Lesson 1 Tomorrow's World
第一课 未来的世界
The Future of Cyberspace
未来的电脑空间
Peter Taylor finds out how computers and the Internet are going to affect our lives.
彼得·泰勒发现电脑和网络将如何影响我们的生活。
In the last thirty years, the Internet has grown rapidly.
在过去三十年，网络发展得很快。
In 1983, there were only 200 computers connected to the Internet;
1983年，只有200台电脑连接在互联网上；
now there are around 50 million and this growth is clearly going to continue.
现在有将近5千万台，很明显，这种增长还在继续。
Some experts are pessimistic about the future. One worry is crime in cyberspace.
一些专家对未来表现出悲观的态度。其中一种担心就是网络犯罪。
Even now, young hackers can get into the computers of banks and governments.
甚至现在，年轻的电脑黑客能够进入银行和政府的电脑。
In the future, terrorists may "attack" the world's computers, cause chaos, and make planes and trains crash.
在未来，恐怖分子可能“袭击”全世界的电脑，制造混乱，以及制造飞机坠毁和火车相撞。
However, many people are optimistic about the future of the Internet.
但是，很多人还是对互联网的未来很乐观。
Already, users can buy books, find out about holiday offers, book tickets,
现在，用户可以通过互联网买书，找到关于假期的建议，订票，
and get all sorts of information from the Internet.
并从网上得到各种信息。
"In the next few years," says Angela Rossetto of Cyberia magazine,
“在接下来的几年，”网络杂志的安吉拉·罗瑟托说，
"it is clear that we are going to see a huge growth in shopping on the Internet."
“很显然，不远的将来我们就会看到网上购物狂潮。”
She also believes that, in the future,
她同样相信，在未来，
we will get entertainment from the Net and that television will probably disappear.
我们将从网络中获得娱乐，电视可能会消失。
The mail service may also disappear with the increasing use of e-mail.
电子邮件使用的增长，将可能会使邮政服务也消失。
Some experts see our future in virtual reality
一些专家在虚拟现实中看到我们的未来，
- the use of computers with sounds and pictures that make you feel as if you are in a real situation.
虚拟现实是计算机通过声音和图像模拟现实，以使人仿佛置身于一个真实的空间。
"Personally, I think virtual reality will become a part of modern life," says Australian expert Peter Anderson.
“我个人认为虚拟现实将会成为现代生活的一部分，”澳大利亚专家彼得·安德森说。
"I see people living and working in a virtual world.
“我看见人们在一个虚拟的世界里生活和工作。
We will work in virtual offices, shop in virtual supermarkets,
我们将会在虚拟的办公室工作，在虚拟的超市购物，
and we will even study in virtual schools."
甚至在虚拟的学校学习。”