电脑内部探秘 - Bettina Bair：英语精读讲义

Do you remember when you first realized that your computer was more than just a monitor and keyboard? 語法

你还记得第一次意识到电脑不仅仅是显示器和键盘的时候吗？

That between the mouse click and the video playing, 語法

在点击鼠标和播放视频之间，

there was something that captured your intention, understood it, and made it real? 表達脈絡

有某种东西捕捉到了你的意图，理解了它，并将其变成了现实？

What is that something?

那个东西是什么？

Is it gremlins?

是捣蛋鬼吗？

Let's imagine that we can shrink down to the size of an electron and inject ourselves into a click of a mouse. 講解

让我们想象一下，我们可以缩小到电子的大小，然后将自己注入到鼠标的一次点击中。

If you took your mouse apart, 語法

如果你把鼠标拆开，

you'd see that it's really a very simple machine.

你会发现它实际上是一个非常简单的机器。

It has a couple buttons and a system for detecting motion and distance. 短語搭配

它有几个按钮和一个用来检测运动和距离的系统。

You might have an optical mouse that makes these measurements with lights and sensors, 短語搭配

你可能有一个用灯光和传感器来进行这些测量的光电鼠标，

but older ones did this with a hard rubber ball and some plastic wheels,

但老式鼠标是用一个硬橡胶球和一些塑料轮子来做这件事的，

same concept.

概念是一样的。

When you click the button on your mouse, 語法

当你点击鼠标上的按钮时，

it sends a message to the computer with information about its position.

它会向电脑发送一条包含其位置信息的消息。

When your mouse click is received, 語法

当接收到你的鼠标点击时，

it's handled by the basic input output subsystem. 文化背景

它会由基本输入输出子系统（BIOS）处理。

This subsystem acts like the eyes and ears and mouth and hands of the computer. 習語

这个子系统就像电脑的眼睛、耳朵、嘴巴和手。

Basically,

基本上，

it provides a way for the computer to interact with its environment. 語法

它为电脑提供了一种与环境交互的方式。

But it also acts like a buffer to keep the CPU from being overwhelmed by distractions. 講解

但它也像一个缓冲区，防止CPU被干扰信息淹没。

In this case,

在这种情况下，

the I/O subsystem decides that your mouse click is pretty important,

I/O子系统认为你的鼠标点击非常重要，

so it generates an interrupt to the CPU. 用詞

所以它向CPU生成了一个中断。

Hey CPU, 語氣意圖

嘿，CPU，

got a click here.

这里有一个点击。

The CPU or central processing unit 文化背景

CPU或中央处理器

is the brains of the whole computer. 習語

是整台电脑的大脑。

Just like your brain doesn't take up your whole body, 表達脈絡

就像你的大脑并没有占据你的整个身体，

the CPU doesn't take up the whole computer,

CPU也没有占据整台电脑，

but it runs the show all the same. 習語

但它同样主宰着一切。

And the CPU's job,

而CPU的工作，

its whole job,

它的全部工作，

is fetching instructions from memory and executing them. 文化背景

就是从内存中获取指令并执行它们。

So while you're typing, typing, typing, maybe really fast,

所以当你在不停地打字，也许非常快，

like 60 words a minute,

比如每分钟60个字的时候，

the CPU is fetching and executing billions of instructions a second. 短語搭配

CPU正在每秒获取并执行数十亿条指令。

Yes,

是的，

billions every second.

每秒数十亿条。

Instructions to move your mouse around on the screen,

移动屏幕上的鼠标的指令，

to run that clock widget on your desktop,

运行桌面上的时钟小部件的指令，

play your internet radio,

播放你的网络广播，

manage the files you're editing on the hard drive,

管理你在硬盘上编辑的文件，

and much, much more.

还有很多很多。

Your computer's CPU is one heck of a multitasker. 用詞

你电脑的CPU简直是个多任务处理大师。

But oh my gosh,

但是我的天哪，

there's a very important mouse click coming through now. 短語動詞

现在有一个非常重要的鼠标点击传过来了。

Let's drop everything now and deal with that. 講解

我们现在放下一切来处理它吧。

There are programs for everything that the CPU does,

CPU做的每一件事都有对应的程序，

a special program for the mouse,

有专门针对鼠标的程序，

for the clock widget,

针对时钟小部件的，

for the internet radio,

针对网络广播的，

and for dealing with letters sent by the keyboard.

还有处理键盘发送的字母的。

Each program was initially written by a human in a human-readable programming language 用詞

每个程序最初都是由人类用人类可读的编程语言编写的，

like Java, C++, or Python.

比如Java、C++或Python。

But human programs take up a lot of space 短語動詞

但是人类程序占用了很多空间，

and contain a lot of unnecessary information to a computer,

并且包含了很多对电脑来说不必要的信息，

so they're compiled and made smaller and stored in bits of ones and zeros in memory. 講解

所以它们被编译变小，并以1和0的比特形式存储在内存中。

The CPU realizes that it needs instructions for how to deal with this mouse click, 語法

CPU意识到它需要如何处理这个鼠标点击的指令，

so it looks up the address for the mouse program and sends a request to the memory subsystem for instructions stored there. 講解

所以它查找鼠标程序的地址，并向内存子系统发送请求以获取那里存储的指令。

Each instruction in the mouse device driver is duly fetched and executed. 文化背景

鼠标设备驱动程序中的每一条指令都被适时地获取并执行。

And that's not nearly the end of the story. 習語

而这远未结束。

Because the CPU learns that the mouse was clicked

因为CPU了解到，鼠标是在

when the cursor was over a picture of a button on the monitor screen,

光标悬停在显示器屏幕上的一个按钮图片上时被点击的，

and so the CPU asks memory for the monitor program to find out what that button is. 短語搭配

所以CPU向内存请求显示器程序，以弄清楚那个按钮是什么。

And then the CPU has to ask memory for the program for the button,

然后CPU必须向内存请求该按钮的程序，

which means that the CPU needs the monitor program again 語法

这意味着CPU再次需要显示器程序

to show the video associated with the button. 短語搭配

来显示与该按钮相关的视频。

And so it goes. 習語

就这样继续下去。

And let's just say that there are a lot of programs involved 語氣意圖

我们就说这涉及到了很多程序，

before you even see the button on the screen light up when you clicked it. 短語動詞

甚至在当你点击它、看到屏幕上的按钮亮起之前。

So just the simple task of clicking your mouse 語法

所以，仅仅点击鼠标这样一个简单的任务，

means visiting all of the critical components of your computer's architecture, 文化背景

意味着要访问你电脑架构中所有关键的组件，

peripherals, 文化背景

外设，

the basic input output system,

基本输入输出系统，

the CPU,

CPU，

programs, and memory,

程序和内存，

and not one gremlin. 表達脈絡

并且没有一个捣蛋鬼。