《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词4500》90 Virtual Grave

　　Unit 90
Virtual Grave
People are mortal. The bodies in which we live our real existence simply have a restricted life span. Ultimately we all die of old age, or sooner of an illness or accident. When one person's life ends irreversibly, it is the beginning of a period of deep mourning for the survivors¹, in which they try to deal with the loss of their loved one, friend, parent or child. The relatives mourn over the definitive² departure of their loved one. And mostly they find this extremely difficult. More and more people explicitly³ look for a personal way to cope with mourning. Nowadays our North-European civilization permits us to express the feeling of dismay, of loss, of sorrow.
The use of the Internet penetrates⁴ all aspects of our social life. This does not only change the way in which we work, learn and play with one another "from a distance", but also the way in which we have contact in intimate and ultimate events such as love and death. How does the use of the Internet change our funeral rites⁵ and rituals and how does it affect our ways of coping with death? The Internet can be used in three ways: to involve all survivors in the organization of the funeral ceremony: virtual funeral services; to honor the deceased in a respectful manner: virtual graves; to cope with the loss together with fellow-sufferers: virtual mourning groups.
Modern people live two lives. One in the real, physical world and the other in the virtual world created by the Internet. People who are online for their work or for fun increasingly wonder what it means to die online. Survivors feel the urge to make death public. This is usually done by way of an obituary⁶ in a newspaper, the compilation⁷ of a memorial book, and by erecting⁹ a tombstone. While a memorial site in the real physical world can be very beautiful, but it can only be a one place at the same time. An online memorial site can be visited by anyone with a computer and Internet connection. The Internet, as an ideal place to announce the loss of someone we cherish and to erect⁸ a permanent memorial sign, offers some additional possibilities and alternatives.
At the death of a beloved many people fantasize that the deceased finds a place somewhere on a little cloud, watching the survivors. Via the Internet this fantasy can be more or less acted out. With a personal memorial page, the deceased actually floats through space, even if it is cyberspace¹⁰: "Lisa, darling, beautiful woman. Dead for a year now. Now everybody can look t you, read about, listen to you. Forever, on your own little cloud."
Coping with death reveals the most crucial social processes and cultural values of a society. Virtual memorial places go beyond the borders of "modern" societies in which death is separated from daily life banishing¹¹ the dead to institutional or religious enclaves, usually strongly determined¹² by outdated¹³ rituals. In the future the virtual graveyards¹⁴ and memorial sites will have a more prominent position as cultural institutions that dramatically symbolize¹⁵ the values and norms as to what a society is or ought to be, and who her members are and what they would like to be.

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

3 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 penetrates   

v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 )；刺入；了解；渗透

参考例句：

• This is a telescope that penetrates to the remote parts of the universe. 这是一架能看到宇宙中遥远地方的望远镜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dust is so fine that it easily penetrates all the buildings. 尘土极细，能极轻易地钻入一切建筑物。 来自辞典例句

5 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

6 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。

7 compilation   

n.编译，编辑

参考例句：

• One of the first steps taken was the compilation of a report.首先采取的步骤之一是写一份报告。
• The compilation of such diagrams,is of lasting value for astronomy.绘制这样的图对天文学有永恒的价值。

8 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

9 erecting   

v.使直立，竖起( erect的现在分词 )；建立

参考例句：

• Nations can restrict their foreign trade by erecting barriers to exports as well as imports. 象设置进口壁垒那样，各国可以通过设置出口壁垒来限制对外贸易。 来自辞典例句
• Could you tell me the specific lift-slab procedure for erecting buildings? 能否告之用升板法安装楼房的具体程序？ 来自互联网

10 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。

11 banishing   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• And he breathes out fast, like a king banishing a servant. 他呼气则非常迅速，像一个国王驱逐自己的奴仆。 来自互联网
• Banishing genetic disability must therefore be our primary concern. 消除基因缺陷是我们的首要之急。 来自互联网

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

13 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

14 graveyards   

墓地( graveyard的名词复数 )； 垃圾场； 废物堆积处； 收容所

参考例句：

• He takes a macabre interest in graveyards. 他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。
• "And northward there lie, in five graveyards, Calm forever under dewy green grass," 五陵北原上，万古青蒙蒙。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

15 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。