今天我们的生活已经离不开互联网了，可是全世界还有一半左右的人上不了网。现在有多家公司在研发低轨卫星通讯技术，有望让这部分人早日用上互联网。
The race to bring internet everywhere
by Tali Arbel
It's a 21st-century space race: Amazon, SpaceX and others are competing to get into orbit and provide internet to the earth's most remote places. And like the last century's battle for space supremacy（霸权）, this one involves satellites. Thousands of them.
orbit /ˈɔːbɪt/ n. （星体运行的）轨道
remote /rɪˈməʊt/ adj. 偏远的、边远的
battle /ˈbæt(ə)l/ n. 斗争、较量
satellite /ˈsæt(ə)laɪt/ n. 人造卫星
More than a dozen companies have asked U.S. regulators for permission to operate constellations（星团） of satellites that provide internet service. Not all are aimed at connecting consumers, but some have grand and global ambitions. "The goal here is broadband everywhere," Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said at a conference in June.
regulator /ˈreɡjuleɪtə(r)/ n. 监管者、监管机构（由regulate加上表示人的后缀-or）
permission /pəˈmɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 准许、许可
operate /ˈɒp(ə)reɪt/ v. 运作、运营
connect /kəˈnekt/ v. 连接、使连网
consumer /kənˈsjuːmə(r)/ n. 消费者
grand /ɡrænd/ adj. 大的
global /ˈɡləʊb(ə)l/ adj. 全球的、全球性的
ambition /æmˈbɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 雄心、野心
broadband /ˈbrɔːdbænd/ n. 宽带网络（由broad和band组成）
founder /ˈfaʊndə(r)/ n. 创办人（由found加上表示人的后缀-er）
conference /ˈkɒnf(ə)r(ə)ns/ n. 大型会议
With half the world's population – more than 3 billion people – not using the internet, it's a huge potential market. And there's the obvious benefit on the ground: Not having internet access makes it difficult or impossible to apply for many jobs, for kids to do homework, for people in remote areas to get medical care, and to participate in the global economy.
billion /ˈbɪljən/ n. 十亿
potential /pəˈtenʃ(ə)l/ adj. 潜在的
access /ˈækses/ n. 使用权、使用机会
medical /ˈmedɪk(ə)l/ adj. 医疗的
participate /pɑːˈtɪsɪpeɪt/ v. 参与
economy /ɪˈkɒnəmi/ n. 经济
But this new wave of space-based internet faces hurdles（障碍）. It is expensive to launch, technologically complex and could prove too costly for the very people it hopes to reach.
-based 后缀，意思是基于
face /feɪs/ v. 面对、面临
launch /lɔːntʃ/ v. 发射
technologically /ˌteknəˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)li/ adv. 技术上（由technological加后缀-ly变成副词）
complex /ˈkɒmpleks/ adj. 复杂的
costly /ˈkɒstli/ adj. 贵的、花钱多的（由cost加后缀-ly变成形容词）
very /ˈveri/ adj. 恰好的、同一的（表示强调）
Satellite internet already exists, dominated by a handful of companies that have huge, expensive satellites sitting 35,000 kilometers from the earth and covering big territories on the ground. But the service is expensive and limited, comes with data caps and lags, and doesn't have many users.
dominate /ˈdɒmɪneɪt/ v. 支配、主宰
a handful /ˈhændfʊl/ of 几个
territory /ˈterɪt(ə)ri/ n. 地域
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据
cap /kæp/ n. 上限（data cap指数据流量的上限）
lag /læɡ/ n. 延时
The new satellites are smaller, cheaper, and closer to the earth, so theoretically signals travel faster and applications like online gaming that need instant responses would work better. The companies need to build dishes and antennas（天线） that are more complicated and costlier than those for traditional satellites. SpaceX, for example, has filed for permission with U.S. regulators to build 1 million "earth stations" that would help connect customers to the internet.
theoretically /θɪəˈretɪk(ə)li/ adv. 理论上（由theoretical加后缀-ly变成副词）
signal /ˈsɪɡn(ə)l/ n. 信号
application /ˌæplɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 应用程序
instant /ˈɪnstənt/ adj. 立刻的、即时的
response /rɪˈspɒns/ n. 响应、回应
dish /dɪʃ/ n. （接收卫星信号的）“锅”
complicated /ˈkɒmplɪkeɪtɪd/ adj. 错综复杂的
file /faɪl/ v. 正式提交、正式申请
There's no way to have a viable mass service unless the cost of this type of equipment drops, said Caleb Williams, economic analyst at aerospace（航空航天） engineering company SpaceWorks Enterprises.
viable /ˈvaɪəb(ə)l/ adj. 切实可行的
mass /mæs/ adj. 大批量的、涉及很多人的
equipment /ɪˈkwɪpmənt/ n. 装备
economic /ˌekəˈnɒmɪk/ adj. 经济的、经济学的（由economy加后缀-ic变成形容词）
analyst /ˈænəlɪst/ n. 分析师
Making sure that people have access to internet is just one step to getting them online. People also need to be able to afford internet, and those in rural areas are more likely to be poor. "If you would have to pay 20% or more of your income to go on the internet, in a situation where you make a few dollars per day, you don't, because it's too expensive," said Martin Schaaper, an analyst at the United Nations' information and communications technology agency.★
make sure 确保
step /step/ n. 步骤
rural /ˈrʊərəl/ adj. 农村的、乡村的
income /ˈɪnkʌm/ n. 收入
communications /kəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)nz/ n. 通讯
agency /ˈeɪdʒ(ə)nsi/ n. 政府机构（局、署等）
★ 这句话里you don't后面有省略：you don't (go on the internet), ...
The industry is still in its infancy, and at least three years away from widespread commercial service, said Kerri Cahoy, professor of aeronautics（航空学） and astronautics（航天学） at MIT, and even further from making any money. "I would be surprised if something were profitable in 10 years," she said.
infancy /ˈɪnfənsi/ n. 婴幼儿期、早期
widespread /ˌwaɪdˈspred/ adj. 分布广泛的（由wide和spread组成）
commercial /kəˈmɜːʃ(ə)l/ adj. 商业的
MIT 麻省理工学院
profitable /ˈprɒfɪtəb(ə)l/ adj. 盈利的（由profit加后缀-able变成形容词）
（如果您发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，请把您使用的浏览器升级到最新版本就能正常显示了。）
网友评论