托福综合写作优秀作文练习题：好玩的在线互动百科

 　　托福综合写作阅读材料：

　　Communal¹ online encyclopedias³ represent oneof the latest resources to be found on the Internet. They are in many respectslike traditional printed encyclopedias, however, is that any internet user cancontribute a new article or make an editorial change in an existing one. As aresult, the encyclopedia² is authored by the whole community of Internet users.The idea might sound attractive, but the communal online encyclopedias haveseveral important problems that make them much less valuable than traditional,printed encyclopedias.

　　交互式在线百科是互联网上新的资源模式。在线百科在诸多方面与传统纸质百科全书类似。但是在线百科同传统纸质百科不同的地方在于任何一个网民都可以创建或者编进词条。因而，可以说在线百科是由所有网民共同编辑的。这个想法听起来可能很不错，但是跟传统纸质百科全书相比，在线百科也因此具有了一些严重的问题。而这些问题将很大程度地削减在线百科的价值。

　　First, contributors to a communal onlineencyclopedia often lack academic credentials⁴, thereby⁵ making their contributionspartially informed at best and downright inaccurate⁶ in many cases.

　　Traditional encyclopedias are written bytrained experts who adhere to standards of academic rigor⁷ that non-specialistscannot really achieve.

　　首先，在线百科信息的提供者往往缺乏学术资格，因为他们提供的信息很多时候不够完美，甚至是不够精确的。传统的百科全书是由受过良好训练的专家编撰的。这些专家符合严格的学术标准，而这一点是业余人士无论如何都达不到的。

　　Second, even if the original entry in theonline encyclopedia is correct, the communal nature of these onlineencyclopedias gives unscrupulous users and vandals or hackers⁸ the opportunityto fabricate, delete, and corrupt⁹ information in the encyclopedia. Once changeshave been made to the original text, an unsuspecting user cannot tell the entryhas been tampered¹⁰ with. None of this is possible with a traditionalencyclopedia.

　　第二，即使在线百科词条最初是正确的，但是其互动的特性允许一些无原则的用户，蓄意破坏的人以及黑客们伪造、删除和篡改条目。当原始的版本被篡改之后，那些对条目深信不疑的用户不能发现问题。而这样的情况是不会发生在传统百科全书中的。

　　Third, the communal encyclopedias focus toofrequently, and in too great a depth, on trivial and popular topics, whichcreated a false impression of what is important and what is not. A child doingresearch for a school project may discover that a major historical eventreceives as much attention in an online encyclopedia as, say, a singlelong-running television program. The traditional encyclopedia provides aconsidered view of what topics to include or exclude and contains a sense of proportionthat online “democratic” communal encyclopedias do not.

　　第三，在线互动百科对于绯闻和流行话题的关注过多过深，这一点使大家对孰轻孰重产生错觉。孩子可能会通过在线百科完成学校留的作业。这时，他可能会发现在线百科上面，重大的历史事件所受的关注度跟一档长线播出的电视节目是一样的。而在传统百科中，对于内容的取舍和均衡是非常注意的，而这一点在具有“民主性”的在线百科上是没有体现的。

1 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

2 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

3 encyclopedias   

n.百科全书， （某一学科的）专科全书( encyclopedia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• However, some encyclopedias can be found on the Web. 同时，一些百科全书能也在网络上找到。 来自互联网
• Few people think of encyclopedias as creative enterprises; but they are. 鲜少有人想到百科全书是创意的工作，但它确实是。 来自互联网

4 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

5 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

6 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

7 rigor   

n.严酷，严格，严厉

参考例句：

• Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

8 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

9 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

10 tampered   

v.窜改( tamper的过去式 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄

参考例句：

• The records of the meeting had been tampered with. 会议记录已被人擅自改动。 来自辞典例句
• The old man's will has been tampered with. 老人的遗嘱已被窜改。 来自辞典例句