Lesson 51-3 predicting the future

              预测未来

练习材料：

Bagrit foresaw a time when computers would be small enough to hold in the hand, when they would be capable of providing information about traffic jams and suggesting alternative routes, when they would be used in hospitals to help doctors to diagnose illnesses, when they would relieve office workers and accountants of dull, repetitive clerical work. All these computer uses have become commonplace. Of course, Leon Bagrit could not possibly have foreseen the development of the Internet, the worldwide system that enables us to communicate instantly with anyone in any part of the world by using computers linked to telephone networks. Nor could he have foreseen how we could use the Internet to obtain information on every known subject, so we can read it on a screen in our homes and even print it as well if we want to. Computers have become smaller and smaller, more and more powerful and cheaper and cheaper. This is what makes Leon Bagrit's predictions particularly remarkable. If he, or someone like him, were alive today, he might be able to tell us what to expect in the next fifty years.

Bagrit fɔːˈsɔː ə taɪm wɛn kəmˈpjuːtəz wʊd biː smɔːl ɪˈnʌf tuː həʊld ɪn ðə hænd, wɛn ðeɪ wʊd biː ˈkeɪpəbl ɒv prəˈvaɪdɪŋ ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃən əˈbaʊt ˈtræfɪk ʤæmz ænd səˈʤɛstɪŋ ɔːlˈtɜːnətɪv ruːts, wɛn ðeɪ wʊd biː juːzd ɪn ˈhɒspɪtlz tuː hɛlp ˈdɒktəz tuː ˈdaɪəgnəʊz ˈɪlnɪsɪz, wɛn ðeɪ wʊd rɪˈliːv ˈɒfɪs ˈwɜːkəz ænd əˈkaʊntənts ɒv dʌl, rɪˈpɛtɪtɪv ˈklɛrɪkəl wɜːk. ɔːl ðiːz kəmˈpjuːtə ˈjuːzɪz hæv bɪˈkʌm ˈkɒmənpleɪs. ɒv kɔːs, liːˈɒn Bagrit kʊd nɒt ˈpɒsəbli hæv fɔːˈsiːn ðə dɪˈvɛləpmənt ɒv ði ˈɪntəˌnɛt, ðə ˌwɜːldˈwaɪd ˈsɪstɪm ðæt ɪˈneɪblz ʌs tuː kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt ˈɪnstəntli wɪð ˈɛnɪwʌn ɪn ˈɛni pɑːt ɒv ðə wɜːld baɪ ˈjuːzɪŋ kəmˈpjuːtəz lɪŋkt tuː ˈtɛlɪfəʊn ˈnɛtwɜːks. nɔː kʊd hiː hæv fɔːˈsiːn haʊ wiː kʊd juːz ði ˈɪntəˌnɛt tuː əbˈteɪn ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃən ɒn ˈɛvri nəʊn ˈsʌbʤɪkt, səʊ wiː kæn riːd ɪt ɒn ə skriːn ɪn ˈaʊə həʊmz ænd ˈiːvən prɪnt ɪt æz wɛl ɪf wiː wɒnt tuː. kəmˈpjuːtəz hæv bɪˈkʌm ˈsmɔːlər ænd ˈsmɔːlə, mɔːr ænd mɔː ˈpaʊəfʊl ænd ˈʧiːpər ænd ˈʧiːpə. ðɪs ɪz wɒt meɪks liːˈɒn Bagrit's prɪˈdɪkʃənz pəˈtɪkjʊləli rɪˈmɑːkəbl. ɪf hiː, ɔː ˈsʌmwʌn laɪk hɪm, wɜːr əˈlaɪv təˈdeɪ, hiː maɪt biː ˈeɪbl tuː tɛl ʌs wɒt tuː ɪksˈpɛkt ɪn ðə nɛkst ˈfɪfti jɪəz.

巴格瑞特预示有一天计算机可以小到拿在手上，计算机可以使办公室人员和会计免除那些枯燥、重复的劳动。计算机的所有这些功能现在都变得很平常。当然了，莱昂.巴格瑞特根本没有可能预测到国际交互网——就是把计算机连结到电话线路上，以便和世界上任何一个地方的人立即进行联系的一个世界范围的通讯系统——的发展。他也无法预测到我们可以利用国际交互网获取有关任何已知专题的信息，以便在家里的屏幕上阅读，如果愿意的话甚至可以将其打印出来。计算机已经变得体积越来越小，功能越来越多，价格越来越低，这就是莱昂.巴格瑞特的预测非凡的地方。如果他或是像他的什么人今天还活着的话，他大概可以告诉我们下一个50年后会发生什么事情。

任务配置：L0、L3、L4

知识笔记：

单词与短语

be capable of  doing sth可以

relieve sb of sth可以使某人免除某事

练习感悟：今天练习时间太仓促了。