是誰發明了網際網路？為什麼？：英語精讀講義

So, have you ever wondered who actually invented the internet? 文法

那麼，你是否曾想過究竟是誰發明了網際網路？

Some people have become zillionaires thanks to the internet, 片語搭配

有些人因為網際網路成了億萬富翁，

but all they did was invent clever ways of using the internet. 文法

但他們所做的只是發明了使用網際網路的巧妙方法。

So, the person who invented the internet should be a gazillionaire equivalent to say God,

所以，發明網際網路的人應該是個富甲天下、甚至堪比上帝的人，

shouldn't they?

不是嗎？

Who should get the credit then? 片語搭配

那麼，這份功勞應該歸功於誰呢？

Was it a British geek in a Swiss underground lab?

是在瑞士地下實驗室的一位英國阿宅嗎？

Maybe.

也許吧。

Clever Americans threatened with nuclear annihilation by the Russians?

還是受到俄國核毀滅威脅的聰明的美國人？

Nice idea.

想法不錯。

French scientists who decided to call their computer network the Le Internet?

或者是決定將他們的電腦網路稱為 Le Internet 的法國科學家？

Interesting.

挺有趣。

Or was it thanks to a myriad of smart scientists working on something they knew was useful, 片語搭配

又或者是歸功於無數聰明的科學家，他們研究著自己知道有用的東西，

but didn't realize would be so big?

卻沒意識到它會變得如此龐大？

Well,

好吧，

let's try and get some facts straight. 慣用語

讓我們試著理清一些事實。

There's the internet, 表達脈絡

首先是網際網路（internet），

a whole bunch of computer networks connected to each other, 片語搭配

它是相互連接在一起的一大堆電腦網路，

and then there's the World Wide Web,

然後是全球資訊網（World Wide Web），

a way of making it easier to share information using all those interconnected computers.

它是一種利用所有這些互連電腦讓資訊共享變得更容易的方式。

The internet as we know it today was at least 40 years in the making. 講解

我們今天所知的網際網路至少經過了40年的發展。

One popular but wrong story is that the internet was developed by the USA so they had a communication network that would survive a nuclear war.

一個流行但錯誤的說法是，網際網路是美國為了在核戰中擁有一個能存活下來的通訊網路而開發的。

According to one of the founders of the first network,

根據第一個網路的一位創始人的說法，

the ARPANET in the 1960s, 文化背景

也就是20世紀60年代的 ARPANET，

this first network experiment wasn't about communication at all.

這個最初的網路實驗根本與通訊無關。

It was about optimizing processor usage or time-sharing, 文化背景

它是關於最佳化處理器使用或分時操作的，

which basically meant that scientists could share computer power too.

這基本上意味著科學家們也可以共享電腦的算力。

That was because until the 1960s,

那是因為直到20世紀60年代，

there was basically no network.

基本上還沒有網路存在。

You had big machines called mainframes,

那時候有叫做大型主機的大機器，

which sat in the room and processed computing tasks one at a time. 片語搭配

它們放在房間裡，一次處理一個運算任務。

With time-sharing,

透過分時技術，

these behemoths could process several tasks at a time,

這些龐然大物可以同時處理多個任務，

which meant their power could be used by several scientists at once.

這意味著它們的算力可以被多位科學家同時使用。

And obviously,

而且很顯然，

once you start connecting computers together, 文法

一旦你開始將電腦連接在一起，

you start to wonder about what you need to do to make communications between them easier.

你就會開始思考需要做些什麼來讓它們之間的通訊變得更容易。

Scientists around the world were trying to solve this problem.

世界各地的科學家都在努力解決這個問題。

So, let's look at some of the other key concepts that were developed elsewhere. 表達脈絡

那麼，讓我們看看在其他地方開發的一些其他關鍵概念。

Starting with packet switching. 講解

首先是封包交換（packet switching）。

In Britain,

在英國，

there was a commercial network developed by the National Physical Laboratory,

有一個由國家物理實驗室開發的商業網路，

but which never really got off the ground because it didn't get funding. 慣用語

但它從未真正起步，因為它沒有獲得資金。

But they did come up with the idea of packet switching, 片語動詞

不過他們確實提出了封包交換的想法，

a way of avoiding congestion in busy networks by cutting up data at one end and putting it back together at the other. 片語動詞

這是一種透過在一端將資料切分，然後在另一端將其重新拼裝，從而避免繁忙網路壅塞的方法。

The French also played a role. 片語搭配

法國人也發揮了作用。

They were working on a scientific network called Cyclades,

他們當時正在研究一個名為 Cyclades 的科學網路，

but they didn't have a big budget so they decided to work on direct connections between computers as opposed to working with gateway computers. 片語搭配

但由於預算不多，他們決定研究電腦之間的直接連接，而不是使用閘道器電腦。

Now, as an aside here, 表達脈絡

這裡順便插一句，

this admittedly isn't very scientific,

雖然這誠然不太科學，

but according to one theory, 表達脈絡

但根據一種說法，

a spinoff of their research was the word internet.

他們研究的一個副產品就是「internet」（網際網路）這個詞。

But you don't have to believe it if you don't want to. 文法

不過你如果不願意，也可以不信。

So, now it's the early 1970s.

那麼，現在到了20世紀70年代初。

There's quite a lot of computer infrastructure,

已經有相當多的電腦基礎設施，

but communication is awkward and patchy because different networks can't talk to each other. 講解

但是通訊既笨拙又零碎，因為不同的網路無法相互交流。

TCP/IP solves this problem.

TCP/IP 解決了這個問題。

The TCP/IP protocols form the basic communication language of the internet, 文化背景

TCP/IP 協定構成了網際網路的基本通訊語言，

which labels the packets of data and makes sure that even though some pieces of the same data take a different route, 文法

它為資料封包貼上標籤，並確保即使同一資料的某些部分走不同的路線，

they all arrive at their destination and can be reassembled.

它們也都能到達目的地並被重新組裝。

Networks really began communicating with each other in 1975.

網路真正在1975年開始相互通訊。

So, you could argue that was the beginning of the internet. 語氣意圖

所以，你可以說那是網際網路的開端。

Email was also very important.

電子郵件也非常重要。

It was developed for ARPANET in 1972.

它是1972年為 ARPANET 開發的。

Most internet traffic in 1976 was email because academics thought electronic post-it notes were dead cool. 用詞

1976年的大部分網際網路流量都是電子郵件，因為學者們覺得電子便利貼簡直酷斃了。

With networks that could talk to each other,

有了能夠相互交流的網路，

communication was becoming easier.

通訊變得越來越容易。

But all this communication was just text-based and it was pretty ugly to look at. 用詞

但所有這些通訊都只是基於純文字的，而且看起來相當簡陋。

In the 1980s,

在20世紀80年代，

a Brit called Timothy Berners-Lee spent time with CERN, 文化背景

一位名叫提摩西·柏內茲-李的英國人在 CERN 待了一段時間，

the European Organization for Nuclear Research,

也就是歐洲核子研究組織，

where physicists are trying to work out what the universe is made of. 片語動詞

那裡的物理學家們正試圖弄清楚宇宙是由什麼組成的。

He wanted to manage the scientists' information and make it possible for them to share and interconnect their work easily, 文法

他想要管理科學家的資訊，並讓他們能夠輕鬆地共享和互連他們的工作，

making progress more likely.

從而更有可能取得進展。

He did so by inventing an interface using HTTP, 文法

他透過使用 HTTP 發明了一個介面實現了這一點，

HTML,

加上 HTML，

and URLs that made internet browsers possible.

以及讓網路瀏覽器成為可能的 URL。

He called his browser the World Wide Web.

他將他的瀏覽器稱為全球資訊網（World Wide Web）。

So, he didn't invent the internet, 文法

所以，他並沒有發明網際網路，

but he did invent the web.

但他確實發明了全球資訊網（Web）。

The first ever website, which he created,

他創建的史上第一個網站，

was at CERN in France in August 1991.

於1991年8月在法國的 CERN 誕生。

So, once the initial infrastructure was in place, 片語搭配

所以，一旦最初的基礎設施到位，

the key technologies had been invented,

關鍵技術被發明出來，

internet message boards exploded in the 1980s,

網路留言板在20世紀80年代呈爆炸式增長，

the phone companies saw the commercial potential of digital communication,

電話公司看到了數位通訊的商業潛力，

web browsers spread like wildfire in the early 1990s, 慣用語

網頁瀏覽器在20世紀90年代初如野火般蔓延，

and ordinary people discovered email.

普通人也發現了電子郵件。

Then,

然後，

the internet expanded rapidly and steadily and became workable for the masses from about 1995.

網際網路快速穩步地擴張，從1995年左右開始成為大眾可用的工具。

Hold on. 語氣意圖

等一下。

Didn't US Vice President Al Gore invent the internet?

網際網路不是美國副總統高爾發明的嗎？

Ugh,

呃，

no.

不是。

And if you read what he said exactly, 文法

如果你確切地讀過他所說的話，

you'd know he never claimed to have done.

你就會知道他從未聲稱自己這麼做過。

But many people credit him with energetically pushing legislation that encouraged the spread of the internet. 片語搭配

但許多人將積極推動鼓勵網際網路傳播的立法歸功於他。

The internet exists because we need to communicate and most of us like doing it.

網際網路的存在是因為我們需要交流，而且我們大多數人都喜歡交流。

That's why humans have become the dominant species on Earth.

這就是為什麼人類成為地球上佔統治地位的物種。

You could argue that the internet is a natural evolutionary step and a manifestation of that need.

你可以說網際網路是一個自然的演化步驟，也是那種需求的一種體現。

It wasn't invented by anyone in particular, 片語搭配

它不是由某個特定的人發明的，

but when the building blocks were put together by all those cool scientists from all over the place, 講解

但是當所有那些來自世界各地的超酷科學家把這些基礎構件拼湊在一起時，

the internet became a communication tool,

網際網路就成了一種通訊工具、

a retail tool,

一種零售工具、

a research tool,

一種研究工具、

a propaganda tool,

一種宣傳工具、

a spying tool,

一種監視工具、

a shopping tool,

一種購物工具、

a dating tool,

一種約會工具、

an entertainment tool,

一種娛樂工具、

and a way of skiving off work while making it look like you're working or studying, 講解

以及一種表面在工作或學習實則在摸魚的方法，

which is what you may be doing now.

這也是你現在可能正在做的事。

Ultimately, 表達脈絡

不過，

though,

歸根結底，

you're communicating,

你正在進行交流，

especially if you leave a comment,

特別是如果你留下一條評論的話，

and that might make you a better human being.

而這可能會讓你成為一個更好的人。