国外媒体:你真的会使用搜索引擎吗？

生活在互联网时代，搜索引擎对于每个人来说都并不陌生，百度，google每天都有着庞大的访问量。但是你知道怎样更好的利用搜索引擎吗？

The web may seem like a vast ocean when it comes to finding¹ something you need. Thankfully, search engines can help turn oceans of information into small pools that make finding information easier.

This is Web Search Strategies² In Plain English.

Before we dive in, let's talk a bit about how search works³ on the web. Search engines go out and try to account for every word on every web page. All this information is then organized for easy reference⁴. When you search for a word, the search engine finds all the pages where the word appears and displays them in the search results. Usually, the pages that appear highest in the search results have lots of other web pages linking to them. Each link accesses a vote to say "this may be a good resource."

The problem is there are often too many results. You need a way to reduce the number of results, so you can find what you need. Let's look at how this works.

Say you're looking for a specific kind of fish and these represent all the web sites on the web. Searching for fish doesn't help much. There are way too many results. You need to be more specific. Try to imagine the exact fish and describe it in the search box. You'll see that each word you use gets you closer to what you need.

You can do this for any web site by imagining the web site that has your answer. What's the title of the page? What words appear on it? If you put those words in the search box, you'll get closer to finding answers.

But to be a smart searcher, you should know some basic shortcuts⁵. Let's say you are looking for words that appear together, like a phrase or quote. An example is a search for information on "sand sharks". If you search for it like this, the search engine looks for pages with "sand" and "sharks". To get better results, put quotes around the words like this. It limits the results to the exact phrase.

Here's another shortcut⁶. Words often have multiple⁷ meanings. Consider the word "mullet", which is both a fish and a hair style. A search for "mullet" may give you a number of results about the hair style but fewer about the fish. To remove the results about hair, place a hyphen or minus sign just before the word you want to exclude⁸, which means show me the pages about "mullet", but take away results relating to hair.

By being specific and using words and symbols that remove useless information, you can find exactly what you need and keep the web from swallowing you whole.

1 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

2 strategies   

n.策略( strategy的名词复数 )；战略；战略学；对策

参考例句：

• Several steps and strategies have been developed to minimize these risks. 有关人士发展了若干措施和方法以减少这些风险。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Different threats require different strategies. 对付不同的威胁需要不同的策略。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

4 reference   

n.提到，说到，暗示，查看，查阅

参考例句：

• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。
• I like to have my reference books within my reach.我喜欢把参考书放到伸手可取的地方。

5 shortcuts   

n.捷径( shortcut的名词复数 )；近路；快捷办法；被切短的东西（尤指烟草）

参考例句：

• In other words, experts want shortcuts to everything. 换句话说，专家需要所有的快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Offer shortcuts from the Help menu. 在帮助菜单中提供快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 shortcut   

n.近路，捷径

参考例句：

• He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
• If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。

7 multiple   

adj.多个(或多项、多种)的；n.（数）倍数

参考例句：

• The number 8 is a multiple of 4.八是四的倍数。
• The most common multiple births are twins,two babies born at the same time.最常见的多胎是双胞胎，两个婴儿同时出生。

8 exclude   

v.阻止...进入；把...排除在外

参考例句：

• The university had no right to exclude the student from the examination.学校无权阻止这位学生参加考试。
• He tries hard to exclude those opposed to him from the committee.他力图把反对他的人排斥在委员会之外。