There are now work-stations that _____ engineers to design, test and produce chips right on their desks. (ll.2-3)

(a) make possible (b) allowed (c) make it capable for(d)allow

10 If a chip is 'customized', it has been made _____ . (1.6)

(a) in a traditional way (b) according to custom

(c) to suit your needs (d) perfectly

11 Indian engineers are graduating

(a) in large numbers (b) increasingly

(c) like cattle (d) without limits

12 Japan has _____ the memory-chip market. (1.14)

(a) control of (b) locked up (c) the key to (d) the master of

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