节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-11-22
难易度:High
关键字:harness, compute, chunk, malaria, background task
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And I'm Carolyn.
And your English will improve today.
We're talking about Charity Engine.
What is Charity Engine?
Well, it's an organization that we will be learning about in our lesson.
Now you know what a charity is - something good that you do for somebody else,
maybe someone in need.
Now Charity Engine uses computers.
That's part of what they do.
Well, what do you use your computer for?
How many computers do you have?
What do you use them for?
Carolyn, what do you use your computer for?
Well, let's see, I use my computer to, uh, write things (I like to write), and
surf the Internet, check my email, uh, check my Facebook.
Um, yeah... that's about it. Do some work.
Yeah. That sounds like what I use my computer for, or my smartphone for that
matter - checking email, checking Facebook, sending text messages.
Well, that's my smartphone.
I guess for a computer, I use it for other things like writing certain articles
or... or preparing for lessons here.
I don't really use my computer for a whole lot, actually.
And that's the case with a lot of people and their computers.
Charity Engine hopes to help people use their computers in a better way.
And we're going to find out all about that.
So let's get started.
Charity Engine.
Your computer can solve scientific puzzles and raise money for charity.
Millions of personal computers across the world are running at this moment,
but most are using just a fraction of their full capacity to process
information.
Imagine what could happen if the spare power of these millions of machines were
harnessed to solve global problems.
The organization Charity Engine attempts to do just that.
It enables researchers and companies to use the extra computing power of
thousands of personal computers.
These companies pay a usage fee that goes to carefully selected charities.
Well, this does sound like a very interesting idea.
So, learning about Charity Engine, go back to the beginning:
Your computer can solve scientific puzzles and raise money for charity.
This is a very interesting concept.
Don't you think so, Gabe?
Well, yeah. I mean, I love solving puzzles.
Puzzles are kind of fun.
Um, I don't think we're talking about your regular Sudoku or crossword puzzles
here, though.
These are scientific puzzles, things that may be a little bit more difficult for
a person to figure out.
OK, so your computer can solve these kinds of puzzles and raise money for
charity, of course raise money for organizations that help people in need.
That's right.
And we continue reading:
Millions of personal computers across the world are running at this moment,
but most are just... or most are using just a fraction of their full capacity to
process information.
So there are lots of computers running right now, probably like my computer, but
it's really not doing anything since I'm not using it right now.
It's true.
Wait a minute. Your computer's running.
I have a question for you, Carolyn.
Is your um... is your refrigerator at home running?
Um, well, yes, I'm pretty sure it's still running.
Well, then Carolyn, you'd better go out and catch it!
Oh, Gabe.
Because it's running. It's...
It's running. I see it. But... but running doesn't mean like running.
It means that it's working.
Yes. Yes, I know.
It was my little joke.
Yes. So of course you can use the word "running" to talk about something
electronic that is working or it's on.
Your computer is on; it is running.
Well, save electricity.
Turn it off if you're not using it.
Right now it's time for us to learn something with Liz in the Grammar Gym.
Hi there, friends.
Thanks for joining me here at the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
And here's today's Grammar Tip sentence:
... but most are using just a fraction of their full capacity to process
information.
Our focus today is on the phrase: just a fraction of.
It's a fancy way to say a very small part of.
So another way to say today's sentence would be:
Most are using a very small part of their full capacity to process information.
A fraction of or just a fraction of is a great phrase to use when you want to
describe and emphasize how something is really a very small part of a bigger
thing.
For example:
This assignment was very easy and only took a fraction of our time.
Or: Ned's new apartment is huge; his belongings take up only a fraction of the
space.
Now it's your turn to practice.
Think of something that requires or uses a very small part of something else.
And if you want to see some more example sentences, they're available in today's
Grammar Tip section in your magazine.
That's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you next time.
Thank you, Liz.
I wonder, is there anything that you are using just a fraction of?
Many people think that we use just a fraction of our brain power.
So get to thinking.
Use all of your brain power, and maybe you can solve complex puzzles as well.
That's right.
Well, we continue here learning about Charity Engine.
Imagine what can happen if the spare power of these millions of machines were
harnessed to solve global problems.
OK, so we're talking about the spare power of these computers.
We're just using a fraction of what they can do.
Now let's harness all of that power to solve global problems.
And that is a great word, harness, from our Word Bank.
If you harness something, that means that you get control of it so that you can
use it for something.
So here they are trying to harness the power of the machines to solve these
complex scientific puzzles.
All right. Well, what else can you harness?
It's good to harness your energy to do something good.
Of course it's good to harness your emotions as well.
You don't just want to be really angry, really sad, super happy.
You want to be able to control your emotions, harness them in a way that is good
for you and others.
That's right.
And continuing learning how we can harness this energy.
The organization Charity Engine attempts to do just that.
So they want to control or harness all of this unused energy from these millions
of computers.
That's just what they're going to do.
And I like this phrase: They attempt to do just that.
That's not the only thing that they will do.
That's not what "just" means here.
But it does mean this is exactly what their plan is.
They will do just that.
How else can you use that phrase?
Well, if you have an idea for something, maybe you say: Oh. Well, what do you
want to do this weekend?
Well, I'd really like to go hiking.
That's a great idea!
Let's do just that.
Let's do just that.
Or that's just what I'd like to do.
Hmm, what are my plans for this weekend?
I'm going to go bungee jumping.
I will do just that.
That is my plan.
So now you know how to use this phrase. OK.
So the organization Charity Engine attempts to do just that to harness these...
the computer power to solve global problems.
It enables researchers and companies to use the extra computing power of
thousands of personal computers.
Do you have a personal computer?
Well, maybe Charity Engine might use some of that power.
That's right.
And we see another word from the Word Bank, the word computing, or to compute.
If you compute something, that means that you use a computer, usually, to solve
something.
That's right, or figuring something out with a computer.
So the extra computing power here.
Your computer, of course, only a fraction of it is being used.
So what else can your computing power be used for?
Charity Engine knows.
And these companies pay a usage fee that goes to carefully selected charities.
All right.
So what is a usage fee?
Well, it's the money that you pay to... to use something.
That's right, so.
Researchers for these companies pay a usage fee to use these... this extra power
that Charity Engine is harnessing.
And then that money goes to carefully selected charities.
Well, right now it is time for us to learn something with Michelle in the
Language Lab.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.