In 1969, a communication revolution begins.

1969年 一场通信革命开始了

Four computers start talking to each other down a telephone line.

四台电脑通过一条电话线建立通信

It's the birth of the Internet.

互联网诞生了

In a sense, it's our kind of DNA as a country to trying jump on whatever new form of communication technology is there,

在某种意义上这就是我们国家的基因 试图搭上任何新形式的通信技术的快车

because it was so essential for our ancestors in building this large nation.

因为这对我们的祖先建设起如此幅员辽阔的国家至关重要

By the mid 19th century,the continent's vast distances shrink,

19世纪中叶 美国大陆广袤的距离被拉近了

the horse and wagon give way to the railroad.

马车被铁路取而代之

Along with the railroad spreads the telegraph,

与铁路一起普及的是电报

the Internet of its era.

那个时代的互联网

Messages that once took days or even months to reach their destinations,

一度需要数日甚至数月将信息传至目的地

now travel down the wire at the tap of a button.

如今只需敲击按钮 信息就会沿着电缆传播

One young railway clerk from the Midwest has a vision of how the telegraph and railroads

一位来自中西部的年轻铁路职员 颇具远见卓识清楚地意识到电报和铁路

could revolutionize the way we do business.

将如何彻底改变商业运作的模式

By 1900,the Series catalog transforms how Americans buy and sell.

1900年 西尔斯邮购目录改变了美国人的购物和销售模式

A century later,the Internet takes this revolution one step further.

一个世纪后 互联网进一步推进了这场革命

By 2005,almost 200 million homes have computers and internet access,

到2005年 将近两亿家庭拥有电脑并接入了互联网

with over 5 billion dollars of goods sold on-line in 2009.

2009年 逾50亿美元的商品通过网络交易

You realize that just the power of this connectivity

你意识到仅仅是这种连通性的力量

was unstoppable, overwhelming, incredible and scary at times.

就不可避免 势不可挡 难以置信 有时甚至有点吓人

From the first e-mail sent in 1969,

从1969年发出第一封电子邮件起

by 2009, 90 trillion e-mails are sent worldwide,

到2009年 全球一年共发出90万亿封电子邮件

247 billion every day.

每天2470亿封

The spirit of liberty, of freedom, of openness,

民主 自由 开放的精神

has been a really core part of the Internet

是互联网的精髓所在

and this sort of basic idea

是某种基本的理念:

that every one should be able to participate equally in this new medium.

每个人都应该能平等的使用这一新媒体

It's a very American spirit of an idea.

这个理念极具美国精神

This idea that everybody should have access to knowledge.

它认为 每个人都该有获得知识的途径