走遍全世界32: Google's Way to Top 谷歌的登顶之路

摘要：本篇短文介绍了谷歌公司从一个小修理厂变为全球最大的搜索引擎公司的成长历程。相信和读完本文，除了增长知识之外，文章清晰的条理步步推进的层次感将会给你的写作带来很大的启发。

英语听力原文：

Google is a world-famous company, with its headquarters in Mountain View, California. It was set up in a Silicon¹ Valley garage in 1998, and inflated³（膨胀）with the Internet bubble. Even when everything around it collapased the company kept on inflating⁴.
Google是世界著名的大公司，总部设在加州的山景城。它于1998年成立于硅谷的一个汽车修理厂，并随着网络泡沫迅速成长而不断发展。即使是在它周围的公司一个个垮掉时，它仍然在继续发展壮大。

Google's search engine is so wide-spread across the world that search became Google, and google became a verb. The world fell in love with the effective, fascinatingly fast technology.
Google的搜索引擎遍及全世界，以至于“搜索”一词变成了Google，而Google变成了一个动词。整个世界都为Google这个高效快捷的搜索技术而着迷。

Google owes much of its success to the brilliance⁵ of S. Brin and L. Page, but also to a series of fortunate events. It was Page who, at Stanford in 1996, initiated⁷ the academic project that eventually became Google's search engine. Brin, who had met Page at a student orientation⁸ a year earlier, joined the project early on.
Google的成功在很大的程度上要归功于谢尔盖·布林和拉里·佩奇的才华和一系列幸运事件。正是佩奇于1996年在斯坦福大学发起这个最终成为Google搜索引擎的学术项目。布林是在早一年的新生见面会中认识佩奇的，并在项目开始不久就加入进来。

They were both Ph. D candidates when they devised the search engine which was better than the rest and, without any marketing⁹, spread by word mouth from early adopters to, eventually, your grandmother.
当初设计这个搜索引擎时，他们俩个都是计算机博士学位申请人。而其搜索引擎没有经过任何市场推广却经大家的口口相传从早期的使用者最终传播开来。

Their breakthrough, simply put, was that when their search engine crawled the Web, it did more than just look for word matches; it also tallied¹⁰（统计）and ranked a host of other critical factors like how websites link to one another. That delivered far better results than anything else.
简单地说，他们的突破在于：当他们的搜索引擎在网上搜索时，不仅仅是寻找相匹配的词语，它还会对许多其他关键因素进行统计和分级，例如，如何将网络彼此连接起来。这样所呈现的结果要远远优于其他搜索引擎。

Brin and Page meant to name their creation Googol(the mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes), but someone misspelled the word so it suck as Google. They raised money from prescient（有先见之明的）professors and venture capitalists, and moved off campus to turn Google into business.
布林和佩奇本来打算把他们的搜索引擎命名为Google（数学术语：1 后面有100个零），但是人们误拼成了Google。他们从有先见之明的教授和富有冒险精神的资本家那里筹集资金，将谷歌搬出校园转换成商业运营。他们试图向其他搜索引擎公司出售他们的技术，但是没有一家能支付他们提出的价格，于是他们自己成立了一个搜索引擎公司，也许早在这时幸运之神就开始降临。

Perhaps their biggest stroke of luck came early on when they tried to sell their technology to other search engines, but no one met their price, and they built it up on their own.
他们试图向其他搜索引擎公司出售他们的技术，但是没有一家能支付他们提出的价格，于是他们自己成立了一个搜索引擎公司，也许早在这时幸运之神就开始降临。

英语词汇整理：

1. headquarter n.. 总公司

eg: The European correspondent will headquarter in Paris.
欧洲记者将她的总部设在巴黎。

短语：
UN Headquarter 联合国总部
Business headquarter 所属部门
headquarter space 总部空间
Happy Headquarter 快乐大本营

2. garage n. 汽车修理厂

eg: Nancy took her car to a local garage for a check-up.
南希把她的车开到一家当地的汽车修理厂检查。

短语：
underground garage 地下车库
attached garage 附加车库
detached garage 独立式车库
garage door 汽车库门，车库门
parking garage 停车场（室内）

3. inflate² v. 膨胀

eg: Financial crisis rapidly inflated to a nation-wide economic crisis.
金融危机迅速扩展成全国性的经济危机。

短语：
swell¹¹ inflate 胀大
inflate value 波动值

4. bubble n. 泡沫

eg: When water boils, bubbles rise to the surface.
水开时,水面起了泡泡。

短语：
bubble off 形成泡溢出
bubble out 噗噗地涌出
bubble over 煮沸溢出
bubble up 冒泡,像泡一样冒起
prick¹² a (或the)bubble 拆穿西洋镜
bubble point 泡点；沸腾点
bubble effect 泡沫效应

5. collapse¹³ v. 垮掉

eg: The poor girl collapsed¹⁴ from tiredness.
可怜的小女孩由于疲劳而晕倒了。

短语：
collapse from 由于……而垮掉,晕倒
collapse under 被……所压塌
collapse for 折叠
collapse strength 抗挤强度；破裂强度
collapse load 损毁荷载

6. wide-spread adj. 普遍的

eg: With the development of economy and advancement¹⁵ of peoples life, buying private cars becomes more and more wide-spread .
随着经济的发展和人们生活水平的提高，购买家用轿车已越来越普遍。

短语：
wide-spread scheme 延展计划
wide-spread Collar 宽角领
wide-spread news 广泛流传的消息
wide-spread use 广泛使用

7. effective adj. 高效的

eg: These are effective measures.
这些都是有效的措施。

短语：
be effective against 有抗……效力的
effective from 从……生效
become effective (法律、协定、决议等)生效，发生效力

8. fascinatingly adv. 着迷地

eg: Her face became fascinatingly distorted.
她着迷地歪斜着脸。

同近义词：
bewitchingly/ attractively adv. 极有吸引力地；迷人地

9. owe v.感激；欠

eg: He gave me a lot of help. I owed much to him.
他给我许多帮助,我非常感激他。

短语：
owe a grudge¹⁶ 怀有恶意
owe it to oneself to do something 认为自己应该做某事，认为有必要做某事
owe for 欠买(某物的)钱
owe on 在……上欠债
owe to 欠……(某物)；应该感谢；把……归功于
 
10. brilliance n. 才华

eg: He played with great brilliance.
他的演奏显示出他卓越的才华。

短语：
brilliance control 亮度调节
point brilliance 光点亮度

11. fortunate adj. 幸运的

eg: It is fortunate that the tanker¹⁷ did not leak.
庆幸的是，油罐车没有发生泄漏。

短语：
fortunate for sb. 某人运气好
fortunate in doing sth. 做……幸运
fortunate in 有好运气；于……很幸运

12. initiate⁶ v. 发起

eg: He initiated a movement for a change in the law.
他发起了一项改变法律的运动。

短语：
initiate into 介绍或接纳某人加入……；使某人获知……
initiate fire 引发火灾

13. orientation n. 介绍；方向

eg: The winding¹⁸ trail caused the hikers to lose their orientation.
蜿蜒的小径使徒步旅行者迷失了方向。

短语：
goal orientation 目标定向；目标取向
image orientation 图像定像；图象取向
orientation program 新生训练；新生练习
investment orientation 投资方向
marketing orientation 市场取向

14. candidate n. 候选人

eg: He is a candidate for the office of governor.
他是州长的候选人。

短语：
sell candidate like soap 在竞选中采取广告手法大肆宣传
as a candidate 作为候选人
candidate for 候选人；人选

P.S.: candidate for后面一般加职业或者职位等。例：candidate for Presidency¹⁹总统候选人， candidate for the position of typist 打字员职位候选人。

15. devise v. 发明

eg: He devised a new type of transistor²⁰.
他发明了一种新的晶体管。

短语：
devise to 将……遗赠给
devise an idea 想出一个主意

16. breakthrough n. 突破

eg: He finally has a breakthrough in his creation.
他终于在创作上有了突破。

短语：
breakthrough in 在……方面的进展
breakthrough point 突破点
make a breakthrough 有重大发展或突破
breakthrough technology 突破性技术
 
17. crawl v. 爬行，缓慢前进

eg: The train crawled over the damaged bridge.
火车缓缓地开过这座已损坏的桥梁。

短语：
crawl to 巴结,奉承
crawl with 爬满,满是 
move at a crawl 缓慢行进

18. tally²¹ v. 统计

eg: Have they tallied up the for and against?
他们统计赞成票和反对票了吗?

短语：
buy on tally 赊购
live (on) tally [英国俚语]非婚同居
tally with 与……相符合
tally up 总结；加一；结算

19. rank v. 评等级

eg: We rank him among the best tennis players.
我们把他列入最优秀网球运动员之列。

短语：
rank with 与……并列
in the ranks 当兵，当战士
keep rank 保持队形
pull (one's )rank on [美军俚语]仗势欺压；利用职权(对下级)强迫命令
take rank of 居于……之上；(级别)高于……

20. host n. 一大群

eg: A whole host of difficulties has arisen.
一大堆的困难出现了。

短语：
a host of 许多，一大群；众多，大量
act as host 作为主人招待,做东
play host to 招待,接待

21. critical adj. 关键的

eg: The incident happened at a critical point in the campaign.
该事件发生在运动的关键时刻。

短语：
critical about 挑剔
critical in one's choice 选择苛刻
critical of 挑剔；对……感到不满，对……表示谴责
 
22. deliver v. 产生

eg: She delivered twins at 5 p.m.
她于下午5时产下孪生儿。

短语：
deliver up 交出，放弃
deliver from 从……处释放出来
deliver of 为……接生；生(孩子)
deliver on 履行,实行
deliver as 作为……播送
deliver oneself to 向……投案自首
deliver sb of fear 消除某人的恐惧
deliver a book/baby 送书；接生

佳句采摘：
Their breakthrough, simply put, was that when their search engine crawled the Web, it did more than just look for word matches; it also tallied（统计）and ranked a host of other critical factors like how websites link to one another.
简单地说，他们的突破在于：当他们的搜索引擎在网上搜索时，不仅仅是寻找相匹配的词语，它还会对许多其他关键因素进行统计和分级，例如，如何将网络彼此连接起来。
 

1 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

2 inflate   

vt.使膨胀，使骄傲，抬高（物价）

参考例句：

• The buyers bid against each other and often inflate the prices they pay.买主们竞相投标，往往人为地提高价钱。
• Stuart jumped into the sea and inflated the liferaft.斯图尔特跳到海里给救生艇充气。

3 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网

5 brilliance   

n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智

参考例句：

• I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。
• The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。

6 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

7 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

8 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 tallied   

v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
• His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句

11 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

12 prick   

v.刺伤，刺痛，刺孔；n.刺伤，刺痛

参考例句：

• He felt a sharp prick when he stepped on an upturned nail.当他踩在一个尖朝上的钉子上时，他感到剧烈的疼痛。
• He burst the balloon with a prick of the pin.他用针一戳，气球就爆了。

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

15 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

16 grudge   

n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做

参考例句：

• I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
• I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。

17 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

18 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

19 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

20 transistor   

n.晶体管，晶体管收音机

参考例句：

• This make of transistor radio is small and beautifully designed.这半导体收音机小巧玲珑。
• Every transistor has at least three electrodes.每个晶体管至少有三个电极。

21 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。