外刊精读 | 信息技术不断发展，老年人怎么办？

今天是小芳老师陪你精读外刊的第33天

难度指数7级（共8级）

读前想想，下面内容用英语怎么说？

1. 额外待遇 2. 蜂拥 3. 对…不利 4. 苦境

第一步：泛读原文（盲听1遍，泛读1遍，对照文本听1遍）

Over the last decade, the prospect of six-figure starting salaries, perks like free food and the chance to work on apps used by billions led young people to stampede toward computer science — the study of computer programming and processes like algorithms — on college campuses across the United States.

Many people in Britain can’t live without their smartphone and use it to manage all aspects of their lives, from banking to shopping and socialising. But what if the opposite is true, and this clever technology is erecting invisible barriers that leave you unable to do basic things such as pay online, contact your GP or even park.

This is what it feels like for Jean Peters. The 83-year-old widow, who lives alone in a south Cambridgeshire village, complains that “everything is going online at a faster and faster rate” to the detriment of those “who can’t keep up”. She is one of millions of older people who are members of the smartphone underclass who are finding it almost impossible to carry out basic day-to-day functions in a world that assumes everyone lives via their handset.

All the data suggests that far from being alone, Peters is articulating a growing sense of frustration across the country. The charity Age UK estimates that 40% of the over-75s don’t use the internet at all and are struggling to access basic services as a result.

The Digital Poverty Alliance – a group of charities formed to tackle exactly this issue – estimates there are as many as 11 million people in the UK who are struggling to deal with the tech-only options that have become the new normal. However, while countless studies have shown how older people are increasingly being frozen out, or charged significantly more for the same services, little is being done to aid their plight, it argues.

A combination of the coronavirus pandemic – when it became acceptable for companies to no longer answer their phones or to even open, let alone reply to, letters – and the banks being forced to carry out strong customer authentication (SCA) checks to those banking or even shopping online, is locking people out from a world they used to be able to participate in. Add in the fact that smartphones bear no resemblance to the Nokia handsets that many older people had become used to, and it is easy to see why so many people are feeling left behind.

第二步：精读原文（精读1遍，对照文本听1遍，精读1遍）

读原文（精读1遍，对照文本听1遍）

01

Over the last decade, theprospectof six-figure starting salaries,perks like free food and the chance to work on apps used by billions led young people tostampedetoward computer science — the study of computer programming and processes like algorithms — on college campuses across the United States.

1.prospect: 希望：e.g. There is no immediate prospect of peace. 短期内没有和平的可能。

2.perk: something you receive as well as your wages for doing a particular job (工资之外的)补贴，津贴，额外待遇：

• Perks offered by the firm include a car and free health insurance.

• 公司给予的额外待遇包括一辆汽车和免费健康保险。

3.stampede: 蜂拥；e.g. A stampede broke out when the doors opened. 门一开，人们蜂拥而出。

翻译：在过去的十年里，六位数的起薪、免费提供食物等福利，以及有机会为数十亿人使用的应用程序工作的工作前景让美国各地的年轻人在进入大学时争相计算机科学专业——关于计算机编程和算法等流程的研究。

02

Many people in Britaincan’t live withouttheir smartphone and use it to manage all aspects of their lives, from banking to shopping andsocialising. But what if the opposite is true, and this clever technology is erecting invisible barriers that leave you unable to do basic things such as pay online, contact yourGPor even park.

1.can’t live without: 离不开, e.g. I Can't Live Without Music: 无音乐毋宁死

2.socialize: 社交，近义词 interact, educate, e.g. People don’t socialize with their neighbors as much as they used to.

3.GP: 普通医师(全写为 general practitioner，在社区而非在医院工作)

翻译：在英国，很多人都离不开智能手机，并且用它来管理从银行业务到购物、社交等生活的方方面面。但如果实际情况恰恰相反，这项聪明的技术竖起了无形的屏障，让你连一些基础的事情都无法去做，比如线上支付、联系全科医生，甚至是停车。

03

This is what it feels like for Jean Peters. The 83-year-old widow, who lives alone in a south Cambridgeshire village, complains that “everything is going online at a faster and faster rate”to the detriment ofthose “who can’t keep up”. She is one of millions of older people who are members of the smartphoneunderclasswho are finding it almost impossible to carry out basic day-to-day functions in a world that assumes everyone lives via their handset.

1.to the detriment of: 对…不利，等同于detrimental，

2.underclass: a social class that is very poor and has no status社会底层, e.g. The long-term unemployed are becoming a new underclass. 长期失业的人正形成新的贫困阶层。

3.句型分析: She is one of millions of older people （定从）who are members of the smartphoneunderclass（定从）who are finding it almost impossible to carry out basic day-to-day functions in a world（定从）that assumes everyone lives via their handset. 本长句由一个主句，三个定语从句组成。翻译过程，可以将每个单句分别翻译。

翻译：这就是让·彼得斯的感觉。这是一位83岁的寡妇，独自居住在剑桥郡南部的一个村庄里，她抱怨道“一切东西都以越来越快的速度转移到网上”，这对那些“跟不上”的人造成伤害。她是数百万处于智能手机底层的老年人中的一员，这些人发现在一个假设每个人都通过手机生活的世界里，他们几乎不可能实现日常的基本生活功能。

04

All the data suggests that far from being alone, Peters isarticulating a growing sense of frustration across the country. The charity Age UK estimates that 40% of the over-75s don’t use the internet at all and are struggling toaccessbasic services as a result.

1.articulate: to express or explain your thoughts or feelings clearly in words清楚说明：e.g. She struggled to articulate her thoughts. 她竭力表明她的想法。

2.access: 正式表达，表示to reach, enter or use sth到达；进入；使用：e.g. The loft can be accessed by a ladder. 搭梯子可以上阁楼。

翻译：所有的数据都证明，彼得斯在这件事上并不孤独，她表达的是在全国内广泛产生的越来越强烈的挫败感。慈善机构“英国老年人”估计，75岁以上的老年人中有40%根本不用互联网，因此很难获得基本服务。

05

The Digital Poverty Alliance – a group of charities formed to tackle exactly this issue – estimates there are as many as 11 million people in the UK who are struggling to deal with thetech-onlyoptions that have become the new normal. However, while countless studies have shown how older people are increasingly beingfrozen out, or charged significantly more for the same services, little is being done to aid theirplight, it argues.

1.tech-only: technology only 纯技术

2.freeze out: They start to freeze him out. 他们开始冷落他。

3.plight: 苦境：e.g. the plight of the homeless无家可归者的艰难困苦

翻译：数字贫困联盟——是人们为为解决这一问题而专门设立的慈善组织——据估计，英国有多达1100万人正在努力应对已经成为新常态的纯科技的这项选择。然而，该机构认为，尽管无数研究表明，老年人越来越多地被手机拒之门外，或者同样的服务明显被收取了更高的费用，但几乎没有做什么来帮助他们缓解困难。

06

A combination of the coronavirus pandemic – when it became acceptable for companies to no longer answer their phones or to even open, let alone reply to, letters – and the banks being forced to carry out strong customerauthentication(SCA) checks to those banking or even shopping online, is locking people out from a world they used to be able to participate in. Add in the fact that smartphonesbear no resemblance tothe Nokia handsets that many older people had become used to, and it is easy to see why so many people are feeling left behind.

1.authentication: 认证, e.g. We've seen close to about 2 billion product authentications. 我们已经看到了近20亿的产品认证。

2.bear no resemblance to: 相似之处，The feeling bore no resemblance to what she had read about love. 但这种感觉与她读到的关于爱的内容没有任何相似之处。

翻译：冠状病毒大流行--当时公司不再接听电话，甚至不拆信，更不用说回信了--以及银行被迫对那些银行业务甚至网上购物的人进行强大的客户认证（SCA）检查，这些因素的结合正在将人们从一个他们曾经能够参与的世界中锁定出来。再加上智能手机与许多老年人已经习惯的诺基亚手机没有任何相似之处，就不难理解为什么这么多人感到被抛弃。

第三步：阅读双语文章

上下滑动阅读双语全文

Over the last decade, the prospect of six-figure starting salaries, perks like free food and the chance to work on apps used by billions led young people to stampede toward computer science — the study of computer programming and processes like algorithms — on college campuses across the United States.

在过去的十年里，六位数的起薪、免费提供食物等福利，以及有机会为数十亿人使用的应用程序工作的工作前景让美国各地的年轻人在进入大学时争相计算机科学专业——关于计算机编程和算法等流程的研究。

Many people in Britain can’t live without their smartphone and use it to manage all aspects of their lives, from banking to shopping and socialising. But what if the opposite is true, and this clever technology is erecting invisible barriers that leave you unable to do basic things such as pay online, contact your GP or even park.

在英国，很多人都离不开智能手机，并且用它来管理从银行业务到购物、社交等生活的方方面面。但如果实际情况恰恰相反，这项聪明的技术竖起了无形的屏障，让你连一些基础的事情都无法去做，比如线上支付、联系全科医生，甚至是停车。

This is what it feels like for Jean Peters. The 83-year-old widow, who lives alone in a south Cambridgeshire village, complains that “everything is going online at a faster and faster rate” to the detriment of those “who can’t keep up”. She is one of millions of older people who are members of the smartphone underclass who are finding it almost impossible to carry out basic day-to-day functions in a world that assumes everyone lives via their handset.

这就是让·彼得斯的感觉。这是一位83岁的寡妇，独自居住在剑桥郡南部的一个村庄里，她抱怨道“一切东西都以越来越快的速度转移到网上”，这对那些“跟不上”的人造成伤害。她是数百万处于智能手机底层的老年人中的一员，这些人发现在一个假设每个人都通过手机生活的世界里，他们几乎不可能实现日常的基本生活功能。

All the data suggests that far from being alone, Peters is articulating a growing sense of frustration across the country. The charity Age UK estimates that 40% of the over-75s don’t use the internet at all and are struggling to access basic services as a result.

所有的数据都证明，彼得斯在这件事上并不孤独，她表达的是在全国内广泛产生的越来越强烈的挫败感。慈善机构“英国老年人”估计，75岁以上的老年人中有40%根本不用互联网，因此很难获得基本服务。

The Digital Poverty Alliance – a group of charities formed to tackle exactly this issue – estimates there are as many as 11 million people in the UK who are struggling to deal with the tech-only options that have become the new normal. However, while countless studies have shown how older people are increasingly being frozen out, or charged significantly more for the same services, little is being done to aid their plight, it argues.

数字贫困联盟——是人们为为解决这一问题而专门设立的慈善组织——据估计，英国有多达1100万人正在努力应对已经成为新常态的纯科技的这项选择。然而，该机构认为，尽管无数研究表明，老年人越来越多地被手机拒之门外，或者同样的服务明显被收取了更高的费用，但几乎没有做什么来帮助他们缓解困难。

A combination of the coronavirus pandemic – when it became acceptable for companies to no longer answer their phones or to even open, let alone reply to, letters – and the banks being forced to carry out strong customer authentication (SCA) checks to those banking or even shopping online, is locking people out from a world they used to be able to participate in. Add in the fact that smartphones bear no resemblance to the Nokia handsets that many older people had become used to, and it is easy to see why so many people are feeling left behind.

冠状病毒大流行--当时公司不再接听电话，甚至不拆信，更不用说回信了--以及银行被迫对那些银行业务甚至网上购物的人进行强大的客户认证（SCA）检查，这些因素的结合正在将人们从一个他们曾经能够参与的世界中锁定出来。再加上智能手机与许多老年人已经习惯的诺基亚手机没有任何相似之处，就不难理解为什么这么多人感到被抛弃。

第三步：回答问题（评论区回答问题）

Reading Questions：

1. What are the perks that people work in the field of computer science are likely to get?

2. What is the downside of smartphone technology?

3. How many people in the UK are struggling to deal with the tech-only options?

滑动查看答案

Q1

Free food and the chance to work on apps used by billions .

Q2

The smartphone technology is erecting invisible barriers that leave you unable to do basic things such as pay online, contact your GP or even park.

Q3

As many as 11 million.

今天是小芳老师陪你精读外刊的第33天

检查一下，你学到了吗？

1. perk: 额外待遇 2. stampede: 蜂拥 3. to the detriment of: 对…不利 4. plight: 苦境

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